Northwest Reel Life March 2025 Volume 4 Issue 5 - Flipbook - Page 31
Electric ice augers can
be further broken down
into two subsets – selfcontained augers and drillattached augers.
The self-contained have
everything you need to
start drilling. The electric
drill auger requires a
separate drill that attaches
to the auger, and batteries
to run it. This drill should
be brushless for longevity
and should have a minimal
amount of power available,
around 700-inch pounds
with an ½ inch drill chuck
and at least a 4amp battery.
An underpowered drill will
not get the job done and
will likely destroy the drill in
short order.
Electric drill ice augers
work, and many people
use them. That said,
they have a big negative:
batteries. Drilling a 6” deep
hole is a piece of cake,
but when you get into
12-18” of ice be prepared
for a slower process, and
more importantly, rapidly
depleting batteries. Today’s
batteries do not like cold
weather and require that
you bring several extra
batteries. That adds both
cost and weight to the
equation. These batteries
aren’t cheap.
The newer self-contained
electric drills are lighter
than gas, and the batteries
last longer. They are also
more powerful than
most electric drill augers.
However, they are also
pricey, costing upwards of
double the price of a gaspowered auger.
Both hand-powered and
electric augers lead us to
another disadvantage – less
opportunity to drill more
holes and move around.
When that battery is done,
it’s done. This brings us to
the next ice augers class.
Gas-powered ice augers
give anglers a tool that
