Almost burned my shed down using a heat gun on old paint

Was stripping paint off my garage door in Detroit last weekend, left the heat gun resting on a wooden stool for 30 seconds and it caught fire. Has anyone else had a close call with those things or am I just dumb?

3 comments

3 Comments

thea85725d ago

Has anyone actually checked the wattage or voltage specs on their heat gun before using it? I'm asking because I used to work in a small repair shop and we had a guy bring in a heat gun that literally sparked and melted his extension cord. Turned out the gun was pulling 15 amps and he had it plugged into a 10 amp cord with a frayed outlet. The heat overloaded the wiring before the safety even kicked in. Not saying that's your situation in Detroit, but I bet a lot of people don't realize those things can pull more juice than a space heater if they're the bigger models. The stool fire might have been the heat gun itself, but it could also be your electrical setup was already struggling. Worth checking your breaker box and any extension cords before you blame the tool entirely, your mileage may vary though.

mark_thomas1mo ago

Whoa, hold up. I mean yeah those heat guns can be dangerous but I gotta point something out. You said you left it resting on a wooden stool. Those things have a safety switch or a stand on the back for a reason. You're supposed to lay it flat on its side or use the little wire stand that flips out. Not just set it down hot on anything flammable. I've seen people toss them on cardboard boxes or leave them balanced on a ladder rung too. It's like leaving a hair dryer on a pile of towels. No wonder yours caught fire.

caleb_thomas931mo ago

My buddy @mark_thomas left his heat gun on a plastic chair once and the whole thing melted into a puddle in like two minutes.

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