Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Hotplate/Stirrer melting something?

jwarr - 20-2-2010 at 21:18

I've got a used hotplate/mag stirrer that I bought off ebay. The stirring works fine but I'm worried about the heater. I turned it on to test it out and I let it heat up for a good bit. The room started to smell like burning. The best comparison I can make is to a really hot hair straightener? Has anyone else encountered a similar problem? I'm thinking about just taking it apart to see if I can spot anything obviously wrong but I'm not sure how much that will do.

bquirky - 20-2-2010 at 21:28

it wasnt just that the hotplate hadnt been run in a while ? most of the hot stuff i have tends to smell odd after a period of inactivity mainly dust,spills etc burning off.

rrkss - 20-2-2010 at 22:28

probably dust and stuff from the packaging and shipping materials. Just let it run a bit and things should be fine.