Hot plate not working

[djryan13]

I have a cheap hot plate I use to warm my molds.

It no longer heats and LED doesn’t light. I opened it up and don’t see anything wrong.

Anyone ever fix one? Any standard thing that goes wrong or do I just toss it like the red blooded wasteful American I am?

[Scrounge]

Put it all the way back together, plug it in to an extension cord at least as heavy as it is, and flex the power cord along it's length back and forth, up and down, and roll it a bit, and see if the LED flickers. While you're doing that, look carefully at the cord and see if there is a place on it that looks bubbled, or doesn't conform to the shape of the cord near it, or obviously a small spot is melted. If so, replace the cord, or junk it. If you don't normally work on electrical things, it is safest to just junk it. Not to mention that a replacment cord will cost at least $10. You can get a new hot plate at Walmart for about $13. If you try to fix it and get yourself electrocuted an ER visit is gonna be at least the cost of a new spiffy AR. If it overheats the cable while you're gone, it may also burn down your house. YMMV, as they say.

If you're willing to learn, and want to keep increasing your knowledge of troubleshooting electrical stuff, go to Harbor Freight or where ever, and buy a digital volt meter, AKA DVM or multimeter. You can get one at HF for under $15, and sometimes free with purchase of anything else. The cheapest one they have is fine for small appliances, cars, and general household stuff. Some YT links to learn to use it: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=basic+trou...t=brave&ia=web

[Froogal]

I have a cheap hot plate I use to warm my molds.

It no longer heats and LED doesn’t light. I opened it up and don’t see anything wrong.

Anyone ever fix one? Any standard thing that goes wrong or do I just toss it like the red blooded wasteful American I am?

New hot plates are surprisingly inexpensive. I already tossed one that quit, and recently bought another to have on hand for when I need it.

[djryan13]

Thank you sir!!

I was able to determine the on/off switch on unit is getting power.

I bypassed the on switch so all that is connected is the temp adjust knob. I will see if I can test it later tonight. Went ahead and ordered new one from Amazon. Shopping in grocery stores (including Walmart) is not possible right now. Lines are spread out and going around buildings during these crazy days. Thus I was trying to fix so I don’t have to wait on Amazon.

[popper]

They have an inline fuze that is non-replaceable, like a hair dryer. Also check the connections to the coil itself, cheap lugs corrode easy.

[lightman]

For those of you that may need to replace a cord someday, Lowes and Home Depot have short cords with only the male end. I used these when installing things like dish washers and garbage disposals. Seems like they are $4 to $6 for a 5 or 6 ft one.

[jsizemore]

I assume you don't have know how to use an electrical multimeter. Your best bet is to purchase a new hot plate or study basic electricity. Getting bit is no fun and you don't want to turn it into a smoke generator.

[dale2242]

I am no electrician.
When mine quit I bought a new one.
They are quite cheap...dale