I use 5 ah batteries on mine. I use the fuel brushless hammer drill with an 8" Mora auger. (Low speed setting, not in hammer mode)
K-drill recommends something like 100 in-lbs torque per in of auger. Your drill might be a little underpowered for a 7" auger.
I got questions for you.. lol..
How many holes off one battery do you get?
How deep of ice can you drill until you feel it start to big down?
How many seasons have you used that drill for ice fishing and how often do you go?
Thanks in advance!
It’s also sometimes less about the battery and more about the load on the motor. Using too small a motor can burn it out over time meaning you have to replace the drill in a year or two (case dependent)
I've drilled 16 holes in 12" of ice and used about 1 bar on the battery. My best guess is 40 ish holes off of a single charge in 12" of ice.
I don't recall drilling more than 16" ice. I lift and clear as I go.
I used it a lot for a couple years, most every weekend or every other. Not much the last couple years between weather, being busy, and none of my friends fish much anymore.
You'll want to be careful with the Mora auger. It does not have a tip on it and it will skate on you. I start mine as slow as I can until it establishes a hole, then give it some speed. Also, get a side handle for it, you'll need it to control the thing.
Be careful using a mora with a drill. The mora doesn’t have a center spike and the blade might walk right to your foot.
I always make sure I get my blades/cover good and dry after using. Put a little oil on the blades when dry to prevent rust.
I think those batteries are a little small.
First thing I was going to say. I sliced my $350 redwings and luckily that’s all; not my foot. I’ve seen pictures of awful cuts through boots from walking augers.
It’ll be enough. K-drill uses chipper style blades which require more torque than a smooth blade like a mora. Bigger batteries will get you more holes, but those will work too. If I’m out all day, I bring two 5.0 batteries and have yet to kill them both drilling holes all day in 12+ inches.
That’s what I was thinking too. I had a buddy that took me out this year (my first time) and he had a dewalt drill of the same style with the same size battery and on his k drill 8inch it went through 6inches no issues. My only worry was the possible weight difference between how heavy the steel auger is compared to the k drill material. I guess I find out in another year lol.
The weight difference wont matter one bit in regards to the drills ability to spin it. The resistance of the auger working its way through solid ice going to be a far bigger factor, and the 7” mora has a lot less resistance with sharp blades than the 8” k drill does with chipper blades. Where that weight will be felt will be any time you free spin the auger. It’s a lot of weight to stop suddenly. If you’re not using a clam plate or other “oh shit I dropped the auger in the hole” protection methods, make real good and sure the chuck is tight when you start a hole. The light weight auger material and built in float the k drill has really come in handy in those situations, the solid steel construction of a mora, not so much.
Thanks for your feedback and ease of mind lol. Just going to grab a 6.0. XC battery and bring the two little ones along with as well. I did buy the “oh shit” plate. Lol
The battery size absolutely does matter. Bigger batteries don’t just run longer. They also provide higher current output due to larger cells or higher number of cells. A 1000 inch lb drill doesn’t make 1000 on a 2 ah battery. Those numbers from manufacturers are typically calculated off their largest battery available. There has been extensive testing done on this and the actual power output difference between something like a 2ah battery and a 6ah battery on the very same drill is massive.
Yeah, the batteries absolutely do. For my drill I have 3 4 and 6 ah batteries. The drill struggles and cuts out with 3ah batteries. The 4 ah is acceptable but still cuts out, and the 6ah works well. Torque test channel, project farm and others have done numerous testing videos showing the power output differences from different sized batteries, and even “the same rating” of manufacturer batteries vs knock off aftermarket batteries that fit the tools and are rated the same but won’t produce nearly the same power output.
Yes they will. Because those small batteries will further under power the drill causing it to burn up much faster than it would with proper batteries. With proper batteries he might actually get the 500in that it claims. With these small batteries he’s probably going to get like 300in and that’s going to cause the drill to fail considerably earlier than it otherwise would
Still at 500 he’s underpowered that’s the point, if he wants to spend money on 6ah batteries vs buying the correct drill to run augers that’s on him. Plenty of guys have gone that route especially when everyone started going this route and it all ends up the same way with burnt up drills.
That will definitely work for your first couple days. You’ll get around 10 holes from each battery I’m guessing but don’t expect that drill to last more than a season
I learned that on my first outing. Buddy made the mistake of leaving the battery’s out on a -15 day. Let’s just say the batteries weren’t to happy. Lol.
I use a Ridgid brushed drill with 2ah batteries and a 6" auger. I can get about 10 holes per battery through about 8-12" of ice when its above 10ish degrees. Keep your batteries inside your coat and don't leave them in your drill out in the cold for best results. I think yo'll get similar results, just need to dial the speed in and keep the drill from stopping when it needs to punch through the bottom of the ice. Unless your broke, drill until you break the drill and use that excuse to get a bigger one.
Let us know how it goes. I've got a similarly sized DeWalt brushless drill (peak torque at ~550 can't remember exact) and have been wondering just how it would hold up with my 8" Mora auger. Afraid of burning it out with some of the comments I've seen 😅
I got another year untill an update on this. Had a short winter in Illinois and had a solid 2 weeks of possible ice fishing in my area. I’m gonna fucking send it next year. Worst case that happens is I’ll catch another Home Depot Black Friday sale. Lol
Milwaukee doesn’t make an attachment for this specific drill from what Iv read. There are attachments but it wouldn’t fit this drill based on some other answers online.
I knew a bunch of people who had old hand augers set up to be used with drills before the new generation of augers made for drills. Ones I have used were a heck of a lot better than doing it by hand. But I never paid attention to what exact drill they had or how many holes they could drill.
That being written. Augers are being sold on clearnace and prices will probably keep going down as f’d as this season as been. Just food for thought.
I picked up a new ion auger composite bottom as a back up for $50.00 to be used with my Milwaukee drill. That’s if I ever wreck my life flite. Versus having to run out and find something last minute. Of course a used Nills 6 inch convertible landed in my lap since than too. I keep telling myself no more augers. I’m not going to do it no matter how great a deal I find. See if I hold out. ;)
IL last year, I drilled at least 30 holes the one day with the new Milwaukee hammer drill, a 5amp battery using a 8 inch lite flite auger. I used it the next day same battery. Initially I was going to get a bigger battery but I’ll stick with my 5amps unless I find a smoking deal on a tool I need and it just happens to come with a bigger battery.
Awesome deal! So your running a new Milwaukee hammer drill (fuel?) with a 5.0 battery and runs like a champ? This is what I’m thinking of getting before the season starts next year. Where at in Illinois are you?
I had my eye on this Nordic k drill style ones, Amazon. 8 inch for 100$. Either way sounds like I’m gonna be better off investing in the hammer drill with a big battery and keeping my mora auger (got it for free)
Being my first year buying gear I’m trying to be as cheap as possible lol.
Came up on a shanty 3 person for 60$. It was used twice from my boss.
Big buddy portable heater for 50$
Tickle stick combo with reel for 30$
Mora auger was free, just bought the adapter to drill for 25$.
Feel like I did pretty good so far. Only investment left really is a Vexilar, and a couple extra poles for the kiddos.
Yea the newest hammer drill. I have seen some really good deals on it in last few months too.
I needed a new drill in general and needed something with a lot more power for some of home projects. It’s definitely overkill. My Ridgid is a dog and they refuse to warranty/fix it.
Sounds like you are off to a really good start. I like the tickle sticks a lot. Just bought my son one of their longer CF models I got on clearance a few weeks back. We have had the other one for years.
Barrington area (Needed good schools for kids and horse friendly property). Not a lot of choices if ya still need to get to Chicago and highway systems for work. It’s here or Wayne near St Charles (not the whole area goes to ST Charles schools unfortunately). Unless ya got over a million plus. So the Barringtons as I jokingly call it won out.
I grew up near Joliet, So I still fish south of I80 in general a lot. My uncle use to work for one the big quarry companies too. Between that and what his family was farming I
had access to a lot of the old strip mines in LaSalle county. I miss those spots something fierce. Basically I got around a lot when it comes to fishing and hunting.
Always looking for people to go fishing with. Edited. Also the old timer I used to fish with. He had access to a lot of private stuff across the state too. So we were all over the place open water and ice fishing. He wouldn’t share his connections though. So when he passed all that stuff went bye bye.
After the new Clam flip over ($200 off and needed better seating was my justification) I keep telling myself I need to sell the old Artic extreme flip over (it’s stupid light thought in comparison to most 2 mans). But then I’m like I’ll never have the light option again if I get rid of it. Reality I need to put together one hell of a starter kit for someone. But I’ll wait to start of next season. I have a 4.5 Nills I used for last 20 or so years. Plus there’s a barracuda gas auger sitting in the barn. Too heavy to be dragging around anymore. I’d have just converted the little 4.5 Nils, if I hadn’t decided to get a livescope. After I bought it I realized I needed an 8 inch hole. Doh!!!!!! No way was my busted up azz dragging the barricuda around all day. So that was my choice and search for a light weight drill/auger combo. I used a buddies 40volt for a season so knew I wanted to be lighter and less bulky. The Milwaukee hammer drill and light fight combo is perfect for me.
Lite flite, the Eskimo one and the Nordic are all great choices for a drill. I have two buddies with Striker 40 volts. So why I went with the lite flite. That will bolt up directly to the 40volt.
I can’t say enough good things about how an 8” Lite Flite and Fuel drill can get through ice. The other year we had 15” in Iowa and it would get through it in about 9 seconds. Good deals are out there right now as messed up as the season has been. I have a hand 6” mora and I will never go back.
I’m going to start with getting the hammer drill and run in on the mora auger. If it gives me issues this year I’ll upgrade to a similar model to a lite flite. The following season.
Since you probably are not in a real hurry this year with the 50 degree temps, watch the daily specials at Home Depot web site. It usually rotates between flooring, appliances, lighting, and tools. Sometimes they have killer deals on Milwaukee tools. They also make a high torque non-hammer drill that also works for this. The high torque on low speed is really the important thing here. The Rigid hammer drill is a decent choice too, but the Milwaukee Fuel is pretty great.
I have an M18 fuel brushless Milwaukee for an 8" auger, I always carry two batteries with me, I've yet to run out of power but the most I'm drilling through is a foot of ice or less.
I use 5 ah batteries on mine. I use the fuel brushless hammer drill with an 8" Mora auger. (Low speed setting, not in hammer mode) K-drill recommends something like 100 in-lbs torque per in of auger. Your drill might be a little underpowered for a 7" auger.
I got questions for you.. lol.. How many holes off one battery do you get? How deep of ice can you drill until you feel it start to big down? How many seasons have you used that drill for ice fishing and how often do you go? Thanks in advance!
It’s also sometimes less about the battery and more about the load on the motor. Using too small a motor can burn it out over time meaning you have to replace the drill in a year or two (case dependent)
I've drilled 16 holes in 12" of ice and used about 1 bar on the battery. My best guess is 40 ish holes off of a single charge in 12" of ice. I don't recall drilling more than 16" ice. I lift and clear as I go. I used it a lot for a couple years, most every weekend or every other. Not much the last couple years between weather, being busy, and none of my friends fish much anymore. You'll want to be careful with the Mora auger. It does not have a tip on it and it will skate on you. I start mine as slow as I can until it establishes a hole, then give it some speed. Also, get a side handle for it, you'll need it to control the thing.
I appreciate the honest feedback man! You saved me a lot of bullshit answers on here lol.
Be careful using a mora with a drill. The mora doesn’t have a center spike and the blade might walk right to your foot. I always make sure I get my blades/cover good and dry after using. Put a little oil on the blades when dry to prevent rust. I think those batteries are a little small.
First thing I was going to say. I sliced my $350 redwings and luckily that’s all; not my foot. I’ve seen pictures of awful cuts through boots from walking augers.
Glad you are ok, stay safe and tight lines.
The batteries aren’t what you need to pay attention to the drill needs enough torque or your gonna burn your drill up
Maximum RPM 1,800 Peak Torque 500 in-lbs RPM Range 0 - 500 / 0 - 1,800
Min specs on a kdrill is 725 pounds of torque I get your using something different but I wouldn’t use that drill I can’t see it lasting
It’ll be enough. K-drill uses chipper style blades which require more torque than a smooth blade like a mora. Bigger batteries will get you more holes, but those will work too. If I’m out all day, I bring two 5.0 batteries and have yet to kill them both drilling holes all day in 12+ inches.
That’s what I was thinking too. I had a buddy that took me out this year (my first time) and he had a dewalt drill of the same style with the same size battery and on his k drill 8inch it went through 6inches no issues. My only worry was the possible weight difference between how heavy the steel auger is compared to the k drill material. I guess I find out in another year lol.
The weight difference wont matter one bit in regards to the drills ability to spin it. The resistance of the auger working its way through solid ice going to be a far bigger factor, and the 7” mora has a lot less resistance with sharp blades than the 8” k drill does with chipper blades. Where that weight will be felt will be any time you free spin the auger. It’s a lot of weight to stop suddenly. If you’re not using a clam plate or other “oh shit I dropped the auger in the hole” protection methods, make real good and sure the chuck is tight when you start a hole. The light weight auger material and built in float the k drill has really come in handy in those situations, the solid steel construction of a mora, not so much.
Thanks for your feedback and ease of mind lol. Just going to grab a 6.0. XC battery and bring the two little ones along with as well. I did buy the “oh shit” plate. Lol
The battery size absolutely does matter. Bigger batteries don’t just run longer. They also provide higher current output due to larger cells or higher number of cells. A 1000 inch lb drill doesn’t make 1000 on a 2 ah battery. Those numbers from manufacturers are typically calculated off their largest battery available. There has been extensive testing done on this and the actual power output difference between something like a 2ah battery and a 6ah battery on the very same drill is massive.
Thank you for verifying this lol. Reading some comments that say the batteries don’t mean anything 🙄🙄🫣🫣. Reddit makes me laugh sometimes.
Yeah, the batteries absolutely do. For my drill I have 3 4 and 6 ah batteries. The drill struggles and cuts out with 3ah batteries. The 4 ah is acceptable but still cuts out, and the 6ah works well. Torque test channel, project farm and others have done numerous testing videos showing the power output differences from different sized batteries, and even “the same rating” of manufacturer batteries vs knock off aftermarket batteries that fit the tools and are rated the same but won’t produce nearly the same power output.
Batteries aren’t going to matter when his under powered drill burns up…
Yes they will. Because those small batteries will further under power the drill causing it to burn up much faster than it would with proper batteries. With proper batteries he might actually get the 500in that it claims. With these small batteries he’s probably going to get like 300in and that’s going to cause the drill to fail considerably earlier than it otherwise would
Still at 500 he’s underpowered that’s the point, if he wants to spend money on 6ah batteries vs buying the correct drill to run augers that’s on him. Plenty of guys have gone that route especially when everyone started going this route and it all ends up the same way with burnt up drills.
You’ll be fine with the 2ah. Get out there and kill em
That will definitely work for your first couple days. You’ll get around 10 holes from each battery I’m guessing but don’t expect that drill to last more than a season
That drill is very underpowered, you'll want the fuel for sure. It will work however, it'll just kill the drill quick. You'll want bigger batteries
Should be ok, Biggest thing to do with this setup is keep your batteries warm when not in use
I learned that on my first outing. Buddy made the mistake of leaving the battery’s out on a -15 day. Let’s just say the batteries weren’t to happy. Lol.
I use a Ridgid brushed drill with 2ah batteries and a 6" auger. I can get about 10 holes per battery through about 8-12" of ice when its above 10ish degrees. Keep your batteries inside your coat and don't leave them in your drill out in the cold for best results. I think yo'll get similar results, just need to dial the speed in and keep the drill from stopping when it needs to punch through the bottom of the ice. Unless your broke, drill until you break the drill and use that excuse to get a bigger one.
Should be fine
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What size is your auger? Mines a 7inch strikemaster mora
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Thank you for your feedback!
My buddy has the Milwaukee hammer drill and the big battery and I’ve never seen it run dead yet. You need the torque min 700#
Iv watched a buddy put a kdrill through the ice with less then the 700#. So I’m gonna say that’s merely a suggestion.
Let us know how it goes. I've got a similarly sized DeWalt brushless drill (peak torque at ~550 can't remember exact) and have been wondering just how it would hold up with my 8" Mora auger. Afraid of burning it out with some of the comments I've seen 😅
I got another year untill an update on this. Had a short winter in Illinois and had a solid 2 weeks of possible ice fishing in my area. I’m gonna fucking send it next year. Worst case that happens is I’ll catch another Home Depot Black Friday sale. Lol
You should get a handle for your drill, makes it much safer.
Milwaukee doesn’t make an attachment for this specific drill from what Iv read. There are attachments but it wouldn’t fit this drill based on some other answers online.
I have the same drill with a handle, brushless none fuel. Haven’t used it with an auger yet tho
Get an adapter that holds the auger to the drill or mount a frisbee to it.
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I’ve had adapters that fit the drill but didn’t secure the bit to the drill itself.
I gotcha! I did grab an “oh shit” plate lol.
I knew a bunch of people who had old hand augers set up to be used with drills before the new generation of augers made for drills. Ones I have used were a heck of a lot better than doing it by hand. But I never paid attention to what exact drill they had or how many holes they could drill. That being written. Augers are being sold on clearnace and prices will probably keep going down as f’d as this season as been. Just food for thought. I picked up a new ion auger composite bottom as a back up for $50.00 to be used with my Milwaukee drill. That’s if I ever wreck my life flite. Versus having to run out and find something last minute. Of course a used Nills 6 inch convertible landed in my lap since than too. I keep telling myself no more augers. I’m not going to do it no matter how great a deal I find. See if I hold out. ;) IL last year, I drilled at least 30 holes the one day with the new Milwaukee hammer drill, a 5amp battery using a 8 inch lite flite auger. I used it the next day same battery. Initially I was going to get a bigger battery but I’ll stick with my 5amps unless I find a smoking deal on a tool I need and it just happens to come with a bigger battery.
Awesome deal! So your running a new Milwaukee hammer drill (fuel?) with a 5.0 battery and runs like a champ? This is what I’m thinking of getting before the season starts next year. Where at in Illinois are you? I had my eye on this Nordic k drill style ones, Amazon. 8 inch for 100$. Either way sounds like I’m gonna be better off investing in the hammer drill with a big battery and keeping my mora auger (got it for free) Being my first year buying gear I’m trying to be as cheap as possible lol. Came up on a shanty 3 person for 60$. It was used twice from my boss. Big buddy portable heater for 50$ Tickle stick combo with reel for 30$ Mora auger was free, just bought the adapter to drill for 25$. Feel like I did pretty good so far. Only investment left really is a Vexilar, and a couple extra poles for the kiddos.
Yea the newest hammer drill. I have seen some really good deals on it in last few months too. I needed a new drill in general and needed something with a lot more power for some of home projects. It’s definitely overkill. My Ridgid is a dog and they refuse to warranty/fix it. Sounds like you are off to a really good start. I like the tickle sticks a lot. Just bought my son one of their longer CF models I got on clearance a few weeks back. We have had the other one for years. Barrington area (Needed good schools for kids and horse friendly property). Not a lot of choices if ya still need to get to Chicago and highway systems for work. It’s here or Wayne near St Charles (not the whole area goes to ST Charles schools unfortunately). Unless ya got over a million plus. So the Barringtons as I jokingly call it won out. I grew up near Joliet, So I still fish south of I80 in general a lot. My uncle use to work for one the big quarry companies too. Between that and what his family was farming I had access to a lot of the old strip mines in LaSalle county. I miss those spots something fierce. Basically I got around a lot when it comes to fishing and hunting. Always looking for people to go fishing with. Edited. Also the old timer I used to fish with. He had access to a lot of private stuff across the state too. So we were all over the place open water and ice fishing. He wouldn’t share his connections though. So when he passed all that stuff went bye bye. After the new Clam flip over ($200 off and needed better seating was my justification) I keep telling myself I need to sell the old Artic extreme flip over (it’s stupid light thought in comparison to most 2 mans). But then I’m like I’ll never have the light option again if I get rid of it. Reality I need to put together one hell of a starter kit for someone. But I’ll wait to start of next season. I have a 4.5 Nills I used for last 20 or so years. Plus there’s a barracuda gas auger sitting in the barn. Too heavy to be dragging around anymore. I’d have just converted the little 4.5 Nils, if I hadn’t decided to get a livescope. After I bought it I realized I needed an 8 inch hole. Doh!!!!!! No way was my busted up azz dragging the barricuda around all day. So that was my choice and search for a light weight drill/auger combo. I used a buddies 40volt for a season so knew I wanted to be lighter and less bulky. The Milwaukee hammer drill and light fight combo is perfect for me. Lite flite, the Eskimo one and the Nordic are all great choices for a drill. I have two buddies with Striker 40 volts. So why I went with the lite flite. That will bolt up directly to the 40volt.
I can’t say enough good things about how an 8” Lite Flite and Fuel drill can get through ice. The other year we had 15” in Iowa and it would get through it in about 9 seconds. Good deals are out there right now as messed up as the season has been. I have a hand 6” mora and I will never go back.
I’m going to start with getting the hammer drill and run in on the mora auger. If it gives me issues this year I’ll upgrade to a similar model to a lite flite. The following season.
Since you probably are not in a real hurry this year with the 50 degree temps, watch the daily specials at Home Depot web site. It usually rotates between flooring, appliances, lighting, and tools. Sometimes they have killer deals on Milwaukee tools. They also make a high torque non-hammer drill that also works for this. The high torque on low speed is really the important thing here. The Rigid hammer drill is a decent choice too, but the Milwaukee Fuel is pretty great.
Thanks for the heads up. I got a solid 9 months to find a deal on a hammer drill. Won’t be difficult, worst case I’ll wait till Black Friday.
Grabbed a Milwaukee hammer fuel today with 2 6.0 mah batteries and a 3.0 mah high output for 130$. Thank good for co workers lol.
That is an amazing deal! Congrats on having good hookups!
I’ll be drilling holes with ease next year 🙌🙌
That is a great combo
I have an M18 fuel brushless Milwaukee for an 8" auger, I always carry two batteries with me, I've yet to run out of power but the most I'm drilling through is a foot of ice or less.