MyFishFinder.com Just like iceshanty but warmer
Just do a search on this site for icegator. Its riddled with disgruntled customer posts. Mostly based on their poor customer support.
No offense Baitbucket - most of the negative comments are from folks that do not even own a gator. They are hearsay, ot the same person with repeated complaints. You know, as well as I do that it is way easier to mistreat an electric auger setup. Dull blades, being one of them mis-operation of the switch(s) by continual on/off operation. Everything in an eclectric, battery-powered system needs to be top notch,if it is going to work well. I personally witnessed a good friend of mine (owner of an IceGator) completely burn up the switch on his unit by an on/off operation while under load (not good) I convinced him it was his own doing and not a fault of the machine. He got it fixed, changed his drilling habits and has not had an issue in three years. He is not on this forum, so you will not hear from him.I started this thread with the idea that it would contain posts, only from Icegator owners. I know there are some disgrutled owners out there and do not mind hearing from them; but I will say, and there is no way to verify it, that some percentage of those are misuse and some are faulty equipment. Hard to determine what's what. Only a close inspection of the system will tell. Operator error is a big issue in the world of battery powered drills as well. Take your setup and put it into 24-30" of ice, even less and lean on it while drilling, get the thing near stalling and then let up on the trigger, then put it back on under load. Just saying.
Agronomist_at_IA - you again! I have a feeling that sometime within the next two years, your going to purchase an Icegator and be my best fan Lmao!!!!!
Yopu are ONE of them! Have you ever owned an IceGator? = NO - then you have no first hand experience with the tool or the support? Then you are taking soimeone elses word for it? I would love to stand beside you with my gator. HaHa. Watch the videos man! I'll admit there are some impressive cordless drill setups out there, and I'm gonna own one for my 6" Finbore Micro - but it won't replace the Gator.
Doesn't need to replace it when you don't need it.
so it's ok to be a fanboy and not own one, but not ok to criticize? i was probably one of the first in canada with a gator, bought it about 6-7 years ago. brand new finbore3 first hole i ever cut the switch stuck and the damn thing nearly tore my wrist off. so i didn't even get one hole cut before it burned up, didn't get a response from the company until near the end of the season...what else, battery connections got hot burned up the insulation and batteries, switch contacts burned out again, the scooter charger crapped out...i could go on but i already have in previous posts and don't feel like typing. the worst part is once i got it working well many folks were blown away by the product and i know one guy at least that bought a gator after seeing mine cut. now my m18 fuel cuts until the ice is over 3' and then the honda lite takes over.icegator admits to shoddy service in the past but what good does that do me/us now?
greg,i've been reading these posts and others about how poor the switch performance is. it sounds like it needs an overhaul. being the switch can't handle that many amps for long, so it needs what any thing else with high amp draw uses, is a relay. the relay can handle high current contacts and is designed to do so. then the amp draw on the switch becomes minimal. it would very easy to add one. automotive uses them for a reason too and on far less current drain connections.one could use a relay socket and then could replace burnt out relays super easy.if had one, thats what i would do after the warranty or if it takes too long to get it back on its feet and eat the warranty.all you have to do is measure the amount of amps it draws fully loaded or use a relay based on the batteries amp hour rating if nothing else.a car starter uses a solonoid wich is like a relay, but bigger contacts. it is designed to handle over 200 amps, the ignition switch is not.so for sure, a redesign is needed to keep the switches from burning out. they probably are not burnt out, they are probably scaled with burnt metal that could be burnished off and reused, but thats not an answer to the problem. redesign is the answer and would be simple and cheap to do.making different stles of switches won't help either because they will always spark at the contact points even if you use self cleaning/burnishing contacts. they will pit and scale and stop making elsectrical contact sooner or later.with a relay, i think you cold extend the warranty period as well.
No offense Baitbucket - most of the negative comments are from folks that do not even own a gator. They are hearsay