When it comes to sticking things together there aren’t many better options than a great industrial glue gun. Industrial glue guns are useful for furniture assembly, upholstery, general carpentry, and a host of other applications. If you’re looking to buy your first industrial glue gun or are ready to upgrade to professional quality equipment - this article will show you how to choose a hot glue gun as an industrial user?
Let’s figure out how to choose a hot glue gun including the differences between hot and low temperature melt, different types of glue guns, and some tips on glue gun maintenance. With the right glue gun and the right care your world will come together nicely.
How to Choose the Best Glue Gun
High Melt and Low Melt Glue Guns
The first thing you need to do to determine the best glue gun for you is figuring out what type you need. The two major types of industrial glue guns include hot melt and low melt. When we say melt, we’re talking about the temperature it takes to melt the glue being used.
How Hot Does a Glue Gun Get?
Low melt glue guns use lower temperatures, around 250 degrees Fahrenheit, to melt and apply the glue. While hot melt guns use higher temperatures around 385 degrees. Low melt glue guns are utilized for delicate materials like sensitive upholstery while the bulk of industrial glue guns deal with hot melt glue sticks.
Is a Hot Melt or Low Melt Better?
For most industrial applications, a hot melt glue gun is the way to go. Hot melt glue guns are generally more efficient and better suited to large-scale industrial applications like building furniture. There are also more industrial options for hot melt glue guns for an array of different tasks.
Low melt glue guns are useful in industry applications when you’re working with materials that can’t handle the temperatures of hot melt. Low melt glue guns are generally better suited for home crafts and projects.
When compared to low melt guns, hot melt provides a stronger bond, works faster, is cleaner, and dries just as quickly. Unless you’re working with delicate materials a hot melt glue gun will be better.
Features and Differences of Hot Melt vs Low Melt
At face-value, it seems pretty simple: low melt adhesive and glue guns have a lower melt point, whereas hot melt sticks need more heat to achieve their results. There's more to it than though, however.
- Longevity - Low melt glue guns tend to have a longer life expectancy because the lower operating temperature puts less strain on internal parts.
Other Types of Industrial Glue Guns
Once you’ve decided on hot or low melt, you need to determine if you need additions like spray or bulk capabilities. By choosing the appropriate accessories you’ll have the best glue gun.
- Pneumatic (Spray) Industrial Glue Guns – Pneumatic glue guns, also known as spray guns, use air or other fluid to pressurize and spray glue for efficient or one-handed operation. Spray glue guns are helpful in industrial production when you need to cover a lot of surface area quickly.
- Industrial Bulk Blue Guns – Bulk glue guns are glue guns designed to handle large amounts of hot melt adhesive. They’re most advantageous when you’re working on large-scale applications and can’t constantly stop to refill.
Whether you need a bulk or spray glue gun depends on what you’re assembling and how much glue you need at any given time. Those who need lots of glue applied quickly need a glue gun that is an effective sprayer and comes with a bulk tank.
Glue Gun Price Points
Not all glue guns are created equal and those differences are reflected in their pricing. At Prime Industries we include a free Surebonder Pro2 80ht with all 2 case glue stick orders. The Pro 80ht is a quality glue gun, but there's a reason it's only $18. Let's look at a few reason why upgrading to a high-quality glue gun might be a smart choice.
- On/Off Switch - Many glue guns power on once plugged in. This results in wasted energy if the gun stays on while not in use, which diminishes the life expectancy of the glue gun.
- Quantity/Output - Entry level hot glue guns are capable of dispensing about 2 pounds of adhesive per hour, whereas industrial glue guns can dispense upwards of 5 pounds per hour.
- Flexibility - An adjustable temperature glue gun, like the Surebonder Pro2 220, can be adjusted for low and high melt sticks. With all the other benefits of high-end glue guns, this option may also save money by serving double-duty. Also, glue guns like the Pro2 220 can be used on different gauge hot melt sticks.
- Wattage - Part of what allows for an increased output with glue guns is an increased wattage. Lower wattage guns melt slower and thus slow production.
- Accessories - Better quality glue guns often come with different/replacement nozzles, carrying case, and sturdier stands.
How Strong is Hot Glue?
There are applications where you’ll need something stronger than hot glue, but what are its limits? Generally hot glue is used for wood to wood, wood to fabric, and wood to plastic applications. Hot glue won’t work well on metal or other applications where you need more than a few hundred pounds of strength. For most furniture and woodworking hot glue is the perfect bond.
How to Clean a Glue Gun
Cleaning and maintaining your glue gun is critical for keeping it in good shape, so how do you clean an industrial glue gun? For the right care you should always clean your gun during and directly after use.
During use you should always wipe visible excess glue off the nozzle and all other parts to keep glue from clogging or building up on any part of your machine.
After use you should run industrial glue cleaner or solvent through the works to clean out all excess from the gun’s interior.
If you’re dealing with a blockage or stubborn bits of glue, there are industrial products like Melt-O-Clean to clean things up. If you’re working in large-scale gluing applications, you should always keep glue cleaner and clog remover on hand or your expensive glue gun will quickly become a hunk of junk.
Figuring Out How to Choose a Hot Glue Gun
For most industrial applications you’ll need a high-quality hot melt glue gun that has both bulk carrying and spray capabilities. Take your time researching how much and quickly you need your glue and talk to other industry experts to get matched to the best glue gun. If you check those boxes, you’ll be outfitted with the best glue gun for any job.
