Last night before the rain I was planting some potatoes and was using my 3" auger to plant them. To save time on that. The area I was in did not have worked up soil but the potatoes should be fine. I went full depth of 12". One 1.3ah battery could do 3 holes. And I think heat protection on the battery kicked in because of the high current draw (I am sure). So I want to drill one hole then switch to other battery and do that. TO keep the battery a little cooler. But the drill motor got really warm. With it off I could blow through the vent and it was like a heater! I would think that the high current just made the motor so warm, almost hot. But is it a bad thing were I should give it a good break between like 3-4 holes? Don't know how to feel with this, the motor got hot so should I be of consideration?

 

If it is any consolation, the heat that the motor current produces is due to the intrinsic resistance of the wire and battery. It would seem that your drill is not designed for such heavy-duty work. The heat actually has a name, and is called 'Joule Heat', after one of the original scientific observers. It may be calculated as:
\(Q=I^2R\)
Q is heat, in units of watts
R is the wire resistance in ohms
I is units of amps

1 watt=3.4 BTU/hour

Do you know how many amps your drill uses at maximum? If you know this quantity, you could estimate the length of time that one battery should last.:
\(T=(Bat-amp.hr)/I_{max}\)

 

Don't just give the motor a break, run it with out a load periodically to cool the motor windings.

 

Don't just give the motor a break, run it with out a load periodically to cool the motor windings.

That way the fan can blow cool air through it.
However, swapping batteries to give the battery a break is good as it will allow the battery to cool down but also gives the chemistry time to catch up.

 

Well I am not sure my drill is 18v. I heard a 12v drill can pull up to 40 amps. So I figured around 30 amps sounds right. I would measure but my multi-meter never could measure current (for some reason). And with the auger I go pretty 'slow'. Meaning I do not force the auger into the ground to remove all that dirt. The quickest I have went was 30 seconds for a 3" diameter hole 12" deep. But it was a 'soft' spot. I should mention that there are rocks and it does bring the drill to a stop (don't worry I have a good grip), but it does have overload protection so it stops right away. I did run the drill with out load for air flow but wasn't sure it made a difference. Would there be a point were the drill creates to many BTU's to harm itself?
Here is some quick notes that I thought I should metion.
Brand: Ryobi
RPM: 1 - 400 , 2 - 1600 (I use torque (400) when using the auger)
V: 18
Battery: 1.3Amp (3) and a 4Amp

 

Any nameplate data on the actual motor? Things like voltage (we know that) and current or power? The greater the load placed on the motor (more work) the greater the current draw until eventually the motor reaches a "locked rotor" situation. Eventually something has to give and normally the motor will just burn up. The solution is often a bigger motor and battery pack. Anyway it helps to know what the motor is capable of because when you run it long enough beyond its limits your battery is screaming for mercy as well as the motor. I haven't a clue how much mechanical power (horsepower) is required for your auger. Motors generate heat when they run but you don't want to toast the motor.

Ron

 

With that kind of current draw when you are digging holes, all you can get from the battery packs is a few seconds or minutes of practical use. About the only thing that would do any good is an auxiliary power pack or something of that nature. And then you would have to add some sort of adapter/jack/plug so that it could be plugged into the drill. And then you would have to seriously be concerned about internal heat build-up.

 

The battery pack goes into over heat protection mode so I really do not think I am getting the most out of the pack. Which is why I plan on switching the battery out with one of the four others per hole. So there is cool down time. I do have the following information to help.
The drill*kit (I have many more, plus more batteries)
eReplacement (drill)
eReplacement (motor)
I did notice the information on the motor (in the picture) so I will not have to go home and take mine apart to look myself. It reads...
741470001 01*
L8-775Pc-730 **
10.0 v*
121i08/H*
I could not find anything else on the page
*I think that is what it says
** Was cut off so don't know the rest