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Heat gun.

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finn

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Mar 27, 2005
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The UP, God's country
I’m looking for a heat gun, primarily for heat shrink wire connectors, but not limited to that.

I have a corded one at my shop in Mi, but, while it has plenty of power, the relatively stiff cord and light weight complicates using it…. There’s no good way to put it down when working off balance in a constricted space, especially since the nozzle gets pretty hot.

I am considering a battery powered gun, but reviews of both the Milwaukee M18 and the Dewalt are pretty dismal, at best, mostly because of low power.

Amazon has knock offs, which use M18 batteries, but I’m sure they’ll no better.

There also a myriad of no name corded guns in the $12- $30 range, and what look to be professional guns from $100 to $500.

Any recommendations here, for either one of the Dewalt or Milwaukee cordless, ie how bad are they really, or a corded gun with a flexible cord instead of one of those dreadful stiff cords?
 
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MileHighRover

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If you find a nice corded one you like you could always replace the cord with a higher quality flexible one.
 
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danielbuck

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Apr 15, 2014
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for shrinktube, I use a milwaukee M18, it works just fine for that. I don't know what temperature it gets up to, but for swinking shrink tube it's just fine. For applications where I need a more specific heat, more heat or I need to setup the gun to blow for a long time (longer than batteries will let me), I use a corded Wagner 750.
 
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RTM

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SF Bay Area
I have a Porter Cable PC1500HG. The cord is tolerably stiff, but can sit on its ****, nozzle up, for benchtop use. 6 or more years old, so may have changed, maybe even for the better.

Not small by any means, but gets the job done
 
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Steve_P

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Sep 15, 2010
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5,182
I have the DeWalt 20V and use it all the time for heat shrink- it's awesome for that. I just used it yesterday, and it's probably my most used cordless tool. Not sure where you're getting "dismal" reviews, it's 4.4* on Amazon with >5500 ratings.
 
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Beerhippie

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Far NE Oregon
MileHighRover said:
If you find a nice corded one you like you could always replace the cord with a higher quality flexible one.
Click to expand...
That is getting increasingly hard to do.

I mean, it can be done

54296364312_56ef639df6_b.jpg

but....

Can't tool manufacturers realize that a cord is to allow a tool to be semi-portable? The cord on this one is so stiff it won't stand on the built-in stand and is hard to keep aimed.

****, the last corded remote release I bought for my Nikon camera--a Nikon-branded release so not cheap--had a cord so stiff you could move the camera with it from four feet away. I replaced it with the cord from an old wired computer mouse.
 
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liliysdad

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Steve_P said:
I have the DeWalt 20V and use it all the time for heat shrink- it's awesome for that. I just used it yesterday, and it's probably my most used cordless tool. Not sure where you're getting "dismal" reviews, it's 4.4* on Amazon with >5500 ratings.
Click to expand...
Exact same experience. The Dewalt is easily one of my favorite cordless tools.
 
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Steve_P

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liliysdad said:
Exact same experience. The Dewalt is easily one of my favorite cordless tools.
Click to expand...

I also have a fancy $150 Makita corded digital heat gun; I haven't used it since I bought the DeWalt cordless. For sure, a cordless gun isn't going to shrink wrap a boat, but it'll do a lot of typical heat shrink on a 4-5AH battery. I use it all the time- heat shrink, heating labels to remove them, thawing the cap door on my truck so I could open it after an ice storm...

Edit- I also have a Portasol and haven't used that since I got the DeWalt cordless heat gun, and a cordless soldering iron that uses the DeWalt battery.
 
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ecotec

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For heat shrink, the m18 is great.

For bigger jobs, like removing decals from box trucks, the m18 is way underpowered. I have an old corded Milwaukee, that I got for $2 at an estate sale, for bigger jobs.

Master appliance has a heat gun with a big metal plate on the back for repeatedly setting it down.
 
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theoldwizard1

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Feb 22, 2011
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43,126
Location
SE MI
I have the CORDED HF Bauer heat gun. Works well. If I could find a reasonably priced Bauer to M18 battery adapter, I would buy the HF Bauer cordless one, especially since HF keeps sending me 25% of coupons !
 
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richfinn

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Jan 29, 2011
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Leeds, Yorkshire, England
I've got an M18 which I use fairly regularly for heat shrink, it's OK but a bit bulky and slow (better with the deflector)

I use this butane gun when I need to work in a tight spot somewhere on the vehicle. It's good as it's "flameless" and less likely to scorch the wiring

pro-iroda.com

MJ-950 - Pro Iroda

Iroda MJ-950 Heat Gun is made of rugged plastic with an ergonomic ribbed grip design that makes it easier to hold even for longer times.
pro-iroda.com pro-iroda.com

Glad I have both really as I use the M18 for other jobs like making plastic parts more pliable and drying out flooded spark plugs
 
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Jeepster04

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Jun 25, 2013
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Ive always heard good things about this one. Watch Wes Work uses it a good bit.

I'm curious if it comes with the little deflectors.

 
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Leon bee

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NW Arkansas!
I've used a heat gun a lot, scraping paint off my house, etc. I buy em by the pound......that is, the lightest one I can find is what gets bought. Kitchen match works good on shrink tube, too.
 
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^&right

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Indiana
I have a HF corded gun I've used for years. But I get wanting a cordless. I'm fully invested into the Milwaukee M12/M18 system. I bought their M18 heat gun - returned it 2 days later. Not a bad heat gun, but I was ashamed I'd paid $100+ for that thing - in no way on this earth was it worth over $100. Was a single setting gun - one and done. $100?!?! I took it back to HD and never regretted it. The biggest rip off "they'll pay it just because", brand loyalty, smack in the face, rip off of a tool I've ever purchased. If it were $69, I'd buy it, but still not be happy about it.

It'd be like paying over $100k for a new Harley.

Hope this video helps.
 
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Beerhippie

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swsman said:
I have Wagner Furno 500.
Been happy with it.
Click to expand...
The Furno 500 is, indeed what mine described above is.

I just pulled it off the shelf to check the model. I coiled the cord (I'm an ******* about neatly coiled cords) and put it back on the shelf, where the cord immediately uncoiled and knocked the gun off the shelf.
 
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swsman

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Earthbound
Beerhippie said:
The Furno 500 is, indeed what mine described above is.

I just pulled it off the shelf to check the model. I coiled the cord (I'm an ******* about neatly coiled cords) and put it back on the shelf, where the cord immediately uncoiled and knocked the gun off the shelf.
Click to expand...
I just keep mine in factory packaging still.
Let it cool down before I pack it up after use.
 
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WWheeler

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Jun 23, 2015
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Middleofnowhere USA
I've had a Porter Cable corded heat gun for 20 years and got a Dewalt 20V about a year and a half ago. I luv the heck out of both of them. That Dewalt really is awesome for small jobs like heat shrink. i wouldn't trade it for any other. And the Porter Cable has been through a lot of abuse. So many times way back when it got ran for 30 minutes or more at a time without a pause, over and over, the whole time I'm thinking yep, this is definitely going to kill it, but it's survived it all and still keeps coming back for more.
 
OP
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finn

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The UP, God's country
Leaning towards the Dewalt 20v right now. I have both the Dewalt and M18 platforms, so that’s not a discriminator

Now, on to pricing..
 
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dutchgray

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Dorset. England.
Mine are either Bosch or Black and Decker, all bought used at car boot sales or flea markets, going rate seems to be £5 each, got a half dozen or so at the moment. One of those tools every DIY type bought for paint stripping or such and used about twice, not hard to find used at all.
 
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Davefr

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OR
I'm dealing with the same issue. I have no problem with my Bauer corded heat gun except for the power cord that's stiffer than a donkey ****'s hard on. I remember a time when power cords were flexible. I hate these ultra stiff things they use now days. Anyone know of a source for flexible replacement power cords. The ones at HD are also ****.
 
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pi_guy

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I have a SMD corded unit for circuit board repair. The nozzle is on a 3 ft flexible hose if I am building or doing bench repairs on a harness this works the best.
 
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Davefr

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When my shop vac cord got a "hard on" and became a trip hazard I replaced the cord with this. (SJEOW) It's remained flexible even in cold temperatures.
terra-bloom.com

TerraBloom Outdoor Extension Cord - 50 FT Rubber 16/3 SJEOW Triple Outlet Grounded Black Wire Flexible TPE Cold Weather Jacket Lighted End UL Listed

SUPERIOR FLEXIBILITY: TerraBloom's 50 Foot 16 Gauge (AWG) Heavy Duty Extension Cords Are Made with Thermoplastic Elastomer (SJEOW TPE) Jacket Which Provides Moisture, Oil and Abrasion Resistance All Coupled with Unparalleled Flexibility in Below Freezing Cold Temperatures (-35F to 125F Degrees)...
terra-bloom.com

I bought an extra one just for cutting off chunks to make replacement power cords. I haven't had much luck finding flexible rubber power cord replacements.
 
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Syberia

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Jan 13, 2014
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Location
Perris, CA
Kscardsfan said:
I bought the cheapest one at Harbor Freight on a 9.99 coupon. No more than I use it it should last well into my retirement years.
Click to expand...
I've had two of them, both failed in less than a year in the exact same manner which sounded like bearing failure and caused horrible vibration. Upgraded to the Hercules and have used it for years with no problems.

For little stuff like heat shrink or the occasional sticker removal, though, I use my Kobalt 24v cordless. Works well enough to melt solder-shrink connectors which was my main criteria. For other stuff like bending pipe or, lately, stretching vinyl upholstery, I get out the corded.
 
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F

finn

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The UP, God's country
Kscardsfan said:
I bought the cheapest one at Harbor Freight on a 9.99 coupon. No more than I use it it should last well into my retirement years.
Click to expand...

News flash!

You don’t have to stop using tools when you retire, so, assuming you retire at 57 like I did,, better plan on using them another thirty plus years after you retire.
 
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Kscardsfan

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The Little Apple
finn said:
News flash!

You don’t have to stop using tools when you retire, so, assuming you retire at 57 like I did,, better plan on using them another thirty plus years after you retire.
Click to expand...
Notice I said Into my retirement years. I plan on finally getting to do all the projects I want to do now when I get there.
 
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