The Steinel MobileHeat MH3 is an 18V cordless heat gun with 600W output and dual temperature settings.
It can be set to 570° or 930° F, and deliver airflow up to 7 cfm.
The heat-up time, from “0 to 570°F” takes just 5 seconds, and the included 8Ah battery is good for “up to 200 shrinkings of any type” on a full charge.
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Steinel is known for their heat guns and related equipment.
The MH3 heat gun also features a built-in rubber backend, for resting it back on flat surfaces, an LCD display, hanging ring, LED work light, and is compatible with “standard” push-on nozzle attachments.
What surprised me about this is that it’s inherently compatible with the CAS 18V cordless power tool system.
The CAS 18V system is a cordless alliance powered by Metabo’s 18V battery form factor.
While previously available in Europe, this is the first example of CAS system tools that I’ve seen, at least outside of Metabo’s own branded tools, batteries, and chargers.
According to Steinel’s product marketing language, the CAS system has – at least as of when the MH3 materials were put together – includes more than 200 tools from more than 16 manufacturers.
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Price: $573 for the 8Ah kit
NOTE: The product images show the battery charger with a European style plug. I would assume that, as the kits are sold by and shipped by Amazon, that they would come with USA-compatible chargers.
Supporting documentation cites Steinel America Inc, and so the kits appear to be packaged for the USA market, rather than direct imports.
Steinel has another model, the MH5, with higher power (1000W), broader temperature range (120-930°F), faster heat-up time (4 seconds), greater airflow (10.5 cfm) and LCD display.
Price: $650 for the 8Ah kit
Discussion
The Steinel cordless heat gun has a decent feature set, although the price is higher than much of the competition from other cordless power tool brands.
The highlight here – for me – is the CAS 18V cordless power tool system compatibility.
For me, this is the first CAS (Cordless Alliance System) 18V power tool to make landfall in the USA.
We haven’t seen much from Bosch AmpShare either.
Things can get very interesting really quickly, but probably won’t. Still, the (new?) Steinel cordless heat gun seemed to be worth a quick look.
Michael F
I really like the idea of battery interoperability, however, I can’t help but think launching a CAS tool in the US is an odd choice when most tool buyers here have never even seen a Metabo battery in person (much less owned one).
MM
I feel the same way. I don’t have anything against Metabo: they make some great tools. I have one of their specialty grinders and their cordless compact recip saw….but I run them off Dewalt batteries using adapters. I rarely see Metabo tools except for some their grinders at welding and MRO shops. The CAS is broad, but they seem to be mostly niche specific tools and few if any of them have a US presence. Perhaps CAS makes sense for the trades in Europe? I wouldn’t know. But I don’t think it is all that appealing in the US currently.
fred
I guess that I bought what are essentially Mafell batteries when I bought a pair of Mafell track saw kits as gifts for Christmas 2022.
I see that they are assembled in Hungary.
fred
I should have said “Metabo batteries”
John E
You are correct Fred. Other than my first cordless Mafell saw I buy the bare tools from Europe then add a Metabo 2x8ah kit here in the US. Saves about $300-400. They seem to be catching up on that though as many UK sellers have now stopped shipping Mafell/Mirka or Festool to the United States.
C. Mango
Will CAS ever make it to the major U.S. tool brands other than Metabo?
Stuart
I highly doubt it.
CAS reduces the barrier to market entry for other power tool makers who don’t have an existing cordless platform.
Cullen J Webb
I would be thrilled if smaller tool companies such as the ones found at Aldi or online at Amazon would rally around CAS. There is no way that major tool brands will ever switch, but this could easily become the “default”, the “USB” of tool batteries.
Hopefully the BMS in the battery is where the cutoff occurs. This is how Ryobi was able to transition to lithium-ion and still support all of their older tools; their batteries have high current mosfets which cut off when the battery runs low/hot/cold/etc.
In this way brands wouldn’t need to program their tool to monitor CAS batteries past/present/future, and instead each battery monitors itself and knows it’s own limitations.
Jerry
I like your way of thinking. Short line companies or specialty tool companies would be able to enter the cordless tool market with a standardized battery platform. More choices for the consumer as well as a better opportunity for the tool maker.
Scott K
Graco makes a line of cordless paint sprayers that run on DeWalt batteries. I would think that, in the US, it would be more likely for a specialty company to partner with a brand that has an existing footprint here. I don’t know of other examples, but I assume there are a few…could make for an interesting post.
MM
There are more examples of this, for example Surebonder cordless hot glue guns are available for Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita, and perhaps others too. Klein and MAC use Dewalt. Amkus rescue equipment uses Flexvolt. There are probably other examples too.
fred
Reed (a US Plumbing tool competitor with Ridgid) offers their stick pump standard with an interface for Bosch batteries. But they sell plates that swap out the interface to use Dewalt, Makita or Milwaukee batteries. I found it a bit odd that they selected Bosch as their primary.
https://www.acmetools.com/reed-mfg-cordless-pump-stick-water-transfer-pump-only-08140/757033081406.html
and – maybe its just me – but I’d be more inclined to buy the Milwaukee version
https://www.acmetools.com/milwaukee-m12-stick-transfer-pump-bare-tool-2579-20/045242604593.html
Joellikestools
It looks like the Reed the Surebonder glue guns are made for
one battery style, Ryobi, with different adapters for the other brands.
Saulac
I want to know why cordless airless sprayers are bloody expensive. I believe Ryobi had one at some point, but not anymore.
Scott K
Yes- when I first saw that Graco made one compatible with DeWalt batteries I looked into it. I was very surprised by the price. I similarly thought that this sounded like something Ryobi could put out…
Big Richard
I’d love the Graco, but I can’t quite justify that price for it. I’m gonna try out the Melif model this spring. For $70 I figured it was worth a shot – https://mellif-tools.com/products/mellif-spray-gun-for-dewalt-18v-20v-max-battery-cordless-paint-sprayer-gun-with-3-spray-patterns-adjustable-valve-knob-for-painting-ceiling-fence-cabinets-walls
Scott K
@BigRichard
Do you know anything about this brand? I’m curious how they can sell so many tools that seem to directly compete with each battery’s brand. When I was looking at the Graco again, this brand popped up on Amazon as a suggestion. Dewalt batteries aren’t cheap, so I’d be nervous that a 3rd party tool may cause damage. Or am I wrong and will the battery shut down if it senses potential damage?
Steven+B
” although the price is higher than much of the competition from other cordless power tool brands” is a bit of an understatement. I paid $100 for my DeWalt cordless heat gun. I can buy a massive DeWalt toolset for that price with the holiday bundles….and my DeWalt batteries work with every tool I’ll ever need.
CAS is a great idea, but I googled them and hadn’t heard of a single brand….thus I expect they’re all specialty tools for Europeans with prices similar to this one. I am sure this is great for someone somewhere and maybe Americans are just spoiled, but our tools are cheap and really high quality. Everyone knows someone with a 20 year old DeWalt that refuses to die. I have a few myself. Milwaukee and DeWalt make great tools…IMHO better than Bosch or every other mass-market European tool maker I’ve seen….especially once you factor in price (Yeah, festool is great, until you do the math and realize that for the price of a domino, tracksaw, and dust extractor, you can buy DeWalt’s largest tool bundle AND a SawStop cabinet tablesaw and 2HP dust collector).
Robert
I followed the Steinel link in the side bar a few days ago because they look like phasers from Star Trek. And I was surprised at the price. I get they are industrial, but why does a hear gun need to be that expensive?
Mafell cordless use CAS batteries. But when I bought my Mafell track saw I didn’t buy Mafell CAS batteries. Beaver Industrial supply was running a deal that Christmas where I got two Metabo branded 5.5 CAS batteries and their best Metabo (Europe, not HPT) hammer drill for the same price as 2 Mafell branded batteries. The hammer drill is in the same class as the Dewalt 996 or 999, something like LTX-3 Q L, but it has a very aggressive protection threshold where it stops the drill. So I feel I don’t get all its power. Yes, I use the 90 degree handle attachment in that case.
MM
I agree, the price just seems insane. A heat gun is one of the simplest power tools there is. It’s really no different from a hair dryer. It’s a fan powered by a small motor, and a heating element. Aside from the fan there are no moving parts. There are no precision elements like gears, blade arbors, reciprocating mechanisms, chucks, angle gauges, etc. The only thing more basic is a flashlight. I just don’t see what justifies that kind of price for the heat gun. I can understand why a Mafell or a Festool saw is expensive. But a fancy hair dryer? No.
John E
Especially when a decent enough corded heat gun is $39. I survived 25+ years with just a corded heat gun then picked up the DeWalt 20V a couple of years ago. Guess what….the DeWalt gathers dust on the shelf.
Scott K
I have a basic ~$30 model from Wagner that I picked up for a specific task. It worked very well and has rarely been used since. I know that some of the higher end versions have higher temps, accessories, and other things that may be worthwhile for regular use.
Doresoom
Heh, “up to 200 shrinkings of any type”. I bet it can’t do 200 cannon plug heat shrink boots on a charge. Those things take forever!
Scott Horton
Looks identical to the Metabo HG 18 LTX bare tool that sells for $139
w00dy
Yes it is the same tool!
eddie sky
I was watching an emergency window repair in the Winter, and the installer was using a heat gun to warm the butyl flashing adhesive and then speed-dry the paint.
Plus another painter on the inside, was drying the replacement casing/trim paint work.
I have a corded heat gun I rarely use. I wished for something cordless but smaller that could get use under dash or hood when replacing connector (shrinkwrap w/labels). Or even when doing some Cat6 work. But my corded gun is much lighter in weight than some of these 5-10Ah battery packs. You are holding the gun for extended time and it makes a difference when its 2lbs.
Jim Felt
“Interesting”…
Though for me the only useful information I see on this announcement is that it reminds me that my line voltage Steinel heat gun and its various nozzles aren’t getting nearly the use they once did. Simply because I mostly use my Milwaukee M18 cordless version with Steinel’s nozzles.
w00dy
I think it’s interesting that these are now brought to the US as Steinel seems to be leaving CAS in favour of Bosch’s AmpShare platform. Sad!
I was thinking of buying this here in Europe as it has nice functions. But when I was looking into the Steinel (and same Metabo in green body) I found out that they only work with the 8Ah battery and I have non. I use the 5.5 LiHD for my Mafell saw and my Metabo angle grinder as it delivers more watts power.
Eventually went with the Hikoki RH 18DA heat gun (Metabo HPT on your side of the water) as that is my other battery platform. I like how you can set it from 30 degrees Celsius to 400 degrees Celsius in steps of 10 degrees. Really neat! Only has 2 airflow settings. But guess that will do the trick. Now it’s waiting for a small job to come along.
It was also way cheaper than the Steinel so that’s nice.
Gnarbar
Scangrip offers a CAS powered work light and corresponding house branded battery (with adapters for other 18v systems available). They sell direct in the US.
Baier has an interesting CAS dry diamond core drill also available in US market. It uses a “soft impact” mode for fast drilling in concrete. Looks good on YouTube.
Rx9
It has come to my attention recently, loooking on Amazon, that the big three (in the US at least, Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita) cordless systems of power tools have become unofficial CAS like standards unto themselves. What started as knockoffs of their batteries now moved into knockoffs of the tools themselves, using the same standards voltage/interface. Some of these appear to be niche tools not currently in the official line, but a lot are applications served by the original manufacturer.
To illustrate, just entering the term “Dewalt powered tools” in the search bar returns a bevy of non-official tools compatible with the 20v platform, including an angle grinder, heat gun, car buffer, inflator, flood light, tile vibrator, omt, paint sprayer, reciprocating saw and more.
I’m not quite sure how the OEMs regard these copycats. On one hand, they often constitute an unofficial line extension and increase in market penetration (for the system) with zero upfront cost. On the other, they represent cannibalized sales and a possible dilution of the brand image via inferior products. Case in point, one of the flood lights has a number of critical reviews stating that they destroyed battery packs, likely due to being constructed without any battery protection circuitry.
I suspect that for as long as the knock off batteries have been around, the OEMs have come to the conclusion that it’s not worth fighting these either.
That said, they may want to counter this by codifying a CAS-like “partner standard” whereby worthy niche manufacturers can officially integrate into the brand’s system by meeting a reasonable set of technical specifications. I’ve seen reputable brands like Chapin and Surebonder release cordless tools compatible with major systems, so perhaps this may already be in effect, without any formal announcement as with CAS.
However the major players respond, I still believe the road ahead will eventually converge on just 1 or 2 interoperability standards at the most common voltages (12, 18, 36) currently used in cordless. Perhaps this development may push things further in that direction.
JR Ramos
“up to 200 shrinkings of any type”…on an 8aH battery? I’d like to see how they tested that. Maybe short one inch 1/8″ standard tubing in groups of ten at a harness/bar? Try a few inches of some 1-1/2″ 4:1 and see how many get done…I’ll bet it’s about 6 or 7.
I’ve always heard these were the cream of the crop even over the old Master guns which were pretty great. I don’t know what makes Steinel command such a high price – even assuming slightly better or greatly better quality with the nichrome wire and number of elements or other small features, and a premium brand/country markup…why so high?
I picked up the Bosch 18v model when it was first available and I like it a lot more than the similar from DeWalt and Milwaukee and via a friend saw too many Ryobi models die to even consider that one. Makita’s better model is one of the best on the market, pretty much matched with the similar from Metabo. I’ve not had the Bosch apart yet but from what I can see it looks like pretty standard fare on the visible parts of the element and mica tube, etc. I’d love to see how the Steinel models are assembled and what they’re using, see if there’s some justification for the pricing.
The MH5 looks like the much better of the two, but that price. The added CFM and temp spread bring it closer to a decent electric gun, sometimes both are much appreciated.
Derrick
I’ve had one of these for a while. I use it with an 8AH Metabo battery. It is far more powerful than any other cordless heatgun I’ve used, and is probably comparable to a basic 120V unit. If you need a cordless heatgun, this is it.