i have never seen a hotplate 'run away'
when in the off position. we use only corning brand hotplates here.
thanks for the info and something else to be aware of!
Best regards,
Margie Brazelton Senior Process Chemist
Groundbreaking Performance Through Practical
Innovation
From:
"Pickel, Joseph
M." <pickeljm**At_Symbol_Here**ORNL.GOV>
To:
DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Date:
04/21/2015 07:55 PM
Subject:
[DCHAS-L] Runaway
Hot Plates
Sent by:
DCHAS-L Discussion
List <dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
In the past year, we have had a series
of issues with "runaway" hot plates. In the first instance,
a hot plate in the off position began heating in an unoccupied laboratory
resulting in a hood fire. Since then we've observed another hot
plate that was heating while in the off position as well as a hot plate
that heated uncontrollably while on a low setting. The hot plates
that were in use were all relatively new and issues look to be caused by
failed circuit boards.
We're advising our folks to keep hotplates
unplugged when not in use and use stirring-only hotplates where possible.
In addition, some groups are considering getting rid of their existing
hotplates and buying new models, but I fear that these may have the same
potential issues. The possibility of installing an on/off switch
on the cord has also been discussed, and while this will prevent hot plates
from heating while in the off position, it might not help the issue of
hot plates running away (uncontrolled) when the hot plate is intentionally
turned on.
I'd like to poll the group- has anyone
else had similar issues, and more importantly... what kind of solutions
have you identified?
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