Hot glue guns and glue sticks in UK

[Kevin Hallaway]

Hi I have just received a Flite Test Kraken kit, quite expensive by the time it comes to UK with post and taxes but it is a BIG model!
I now have a problem in that the FT recommended glue gun is 110volts while in the UK the juice comes at 240volts. I can find similar wattage guns that work at 240 volts but these use 12.0mm glue sticks rather than the 12.7mm sticks that come from FT. Does anyone know what the specification or description or make of the FT glue sticks is so that I can try to fine a UK equivalent? The alternative would be to get the FT recommended gun and glue stick and use a suitable transformer but that is getting rather expensive.
Many thanks
Kevin

 

[Mowgli]

Hi
Living in Denmark I have the same problem, but found this one, works great and can deliver more than enough glue.

 

[Kevin Hallaway]

Glue types

Hi Mowgli
Many thanks for your post, the Tec guns seem to be the answer. 👍 Do you have any suggestions for the type of glue stick to use, as I am building a large model the glue needs to be of the high temperature type and have a long "open" time?
Regards

 

[RipGroove]

I've also been told that the little Stanley dual temp guns work well with the duel melt sticks, I have foam board on its way to me and thats what I was going to use for my first FT model.

 

[Kevin Hallaway]

Hi RipGroove
Thanks for your feed back, does dual melt mean that it can be used at both high and low temperature?
The FT Kraken (which on reflection is probably not the best foam board model to start with as it is very large) requires a lot of glue to be put down very fast so a high capacity gun is necessary. The FT one recommended is 200 watts, I will probably get a TEC 805 hot melt gun as it is 240volts and 250watts.
What model are you putting together, is it a FT kit or are you using locally sourced foam board?

 

[Paul-H]

Hi

In Europe look for Tacwise glue guns, their 200w model is the same one as used by Flitetest.

The standard Bostic branded gun works well as well.

The higher wattage is only used for the initial heat up, once hot they all switch to a lower level, or should, otherwise you will boil the glue.

For glue sticks these are the same ones Flitetest use http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111702693986

Paul

 

[Guy123]

EDIT: This post contained incorrect electrical advice that I've removed for safety reasons! derp!

 

[Paul-H]

Light blue touch paper and wait for the big bang

if you must use an item made for 110v then use it on 110v via a simple stepdown transformer, plugging a 110 device in 220 will make it go bang unless it has an auto switching transformer which it won't.

 

[quorneng]

USA and UK voltages are not compatible unless the equipment is specifically marked 110/240V AC.

For any type of resistive load (a heating element) something USA rated will attempt to pass twice the current at UK voltage (generating 4 times the power) so either it wont last long or as Paul-H says it will just go bang!

110V was chosen as it is the highest that is not likely to be lethal (it is mandatory even on UK building sites) whereas you need some luck to survive a full 240V shock.

 

[gowen]

UK Glue Gun

Have a look at https://www.gluegunsdirect.com/

I have their TEC 305 12mm 120 Watt crafter's glue gun (£18) which works really well with their 213 glue sticks, which have a long open (set) time. If you want an even higher powered glue gun, the TEC 805 12mm is 250 Watt.

 

[Kevin Hallaway]

Glue guns and Glue

Hi

In Europe look for Tacwise glue guns, their 200w model is the same one as used by Flitetest.

The standard Bostic branded gun works well as well.

The higher wattage is only used for the initial heat up, once hot they all switch to a lower level, or should, otherwise you will boil the glue.

For glue sticks these are the same ones Flitetest use http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111702693986

Paul

Hi Paul
Many thanks for your help, the Tacwise gun is just job, looks just like the AdTech Pro 200 presumably with a suitable heating element for 240volts.
One thing I am a bit confused about is that the Ad Tech gun is for 0.5 inch dia. (12.7mm) sticks, the Tacwise is for 12.0mm dia. sticks and the link you gave was for 11.0mm dia. Sticks. I don't have any experience with glue guns (can't you tell!) is the glue stick feed mechanism capable of handling the difference size sticks?

 

[Ffog]

Guy123!!!!
Plz back to school sir, what you are saying is wrong wrong wrong. Plz stop this before you make someone burn down their house and home!

 

[Paul-H]

Hi Paul
Many thanks for your help, the Tacwise gun is just job, looks just like the AdTech Pro 200 presumably with a suitable heating element for 240volts.
One thing I am a bit confused about is that the Ad Tech gun is for 0.5 inch dia. (12.7mm) sticks, the Tacwise is for 12.0mm dia. sticks and the link you gave was for 11.0mm dia. Sticks. I don't have any experience with glue guns (can't you tell!) is the glue stick feed mechanism capable of handling the difference size sticks?

Here is a link to the Tacwise 207 I use

it states 11.7mm for the glue sticks which is why I use the 11mm sticks in the other listing.

in the UK 99% of domestic hot Glue Guns take 11mm sticks other bigger sizes are for industrial use and need special guns that cost a small fortune.

Paul

 

[Guy123]

Guy123!!!!
Plz back to school sir, what you are saying is wrong wrong wrong. Plz stop this before you make someone burn down their house and home!

Ok, yup I have rather embarrassed myself. I was confusing one piece of electrical 'knowledge' with another. Thanks for calling me out, I've done more research on-line and I can officially confirm I 'done derped'! Will amend the previous post in-case someone reads it and doesn't see this!

 

[Ribbit]

I've also been told that the little Stanley dual temp guns work well with the duel melt sticks, I have foam board on its way to me and thats what I was going to use for my first FT model.

I have this one (from here http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7004937.htm), it uses the 7mm sticks, and works well for what I want (which isn't for big kits, so can't vouch for its performance there - might not be able to deliver enough glue fast enough I suppose).

Came with 24 glue sticks, and the longer 7mm ones are dirt cheap on Ebay, plus they work with the 12v glue gun from Hobbyking that I got for the flight box. High and low temps work on a manual switch.

The stand is a little bit 'dinky' for it, but I solved that by using it with a small tin as a rest while warming up.

I suppose the critical reference point would be, how many grams a minute would you need it to deliver? Some do it by volume (liters per hour). Some of the 200w ones deliver less than 5g/min.

This Tacwise 250 watt one can do over 30g/min - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tacwise-2...W-240V-0003-/170588123926?hash=item27b7d83316

 

[Mowgli]

Hi Mowgli
Many thanks for your post, the Tec guns seem to be the answer.  Do you have any suggestions for the type of glue stick to use, as I am building a large model the glue needs to be of the high temperature type and have a long "open" time?
Regards

Hello

Sorry for the late answer, but for some reason I don't get any messages from this board.
I have bought these glue sticks, and i know they are only 11 mm, but they wors just fine.
Open/working time should be around 1 minute (but I am not sure that is true)

 

[RipGroove]

Hi RipGroove
Thanks for your feed back, does dual melt mean that it can be used at both high and low temperature?
The FT Kraken (which on reflection is probably not the best foam board model to start with as it is very large) requires a lot of glue to be put down very fast so a high capacity gun is necessary. The FT one recommended is 200 watts, I will probably get a TEC 805 hot melt gun as it is 240volts and 250watts.
What model are you putting together, is it a FT kit or are you using locally sourced foam board?

Yes I belive the dual melt refers to the fact that the gun itself has a high and low setting and that the dual melt sticks work best with it.

I'm just starting my first FT build here in the UK, I'll let you know how I get on with this gun and sticks.

I'm making the Mustang using genuine Adams Readi-Board that I had shipped here from the U.S.

 

[RipGroove]

Have a look at https://www.gluegunsdirect.com/

I have their TEC 305 12mm 120 Watt crafter's glue gun (£18) which works really well with their 213 glue sticks, which have a long open (set) time. If you want an even higher powered glue gun, the TEC 805 12mm is 250 Watt.

I might actually try this rather than my little Stanley one. I've spent ages cutting out templates and then the actual foam so don't want to mess it up at the glueing stage!

 

[kulens]

I'm using the Dremel Hot Glue Gun 940 (http://www.dremeleurope.com/general/en/dremel®gluegun940-6113-ocs-c/). What I like about this tool is:

• High temp.
• Switch to turn on/off
• Easy to use folding stand in the front

But what I've found out is that it's more important to find good glue sticks. Don't use for ex. pattex 5sec. sticks. I didn’t like the sticks from Dremel too. But cheap sticks from a local hobby shop at high temp. gave the best result to me.