Ryobi 18V Heat Gun Irrigation Lines

[mikester]

Ive been messing with the irrigation lines at my house. Now Im down to redoing the majority of the Netifim drip lines.
I was using a small butane torch for the larger poly line but it seems like its too much for the drip line. Softens it too much and it collapses when I try to put the fittings in so Ive been using my Master corded heat gun and although it seems to do the trick its a pain in the **** to keep dragging it around hooked to an extension cord.
A couple of years ago I had the outside of my small house redone. Siding, a few windows, doors, roof, deck redone. We had established flower beds that looked amazing. I trimmed the plants down low since the contractors were supposed to start early October. They started the first week of November. Between masons putting in a new outside stairwell and the siding guys stomping through those beds everything pretty much got destroyed. That following Spring not much came back up. Didnt run the irrigation that year. When I went to start it up the next Spring I had blowouts all over the place. Turns out the 25 year old drip line got dirt in it over the years and when it was blown out last the dirt must have pushed to the 90 degree fitting and popped the lines. After talking to the guys in the irrigation supply they recommended abandoning the old system and installing new. I forgot how much work that was back when I did it the first time.

That leads me to this question. Anyone have a Ryobi 18V heat gun that they use for a job like this ? Ive got a lot of fittings to put in the drip line. Grids all through the perennials. Lots of work. Maybe a good alternative for not a lot of money ?

 

[RTM]

Not to derail your idea, but cuz I don’t have a cordless heat gun, I use a coffee cup of almost boiling hot water for the drip lines, which works well when I’m doing repairs of up to ten connections. (I have used my corded heat gun for a real garden hose, it was a game changer.)

But I’d imagine an insulated travel coffee cup could easily be used for an hour or more, unless you mistake it for your coffee cup, and complain this coffee tastes like dirt. I have an electric water boiler, which I can move closer to job sites to reduce climbing stairs to get hot water.

 

[wolf_from_wv]

unless you mistake it for your coffee cup, and complain this coffee tastes like dirt.

Even if the coffee was just "ground" that morning...

 

[Beerhippie]

I use a coffee cup of almost boiling hot water for the drip lines,

I use my Thermos bottle--after I finish the coffee.

 

[dnschmidt]

Cordless heat guns sort of ****. The best of the lot is the DeWalt and the worse I've used is the MIlwaukee. Steiner, which makes the best heat guns in the world, now has cordless models that I've never used that use either Metabo (some part numbers) or more recently Bosch batteries but from my experience you need a bag full of batteries for any of them.

 

[mikester]

Cordless heat guns sort of ****. The best of the lot is the DeWalt and the worse I've used is the MIlwaukee. Steiner, which makes the best heat guns in the world, now has cordless models that I've never used that use either Metabo (some part numbers) or more recently Bosch batteries but from my experience you need a bag full of batteries for any of them.

Im not looking for a high end heat gun. Just something to use instead of dragging the Master and extension cord through the plants. The small butane torch was a pain in the ***.