Aroma Housewares AHP-303 Single Burner Hot Plate, Metal, Black

I purchased this burner 9 years ago and was on Amazon today to purchase a second one so I can have two pots going at once. The one I bought 9 years ago is still a work horse. Yes, it does have it's limitations but they are not deal breaker limitations for me.Perhaps since Covid everything is just not the quality it was years ago so I'm unclear if that might be the case with this unit as I read the bad reviews. IMHO people have too high expectations for such a lower end product. It's not the $2500 stove you just bought and will never cook like that.I have read negative reviews stating it turns on and off constantly. Well duh! That's the nature of this type of product. It has to turn on and off constantly to maintain the temperature you chose.Some state in their negative reviews that the outside gets too hot. Again, duh! It's an inexpensive small unit that used to be made in metal and I suppose it still is, so yes, the metal will get hot. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that will happen. When I'm finished cooking I unplug it. After I'm finished eating and am cleaning up if it's cooled off enough I put it on my shelf where it stays. I have many times used that priceless invention called a pot holder when I'm in a hurry. In case you have not heard of them they are used to pick up hot pans, or in this case an Aroma Single Burner Hot Plate.....that gets hot....what a concept!Again, with all the new lower quality items out there since Covid, cause everything is blamed on Covid of course, perhaps this unit is not as good as it used to be and perhaps some have stopped working after a year...or maybe two. However, when you spend around $20 or less for this item and it quits after a year or two.....trust me.....you definitely got your money's worth.

Used it twice yesterday. Works great! Was easy to use. Was able to boil water in less than an hour. Even cooking surface, with a good, solid burner.

Stay away from this item.We purchased one about a year ago and if failed after 1 month - I disassembled it and made some repairs. It then worked for about another four months before failing again. We used it almost every day during the winter time. So, I ordered two more (they are cheap) for this winter, and the first one failed within a week. I haven't tried to fix that one. The other is on the shelf, emergency use only.ISSUES - they don't event check them out at the factory!! You should plug them in somewhere OUTSIDE and turn it on HIGH for about 20 minutes in order to burn off all the smelly oils that are used during manufacture. Sort of a shock to see white smoke coming from under the unit the first time we plugged one in!!The temperature control knob is plastic and the control shaft gets hot so this fails within a couple of months. I used gorilla glue to repair it for a while - good for another month until heat caused it to fail again. There are not hard stops on the thermostat so you have to sort of guess how to glue the knob on the shaft - i.e. find the OFF point and glue it so OFF is UP.The wiring inside is connected with wire crimp spade connectors like you might use in your car - but it's carrying 10-15 amps!At least they tell you in the accompanying documents that the housing gets hot - and it DOES!! There is very little to isolate the hot plate (which can get to a dull red color) from the supporting black housing/base. AND the hot plate holds heat for a very long time - still almost to hot to hold after 20 minutes.

For all the users who have had this fail. There is a minor "flaw" with this product, but failure can be avoided easily.There is a thermal fuse in the product located near the side of the device. You should maintain 10 inches of clearance around all sides (no towels, etc.) to prevent the thermal fuse from overheating causes the device to "fail". This fuse is intentionally sensitive to avoid the product from causing a fire.(Ideal design would have been a resettable PTC fuse, but this would increase cost).The temperature control is from a bimetallic switch whose tension is controlled by a screw connected to the knob. Internals are well built and mounted, albeit simple. Appropriate heat shielding is used.Otherwise - don't expect magic. I purchased this for a sous vide and intentionally chose a simple cheap product. However caveats for users expecting fast temperature response: while it heats very quickly, it cools very slowly. (I did not rely on the thermostat to control the temperature, the included thermostat only very roughly controls the temperature and allows it to fluctuate wildly.)Edit 9/10/2012So far no issues, fairly constant use. For users wondering - I find it draws around 8 Amps (max amperage). A 6 Amp breaker will trip when running this device (I would size all wiring for 15 Amps, but that's just me).Also the top surface is very heavy, which causes it to hold a great deal of heat - if you are building a sous vide - I would try to maintain the temperature of the surface to your desired temperature. (eg place your thermocouple near the bottom of the pot, I let mine touch the bottom).Edit 12/13/2012Note: Your mileage may vary: the HIGH temperature setting does still regulate the temperature. Aka setting it on HIGH isn't going to just cause it to be constantly powered. This I don't mind. If it were to be constantly powered it would without doubt blow the thermal fuse, and with my PID controller - it doesn't really affect anything.