Magnetic Stirrer with Hot Plate

I used the stirrer on two occasions. The third time I went to use the stirrer it did not work. Total usage hours - perhaps 1 (at most). Hot plate control is difficult. I would highly recommend getting a hot plate with a temperature indicator. I found that I am always way too hot, or not hot enough. At any rate, the unit is broken after two uses of the stirrer.

Although the description advertises that this product has a temperature range of 0-370*C this is untrue. The instructions (an entertaining example of shattered english) state the maximum temperature is 100*C. After using the hotplate I discovered that by using an oil bath, a temperature of about 140*C can be reached.The major problem is that the construction is shoddy. The heating control knob on my unit seemed to have become detached and the heat light does not turn on, making it near impossible to tell what the setting of the hotplate is or whether it is on at all.The stirring mechanism seemed to work fine, but I never got a chance to heat and stir at the same time before realising the severity of the defect and deciding to return it.

Cannot get hot enough to boil water in a boiling flask. Stirred great though

As of purchase time, this was the most affordable price for a magnetic stirrer with hot plate. Thermometer holder is flimsy and wobbles slightly but otherwise holds up to the job. This is on the smaller side and can stir up to 800mL with ease. The included stir bar is almost useless at higher speeds so a better designed/more expensive one might be better for you.If you want a basic stirrer and hot plate this price cant be beat. There are better ones out there but for my basic needs the price isnt justified. On first use mine made lots of noise and started to vibrate, I believe we solved this by removing some holding clips that were on the bottom to stabilize the motor during shipping(i assume).Their customer service department is nice and will listen to any questions or concerns and they were more than happy to provide a replacement or refund if i wasnt happy.

What do you expect for 150 dollars? Well, I wasn't expecting much....and I was wrong! I read reviews about how it is underpowered, shoddy build quality, doesn't heat properly, etc. But I figured, this is worth just the magnetic stirrer and stand with this price. You know what? It's more than adequate for basic lab needs. Granted this is not a Corning hotplate, but then again, it isn't a rip off either. For 150 dollars you get a perfectly useable hotplate that will bring a 250ml flask of cold water, starting out with a cold hotplate, to a boil in 10 minutes or so (while stirring). The magnetic stirrer works great, and the stirbar that is included isn't half bad. I was able to perform a complete water distillation in around 2 hours. Started with 250ml, yielded 230ml, with 18ml left in the boiling flask, (NEVER let your glassware boil down dry). I took it out of the box when I first got it and everything looked great to me. Began using it right away and have been ever since. I may have to buy a 2nd one if this proves to hold up long enough!

Product is great quality but showed up not containing all pieces described. Package was opened inside the box which tells me they simply didn't package it correctly. Now I have to drive 75 miles into town to pick up a stir bar so I can complete my project.

Two apparent flaws right out of the box:1. The temperature control knob fell right off.2. The ON/OFF switch was hanging out of the side by two wires.The packaging this unit came in was not damaged at all. So I would be inclined to think the flaws were straight from the factory. I pushed the ON/OFF switch back into the opening it is supposed to be mounted, but it did not remain. It kept popping back off. When I looked at the nut/mount for the temperature control knob, the threads were stripped, so the temperature control reostat has no way of staying mounted in place. Very cheap construction and very poor quality control from the factory.I turned the whole unit upside down and removed the four screws holding the bottom in place. The ON/OFF switch has retaining tabs to hold it into place, but the housing is too thick so they never deploy (bad design/cheap/incorrect component). I ended up using epoxy to secure it. I then used epoxy to hold the temperature control reostat into place. It was a little tricky positioning it so that the increment on the knob lined up with the indicator on the front of the unit (so you can have some sort of gauge as to Low to High heat). Before I used epoxy on either of these I had to sand away the paint down to the aluminum chasis to help the epoxy stick.Here's hoping the unit will work without more trouble. I wouldn't assume this unit will last too long as it really is assembled from inferior materials and components.Stay away from this one. Spend the extra money for a better quality tool.

As advertised