The Curious Case of M28: Milwaukee's Little Known 28 Volt Line 

A lot of the M28 stuff felt/looked/performed like corded brushed tools with quick and dirty DC conversion. Fine for the era, but pretty outclassed for 10+ years now.

I was involved with a company that Milwaukee was working with on the injection molding side right around the time they were acquired by TTI. The M28 line was envisioned to become the mainline, but 2 things happened: - the cost of the cells made the batteries prohibitively expensive, especially for consumer but even for fleet/pro use - brushless motors and their ESCs came down in cost significantly, basically negating the need for very high voltage batteries Milwaukee went with 18V (5s LiIon) because, with fewer cells, and now cheaper BLDC motors, 28V was not needed.

I would love to see more old, maybe even crappy tools, it's interesting looking at the guts and seeing all the reasons why today's are so much better

I worked at home depot years ago and bought the complete M28 set when they were brand new drill light, circular saw, sawzall, impact wrench. For years and years I waited for Milwaukee to expand the M28 product line but they never did. Eventually my batteries needed replacing and they were like $200 each so I sold off all the tools and went to the M18 platform. They were great tools just a little clunky due to their size. The M28 battery pack is similar in size to the M18 12ah pack.

"Turns out you can do quite a lot with not a lot of length... if you're using the right tool".... Definitely something my wife has said

The battery pack going in from the back or the front was the standard through their older line of 14.4 and 18 volt tools, pre-M18; this design was great and used to be my go to as if you load in the front the tool is well balanced for down and forward facing work while loading from the back made it a lot easier to use overhead.

Lol DP putting work on the bottom flew right over my head at first

I bought the v28 kit if I remember correctly. Hammer drill, light, saw, sawzall. Also bought a bandsaw. Ended up getting some m28 batteries to replace the v28’s that went bad(all of them went bad), but I still wasn’t impressed with the run time. Ended up selling the tools except the bandsaw. Gave that and the batteries to a friend.

This was a really fun review! Maybe you should do a series of name brand throw back impacts and unknown models lines of tools. For instance I didn’t know this M28 line even existed before this video. I’ve got what I believe to be the original gen 1 Ingersoll cordless 18v lithium 1/2” impact with the cool insert and twist to lock battery packs. I would love to see how it does. How about some of the old NiCd Snap Ons or any of their competitors? Old school store bought models as well. I understand that is a big deep hole up dive into but if narrowed down somewhat, I think it could create some very interesting videos and show just how far cordless impacts have come since they first came out.

Hard to have too many DP jokes…I’m glad you were able to sneak one in.

More retro reviews! I'd love to see how the 18v milwaukee stuff from 20 years ago does that I used back when I was a cable guy in Toronto (well, the other guys had these, I dreamed of one, mostly I ran giant extension cords to power my trusty Makita hammer drill)

The V28 (and successor M28) were Milwaukee's first Li-Ion Tools. The reversed batteries, at least for the hammer drill, helped at times with a better weight balance. The older NiCad 18's had this function too! I had been looking at getting it, but now will instead get the M18. I have the V28 hammerdrill, sawzall, circular saw, and light kit. Also have the shop vac, and a radio which does V28/M28/V18, M18, M12 batteries! The light has some sort of issue, but the rest work fine with the M28 battery I got to replace after a decade when my V28 batteries actually started to die.

Im a power lineman and we ran those m28 impacts for a while. We liked them because they were lighter than a gas powered drill lol. We used and abused those impacts and they held up great!! They are super bulky but we are rarely in a tight position like a mechanic would be. They now upgraded us to the m-18 impacts and they are even better! Great video on a great all around tool

You guys are great. Love this nostalgia video. Would love to see more like an old corded video. Have a great day. 👍

I work at a Mechanical Contractor, our tool crib still carries a few batches of V28 SDS Plus Drills. They still kick like a mule!

The M28 impact wrench worked well. I had accidently bought mine as pin detent instead of ball detent. There was a kit to convert it. Overtime it had an issue that it would only work sometimes when I pulled the trigger. I had it serviced twice they could not find the issue. I eventually took it apart and found a crack in the brushes which would wedge in the brush slot causing it to stop working. It was top of the line at the time it was released but the m18 HTIW can destroy it and its lighter and smaller.

We have a 1/2 M28 in our tool room where I work. We have had it for years, so I can say it is durable. We bought it to go places we couldn't get a pneumatic impact. It serves it's purpose, but when I use it, normally on flanges and such from 4" to 10" steam lines, I always have to go back and torque them with a regular ratchet. Great video though.

I actually started out with M28 and moved into the M18, M12 lines it looked like they were cordless versions of the corded tools of the time I had Portable Bandsaw and a bunch of other tools that worked great. The first generation of M28 battery would self discharge pretty quickly. I bought my M28 stuff around 2006, cutting edge for the time. Thanks for comparing old to new. Times have changed

I still have a M28 1/2" hammer drill that is probably 15+ years old and still works good! All my other cordless stuff is newer M18 fuel.

Have m28 set from way back plumbing apprentice. I still use the 28V drill for 2 5/8 hole auger it plows and is still a ape of a drill . the sawzall has been outclassed though its still a beast. Overall the m18 is powerfull and way more light and usefull .The m28 batteries were a nightmare also. i have 2.5 left over from my 6 overall.

I, personally, would only use this for driving lag bolts into wood for basic deck structure. Sometimes I wish the corded ones I have weren't so aggressive. On another note, nobody seems to know this but you could have always had these or any batteries rebuilt at Batteries Plus for a fraction of the price AND you can opt for higher Ah depending on the size of the battery case. I've had the old Nickel Hydride batteries rebuilt quite a few times.

Holy shit, I grew UP on this impact! My dad ran V28/M28 until this year, actually, when I got him the M18 Hi-Torque for Father's Day this year. It waited until then to give up. They're wonderful old tools.

I still using my 28 volt hammer drill, sawzall, circ saw and impact. I bought the set when I was still contracting and it was fantastic. Yes the 18 v brushless has caught up to it. The difference now I use it in the shop and on the farm instead of contracting. At the time it was new tech, it kicked butt.

The m28 battery pack was used in a blood/fluid warmer system used in the Army and worked pretty alright for that.

Do you keep a straight face when you prepare the dialog on these reviews? Because I sure don't listening to them. I don't think I've ever heard a better mix of actual good honest information with sly dialog. Keep it up! Not only do you directly influence my buying choices, you make me chuckle the entire time I'm learning. One of the best review channels out there!

Very cool. Amazing to see that build quality that gave Milwaukee their great reputation. Unfortunate that we will never see that again, probably from even the German brands.

Fellers I would love to see how this compares to the snap on missile silo 1/2” of yesteryear as well. There’s a few old timers still running those guns and I would love to see some numbers on that. Thanks for all you do.

You are full of surprises with your videos 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 great video and surprising to say the least

“Reverse cowgirl action “ lmao I love it great video!

Our Rescue Squad uses M28 Milwaukee batteries to power the Jaws and Cutters. And that's putting out over 100k lbs/ft²

Quite the odd, interesting tool...much like this channel 😏😁

I bought a second hand 28volt Milwaukee from my SnapOn rep, in 2007, to replace 12 and 18 volt SnapOn impact wrenches. I've still got that Milwaukee and it's still silky smooth to use and is mostly used on factory plant and agricultural machinery. The SnapOn units didn't seem at the time as well made. I understand the 28 volt impact wrench was developed from their 120/240 volt corded unit, and until recently the corded version was still in Milwaukee's catalogue in Europe. The 28 volt batteries are still available but expensive. I also bought a brand new 28 volt impact wrench and 28 volt drill some years ago. Great kit, that was built I understand in the US. I use nearly all Milwaukee gear now up to the extended anvil 1 inch impact. If I could change anything it would be to have built in the US or in Europe. Regards k

just saw this. im a m28 collector. i have the full seat even the radio. this is the best set Milwaukee made

Milwaukee has a higher voltage line that's been around for years and they actively support with new products. It's called MX and it's 72 volts. More suited to riding mowers than impact wrenches though if they ever use it in a consumer product.

I like the 28/24v tools that can be converted to external power like on trucks and machines for back up power working in isolated areas, I have an old Goodyear 24v impact probably 15 years old that still performs as good as it did new and has served me well in remote situations hooked up to 24v starter batteries

I'm glad Milwaukee actually stuck with the M18 line. I got so tired of kitting out my work vans only to have the company abandon the platform for a few extra volts. While I have my issues with Milwaukee quality lately, you can't complain about how long Milwaukee has committed to M12 & M18.

That battery mounting setup is a holdover from the nicd 18v, v18, and v28

I had the old circular saw, drill, and Sawzall in 28 volts. The Sawzall was the only one in the group that performed like a corded tool. But at the time the M28 platform was the most powerful battery-powered platform I could find. I did replace them when all the batteries started dying with M18 but it felt like I was going backward at the time. But soon after that since I got the brushed tools. Then I learned that the brushless motors seemed to make the difference. I still have them packed away for some reason.

I've had my m28s for 15 years. So many stories from build a camp on a island 14 years ago to rebuilding a porch/balcony 2 days ago. I had the impact in my off-roader and it always did everything I needed it to do. Yes I have needed to replace batteries, but I have beaten the tar out of them and I can always count on them to work.

LMAO "The cadillac eldorado of impacts" that was classic material TTC you guys are great! Keep it up

I can't afford Milwaukee tools. I hope you continue testing the handtools. Thanks for the videos and I'll look for the next one Friday.

Interesting. Thanks guys

That's the old 18v ni-cad tool adapted for lithium. It's 28v fully charged at 4v/cell but Li-ion cells run down to 2.5v/cell (17.5v). They probably just limit power to the equivalent of 18v as the battery runs down. Now that the batteries are dead, I'm thinking of running my old one at higher voltage to see how much power I can get from it, (24v, maybe 36v)

Please do a tool test on pipe wrenches! I am sure almost every mechanic has grabbed for one to turn a completely rounded nut. Love your channel!

Yess.... Been really curious to see this one! Can we roll it back just a little bit more and do the v18/v28 back when Ingersoll owned them before TTI? The battery flip like that was what the original v18 tools did right before the Lith-Ion stuff came out

You can count on DP putting in work on the bottom🤣 Subscribed just for that

I had one of these 28v impacts, it did ok, but I gave it to my son and bought a DeWalt 20v and love it. Beats the heck out of the Milwaukee impact.

The housing looks much nicer and cleaner than tools now. Reminds me of a Hilti housing. Clean, smooth, no transformer molding and pointless vents.

I had that exact gun 10-12 years ago. Back then it was awesome. I still use their other 28V products. I really wish they would develop the 28v as much as the other lines. My 28v drill, sawzall, vacuum and grinder that are still old technology will burry my 18v. Milwaukee, please please please develop the 28V. You’re sitting on a superior product but not even looking at it.

We had one of these at my last job, as well as an M28 hammer drill and (I think) sawzall. I really wasn't too impressed with them - most of us just went for M18 or DeWalt before grabbing an M28.

I believe the majority of the M28 tools sold are to fire departments, or were, a lot are switching from the M28 to the M18 on there fire apparatus, but lots of M28 still in service.

Ha I remember always wanting a V28 (later M28) 0779 impact! But, I didn't have the $$$ at the time they were current tools (note also if you account for inflation these are considerably more expensive than they might seem). Definitely decent performance if you consider when it was from and the fact that it actually does what it says it will in terms of torque. But wow that thing is gi-normous! Glad I didn't get into this stuff until 18V era and brushless tools, but nice to see this actually get tested today.

My old (pre lithium ion) Milwaukee drill had the reversible battery too! So handy I wish they kept it

First time i have seen the 28v i have a old 24v rigid kit from 06 that still has amazi g power for a hammer drill. Wonder how that 28v would do with a new max torq m18 motor in it would probably still be smoth but should be super powerful just a thought. Thanks for another cool video and thank you for your videos i started using Milwaukee since i started watching your videos a year ago. Have a good day!!!!!!

This reminds me of the 1st crop of 18V/20V brushed high torque impacts like the DeWalt DCF889 I used to own. When I got it replaced with the DCF899 I tested them both on my truck's wheels and suspension and there was no contest in speed and torque. The only thing I liked about the 889 more is its instant response to the trigger, something that I haven't been able to find on any Brushless tool be it Red, Teal, Blue, Yellow, Orange or Lime (the ones I've owned so far) PS. It would be great if you can either get your hands on some 1st gen high torque brushed 18V/20V tools like the DCF 889 (or its Craftsman and Porter Cable clones) , Milwaukee's 2663-20 or Makita's XWT04

DP always putting in the work on the bottom.....Noice.

First time I used one I nearly sprained my wrist. I got sick of the lack of power in battery drills years ago in Australia and imported one from the US. The battery reversal is not for tight spaces BTW, its to change the centre of gravity to make it easier to use.

I have the corded version of this tool. It completed many a job for me and was basically indestructible. But my M12 now gets 100% of the jobs this did.

I have that same impact and I can tell you that it has been used and abused and still works perfect. I'm betting with all the bearings and such, It'll out last most of its competition.

I purchase the V28 about 12 years ago replaced the batteries to the m28 and still use the drill / 6.5" hand saw / sawzall and flashlight . Plus I have the M18 and 12 volt units at work. Still the best investment over Makita 18 volt I had 2 makita drills fail white case .

Still bringing the DP jokes along 😂😂😂 keep it up TTC

I will say I’m an electrician and this tool was used daily and hard I used hole hawgs all the time for roughing a house but once I discovered it’s capabilities I never have used holehawg again … this tool was used and abused daily for 10 years of its life and held up remarkably well I ran that thing so hot you burn your self and if drill bit was exceptionally sharp and you put it up to your top plate to drill if you weren’t prepared it would snap your wrist and you knew it … badass machine…

I'd really love to see some air ratchets, especially the SP-7730

Love the precision

I still have mine. I bought it when it was still V28, so the case doesn’t fit my M28 battery. The (power interface) form factor of the V28 and M28 batteries are compatible with the old “classic” 18V bats. I can’t tell you how annoyed I was when I bought M18 batteries for my old tools, only to learn they weren’t the same. Good times.

I'm actually curious about a lot of these old tools. I have an old Dewalt 18 volt that I still use occasionally with an M18 adapter.

I had the m28 line. On,y piece i have left, is the sawzall. I liked it. It was a decent line. Live confidently and peacefully

This is an impact that looks like it was “quality over quantity”. Never a bad thing. It’s just a shame that in the last decade quality on most of these tools have suffered to reduce the weight of tools. Seems like there’s a fairly happy medium on pro tools but this looks like it was engineered to last a lifetime. It’s a shame they opted out of the battery platform

Had the M28 and M18 combo kits. Bought back in 2007

Pretty cool you can buy a brand new tool and an antique all at the same time lol.great video.

👍👍👍👍thanks for the video

"DP putting in work on the bottom", smooth!

Ah man. I know you said it was smooth but I still figured a wrist breaking score was deserved or would be given for fun if nothing else. Keep up the awesome content.

I still have the M28 drill, circular saw and sawzall. Batteries are all dead now. 😢. The switching the battery help overcome the size issue with the M28 cordless drill. To be fair to the M28 it is 20 year old technology. Another great video! PS can we get mancaver to frankinstien the M28?

you guys should do a showdown of those mini-ratchet bit kits. the type that comes with allen/torx/screwdriver bits

I remember buying a V28 kit back many many many years ago. At the time it was a huge upgrade over the Makita Nicad stuff i had (the red pod batteries) Then later had to buy a couple of newer M28 batteries (M28 was sort of the 2nd gen rebrand of V28). But very quickly was forgotten. Seems Milwaukee put their RnD into M18 and just sort of left M28 to die. But you can still get the batteries

I have a m28 grinder but need to order a charger things a beast

It's not little known of. I've had the Milwaukee m28 system for well over a decade it was the original OG Powerhouse cordless tools. I still have all of them the saw the grinder the drill the Sawzall the light the hammer drill chipper vacuum and it still performs well to this day

They are tough tools. I bought the original V28 in 2005 and only managed to kill the controller on an angle grinder (weak by modern standards). The Sawzall is a match for the corded unit. The design philosophy was like contemporary Milwaukee corded tools so they may last until the heat death of the universe. Batteries are expensive though making them obsolete unless you also have M18 tools and use adapters or have enough accumulated that it's worthwhile. I still have one battery from 2011! Durability was excellent. A modern version could be really impressive but would be more a professional tool due to cost. It's trivially cheap to add a fresh kit of cordless tools every few years and the smaller ones are actually the most useful for most users so my recent fleet is DeWalt and Makita. The old stuff isn't worth buying new but it paid for itself by the later 00's so any use afterwards is gravy. I use the Sawzall all the time though I bought a more powerfu DeWalt 60V for the heck of it since I've ample batteries.

These tools were originally designed for the *V28* platform, but the batteries were soon "upgraded" to to create the M28. The V28 used 7 oddball 26700 cells (mine were made in Canada) and good luck finding them. Unfortunately, the cells were turds and this is likely why they switched to M28, which at least used then-standardized 18650's, though it needed 14 of them. I got mine in March of 2006, when Milwaukee was marketing the V28 battery as having "more than 10 years of research and testing", claiming that it was the arrival of lithium-ion tools that could replace corded equivalents. In reality, the 28-volt product lines rapidly became obsolete as M18 sales figures came in. I took my batteries to a service center a year or two after purchase to be tested, but they had no way to test capacity and simply reported that the cells were all 4.1V (balanced) and thus didn't quality for warranty work. I felt rather abandoned after investing $750 in a kit of these tools, as M18 turned out to have a much longer lifespan. In fact, Milwaukee's own "history" web page skips over V28/M28 entirely and implies that M18 and M12 were its first li-ion power tools, which were later upgraded to FUEL, though I can find no detailed history anywhere online before FUEL was introduced in 2012. Milwaukee even says, "We would continue to invest in new technology without the need for our users to change platforms - we’d never leave them behind." So I guess those of us who invested in the wrong platform no longer exist to them :( . I knew some other folks that moved to V28/M28 and most regretted it as M18 remained viable after V28/M28 died and was never spoken of again. I like the V28 tools, which are indeed "heavy" duty and loved the whole platform at first as this was the first battery circle saw and sawzall that allowed me to leave my drop cord in the truck, but the batteries had terrible Winter performance and began showing noticeable loss in runtime after just 6-8 months of work as an HVAC contractor. My tools are still perfect, but the batteries have been useless for over a decade and I'm trying to figure out how best to replace the cells with 21700's or 26650's or to at least create a 24-28V AC power adapter for them; these packs had a nominal voltage of 25V. 26700's are just a strange size, making replacement difficult as the case and frame were made to fit. Today's battery tools are awesome, but old Milwaukee corded tools will last longer than a human lifetime, while battery tools become useless if you don't or can't purchase new batteries occasionally. I've got a hand-me-down Milwaukee corded drill that will work perfectly long after I'm gone. Cordless tools are convenient, but they're also convenient for company shareholders.

Had one of these years ago at a tv station for bolting down sat dishes anx occasional huge rack installs. Was beyond heavy and the batteries did not last long. I agree that the m28 was very smooth. Dont remember if the bosses refused the price to replace batteries or some lowlife stole the milw from the shop , but at some point that drawer was empty.

Ah, thanks for this,TTC. I always wondered how it compared. I too bought that impact way back when they came with V28 batteries. No surprise, the batteries went bad. (Milwaukee punted on the 5yr warranty, when I sent them in at 4 years) Bought cheap Amazon M28s, which did ok (ish). Then the trigger quit working. At that point I punted on it and got the M18 high torque, albiet begrudgingly. (And only after I could clearly see it was heads and shoulders above the Dewalt I swore I would buy). Still have a nice V28 drill, shop vac, and radio... and one functioning M28 amazon battery. Thanks TTC. It was great to see this test. Amazing how far things have come.

I still use a 14.4 volt Milwaukee drill I've had for about 20 years. It also has the reversible battery.

First, I love your channel. Why is there no love for corded electric impacts. In my line of work I rely on my corded tools. I tried cordless but they don’t last long enough to get one small task done but the corded do it without a sweat. I cannot use air tools.

I have that one. it was awesome in its day.

Straight to the antiques road show it goes. She’s grandpa’s problem now…

I've always thought "old" Milwaukee cordless tools were of much higher quality then the new stuff, of course the performance pales. My first Gen 18 Volt tools were indestructible, but my new stuff is way lighter and more powerful. It's SAD that my "new Milwaukee" drill is using my "OLD Milwaukee" chuck since the new chucks suck so badly.

Would love to see you test out how much you lose when going with a Model 2865 7/16" hex Milwaukee impact to something like 1/2" square or 3/4" square drive. Was considering grabbing one but would love to know how it compares to the regular square drive impacts.

I’ve worked with a few guys who have this stuff, they usually like reminiscing about how great nicad was too. The next brand they’ll invest in will probably be ryobi.

I remember them well ,I purchased the hammer drill, also I remember the 24vt nicad DeWalt and the 36volt DeWalt

I had a 28v hammer drill over 10 years ago, if it hung up it would killl you like a rodeo bull. When the battery went bad, it cost more than the tool so I trashed it.

I guess that over the top quality is what the old Milwaukee was known for. Fascinating.

I actually got most of a V28 kit for free from a friend who went to M18 when it first came out. That thing was beat to shit, but still took shit off with zero hassle. Reason why i went M18 eventually.

Reminds me of my old Porter Cable impact 😌

As an owner of several 28v tools and 12 batteries I’m vested in batteries or I would love to get 18v tools … I will say when 28 v came out it was an absolute animal… also batteries lasted forever… the problem is 28v battery brand new the battery is old and it’s capabilities of holding a charge is probably down 35% from when tool first came out… I believe batteries are priced around 150-180.00 and just don’t have the full capabilities…frustrating if you only have 2 batteries… anyway you slice it 18 is a vast improvement over 28 but that’s only because the 28v came before it … it was arguably the badass tool and the best feature is tool accepted battery forward or backwards and 18 would have that feature I believe it would be perfect tool…

its official. every couple weeks make a video of older tools. some old old air impacts are still being used today

My old man still has the original 14 volt ni cad Milwaukee drill driver. Still works.

Reminds me of the first time I got my hands on a cordless impact wrench, some Dewalt borrowed from an uncle, circa 2007: large and -largely- a little bit disappointing. Good thing I wasn't a mechanic or anything.

Back in 2002 I was real proud of my milwaukee 14.4 1/2" drill. I think the 28v stuff is roughly the same vintage, but I'm not sure.

We use some M28 tools at work the best tool in the line that we have is the M28 vacuums. I wonder if Milwaukee brought a new 2022 Impact into this line made it a Fuel and with a newer XC 5.0 M28 battery how well it would perform?