Just before the end of the year Milwaukee Tool released the first wave of their brand new M28 Hammer Drill 0726-22 ($419, Ohio Power Tool). The new drill sports an impressive 750 in.lbs torque more than any other hammer drill of its kind in 18V-36V range. It also slimmed down in size to about the same size as the new M18 hammer drills (see our post M18 hammer vs M18 hammer for more on those). The difference in size in weight of the batteries is another story all together.
The new M28 batteries are 100% forward-backward compatible with the Milwaukee V28 Tools, however we did get a service update that some of the V28 plastic tool cases have trouble with the slightly different battery profile, nothing a heat gun can’t fix. The new batteries will provide many advances including more power, longer runtime and DPM (digital power management). The new batteries however are not “Red Lithium” and there was no mention of the colder working temperatures we have seen with some of the “Red Lithium” batteries. See more pictures of the 2 drills in this album.
We are really happy to see Milwaukee investing in the 28 Volt tool line and upgrading their batteries as well as launching new 28 volt tools. We can remember back when lithium ion technology became cost effective for power tools and every manufacturer came out with heavy duty tools in 28V or 36V featuring more power and runtime. It was also right around the time building was at an all time high and there was more money in many tool crib kiddies. Of course not much later it became clear most people want lightweight, less expensive compact 12V & 18V tools, especially home owners. Unfortunately for the professionals who were actually using these heavy duty tools the new product development and upgrades pretty much fell off. Home Centers completely dropped the lines but for professional supply houses like Ohio Power Tool these are still very much the popular sellers. As they continue to upgrade the M28 tools it is very likely the Milwaukee M28 line will be the stand alone player for the heavy duty professional cordless tools. In our mind that would be a huge feather in the cap for the boys in red.
Since many of the M28 and V28 models share the same model number when you go to the Milwaukee M28 tool page you will see M28 on the tools which have already converted and V28 for those that have not made the switch yet. We would say, if you can, hold off on purchasing any V28 tools until they switch to M28 (prices will be the same). If you have any questions on what is in-stock or what has switched, call the pros at 800-242-4424.
