What Are Heat Guns?

 

What Are Heat Guns?

People are often looking for different kinds of products, and one of these products is a heat gun. Heat guns are handheld devices that produce a hot stream of air with a temperature range of 200-1000°F. Heat guns are similar to hairdryers in that they have a handle and a trigger. Although these may resemble a hairdryer, it is not preferred that you use them to dry your hair! Heat guns are widely used in the roofing repair and restructuring industry.

Heat Gun Uses

Uses of Heat Guns 

Heat guns are highly versatile tools that can be used for anything from stripping paint to drying shrink wrap. Heat guns can be used in the following ways:

Paint stripping: A heat gun is an excellent substitute for chemical solvents. It also works better than solvents, which take longer to operate and may need several treatments.

Removing old wallpaper: Since it can melt glue and burn off the paper, a heat gun can remove old wallpaper. This is particularly useful on old woodchips or highly textured paper with several layers of paint that resist soaking. Please exercise extreme caution when doing so, as there is a clear fire danger.

Shrinkwrapping: Shrink wrapping with a heat gun takes much less time than using a hairdryer. But be careful, you'll be surprised by how easily it works.

Thaw frozen pipes: By gradually raising the temperature of the tube, you can thaw frozen pipes. When doing this, use caution because the ice can grow as it thaws.

Removing Ice Dams: Heat guns are often used by Industry Elite Services to clear ice jams from homes or businesses.

A heating gun is an excellent tool for do-it-yourself fixes and projects. Though you can use it with caution, the applications mentioned above are limitless.

Is a heat gun dangerous?

A heat gun's hot airflow is less harmful than a naked flame, but it can still cause highly flammable objects to catch fire, break glass, and cause injury if guided onto the skin. One significant advantage is that the heat is almost instantaneous, allowing the heat gun to be turned off during breaks in the job. At the same time, flame blowlamps must be relit if the flame is extinguished.

How do heat guns work?

Heat guns look more like hairdryers in appearance, but as many guidelines point out, they should never be used to dry hair! A hot air gun works in the same way as a hairdryer does: a fan draws air into the tool's body and directs it through an electric heating device and out through a nozzle.

When stripping paint, heated air is guided onto the painted surface, softening it to be easily removed - either with a stripping knife or hook. Working up the surface with the heat gun above the stripping tool, softening the paint just before the stripping tool hits it, yields the best results. The device is used one-handed, with the stripping tool kept in the other.

Some heat guns may be used while sitting on a bench, leaving two hands-frees to use the hot air for other purposes.

Key takeaways

One significant advantage of heat guns over other heat-producing instruments is that they are flameless. Although flames can harm the surface you're attempting to heat and even start a fire, hot air from a heat gun is a much safer heat source for your home improvement projects. Most heat gun projects need temperatures of 750 degrees Fahrenheit (399 degrees Celsius), and many heat guns allow you to change the temperature. Another essential aspect is a stand or legs to rest the gun on while not in use and a section that will enable you to guide the airflow.