Will an Ice Kicker II shorten the life of your auger blades and cordless drill?

[IceRaider]

The Ice Kicker II reduces RPMs and increases torque. I'm trying to determine if using an Ice Kicker II is truly better than using just a straight cordless drill with an auger.

Without an Ice Kicker II, the high RPMs and fast rotational speed provide momentum for the blades to cut well against the ice. The work is being done by the sheer speed and sharpness of the blades. Torque is not important. And the downward force being applied to the auger is minimal.

With an Ice Kicker II, the low RPMs, slower rotational speed, limits cutting performance due to the lack of momentum when the blades come in contact with the ice. It needs to be backed up with increased torque to force the blades to cut through the ice. This increased torque also requires increased physical resistance applied to the auger, on your part, in order to be effective. Does that sound right?

So if the Ice Kicker II helps, how does it help? If not, does using one shorten the life of your auger blades and cordless drill? Does the increased torque push a cordless drill beyond its limits? Does the Ice Kicker II force blades against the ice in a way that wears them out faster?

[Kevin23]

Should not hurt your drill unless the torque needed is at the limits of the drill, then you run the risk of it slipping while forcing that drill and stripping the gears.

[Fishrmn]

It's going to reduce the torque on the drill.  Both the drill and the auger would last longer with the kicker.

[IceRaider]

This is text from his eBay auctions: "It delivers 2.5 times the torque and is good for 7 and 8 inch augers.", "my ice kicker II (twice the torque by using reduction system)".

[Fishrmn]

It increases the torque that is applied to the auger.  It reduces the amount of torque required by the drill to turn the auger.  It turns your auger at a slower RPM than the drill itself would, which is a good thing.

[IceRaider]

I guess I don't understand the science behind it. To make an analogy, let's say you swing an axe at a piece of firewood. If you swing fast, wouldn't that be more effective than swinging slow? A fast swing is like having more RPMs. Once the axe comes in contact with the wood, it takes less force to cut the wood because it's moving fast. Like low torque. If the axe comes in contact with the wood at a slow speed, that's like having low RPMs. Once a slow axe swing makes contact with the wood, it would need power to force the axe through to cut the wood. That is like high torque. Am I thinking about this the wrong way?

[Big Burk]

I guess I don't understand the science behind it. To make an analogy, let's say you swing an axe at a piece of firewood. If you swing fast, wouldn't that be more effective than swinging slow? A fast swing is like having more RPMs. Once the axe comes in contact with the wood, it takes less force to cut the wood because it's moving fast. Like low torque. If the axe comes in contact with the wood at a slow speed, that's like having low RPMs. Once the slow axe swing makes contact with the wood, it would need power to force the axe through to cut the wood. That is like high torque. Am I thinking about this the wrong way?

When splitting wood with an axe it's the inertia from the swing and weight of the axe that splits the wood and not the torque delivered from the swing alone. To maintain a good bite while drilling higher speeds can make the blades "skip" and not bite properly. If your using a hand auger their designed for maximum cut at low speeds. It's kind of like starting out in 3rd gear in a car trying to get up to speed vs starting in first going through the gears, what will get you up to speed first? Rpm isn't as important as the amount of useable torque delivered to the device, the smoother/higher torque will get the job done much more efficient. Hope I explained this right, I'm more of a demonstrate vs explain guy lol 

[IceRaider]

I didn't account for the speed being slowed down by the resistance once coming in contact with the ice. The inertia would be lost to a point where torque would be required. So how about high RPMs -AND- high torque? That's what gas-powered augers provide, yes?