Had to choose between a $40 heat gun and a $12 cheap hair dryer for shrinking heat shrink tubing

I grabbed the hair dryer because it was already in the drawer and after 45 seconds of waiting it barely softened the tubing, so I ran out and got the heat gun which worked in about 5 seconds flat, has anyone else had a tool that seemed like a good substitute but just didn't cut it?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabetht5627d ago

Did you try the hair dryer on full heat with a concentrator nozzle, or did you just wave it around without one? Kind of wondering if that makes any difference at all.

ryanprice27d ago

Oh man, totally been there. I tried using a regular hair dryer on some thick walled heat shrink for a battery connector and stood there like an idiot for a full two minutes watching it barely wrinkle. What a joke. The heat gun is just way more direct and concentrated, it hits the tubing with that blast and its done. I had the same problem with a cheap soldering iron once, thought a big butane torch would work better for some wiring and just melted everything. Lesson learned, sometimes the real tool is worth the few extra bucks.

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