Tool Tuesday - Heat Guns

A tool that’s often overlooked, but is still quite useful, is a heat gun. Heat guns come in a wide variety of power levels and sizes and can be used for more things than you could imagine. Just a few applications for heat guns are:  removing stickers/labels, cleaning up paint, drying paint, softening things, art, thawing frozen pipes, welding plastic, leather repair and so many more! Be sure to find the right power level, tutorial and application before attempting to repair anything with a heat gun.

To help you with your new heat gun experimentation hobby we have selected a few heat guns that might be worth checking out. Our best seller and most affordable option is the HG-300D by NTE Electronics. The HG-300 is often used with the HS-ASST-9 heat shrink tubing sold individually or together. At 350 watts, 482°F – 662°F, this heat gun would be best suited to smaller jobs, though it still can get quite hot.

Probably our other bestselling heat gun would be the Steinel 34859 Silver Anniversary kit.With 1500 watts, this heat gun gets as hot as 1150°F, but can go as low as 120°F giving you a much wider range and far more control over temperature. The anniversary kit contains the Steinel HL2010E heat gun in addition to some heat shrink wraps and multiple reflector nozzles for greater control of heat application. The 2010 is also available by itself without any other accoutrements if you just need a replacement or an extra.

Rounding out our selection of hot sellers, Steinel’s HL 1910E sports a lower cost but similar features. The 1910E has the same wattage but only goes up to 1100°F. If 50 degress of temperature doesn’t matter for your use, this would be the better buy. This heat gun is available on its own or in one of several cases including a kit that contains similar accessories to the silver anniversary kit.

Whatever you need it for, a heat gun is a widely versatile tool and there are several that will fit you need on our website. Do you have a favorite heatgun? Leave us a review on our website and tell us your favorite uses for heat guns on our Facebook page!