Ya the heat gun is a convenience for sure, I've used mine repairing poly pipe connections at the greenhouse and for other poly plumbing connections we have like potable water lines never mind dragging long extension cords around the tables in a 75 ft greenhouse I'm really not all that fond of cords around all the water
I thawed a frozen sillcock in less time than it would have taken to roll out 100ft of cord and plug everything in never mind pick it ALL back up,
And ya it'll also do heatshrink and soften adhesives
Did my big trailer's wiring over out in the yard where it sat. Used the cordless solder iron too again no cords all draped around in the dirt and gravel to pick up afterwards
Haven't much touched my big RYOBI 2speed variable heat gun in a while.
Do you NEED one?
I did
Its not perfect the biggest drawback IMO is that the trigger can't be locked on for hands free use. Maybe could be a little hotter/more fan to get things done faster but it will still melt or burn stuff given enough time and closeness of heat.
That reminds me I really should get the nozzle attachments sometime KC had provided a link a while back