Hot Plates get hot

[thehouseproduct]

I learned that my single burner hot plate on medium gets hot. Very hot.
http://img.tapatalk.com/40bafd02-e206-4c55.jpg

[captaint]

I'd love to tell you I've never done that. I didn't think they got that hot either !! enjoy Mike

[popper]

Your supposed to put them in a PAN! Same H.P. I have, works great. I can even hook it up to my PID controller.

[Iron Mike Golf]

Ahhh, yes, the 10 minute ingot pre-heat!

[Doc Highwall]

I have a casting thermometer stuck into a piece of flat aluminum that I set my moulds and ingots on for measuring the temperature. That way I know how hot both the moulds and ingots are.

[RobS]

Been there and now a pan goes with the preheating of ingots.

[chboats]

Been there done that. That is why I put an electrical box on the end of an extension cord with a light dimmer inline with an outlet to adjust to temp. Works a lot better than the hot plate control.

carl

[RobS]

Been there done that. That is why I put an electrical box on the end of an extension cord with a light dimmer inline with an outlet to adjust to temp. Works a lot better than the hot plate control.

carl

I do a similar thing with my Lee pot, except I use a router speed controller and I wired the pot's coils straight. Basically the the same principle as what you are doing though.

[jmsj]

I did the same thing as the OP once. I put a few 1 pound ingots on a piece of thin metal on the hot plate set at medium. I was jumping around pretty quickly for a little while getting that mess cleaned up.
jmsj

[a.squibload]

Haven't done THAT but I wondered why my hotplate
wouldn't heat up, had it plugged in to the same outlet as
the compressor, popped the breaker.

[1Shirt]

You live and learn! An interesting cycle!
1Shirt!

[Longwood]

The old hotplates would melt the new-fangled Aluminum pans if you forgot an empty one on the hotplate.
I bought a flat plate hotplate a couple of years ago and it gets warm enough to melt lead but not hot enough to be a good one.
I bought a 1500 watt hot plate a few weeks back that has a ceramic coil instead of the solid plate type thinking it would get nice and hot.
It did,,, until the internal bi-metal safety switch turned it down.

If a goofy switch can be installed,,, it can, and was, removed.
I have a huge rheostat thingie that I am using to control it but have the dimmer switch that RobS suggested on my shopping list.

[Walter Laich]

did the same thing preheating the ingots

live and learn

[bruce drake]

hmmm...."hot" plate....If it doesn't work, I guess you could call it a cool plate...