Heat guns are powerful tools that can make many tasks easier, faster and safer to complete. Before turning on a heat gun, however, it's important to review the basics, like how to responsibly handle it and how warm it can get.

The temperature that a heat gun can reach depends on the model, but there's often a big difference between how hot a heat gun can get and how hot a heat gun should get. Here are some critical points to understand about heat gun temperatures:

Heat gun temperature range

Some heat guns have one temperature, but dual temperature heat guns and varitemp heat guns offer temperature options to users.

High temperature heat guns can get up to 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Low temperature heat gun models may be able to get to 300, 500 or 750 degrees Fahrenheit. Each of these options are available in commercial heat guns such as the Master Heat Gun from Master Appliance.

Other heat guns have multiple heat settings. For example, the Proheat 1100 Dualtemp Heat Gun has two settings: 500 and 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, the Proheat 1400 LCD Dial-in Heat Gun can be adjusted to any temperature between 130 and 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit in multiples of 10.

Finding the right heat gun setting

Before investing in a heat gun, determine what types of activities you'll engage in with the tool and identify the necessary temperature range based on that task.

Activating adhesives – whether you're scraping off unwanted bumper stickers or preparing heat-activated adhesive on leather patches – should be done at lower temperatures. A range of 250 to 325 degrees should suffice. On the other hand, soldering wires requires a higher temperature range of 750 to 850 degrees.

If you're doing only a few tasks that are similar in nature, a heat gun with a single setting may be exactly what you need. For example, a plumbing company in a cold region of the country that uses heat guns to thaw frozen pipes in the winter will need high-temperature heat guns, but it will need only one setting.

But if you intend to use your heat for a wide range of projects that differ in terms of materials and objectives, get a heat gun with several temperature settings. A craft studio that needs a heat gun to apply heat-activated glue, strip paint and shape plastics would find value in a wide range of temperature settings.

To find the perfect heat gun for your business or hobby, explore Master Appliance's options.