PORTER-CABLE Heat Gun, 1500 Watt, Dual Temperature Settings, Corded (PC1500HG)

My trusty craft mini heat gun died and I needed something that would meet my wide range of needs. I am a collector of hobbies and handicrafts and I needed something that could delicately heat embossing paper, heat shrink wrap tubing, melt plastic, help to dry paint, remove paint, and anywhere else in between. I never outright purchase anything and always read reviews and comments. The other heat guns here on Amazon seemed to have a low or high setting but both seemed a little too high compared to my mini heat gun (around 300W). This heat gun has a high and low but ALSO has a temp control dial! At the lowest setting with the temp dial all the way to the minus the temp is warm and does well for giving a thin paint layer a little extra boost to dry. On low with the temp dial half way I can heat plastic to the point it is easily bendable. I have not yet gone all the way to the highest heat setting. At the half way point it gets hot (I can't run it over my hands). It's just so versatile! This is an AMAZING heat gun, especially for the price. The gun itself is rugged. It feels substantial in your hands. For a lady like myself it's almost a little too large. Holding it for more than a few minutes starts to fatigue my arms. The other features make up for this, though, in my opinion. It is also VERY quiet. My craft heat gun was much louder and this one doesn't bother my ears (I'm sensitive to noises like this). I purchased the Wagner / Milwaukee accessories and they fit perfect. I haven't removed the step down nozzle since I got it. I've had this for almost a week now and have used it every day so far. I haven't been so happy with a purchase in a long time. My craft heat gun lasted over 7 years of use and, based on the build quality, I'd expect this to do the same. This is definitely worth the money and the adjustable temp makes it amazingly adaptable for many different needs. It's perfect for crafts.

Porter Cable Heat Gun PC1500HGThis is a great heat gun for the price. I was originally considering one of the 2 DeWalt models but read many mixed reviews on them, plus the cheaper DeWalt was twice the price of this Porter Cable. I needed this for drying drywall mud patches, paint touchups and occasional heat shrinking tubing. This one seemed like it would fit the bill and for $30 it was much less expensive.I did on first use turn it on at low speed, then high. Next I gradually adjusted the temperature dial up to max over a period of a couple of minutes and let it run on high/max for several minutes. I would recommend that you do this outside because you can smell the fumes of heated up plastic and paint. It is kind of like when you get a new oven and run it for the first time. I then turned down the temperature dial and let is run to cool down for a minute. If you are going to be using it indoors in a non-vented area, I would do this several times to get most all of the new break-in smell out. Also I think it will last longer if you turn it down to low temperature and let it cool before turning it off after every high temperature use.Speaking of which, I wish it had another button on the side that turned the heating elements on/off separately from the fan speed. That way you could turn on the fan, adjust the temperature and then kick on the heat when you needed it. You could also easily cool it down without always having to turn the temp dial. The dial is a bit low profile and not especially easy to turn. I wish it had better grip to it. I may coat it with some rubber handle dip for tools that I have sitting on my shelf when I get a moment.As far as build quality goes, this seems very well made. I like the ergonomics and in-hand feel. It is comfortable to use for extended periods of time. It is much quieter than most hair driers. It does not have nearly as much air flow either. I would say that the Hi speed setting on this is like the low speed setting on most hair driers. Which to me is a good thing and probably necessary tot keep the air hot. Don’t try to dry your hair with this, it can easily burn your hand if held close up in the airflow. It is suppose to output between 110 F to 1100 F one inch from the nozzle.Another feature I really like is the cord. It is thick, yet flexible and of high quality. It has a nice good solid rubber feel to it. No shinny hard plastic coating hear. It probably is a heat resistant part silicone coated cord, or maybe not. But it does unfold and straightens well. I know I have paid $15 for a good saw cord. To have a good one on a $30 heat gun is a very nice touch.I will definitely be purchasing some nozzle attachments in the future. To be able to heat shrink without having to work it around all sides of the tubing would be nice. I know the U-shaped attachment will allow you to heat shrink in place. That is a must if applying heat shrink to wires that are in a compartment or box where you couldn’t get around to all sides of the tubing. The polyolefin tubing that I usually use activates at 194 F, so this is more than adequate for it.This works great for speeding up the drying of mud and paint. Just use a low temp setting and keep in mind that thick patches will have a lot of water thru out the depth of the patch. As the top dries it will become wet again as moisture from the middle migrates out. I would apply and dry in thin layers to build it out. That seems to be the fastest approach. If you apply paint over a dried surface but still wet interior of a mud patch, more than likely you will find cracked and peeling paint the next day as the moisture in the mud has migrated out. You will then need to sand, mud and re-paint!Anyways, this is a wonderful heat gun. I’m glad that I purchased it. It has a one year warranty. I hope it will last many more than that. At $30 however I guess I couldn’t complain too much even if it only lasted a few. A great item to have in your tool set, DIY or Pro. I’m going to give this one 5 stars.

So we are trying to strip the paint from our house and there are just some areas where it simply refuses to come off. We have tried everything from chemicals to scrapers. We knew we needed heat and it had to be powerful. After looking around on Amazon to find a heat gun that is affordable but powerful and of good quality as well, this one here became our choice. And we don't regret it at all. The heat this gun puts out is just perfect for the job. It's not too hot to burn the wood and it's not too weak to not get the job done. It's relatively easy and comfortable to hold in our hands, even in my small female hands. The weight is great, it doesn't tire me out to quickly.Of course, now that we own this heat gun, we somehow keep finding things that we need this for, which is actually quite funny. "Hey, we can use this to bundle our cables together." "Hey, we can use this for my art project with my 3D printing pen to smooth out the edges!"It has become a valuable tool as well as a useful toy in some instances.For the low price of under 40$ this is a truly great find and I am very thankful that this seller is offering this tool at this price and yet delivers such an awesome quality.It has a wide heat range, so that makes it great for different projects.. The dual speed fan is perfect for projects that doesn't need the strong heat.One feature I like especially, is that you can set the heat gun down easily without the risk of burning the surface. The stand is stable and it doesn't tip the heat gun over easily.As I have stated, I am a woman, so my review probably reflects my experiences differently than a guy's one would. (Not being sexist here, I just am a lot less experienced with power tools than the man of the house :-)Fast shipping with Prime of course, which always is a huge bonus.