What electric hot plates to buy for in side of fume hood I'm building

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Mitch2580

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 6, 2016
Messages
48
Location
Aratula,QLD AUSTRALIA
Hi guys I'm building my own fume hood and I am now up to putting in heating elements I've been looking eBay for a used lab one but there $300 and I've found a new non commercial for $59 please tell me what you think of it

http://m.ebay.com.au/itm/Euro-Chef-Electric-Induction-Cooktop-Portable-Kitchen-Cooker-Ceramic-Hot-Plate-/162015684272?nav=SEARCH

Or perhaps let me know what you use and where I can get it here in Australia

Kind regards
Mitch
 
No good at all, seems to be an induction unit so you can only heat certain metallic vessels.

Göran
 
g_axelsson said:
No good at all, seems to be an induction unit so you can only heat certain metallic vessels.

Göran

Ok thank you I've found another one it looks very primitive but that may just be its best feature

http://m.ebay.com.au/itm/Maxim-Portable-Single-Electric-hot-Plate-Cooker-HotPlate-Cooktop-Stove-Caravan-/111806652393?nav=SEARCH

Kind regards
Mitch
 
Better. Me like primitive.

Apparently one can purchase on eBay a digitally controlled hotplate with magnetic stirrer and retort stand for about AU$80. (* Quality unassured)

I still use a ~30 old Breville, rusty, coffee maker with the upper section unscrewed. If you could find one at the Salvos, it would be ~ $5. It reaches about 110°C on the surface but won't heat a beaker of liquid to much over 80°C, which is perfect for PMAR or set-and-forget evaporating. I've spilt acid on it twice now, but due to it simplicity I am able to rinse it off under the hose and in the sink... which at least removes the layer of rust that comes with it living outside.

Days since last [stt]accidental spillover[/stt] rust removal procedure: 35

The point is, you don't need anything particularly elaborate while you're starting out.
 
Hi Jason

My thought with the first post $59 hotplate is that it was digital and I would be able to control the heat better then the $30 one

As I'm only young I thought if I bought ok quality equipment now I will still have it in 30 years.

I think I've spent about $280 AUD on my set up so far that includes glassware vac pump and filter paper chems and soon to be 2xhotplates and ply for my fume hood .

I know this is not the normal practice for beginners but I'm of the thinking that good tools will also help

And I think with out the people on this site I would of blowen my self up or poisoned my self .
So I tend to ask you guys everything

Thanks mate
 

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Find an old electric corningware hotplate, they are incredible. I have one for my house, but my wife would chastise me if i took it to the lab..

The oyster one i bought from walmart for 30 or 40 bucks has held up well for about 6 months so far, but, i believe its about to poo the bed. The other day i went out and turned it on low, when i went back the solution was doing a *rolling*hard*boil ...it somehow thought it was turned up all the way... I unplugged it, plugged it back in and it hasnt faltered again since.

But, the electromatic hot plate from corning is amazingly great, i believe Lou mentioned it before as one of the best ones money could buy. They stopped producing them in 1972 i believe, there are 2 different models, both would serve you well if you can find one for less than 50 bucks. Ebay is your best bet. I have only found 1 in my thrift store searches, and ive been looking every week at every store for a couple years plus.. ..thats probably why i have wayyy too much pyroceram

Edit=spelling
 
A $15 Walmart hot plate will work OK. It should work fine until you spill a bunch of acid into it. To prevent this, always put the dissolving vessel (beaker, etc.) in a Corning Ware pyroceram dish and then place the dish on the hot plate. If you want more precise temperature control, plug the hot plate into a Variac.

All hot plates will eventually crap out in the presence of acid fumes. One place I worked had about a dozen of those old (new at the time) Corning units that Topher mentioned. Even with those, we were always repairing them - usually replacing the temp sensor or the element. Corning still makes the ceramic hot plates but they look different and the cheapest new unit I found is $225. Were it me, I would just get a cheap $15 hot plate and replace it when it crapped out. Another thing I've used as a hot plate is a coated electric skillet. Won't get as hot but, for most things, extreme heat is not needed. I don't know if they're coating those with ceramic yet, like the regular skillets. If so, that might be the best thing to get.
 
I simply use an electric frying pan that I picked up for $10 or so at Goodwill.
I put a coffee pot on it and away I go. It has a variable heat knob on it so that
I can warm solutions or boil as needed. Plus it also is a "spill containment unit"
as it has 2.5" sides on it.

Best purchase I have made by far in stuff for refining!! 8)
 
Hi guys

Thank you for all of your advice I've taken it in so I'm going to buy the cheep one and a ceramic dish to put on top of the heating element. As I'm in Australia and we don't have Walmart or any of the other big outlets like you guys maybe one day they will come over here .
I think we have cosco at the Brisbane international airport but that is a long way from me .

It's getting so exciting I'm only about 2 weeks away from doing I'm first process
 

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If the dish is not a Corning Ware pyroceram dish, I wouldn't use it. The one you pictured doesn't look like a pyroceram dish at all.. Pyroceram is the only product I know of that will stand up to what we do. Check eBay.
 
goldsilverpro said:
If the dish is not a Corning Ware pyroceram dish, I wouldn't use it. The one you pictured doesn't look like a pyroceram dish at all.. Pyroceram is the only product I know of that will stand up to what we do. Check eBay.

Thanks goldsilverpro

I found them their not cheep but I guess you need the right tools for the job and if I ever crack a beaker it could save me hundreds in lost AR

Do you think a pryxe glass dish would work just as well ?

Kind regards
Mitch
 
Plain Pyrex glass dish's won't hold up. They don't take the heat well when rapidly heated or cooled. Follow Dave's link, that is some great information and they are worth the extra cost to hunt them up.
 
This is probably the best thread on Corning Ware pyroceram.

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=23620&p=248945&hilit=pyroceram#p248945

There is no substitute - no other type dish will work, as far as we know. Great for cooking also. I think the new CW pyroceram dishes are marked "StoveTop". For most work, I prefer the square 5 quart or 5 liter size. When buying used ones, make sure the inside is not cracked or etched (rough). It should be shiny and feel very smooth to the touch.

The only time I've had one break was after heating concentrated sulfuric acid directly in it. I was wet ashing some filter papers and the sulfuric probably was 300-400 degrees F. This etched the glaze and exposed the more porous ceramic underneath it. It felt rough. The next time I used it dry as a catch basin for a beaker, it broke when I heated it. I think the more porous ceramic had retained some moisture, which expanded while heating.
 
Now i feel special!

But, really though. Corningware is an absolute requirement. You never know when a beaker has had one too many reactions with sharp ceramic pieces that will eventually cause a failure and then, it blows out the bottom of the vessel spilling your gold and hot acid everywhere.

I know there are different names for pyroceram when across the pond (arcoflam), but I honestly have no idea about in Australia.

I have to admit that all of the information i got dor that thread was accumulated from corningware411.com and a couple other sites that are no longer available. I have spoke with Shane (corningware411 owner) and learned a great many things that i will update a new post on that thread eventually, when i talk to him next i will ask about corning in Australia.

If youd like, you can pm me your address and i can find out how much it is to ship to you, if its not terribly expensive i will ship you some pyroceram for free.. I have 100+ pieces (i buy it every time i see it), so i have a few i can give you. The same goes for any grf member that cant find it at their local thrift store for a couple bucks.
 
If there is one thing I could do over in my refining life it would be to recover the money I spent on short lived "high end" hot plates. Chris is right, these are the best.
image.jpeg

I know the catch trays are not pyrocream but most clients just go to a local store and get casserole dishes. They do not have the patience to do the yard sale for old pyrocream casseroles.
 
I'm a G.E. man ! In 7 years i've only managed to break one pyroceram dish and burn up one G.E. hot plate. The hot plate actually didn't burn out the temp controller went out. They are very sensitiveness to where you set the temperature unlike the cheap hot plates which aren't. They don't make these anymore, but if you can find a used one it's worth getting.
 

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I would wager that, over the years, I've tried about 20 different non-pyroceram casserole dishes. Some were Corning Ware. In every case I can remember, the dishes eventually cracked and broke, usually at a very inopportune time. I suppose you could get some life out of them but I would think you would have to baby them. I would always be worring about them breaking and could never fully trust them. With the pyroceram, you don't worry about it. You can abuse them and they still keep on ticking. You can buy a brand new 5 liter pyroceram dish for $42 and a lid for $6. Cheap insurance, as far as I'm concerned. About 5 years ago, I bought 4 ea, 5 liter dishes from the following company and had zero problems. I think they are the only CW distributor for pyroceram.

http://www.shopworldkitchen.com/corningware-stovetop/
 
Topher_osAUrus said:
Now i feel special!

But, really though. Corningware is an absolute requirement. You never know when a beaker has had one too many reactions with sharp ceramic pieces that will eventually cause a failure and then, it blows out the bottom of the vessel spilling your gold and hot acid everywhere.

I know there are different names for pyroceram when across the pond (arcoflam), but I honestly have no idea about in Australia.

I have to admit that all of the information i got dor that thread was accumulated from corningware411.com and a couple other sites that are no longer available. I have spoke with Shane (corningware411 owner) and learned a great many things that i will update a new post on that thread eventually, when i talk to him next i will ask about corning in Australia.

If youd like, you can pm me your address and i can find out how much it is to ship to you, if its not terribly expensive i will ship you some pyroceram for free.. I have 100+ pieces (i buy it every time i see it), so i have a few i can give you. The same goes for any grf member that cant find it at their local thrift store for a couple bucks.

Can I just start with that the support on this site is unbelievable I am truly proud to be a member and one day hope to Contribute as much as you guys . This site is not just a forum it is a global family.

I have found some in Australia for sale but it is $280 for a 5L pot but I will give it a few more weeks of looking in thrift stores I have my family that lives all over Australia looking in there local stores. :D

I was just given 30 Pentium 486 dx cpus I don't know if you process them as I haven't learned yet though we mite be able to trade

Kind regards
Mitch
 
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