Heat gun vs hair dryer

D

Dags

Hall of Fame
Sounds like a bad reality TV show...

I own neither, as I don't have much hair and am not a DIY enthusiast. Until now, whenever I've needed one, I've borrowed a hair dryer from a friend. It's probably time for me to invest in my own equipment as I seem to be on the scrounge more frequently.

Any comments on which is more suitable from a tennis perspective? With the hair dryer, I've found it fine for softening up grommets, but sometimes changing pallets can be laborious. I've yet to fit a heat shrink grip. I'm wondering whether a heat gun would be more suitable, or if it might have it's own problems (such as being too hot).
 
coachrick

coachrick

Hall of Fame
Dags said:
Sounds like a bad reality TV show...

I own neither, as I don't have much hair and am not a DIY enthusiast. Until now, whenever I've needed one, I've borrowed a hair dryer from a friend. It's probably time for me to invest in my own equipment as I seem to be on the scrounge more frequently.

Any comments on which is more suitable from a tennis perspective? With the hair dryer, I've found it fine for softening up grommets, but sometimes changing pallets can be laborious. I've yet to fit a heat shrink grip. I'm wondering whether a heat gun would be more suitable, or if it might have it's own problems (such as being too hot).
Click to expand...

A two-stage heat gun is like a two-stage hair dryer on steroids. For many applications, the heat gun on low will be faster/better than the hair dryer on high. I reckon I'd check the closeout aisles of big-box stores or even Big Lots and the like for either. As you know, either can pull some serious juice, so it's good to know what circuits are in use/available and how to re-set the breaker/fuse.

BTW, a better heat gun can stand up to cool off or possibly be used in a stationary position more easily than most hair dryers.
 
Irvin

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
A hair dryer takes as much as 5 minutes to shrink a sleeve while a heat gun does it is about 30 seconds.
 
diredesire

diredesire

Adjunct Moderator
I'll note that a heat gun can MELT SOLDER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8GTW_7GHc0

Try doing that with a hair dryer ;)

Heat guns are serious tools, but if you really don't plan to use the heat gun for anything else... I'm not sure it's worth the investment. They're not exactly expensive, though. If you're buying fresh and you know you won't use the hair dryer, it's a no brainer, here. You don't need (to be) einstein (haired) to figure that one out.

I got mine from Grizzly tools a long while back, pretty much any will do.
 
loosegroove

loosegroove

Hall of Fame
Heat gun for sure. If you have a Harbor Freight Tools by you, they sell an inexpensive one that would be just fine.
 
P

pvaudio

Legend
It depends. If you only need it for tennis, then heat gun absolutely. It will do your job perfectly well. However, and take this from someone who uses them frequently, they aren't forgiving when an unattentive person is using them. As someone else said, take all of the heat generated in 5 minutes by your blow dryer and that's the normal flow for a heat gun. Like many things in life, even though it's the proper tool for the job, you do need to understand how it works to avoid damaging something.
 
P

pvaudio

Legend
diredesire said:
I'll note that a heat gun can MELT SOLDER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8GTW_7GHc0

Try doing that with a hair dryer ;)

Heat guns are serious tools, but if you really don't plan to use the heat gun for anything else... I'm not sure it's worth the investment. They're not exactly expensive, though. If you're buying fresh and you know you won't use the hair dryer, it's a no brainer, here. You don't need (to be) einstein (haired) to figure that one out.

I got mine from Grizzly tools a long while back, pretty much any will do.
Click to expand...
:shock: I NEED that guy's accent. I can just imagine going into a gas station and being like "Ey need change far a tvantee!"
 
R

rich s

Hall of Fame
if you have a gas stove you don't need either one....

if you don't have a gas stove I'd go with a multistage heat gun....
 
diredesire

diredesire

Adjunct Moderator
pvaudio said:
It depends. If you only need it for tennis, then heat gun absolutely. It will do your job perfectly well. However, and take this from someone who uses them frequently, they aren't forgiving when an unattentive person is using them. As someone else said, take all of the heat generated in 5 minutes by your blow dryer and that's the normal flow for a heat gun. Like many things in life, even though it's the proper tool for the job, you do need to understand how it works to avoid damaging something.
Click to expand...

True, you'll develop bad habits with a hair dryer. With any heat gun, give the piece some working distance, and rotate constantly, you don't actually want huge amounts of shrinking on one end of the tube, or the weight distribution will actually get a little bit wonky.
 
mad dog1

mad dog1

G.O.A.T.
loosegroove said:
Heat gun for sure. If you have a Harbor Freight Tools by you, they sell an inexpensive one that would be just fine.
Click to expand...

yep, heat gun for sure as well...got mine from HF for $10+tax. i use it to shrink tie off grommets that have been stretched and enlarged. i use it to soften bumpers around the curve making it much easier to stretch to fit when replacing grommets. makes quick work of heat shrink build up sleeves.
 
Last edited:
D

Dags

Hall of Fame
There certainly appears to be a consensus in this thread. :D

However, just as things seemed so straightforward, I find myself intrigued by this comment:

rich s said:
if you have a gas stove you don't need either one....
Click to expand...

I do have a gas hob. Hmm...
 
diredesire

diredesire

Adjunct Moderator
Dags said:
There certainly appears to be a consensus in this thread. :D

However, just as things seemed so straightforward, I find myself intrigued by this comment:



I do have a gas hob. Hmm...
Click to expand...

If you only use the heatgun for shrink wrap, then a stove will do you just fine, since you honestly don't do many shrink sleeves in general. If you used it for pallets or bumper guards, that'd get painful quickly. You might also bubble the paint or plastic since it'd work so slow. If you want to do more "serious" customization, spend $15-20 on a heat gun.
 
D

Dags

Hall of Fame
^^ Sold!

They aren't quite so cheap over here, but I've invested enough in this hobby that it's neither here nor there.
 
S

struggle

Legend
i've returned a few of the harbor freight/northern tool types.
burned out/failed/whatever. they work when they work.

got a porter cable (lightweight one), no problems yet.

of course, it doesn't get used much.
 
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