It is too early to speak about the lifespan of the product. I haven't even rated the temperature control yet because I won't know until I've used it for a month or two. I have just received it. The REASON I opened up was to add a power switch. (I'm an EE born to tinker.) At first I was pleased to find that there was already an ON indicator (otherwise I would have had to add one). Believe it or not, in this day and age of LEDs, it's an old fashioned neon (NE-2?) ballasted, frankly, with both 110v lines (one ballasted), neat and loving. covered with shrink tubing - just like in the old days. Also, I was impressed by the fact that everything is attached with plastic self-tapping steel screws. nothing "welded" - so that it can be repaired if necessary. Next is the plastic case (ABS filled or similar, I'm not a plastics or materials engineer) HIGH STRENGTH with 0.105" (2.7mm) thick walls. The feed levers are very strong (filled nylon or similar) with an oversized brace and a pin connecting the main retraction and feed levers to the feed linkage.In addition there are four separate heaters surrounding the center tube/chamber, bolted (again) in place, with each pair of electrical wires lovingly and carefully connected to the incoming power supply and insulated with heat shrink tubing. Also, all electrical connections to the heaters are carefully wrapped with high temperature Kapton tape.. In addition, the HOT nozzle assembly and the rear of the hot chamber are insulated from the main body by high temperature insulation. "Eyelets". Next, the trigger fits comfortably on all 4 fingers, and the palm grip is a comfortable rubbery it pad. Much better than just bare plastic against the tissues of my thumb and palm. Whoever designed this should be proud. Whoever was responsible for quality control. I'm very satisfied, I recommend it to everyone and I can't believe I got such a quality tool for such a low price. .UPDATE: I had the opportunity to take the temperature. After 3 attempts with the unit warmed up for over an hour, my unit read 360F to 362F measured right at the tip in the "flow" of the adhesive when I press down on the FLUKE thermocouple a little. Not 410F as promised on the label. I don't think it matters for my applications, but I was asked to rate the temperature control and now I've done it.
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