Wolf tools. Does anyone have any experience / comments

[graduate_owner]

Hi all,
There is currently an offer for a Wolf 12 volt Li Ion kit, drill / driver, impact driver and reciprocating saw. Comes with one 1.3 amp battery plus 1 hour charger. Normal price is £110, offer price £50. The individual bare tools sell for £30 each normally. Spare batteries are £20.

So at £50 I am thinking - is it worth a punt, or is it a case of you get what you pay for? I only have one Wolf tool, an air compressor which is now about 3 years old and seems fine, although only occasional use.

If anyone is interested it is UKHS, and the offer ends 31 July. You need to state the promotion code which is PLUS9.

I am thinking of giving it a miss because I have several Makita drills and an impact driver although with Ni Cd batteries which will probably be starting to get tired before long so don't really need them. Anyway, may be of interest to some members. You can sign up for emails from UKHS and they regularly have offers. It would be interesting to hear of members' opinions on Wolf tools.


K

 

[AJB Temple]

Personally I would give it a miss. A 1.3 amp hour battery will drive you nuts.

 

[Eric The Viking]

If it's Lithium Ion, it cannot be 12V (by the usual way these things are standardised).

It could be 10.8V (three cells at 3.6V each), which is very common for small cordless tools (the ones with the batteries in the hand grips) or 14.4V (i.e. four cells, which is unlikely).

I've seen other manufactures using the same misleading descriptions. That said, if the motor is designed to match the battery characteristics, or vice-versa, it shouldn't be a problem, but AJB's comments above are spot on: ampere-hours are a measure of energy storage. So that's a measure of how long per charge the tool will keep going ("grunt" factor depends on the motor power, gearing, etc, which are different and interrelated issues).

That said, all three of the Bosch batteries I have are 10.8V 1.3Ah (all used in a cordless drill/driver, impact driver and multi-tool). I've had them for quite a few years now and still going. Capacity is slightly reduced now, but OK (I'm not a pro!). They are quite adequate for all but continuous sanding/cutting in the multi-tool which is quite thirsty. i'd guess it's not going to power a recip. saw for too long though!

Wolf tools used to have a reputation for being better than cheapest quality, and they used to compete with people like Black & Decker in the 1960s (mains powered drills).

If you can look at the things, form your own opinion on build quality, etc...

 

[sunnybob]

on a like for like basis, i have found WOLF stuff to be extremely well made and functional, but I havent had any battery tools from them.

 

[graduate_owner]

Yes, there was a time when the Wolf brand meant quality, alongside makes like Bridges etc I think. Now though it is just a badge on another far east import, hence the price. Like I said, I think I will stick with my Ni Cads for now and give these a miss

K

 

[Keith 66]

I have a Wolf gut buster drilll built in the early 60's, it is a fearsome thing that does 350rpm, last time i used it was to drill 3/4" holes in a cast iron boat keel 6 " deep. It just plows on & will not stop for anything.
I doubt the modern wolf tools are related to it in any way apart from the name.