DeWalt’s New(ish) Heat Gun
By Chuck Cage
I’ll admit that most heat guns look the same. This one makes hot air (adjustable from 120 to 1100 degrees F) and offers a nice nozzle protector to keep the heat on the project and off your hands. You can also kind of see at the bottom a swing-out hook that makes the gun easier to store hanging up. But what really caught my eye is this: for this model DeWalt separated some of the internal components “to allow maintenance on both the motor and heating element.”
I’ll also admit that I don’t know which components (beyond the motor and heating element) are now separate, but I do know that for a pro user, repairability is important. Unlike homeowners, hobbyists, and DIYers who’ll use the gun only once in a while, pros will run these suckers non-stop. But they’ll also often shell out well over $100 for a high-end digital model. DeWalt’s runs a paltry $70 online.
Would you repair your $70 heat gun or just replace it? For that matter, if you’re a pro, would you take this over a $150 model? Or as a DIYer, would you step up to this from your $35 cheap-o gun? Let us know in comments.
Heat Gun, Model D26950 [DeWalt]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
November 13th, 2009 at 11:56 am
I don’t use my heat gun much, so I just keep the cheapo!
November 13th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I’ll stick to my HarborFreight heat guy… $8.95 same as in town.
November 13th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
I have 2 heat guns - I have no idea why. Anyway, one is a Do-It-Best hardware brand and the other is HF that I scored for four bucks on a big sale. They both work equally well and do everything I need them to do. The only problem is that I still don’t know why I have two!
November 14th, 2009 at 12:56 am
I have a good one but I don’t remember buying it (it was that long ago)
I use it in a profesional capacity once and a while to bend pvc
pipe it goes in stints I’ll have a whole bunch of pvc work
then none for month then a bunch
but I could do the same job with a cheepo
I don’t adjust the heat and can’t think of any other function
worth noting on a heat gun
November 14th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
A good example of function following form. I would never but this model simply because of the D-handle, which serves no useful purpose but possibly to get in the way when poking into corners.
November 15th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Hey Chuck, do you know anywhere I could buy one of these heat guns?
I have been looking everywhere with not much luck.
I noticed the street price link to toolsforless had a 10-15 shipping window.
Thank you for your time.
November 15th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Heat guns - good for two things:
1. Heat shrink tubing (duh)
2. stripping components off of circuit boards…
November 20th, 2009 at 11:13 am
[...] DeWalt’s New(ish) Heat Gun I’ll admit that most heat guns look the same. This one makes hot air (adjustable from 120 to 1100 degrees F) and offers a nice nozzle protector to keep the heat on the project and off your hands. You can also kind of see at the bottom a swing-out hook that makes the gun easier to store hanging up. [...]