ION Auger

[Huzza]

thinking of buying a 10" Ion Auger, anyone have any trouble with this auger, whats the maintenance like? how long before battery needs to be replaced?

[Gerry]

I've used the 8" for about 5 years and have never had a problem.
The original battery is still being used. I did charge it every time I used it.
I sold it to a friend 2 years ago and he still uses it. I did replace the blades one time only. I bought the 8" X and am more than happy with it to.

[pikeslayer22]

I have an 8 inch for sale

[bpoppa85]

Originally Posted by Huzza

thinking of buying a 10" Ion Auger, anyone have any trouble with this auger, whats the maintenance like? how long before battery needs to be replaced?

Personally I wouldn't buy a 10". I'm not knocking electric. I have the Ion X in the 8" model and wouldn't trade it for anything. When you do the math going from 8" to 10", you are increasing surface area by more than 150%. This time of year when the ice is 3' thick the ion X has no problem drilling it, but it is working for it. I can't imagine a 10" hole. You simply won't be able drill as many holes/charge as the 8" either. If you do any hole hopping, or multiple people are using your auger, I don't see it being a good combination.

My 2 cents.

[dutchpirate]

+1 on 8" over 10" Had my ION for two years now, no signs of it slowing down. Keep the battery from getting too cold and you shouldn't have any problems. Great customer service experience when the charger was damaged out of the box (LED broken). New charger shipped within days and told to keep the old one. It works fine, just can't tell when fully charged, but now I have two!

[RavYak]

If you want a 10 inch auger buy a gas or propane. The 10 inch ions struggle in thick ice and drill significantly fewer holes per charge. I personally wouldn't own a 10 inch ion unless I lived somewhere else that only gets up to say 12-15 inches of ice.

Whether or not an electric auger is right for you depends on the type of fishing you do. Electric augers work good for people that do day trips and primarily fish lakes that they already know and don't need to drill lots of holes on to try and find fish. If you like to move around and drill lots of holes then you will need at least one extra battery, maybe even more or some way to charge them if you do multi day trips.

When selecting an auger I find it fairly simple.

Gas augers work fine if you know how to take care of them, the main disadvantage is having to transport gas(which really sucks if you use a car or suv but isn't an issue if you use a truck). They are also the cheapest and some models have more power then propane or electric augers. A well tuned gas auger will also work the best in really cold conditions(-30 etc).

Propane augers require less maintenance(although you do have to keep an eye on oil since they are a 4 stroke) but they are a bit more pricey to operate since the small propane bottles are more expensive then gas. They burn cleaner and can be operated inside tents and shacks etc. If it is really cold out you have to try and keep the propane warm but that is fairly easy to do.

Electric are maintenance free other then charging the battery. They are quiet and emit no fumes. They are more expensive but some would argue that they don't have maintenance/operation costs although that isn't true since your battery will eventually have to be replaced and you can buy a lot of propane/gas for the price of a battery. Electric also have the greatest limitations on capability as outlined above.

[pinelakeperch]

Originally Posted by RavYak

If you want a 10 inch auger buy a gas or propane. The 10 inch ions struggle in thick ice and drill significantly fewer holes per charge. I personally wouldn't own a 10 inch ion unless I lived somewhere else that only gets up to say 12-15 inches of ice.

Whether or not an electric auger is right for you depends on the type of fishing you do. Electric augers work good for people that do day trips and primarily fish lakes that they already know and don't need to drill lots of holes on to try and find fish. If you like to move around and drill lots of holes then you will need at least one extra battery, maybe even more or some way to charge them if you do multi day trips.

When selecting an auger I find it fairly simple.

Gas augers work fine if you know how to take care of them, the main disadvantage is having to transport gas(which really sucks if you use a car or suv but isn't an issue if you use a truck). They are also the cheapest and some models have more power then propane or electric augers. A well tuned gas auger will also work the best in really cold conditions(-30 etc).

Propane augers require less maintenance(although you do have to keep an eye on oil since they are a 4 stroke) but they are a bit more pricey to operate since the small propane bottles are more expensive then gas. They burn cleaner and can be operated inside tents and shacks etc. If it is really cold out you have to try and keep the propane warm but that is fairly easy to do.

Electric are maintenance free other then charging the battery. They are quiet and emit no fumes. They are more expensive but some would argue that they don't have maintenance/operation costs although that isn't true since your battery will eventually have to be replaced and you can buy a lot of propane/gas for the price of a battery. Electric also have the greatest limitations on capability as outlined above.

Perfect summation of the three options.

[bucksman]

get the RAZR at costco

[old dog]

I have a 10” Strikemaster electric auger. I keep my 10 “ gas Strikemaster for a back up and haven’t used it since I purchased the electric I love the electric. Presently have the extension on it due to ice thickness. PS the auger is the same for gas or electric.

[Habfan]

Originally Posted by bucksman

get the RAZR at costco

X2

[Dweb]

I can't find the razr on the Costco website anymore , damn

[eyewhomper]

Strike master electric way better just got one for Christmas a buddy has the ion and it made his look like child's play I cut 14 holes by the time he cut 10 both are great machines strikemsster also came with extra battery i also like the design better all for very low price of 800 bones

[yoteblaster]

I have the 10 " ION. Love it but in thick ice it doesn't drill a lot of holes per charge. Still would NEVER go back to gas. Had the auger 3 years and no issues

[Isopod]

Just remember to look humble when you ask your gas-auger buddies to finish drilling your holes for you in March, when the ice is 3 feet thick...

[skawtty]

Originally Posted by pikeslayer22

I have an 8 inch for sale

Tried to PM u but think my account is too new. Can you pm me price and where you are located?

Thanks

[mooseknuckle]

Originally Posted by Isopod

Just remember to look humble when you ask your gas-auger buddies to finish drilling your holes for you in March, when the ice is 3 feet thick...

Spare battery in the clip, but make sure you do the same when your plug fouls, pull the chord right out, run outta gas, or the 9-10 other things that can go wrong with a gas over electric.

[dilo19]

Wouldn’t recommend Razr 40v lithium. I bought one from Costco in January and after 3 1/2 holes in 36 inches of ice yesterday it lost power and quit!! You can smell burning plastic in the motor.
Going back to gas never had problems or the thought of bringing a back up auger.

[Isopod]

Originally Posted by mooseknuckle

Spare battery in the clip, but make sure you do the same when your plug fouls, pull the chord right out, run outta gas, or the 9-10 other things that can go wrong with a gas over electric.

LOL, no kidding, both have their issues. I thought my 15 year-old or so gas auger was seriously messed up earlier this winter, so investigated going electric. Yikes, any auger is kind of pricy for the number of times I make it out each winter! In the end I got my gas auger up and running smooth again, which was good on one hand but also kind of a bummer since I'd gotten excited about getting a new electric auger. Since then, I've been out and heard some electrics struggling to get through 3 feet of ice, so I dunno. They sure sound a lot quieter though. Each have their pluses and minuses.

[calgarygringo]

Like most tools we buy you have to buy what works for your use. 3-4 feet of ice and drill 30 holes a day an electric would be out in my area.
I don't drill many holes and down south right now we have 2 feet of ice and usually don't get too much more than that an electric makes more sense. If I drilled a lot of holes a day down south I would have to think really hard but since we don't have a lot of years with 3 feet or more of ice it makes more sense than up north in my experience.
Same for up north I would buy a gas with a 51 or 71cc engine not the smaller ones. Not as critical down here but if you are drilling a 10 inch hole and need an extension the extra power is great to have.

[Habfan]

Originally Posted by dilo19

Wouldn’t recommend Razr 40v lithium. I bought one from Costco in January and after 3 1/2 holes in 36 inches of ice yesterday it lost power and quit!! You can smell burning plastic in the motor.
Going back to gas never had problems or the thought of bringing a back up auger.

I haven’t drilled through ice that thick with mine, I do have a gas auger still and might keep it for that reason. The RAZR augers are sold out everywhere I look, your bad review is the 1st I’ve seen. I hope mine keeps on going the way it has. I love it.

[kenh]

i have drilled through 40 plus inches with my strikemaster electric with no issues

[gube]

Used my new 10” ion last week. Drilled about 20 holes with no problem. Not sure how much juice was left on the battery. Had a fully charged spare but didn’t need to use it.