Hi all

After a year and a half my cheapo Black&Decker has finally given up and I am in need of a new HG. Wanted to know what everyone is using and how long it has been in service so I can make my decision. Was thinking Milwaukee but all input is appreciated.

Thanks

Jon

My heat gun is +10 years old but they don't make it no more (sears industrial thermocouple).

If you use a bowl, then I would go for the cheapest one. If you use a bread-machine-heat-gun combo (if the heat gun is statically placed), I would get one with airflow and digital temperature adjustments to make the roasts more consistent, something like this:

http://www.masterappliance.com/proheat1400.html

Cheers

I agree with the above post in that, if you're using a bowl/spoon/hg(Like I did for a long time), then you dont need to go crazy buying a top of the line gun.

However, I do suggest trying to find one that has some temp adjustment. The one I had(a Wagner, I think), allowed for the airflow to remain constant 100% of the time, but the temp could be adjusted, from 100F to 1000F, in ~100F increments. I only really used from ~700F and up, but its nice to have the temp adjustment to use as well as moving the gun closer/further from the beans.

I'd suggest the opposite. Buy an el-cheapo heatgun for $10-20. If you're using a bread machine, then invest in a router speed controller/triac for another $20. If the HG ever dies, you swap it out with another one - heat control is performed by the triac and is decoupled from the HG. If you're using a bowl, modulation of heat input is a lot simpler. Raise arm. Lower arm. Point HG at ants instead of beans.

IMHO, temperature reading/control on the HG is useless - it doesn't reliably measure ET or BT in any meaningful way. Decouple thermometry and temperature modulation. It'll be easier to replace only the parts the break.

BTW, I've been using the same $20 HG for over a year with no problems, but I did cover the input with some netting to shield against chaff influx.



-s.

Hi Sherman.

How do you decouple airflow and heat with a common triac? If airflow is not important in your usage then I agree.

My goal is control of heat input. This cat can be skinned several ways; if you have the desire to tear into the HG, you can separate the heating circuit from the fan circuit then run each one to a triac, but I haven't tried that.

With one triac, adjusting the current into the HG affects both fan and heat circuits. This is my current setup and it satisfies my roasting needs such that I don't have much interest in exploring the multi-triac option.

-s.

$7.99 right now. I've had one like this (orange) for a year-and-a-half:
http://www.harborfreight.com/1500-watt-dual-temperature-heat-gun-572-1112-96289.html


Also, as Sherman suggested, add this for complete control:
http://www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html

CHAD