This power tool review is for the Milwaukee V28 Batteries. These batteries are part of the Milwaukee combo kit 0928-29. If you are looking for just the V28 battery, the model cat no is 48-11-2830.
Milwaukee V28 is a Lithium Ion battery. These have the new battery technology that has been introduced in recent years for a variety of uses. You can read more about the Lithium battery on our battery page. Most people look at a battery and see a battery, but when you buy a cordless power tool kit, a battery is an important factor. Besides just comparing one volt to another volt, even though that should be the major factor, you also want to look at the battery closer and that’s what we did with the Milwaukee V28 battery.
The first item we noticed was the weight, very light as with all Lithium batteries. The weight of this battery is 2.43lbs, compared to the Craftsman 19.2V, which weighted 2.01lbs. So you are getting more power and a longer run time for only a little more added weight. We expected this, so not surprising, but it is a big factor and plus for Lithium batteries.
When looking at and using the Milwaukee V28 battery, there were three key items that caught our eye that made this a great battery. Besides the run time, durability, and power, we also found:
- The Fuel Gauge – On the front of the battery their is a panel that has four lights. When you press a button, the lights will light up to show how much power is left on this battery before it needs to be charged. Four lights and its fully charged, no lights and you need a charge. Ever since the V28 came out, we have seen some people ridacule this light feature. They state they just use the battery till it needs a charge. Its just another thing to break. We beg to differ! We love this feature. Granted, we don’t check the satus while using the drill or saw, but this is a very handy feature for a couple reasons. At night before you go home, some of us tend to throw the tools in a pile until the next day or we throw the batteries in a bag and worry about it the next day. How many times have you seen two batteries sitting next to each other. You know one needs a charge and the other doesn’t. Well we always use the wrong one. We get on the roof and realize that after a couple uses, we grabbed the wrong battery. With the fuel gauge, you can now just check and make sure you grabbed the right battery. So this is a feature we love because it saves time and aggravation on the site.
- Milwaukee has a non slip pad on the bottom of the battery. This is a nice feature for a couple different reasons. First, it will help protect your work when you set your battery down on a nice piece of wood. In addition, it will also help keep your tool in place when you set it down. A hard plastic bottom on a battery tends to let it slip and fall.
- We also like how the battery clips into the tools. The way they have the battery attached ensures the battery stays in place during a fall or drop. Most professional power tools have some sort of good attachment like this, but it is always nice to see that a manufacturer didn’t over look this. Once you lock the battery into the tool, you will know it is staying in place. Some tools have a flimsy way to attach the battery to the tool and these tend to break over time either through use or a fall. With the Milwaukee V28 battery you won’t have to worry about this. Another great feature of the battery is when using the Milwaukee V28 Drill, the battery can be locked either way. This way if you have to get into a tight spot, you can turn the battery around and have it on the back side of the drill.
For our actual battery test we left the battery in the Freezer over night. Now we wouldn’t recommend this because it can ruin a battery and these batteries tend to be expensive. We did this to simulate leaving your batteries in your truck over night. Normally with Lithium Ion batteries, they will not work until they are warm, it is just the way the Lithium batteires work. The next day we took the battery out of the freezer and let it warm up for about 5 minutes at room tempature. After 5 minutes the drill ran, but you could tell the battery was still cold and didn’t have full power. After about 10 mintues in room tempeture, the drill worked perfect. As you can see by the video we could drive a screw through a solid piece of oak with no problems.
Over all, this is a great battery in terms of design and use. We are going to continue to monitor the long term use of the battery to see if it continues to withstand hard work outs. We gave this to a local home builder who will be using it every day until the battery doesn’t hold a charge. We told him to make sure he leaves the batteires exposed to the outside temperature every night so we can get a good reading. Considering we are in the Midwest, it will get exposed to the cold and humidity on a regular basis. We will continue to update this review with the information we receive. As for now we give this battery our highest rating of 5 blades.
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This fuel gauge seems like a good idea. Interesting test for the freezer. I live in a warm climate, so I won’t have to worry about that, but a good idea to simulate a cold test. The guys up north will find that useful. I always leave my tools in the truck, but again it never gets cold here.
Sounds googy, but the charger and battery review were helpful. I know its just a battery and charger, but it helps learning about these before I buy them.
Will you be testing the Makita 18V any time soon. I want to buy a kit, but want to see what you have to say about it before I spend the big money on it.
My experience with my Milwaukee v28 set is good and bad. The tools are great! However, the batteries lasted little more than a year with occasional use. Now from dead to full charge is only a few minutes. However, from full charge to dead is also only a few minutes. 🙁
I bought into the v28 platform but gave up on it due to battery failure and tool overheating problems. I remodel houses in the winter and had 3 battery failures during the warranty period. The warranty was honored but it took several weeks per exchange. When the 4th battery failed after the warranty period expired, I sold the tool kit and switched to another brand.
In my experience, the drill and circular saw are prone to overheating. A leading consumer testing company found the same problem. A number of long cuts with the circular caused it to smoke. Similarly, high speed drilling for long amounts of time will cause the drill motor to overheat. Best to turn down the speed for prolonged cuts with this product.
The new, substantially lower cost 18volt platform that I have switched to has not had these problems.
I bought the cordless sawzall and two 28Volt batteries Li-ion. I have hardly used these batteries and one of them has failed recently. I place the battery in the charger and the red light goes on for a second or two and then goes green. Usually green indicates a full charge in normal conditions. I have persisted in trying to charge the battery as once for a minute or so it started to charge before reverting to the green light. I had another occassion a few days later where after repeated long attempts at leaving it in the charger with a green light I noticed that it is charged a very slight amount causing my sawzall to at least make clicking noises. I bought my battery from a seller on Ebay new. The seller obtained the batteries new from the USA and shipped them to Australia. Milwaukee does not accept this seller as he is not one of their authorised sellers (I’ve post discovered). I did let this battery go flat and they tell me that this is the reason why the battery probably failed. I charged all my other brand batteries Bosch, Makita and Paslode and they are all fine (I’ve been out of work as a carpenter of recent) but all these other batteries are fine. In the past I have found fixes for the NiCd batteries and my Bosch NiCd batteries have lasted longer than this Milwuakee Li-ion. Beings so expensive this Milwaukee 28V battery dieing and lack of support from Milwuakee and also not being able to find a fix for Li-ion batteris on the internet has me spewing. I only hope the other 28V milwaukee battery does not die as I’m reluctant to buy another Milwaukee battery. Happy that my bosch 36V Li-ion batteries have not had the same problems as they are also expensive. Shoot most of my batteries are expensive Makita, Paslode etc. Think twice about buying any batteries or battery products after this though. If someone comes up with a Li-ion battery fix please email me at emerald_tablet@hotmail.com
Thanks
I also have a 28v Milwaukee system. My battery (one of them) just went completely dead. I put it in the charger and all that happens is the Red light starts blinking. It does not charge at all. The other battery does charge but doesnt seem to hold a long charge. This system is several years old. I need new batteries and am reluctant to use ebay. Where else can I get these batteries? Thank You for an excellent site……Bob
12 dead batteries equals 2 dead 28v sets they should have recalled them or at least gave you a trade in allowance.im an electrician not that hard on these tools
i have several milwaukee tools, in v28 series, problem is that tools are excellent, batteries are after sh!t! i have good mix of aeg, bosh, milwauke and makita, i do not have any problems with batteries in other tools, but milwaukee v28 (part no 48-11-2830) is not worth even paper in which was originally wrapped on!
as i have four of these batteries, and all of the tools are after warranty, after disassembling, each of the batteries have at least two cells which are dead! i sacrificed one of the batteries and repalced cells in remaining three, now, i have still one battery working…
i do not have any problem with 18v li-ion batteries from milwaukee nor with they ni-cd batteriece, only with v28.
tools in use, drill – battery last about 4hrs, sawzall last about 1hr, circular saw lasts up to 40min… i have much better performance from 18v than from 28volt.
stay afar from 28volt from milwaukee or you will be out of pocket! and do not count on they warranty either… with original battery i waited 6weeks for replacement and then been told that it was my fault… it was not – i used it as it was advertised, in trade…