Bosch GBH 2-28 DV Rotary Drilling Machine Ownership Review
Bosch GBH 2-28 Rotary Hammer Drilling machine. Professional Line.
USAGE PATTERN:
I had initially purchased this machine only for drilling holes on concrete bricks for home usage but when I got a construction project I thought I’d give this machine a try. The user manual provided was pretty useless and there really were not much customer reviews on this particular model showing how and where to use it and what exactly are it’s limitations.
Chipping Kadappa Black stone flooring
So I just started using it for my application which were mainly chipping of plasters from the wall. These were really stubborn plasters but it got the work done although the machine used to get heated up a lot. Obviously I did not know if I should have given the machine a break after an hour or so but it was given occasional breaks randomly to cool down( say 5-15 Mins break after 1 or 2 hours of work ).
Chipping plaster. This was the majority work done with this machine.
Chipped stubborn plaster from the Pillar.
One issue that cropped right of the bat while chipping in hammer mode was the machine which was silent till now started to get a bit louder and the vibrations started increasing ( from 1st day of use ). Please note that this is a vibration less model.
Chipping concrete bricks for Electricity piping.
Occasionally it was used for drilling holes on concrete walls and chipping through concrete walls as well. So my usage pattern was exactly as follows.Chipping Plasters of walls : 80% , Chipping portions of concrete through concrete walls : 15% and Drilling holes through concrete bricks : 5%.
Drilling Multiple holes on the pillar. This was an easy task for it.
It was used 6 day’s a week for 2 month’s till it eventually died. The issue here was not the machine but my usage pattern, I later spoke to representatives of Bosch India and the ideal usage should have been the opposite of my pattern. It should be majorly used for drilling concrete holes like 80-85% probably.
FUNCTIONS:
Forwards and Reverse option – Useful for removing Machine stuck in the wall with Bits
Overload Clutch – Supposed to prevent the machine from rotating when the bit gets locked in the wall. Good safety feature.
Variable Speed Control – Depends on the pressure given to the power switch
PERFORMANCE:
It’s a powerful tool but it’s best used for medium applications only, like drilling through concrete bricks which it will do all day long without breaking a sweat and the occasional chipping of plasters.
Beware don’t use it for chipping through hard concrete walls. It will get the work done but the machine gets heated up a lot and may also die as in my case.
RELIABILITY:
I wanted a reliable product and before my purchase I had gone through scores of reviews of other Bosch , Makita , Dewalt products online to find out which was the most reliable of the 3 brands. Bosch products seem to be very reliable and very abuse friendly. Same goes for Makita as well.
I can vouch for the abuse friendly nature of Bosch as my workers literally abused it for 2 month’s. Any other machine used like that would not pass even the 1st week.
WARRANTY:
This is the most confusing part from Bosch India. The seller mentions 6 month’s warranty on the product and say’s the warranty will be honored by the manufacturer who is Bosch. On Bosch’s India website they say that all Power Tools have 1 year warranty.
When I went for warranty repairs they said they would honor only the 6 month’s seller warranty. I anyways argued that although I was out of the 6 month seller warranty period and within the 1 year Manufacturer warranty period the warranty should be honored at least under good will, which they obliged partially.
I used the machine only for 2 month’s which was true but it was abused a lot since my usage pattern was not optimal for it. So I agreed for paying half of the repair charges. It cost 4,382 Rs in total and I paid just 1,984 Rs.
The most expensive parts changed were the Motor Housing (1,125 Rs) and the Armature Coil (1,978 Rs). The armature coil was changed for free under goodwill warranty.
Outer Motor Housing
Inner side of damaged motor housing
Side profile of burnt out armature coil
Insides of armature coil
PRICE:
I purchased it from ebay India for a price of 13,500 Rs ( MRP : 18,000 Rs ).
Bosch India Service:
Not really happy with their service for many reasons. First of all there are no service centers near my location. Secondly they don’t honor their own warranty of 1 year for their power tools and argue with seller warranty which is not supposed to be the case.
After repeated complaints I did get some reply from their Chennai office and I had to ship the product there for repairs which was 900 Kms away from my location. They did a decent job and they shipped back the replaced parts as well.
CONCLUSION:
It’s a great power Tool. But you need to know it’s limitations and use it only for medium applications such as drilling holes through concrete bricks mainly.
For heavy applications such as only chipping through concrete walls and plasters as well as demolishing, it’s better to use their more dedicated heavy duty models such as the GSH 11E which I purchased later as I now firmly believe in Bosch Power Tools.
Technical data:
Rated power input – 850 Watts
Max. impact energy – 3.2 J
Impact rate at rated speed – 0 – 4000 bpm
Rated speed – 0 – 900 rpm
Weight – 2.9 kg
Length – 379 mm
Height – 216 mm
Toolholder – SDS-plus
Drilling range
Drilling diameter in concrete with hammer drill bits 4 – 28 mm
Optimum range of applications in concrete with hammer drill bits 8 – 16 mm
Drilling diameter in concrete with core cutters 68 mm
Max. drilling diameter in masonry with core cutters 68 mm
Max. drilling diameter in steel 13 mm
Max. drilling diameter in wood 30 mm
Standard accessories:
Auxiliary handle
Carrying case
Depth stop 210 mm
