Smell from heat sealer to seal opening of shrink wrap bag (before using heat gun)

[slipperysoap]

Hi everyone! I’ve been using cling wrap to wrap my soaps since forever, but it can be extremely time consuming! Hence, I purchased some shrink wrap bags (with one opening), a heat sealer and a heat gun.

After placing the soap inside the shrink wrap bag, I will use a heat sealer to seal the opening. However, isn’t it technically ‘melting’ the plastic? I can smell the plastic burning, which isn’t very safe. Is there any other alternative?

 

[DeeAnna]

Yes, the heat sealer melts the plastic. But melting the plastic isn't the same thing as burning it. Heat sealers usually have an adjustment knob. Dial it down to a setting that gets the job done and no more.

 

[slipperysoap]

Yes, the heat sealer melts the plastic. But melting the plastic isn't the same thing as burning it. Heat sealers usually have an adjustment knob. Dial it down to a setting that gets the job done and no more.

Thank you! I guess either my shrink wrap or heater are not of good quality. Have made multiple adjustments but either it doesn't fully seal, or seals completely with a burning smell. Time for an upgrade!

 

[DeeAnna]

THe problem with burning ... and also with getting the correct temp adjustment .. could be caused by residues on the heating element. The cover on the element should look fairly clean and feel smooth. If the cover is burned through, has turned dark, or has crusty bits on it, maybe there's your problem.

 

[slipperysoap]

THe problem with burning ... and also with getting the correct temp adjustment .. could be caused by residues on the heating element. The cover on the element should look fairly clean and feel smooth. If the cover is burned through, has turned dark, or has crusty bits on it, maybe there's your problem.

The heating element/heating strip is quite clean as I just started using it. In the past, I have been using cling wrap since most of my soaps were melt and pour so i didn't want to risk it with heat guns. However in the past year, I've dabbed alot more into cold process. I'll look around the forum to see recommended brands of shrink wraps, thank you!

 

[cmzaha]

I have shrink-wrapped thousands of bars of soap using the least expensive sealer I could find on Amazon and shrink bags from Papermart. I found many times I would notice a slight odor when shrink wrapping especially when wrapping a lot of bars but it never caused an issue. After all, you are melting plastic. I will mention 4x6 bags from WSP, if they still sell them, are the same bags Papermart sells at a much cheaper price. If you buy your sealer on Amazon and it does not work properly and you have Prime you can always send it back. I never got one that did not work and I had 2 sizes and 3 or 4 sealers from them over the years of my selling. I still use this one for the small bags I purchased in 2018 only replacing the wire a few times. https://tinyurl.com/j4p4vx78

Even your heat gun can burn a small hole through your shrink bags I just left those. FYI the small craft heat guns tend to get hotter, in my experience, so I used a larger heat gun such as a De Walt you would purchase from Home Depot, but they are not cheap.