Ideal for heat shrink solder connectors
With its included deflector, it works perfectly on heat shrink solder connectors. So much faster and EASIER than using a butane lighter. And far less likely to cause collateral damage. I recently finished installing a head unit in a vehicle. Initially i used my larger Harbor Freight heat gun, which is good for certain projects, but lacks finesse for wiring projects, especially where multiple wires are involved, or in crowded areas. I switched to a butane torch for a few connections, before deciding to purchase this heat gun, which arrived prior to my finishing the project. Hands down, it's the best tool i've used for heat shrink solder connectors. This gun, almost the moment i turned it on, produced sufficient heat to shrink the tubing and melt the solder. I was surprised by how quickly it worked; i had expected more of a lag, based on my experience with my larger heat gun, which requires more time to heat up. I had used its high setting, although the lower setting may have been sufficient (don't know as of the time of this writing). With the deflector, the heat is pretty well distributed all the way around the tubing, not really requiring rolling the wire to ensure uniform heating, which is good because i often don't have a sufficient number of hands to do that. This gun does have an integrated wire stand, so in certain situations can act as a third hand. The smaller size of this gun, with its commensurate reduced airflow, means it can be used in more confined spaces without nearly as much collateral damage of larger guns. It's a matter of choosing/having the correct tool for the task. Larger guns have their place and purposes. Given the relatively low cost of this compact heat gun, it was worth it to me to add it to my toolkit. Likely, i will use this gun more often than my larger gun, now that i have it. A feature missing from this heat gun (and all i've ever used, but have found on some hair driers) is a cooldown mode. Not only would it help to extend the life of the product, it would also be an important safety feature for a product like this. All which would be required is a switch setting to run the fan without heat. So i do have concerns about longevity of this product. (Running it on low for several seconds can help cool it somewhat from the high setting.) An active cooldown mode would allow the gun to be put away more quickly too, without the need of long passive cooldown times. I would deduct a star or two for the lack of this safety feature, if i was aware of any other heat gun having a cooldown mode. It really ought to be a standard feature for heat guns. Read more
