DIY Basic Hot Air Gun Guide

If you often need to use a hot air gun, then this article might be helpful. You can learn how to DIY a basic hot air gun here.

You will need the following materials: one 5V radial fan (similar to a laptop cooling fan), three 40W internal-heating soldering iron cores, one 5V power supply bare board, one power supply housing, one potentiometer, one TIP41 transistor, several resistors, several 0.5 stainless steel sheets, two quick-connect terminals, one section of stainless steel broom handle, one electric kettle drain nozzle, and one switch.

Tool list: spot welder, scissors, soldering iron.

After preparing the materials above, you can start the build.

First, you need to carefully use pliers to remove the ceramic material around the resistance wire on the three soldering iron cores, and keep them as spares.

Then you need to take a section of stainless steel pipe and spot-weld three pieces of 0.5 stainless steel sheet at each end, forming a circle so that the soldering iron cores can be inserted.

You can stagger them slightly so the airflow can carry the heat out more easily.

Then you need to twist the wires together at the other end, connect the soldering iron cores in parallel, and make sure the insulation is done properly. The total power will be about 120W.

Next, you need to adjust the shape of the other end of the steel pipe so it can just cover the fan outlet. You can secure it with screws if necessary.

At the other end, you need to use stainless steel sheets and the water dispenser drain nozzle to form a nozzle.

The air duct assembly diagram is shown above.

The mains input of the 5V power supply bare board connects directly to the power cord, while the 5V output goes through the potentiometer and TIP41 to build a simple current-control circuit to adjust the fan speed. The mains power goes through the switch to power the soldering iron cores, and two quick-connect terminals are used for easier wiring.

If the height is not enough, you can cut off the crimping part of the quick-connect terminals.

The overall assembly diagram is shown above.

The power at low fan speed is shown above.

The power at maximum fan speed is shown above.

The power when the heating switch is turned on is shown above.

Working indicator light, the light is red when it is on.

Power-on but not heating indicator light, the light is green when it is on.

The heating condition is shown above.

The air inlet of this hot air gun is shown below, and it is not completely aligned with the fan airflow channel.

The finished hot air gun is shown below.

End.