Early ice auger question.

[wombat1947]

I have a 8 inch Nils high velocity auger. Was wanting to buy a cordless drill adapter for it. I look online and come up empty handed. Direction on this would be great. Also been looking at new cordless drills. So many out there not sure which one would be best? Thanks in advance.
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[6x6]

I have been running a Milwaukee Fuel Brushless drill on mine for two years now. Absolutely flawless. In my opinion, it's all about the battery, not the drill. A high capacity battery will have you punching holes in the ice all day. I actually run two augers with the same drill. My NILS, and my kdrill. Both great augers.
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[RonPaulFan]

I have all three sizes of the Nils. They cut so many holes so easy, I haven't even bothered to have a cordless drill with me. Am I that energetic? Perhaps. But, the Nils is lightweight, so really I'm saving energy by not hauling a motor around with me.

Besides it fits my style to keep moving fast and covering a lot of ice making holes until I'm right over the fish.

For those who prefer the drill to do the work, the Nils is so efficient that it makes sense to me that it would be practical to power it with a cordless drill. I use a Hilti for work. They can shift down to lower gear ratios to give lots of torque.
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[wbb]

Just a quick search turned up this on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Ice-Auger-Cordles...B004C75G2O

Last year my Ryobi 18v drill (the pricier hammer drill model) had no trouble running the nils 6 inch auger. The standard Ryobi 18v doesn't really have enough torque. Cut through nearly 2 foot of ice in well under a minute. I had multiple holes punched in less time than my old gas auger took to warm up.
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[Kent]

[size 2]I called Nils USA [/size][font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"][size 2][font "Arial"](Ph. [802)658-1070] an[/font][font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"][font "Arial"]d beginning this year they [/font][font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"][font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"][font "Arial"]offer a cordless convertible adapter that one can attach to the hand ([/font][font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"][font "Arial"]blue handle[/font][font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"][font "Arial"]) augers and then [/font][font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"][font "Arial"]attach it to a drill. [/font]
[inline "Nils adapter.jpg"][font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"]Their web[font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"]site has been hacked but he directed me to the above picture on Facebook.

[/font][/font]He said one removes the handle from the current auger and bolts the drill attachment to the auger handle. With the large plate if [font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"]it detaches from the drill it will not fall through the hole. [/font] I am going to purchase the 8" model and try it with both my 8" and 6" (it works on both) Nils hand auger drills. Directly from Nils, [font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"]t[/font]he 8" model sells for $[font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"]49.95 and the 6"[font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"] model sells for $48.95. He estimated [font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"]s[/font]hipping and handling to be from [font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"]$7.95 to $8[font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"].9[font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"]5. [font "Trebuchet MS, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, sans-serif"]I trust it will be even cheaper from other sources.[/font] [/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font][/font]
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[wiperhunter2]

Does this mean you are not going to sell your Nils ice auger now?
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[Kent]

[quote wiperhunter2]

Does this mean you are not going to sell your Nils ice auger now?

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Correct, I will likely keep both of them.
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[6x6]

I got my NILS drill adapter for the blue 8" auger from Cabelas. It was $35 at the time. It has been just fine. I think it was called the Kovac adapter, or something like that. Specifically for the NILS. Just in case anyone is shopping around for options.
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[Kent]

I looked at the Kovac adapter, but not sure I am comfortable with relying on a bungee strap to protect my auger blade from falling through the ice. What has been your experience?

[inline "Novac Ice Master Nils Ice Auger Adapter.png"]
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[albinotrout]

I like the idea of the large plate. I however have a laser drill so it won't fit.
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[6x6]

I've had no issues with the Kovac coming loose. The cord is pretty heavy duty, and easy to operate.
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[Delement87]

the clam conversion kit is hands down the best i think..
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[Jmorfish]

Read again what Delement said....I agree...I've been using my Clam conversion kit on 20v heavy duty DeWalt drill for 3 seasons now, and it'll turn heads from anybody using any other set-up...electric or gas...just make sure you have at least 4 ah batteries....I always carry a spare, but normally get 55 to 70 holes drilled with one fully charged battery...I'm using Clam's 6" auger, and I'm talking Utah's ice, anywhere from 6" to 24" (combined)...Guluk...
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[nofish2]

I run a 8" Nils with a Kovac adapter and I have a 18 volt lithium driving it. I don't know how you would improve on it. The strap works great and you don't have disk spinning inches from your fingers.
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[Jmorfish]

Hey NoFish2 --- FYI---looks like you may be pretty new on site...and Welcome...but if you want Wambat 1947 to see your message, you should click the reply to him, then he'll get an e-mail notification of a reply...Guluk...
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[wombat1947]

Thanks guys for the help. Think I have decided to go with a Bosch 36 volt drill. And as for the adapter . Think I will try to get one machined and welded for me. Got a good friend that runs a machine shop. See what we can come up with. The one from Nils looks nice but the price seems a little steep for me. See how it works out. Come on hard deck!!!!
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[dubob]

[quote wombat1947]Thanks guys for the help. Think I have decided to go with a Bosch 36 volt drill.[/quote][font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Wow; talk about overkill. [] But hey, it's your money and you will have to deal with the 50% increase in weight over a Milwaukee M18 Fuel. Like Joe, I get 50 or more holes with one battery charge from my 18 volt Milwaukee. Weighs about 4 lbs compared to the 6 lb plus of the Bosch 36. And the Milwaukee from CPO only costs about $220 shipped. What will the Bosch set you back? Or do you already own it?[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]And as to making an adapter, if you don't get it 100% perfect in alignment, it will introduce some unwelcomed vibration when turning.[/#800000][/font]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#800000]Bottom line is the electric drill powered ice augers ARE the wave of the future and you will never want to go back to a gas powered setup once you've used a drill system for a season.[/#800000][/font]
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[Kent]

[quote Delement87]

the clam conversion kit is hands down the best i think..

[/quote]

I can see that it would work great for drilling ice holes; however, I don't want to remove my chuck and have my drill attached to the Clam conversion kit. I want my drill readily available to use to attach my ice tent stakes and for other uses.
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