Dollar store glue gun surprise after 30 seconds of use

I grabbed a $1.50 hot glue gun from the dollar store last week for a quick project fixing a loose drawer pull. Figured it would work fine for a one-time thing. But after about 30 seconds of use, the glue started smoking and the gun got so hot I dropped it on the floor. Turns out the heating element was basically bare wire. I learned real fast that some tools are worth spending a few extra bucks on. Has anyone else had a dollar store tool almost start a fire on them?

2 comments

2 Comments

sagea881mo ago

Man I felt that one just reading it. I grabbed a pair of dollar store pliers a few months back and the handle cracked in my hand on the second squeeze, nearly pinched my palm raw. Yours sounds way scarier though, bare wire and smoke? That's a real hazard, not just cheap junk. I bet that glue gun would've melted down completely if you kept going. Makes you wonder what standards they skip to sell stuff that cheap.

spencer1991mo ago

Damn, bare wire and smoke? That's wild. I gotta ask though - did you even check the plug before you used it? Like did it have one of those fake certification stickers or was it just totally blank? Because I've seen dollar store electronics that literally had the UL sticker printed on the box with no actual testing done. Makes me wonder how many of these things pass through safety inspections in the first place. Stuff like that should be illegal to sell, not just a bad deal.