Heat gun, hot plug

[Aukai]

I have a heat gun that the plug gets hot to the touch, which means to me resistance. I pulled the wall outlet, and cut the push in wire,and did a wrap the screw instillation. it is still getting hot, do I need a better plug for the gun, it's a Wagner 1200 watts?

 

[darkzero]

Well don't plug it in then!

Like how hot to touch, pretty warm or uncomfortable to touch hot? I would expect a 1200W heat gun's cord to get warm if used for a while. When you were messing with the outlet did you check to see if the outlet is actually still good, like tight connection, not worn? Outlets are so cheap if I suspect one is having issues & has got some age to it or lots of use I'll just replace it. I doubt replacing the cord or plug is going to make much difference unless it's damaged or has been abused.

 

[darkzero]

I know you've got M18 so you could always get this. No more stinkin hot plugs to worry about!

 

[Aukai]

The house was built in 89, same outlet, and it still has tension/feels good. It was very hot/uncomfortable before the change. It is max warm/ getting hot to me. the gun is new, and needs to be on 30-40 min.

 

[darkzero]

Our house was built in 89 also. I've replaced most of the outlets already, high usage ones more than once. I don't know much about electrical but I hate those push in connections which all the original outlets were. I've had a number of em fail at those connections.

30-40 mins is a pretty long time to keep a heat gun on for though.

 

[mmcmdl]

I have " hot gloves " here at home Mike ! They're good for 525 degree dies .

 

[Flyinfool]

There are cheap outlets and expensive outlets. All of the cheap ones in my shop and kitchen were getting warmer than I like. After all an outlet is an outlet as long as it has the same ratings right? I changed them to better quality ones and they do not get hot anymore. Now I know better.

 

[SLK001]

It's more likely the plug heating up. It's not unusual for a plug to heat up when pulling 10 amps or so. Everything is a resistor and every resistor will heat up with high current draws. It feels hot to the touch, but it is still within its design range.

 

[addertooth]

If your house is 89, are you confident the wiring is not Aluminum? Over time Aluminum oxidizes and creates higher resistance joints. There was a huge lawsuit years ago over house fires caused by aluminum wiring.

Sources of heat CAN include the surface of the Socket, where it meets the Spades that slide into the socket (the plug), over time the spring loaded contacts can become worn, and provide minimal contact, which also makes for a high resistance (high heat) connection.

Do you have a Multimeter?

 

[matthewsx]

That's probably just the electricity doing it's work. If the plug is melting or smoking something is definitely wrong but as has been noted the whole tool is basically a resistor with a fan attached. Yes, you can pursue this question with new outlets, cords, plugs, etc. but I bet you'd much rather be making stuff. As long as the breaker is sized right for the circuit I wouldn't worry.

John