Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Looking for a hotplate stirrer for around $100 CAD. What should I get?

itsallgoodjames - 18-3-2021 at 19:38

I've been looking to get a proper hotplate stirrer. I have a hard budget of $140 CAD, but would prefer to spend less than $100. I don't intend to get it right now, but rather sometime in the near future. So what should I get, and what should I avoid?

edit - I found a VWR Gyratherm IIa for $120 CAD shipped. Is that worth getting?

[Edited on 19-3-2021 by itsallgoodjames]

Lion850 - 18-3-2021 at 22:22

I have been using one of these that I locally purchased on eBay. They are fine as long as you don't spill fluids on them....if this happens the fluid can run inside and stuff it up. Happened to my first one when a beaker cracked; I'm now on the second.

There is a SH-2 and SH-3; if possible get the SH-3 it has a bit more powder.

Poormans Chemist on Youtube now uses a SH-2 and if I remember correct he mentioned on a video they are very cheap in the US.

I think good value for money. Search "hot plate magnetic stirrer SH-3" on your local eBay etc.

s-l1600.jpg - 133kB

j_sum1 - 19-3-2021 at 02:22

My hotplate is Maplelab from Canada. Beautiful item and has not missed a beat. Admittedly I paid more than your budget for it, but I would think you could find something locally: cheaper model or second hand.

itsallgoodjames - 19-3-2021 at 02:56

Quote: Originally posted by Lion850  
I have been using one of these that I locally purchased on eBay. They are fine as long as you don't spill fluids on them....if this happens the fluid can run inside and stuff it up. Happened to my first one when a beaker cracked; I'm now on the second.

There is a SH-2 and SH-3; if possible get the SH-3 it has a bit more powder.

Poormans Chemist on Youtube now uses a SH-2 and if I remember correct he mentioned on a video they are very cheap in the US.

I think good value for money. Search "hot plate magnetic stirrer SH-3" on your local eBay etc.



The SH-3 seems to be around $150-180 where I am. The SH-2 is much cheaper, but there seems to be a lot of horror stories about it (not being able to heat more than 500ml of water to boiling, heating elements that die easily and often, etc).

XeonTheMGPony - 19-3-2021 at 03:18

Quote: Originally posted by itsallgoodjames  
I've been looking to get a proper hotplate stirrer. I have a hard budget of $140 CAD, but would prefer to spend less than $100. I don't intend to get it right now, but rather sometime in the near future. So what should I get, and what should I avoid?

edit - I found a VWR Gyratherm IIa for $120 CAD shipped. Is that worth getting?

[Edited on 19-3-2021 by itsallgoodjames]


a coffee pot, a fan some glue and a magnet for that amount. it will be far superior to any thing premade for that price point sadly

This is some thing that you simply are better off waiting and saving till you can buy a proper one once and for all.

Like scuba diving this isn't a cheap hobby! at least glass wear is very obtainable!

But I can give you a bottom line, nothing below 600w for heating power.

You can make a pretty use full one from a coffee pot heater plate and light dimmer for a hot plate at least for now.

[Edited on 19-3-2021 by XeonTheMGPony]

itsallgoodjames - 19-3-2021 at 04:22

Quote: Originally posted by XeonTheMGPony  
Quote: Originally posted by itsallgoodjames  
I've been looking to get a proper hotplate stirrer. I have a hard budget of $140 CAD, but would prefer to spend less than $100. I don't intend to get it right now, but rather sometime in the near future. So what should I get, and what should I avoid?

edit - I found a VWR Gyratherm IIa for $120 CAD shipped. Is that worth getting?

[Edited on 19-3-2021 by itsallgoodjames]




a coffee pot, a fan some glue and a magnet for that amount. it will be far superior to any thing premade for that price point sadly

This is some thing that you simply are better off waiting and saving till you can buy a proper one once and for all.

Like scuba diving this isn't a cheap hobby! at least glass wear is very obtainable!

But I can give you a bottom line, nothing below 600w for heating power.

You can make a pretty use full one from a coffee pot heater plate and light dimmer for a hot plate at least for now.

[Edited on 19-3-2021 by XeonTheMGPony]


How much should I save up for it? $300? $500? Also, I saw elemental makers video on the hotplate he made. Making something like that doesn't seem to difficult. The hardest part would probably be drilling the holes for the heater in the aluminum. Would something like that be good? One could pretty easily make it more than 1000w, though at that point one might run into problems with popping breakers.

njl - 19-3-2021 at 05:09

I have an SH-2, definitely worth it. While I respect Xeons advice, I think the SH-2 is a good price to get into a hobby. I've spilled god knows what on it countless times over several years, and while it's dirty it still works. It's true that it struggles to heat larger volumes but can handle around a liter with no problem.

ChemTalk - 19-3-2021 at 05:54

We ended up getting the Four E brand on Amazon for USD $240, partly because it had a good warranty / return policy and also because all the cheaper ones had really bad reviews and seemed to have a 50% chance of breaking. It is 600 watts and we are pretty happy with it.

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Fyndium - 19-3-2021 at 08:17

To be honest, my experiences with cheap eBay stirplates are just plain horrible.

Or let's put it this way: if you are planning on using then for anything larger than 100mL, avoid them. It was able to bring 500mL of water to a slow simmer over 1 hour, I actually forgot I left it to heat and it still hadn't reached bp. Even if the heater were capable, the heat adjust is likely to have it's own secret curve of power and the stirrer would still likely do routine runaways, or just decide to stop.

After two hotplates, never again. My AliExpress 200$ heating mantle is pretty decent on the other hand, the stirrer magnet is weak but otherwise it's useable.

zed - 19-3-2021 at 11:35

Fyndium, my experience with cheap Ebay stir-plates has been great!

Recently, I got a pristine one (didn't even look used), for $40 bucks.... Shipping included.

Last time out, I bought 2, for $50.00 total. Shipping included. OK, one of 'em did need a tune-up.

You just bide your time, and wait for a good deal.

To be fair, I'm in the U.S.A., where such stuff is cheap and plentiful.

James, however, appears to be in Canada.... Right next door. Can postage be that expensive?

Are there customs problems?

As for heating.... I've never had a stir-plate that provided blazing heat. For that, I use a heating mantel.
..................................................................................

Alright, I went out and looked on E-bay. Todays offerings, didn't ring my bell.

I like the major U.S. Brands for quality. Used is OK. But, not at the level of wear, and price-point, that I'm seeing today.

Original list price was very, very high. Some brokers of used equipment are basing their asking prices, on those original outrages.

Bide your time. Buy a quality plate when the stars are in alignment. In the meantime, perhaps a dirt-cheap compromise model?



[Edited on 19-3-2021 by zed]

karlos³ - 19-3-2021 at 12:06

Quote: Originally posted by zed  
Fyndium, my experience with cheap Ebay stir-plates has been great!

Agreed my experience is the same.
Although we have "ebay kleinanzeigen" in my country, where you can usually find the one or other cheap IKAmag at any point.
I stick to that brand, they are not the best, but they are robust and cheap and you get what you paid for.
A reliable magstirplate, which promises even if used very often that you have fun for a few years at least.
Usually they all broke at some point due to my own fault, and not because they were old or in a bad state(well they were somewhat abused after being in use extensively :D).

Fyndium - 19-3-2021 at 13:13

For the record, used, brand name stirplates are likely good. I have no experience on these.

But the chinesium stirplates.. Better just skip'em.

XeonTheMGPony - 19-3-2021 at 15:34

Quote: Originally posted by itsallgoodjames  
Quote: Originally posted by XeonTheMGPony  
Quote: Originally posted by itsallgoodjames  
I've been looking to get a proper hotplate stirrer. I have a hard budget of $140 CAD, but would prefer to spend less than $100. I don't intend to get it right now, but rather sometime in the near future. So what should I get, and what should I avoid?

edit - I found a VWR Gyratherm IIa for $120 CAD shipped. Is that worth getting?

[Edited on 19-3-2021 by itsallgoodjames]




a coffee pot, a fan some glue and a magnet for that amount. it will be far superior to any thing premade for that price point sadly

This is some thing that you simply are better off waiting and saving till you can buy a proper one once and for all.

Like scuba diving this isn't a cheap hobby! at least glass wear is very obtainable!

But I can give you a bottom line, nothing below 600w for heating power.

You can make a pretty use full one from a coffee pot heater plate and light dimmer for a hot plate at least for now.

[Edited on 19-3-2021 by XeonTheMGPony]


How much should I save up for it? $300? $500? Also, I saw elemental makers video on the hotplate he made. Making something like that doesn't seem to difficult. The hardest part would probably be drilling the holes for the heater in the aluminum. Would something like that be good? One could pretty easily make it more than 1000w, though at that point one might run into problems with popping breakers.


I scored mine for 300, it was a floor display, at native cost it'd been 500 dollars, befor that I made a coffee can heating mantle for a 500ml round bottom flask, no stirring ability (I posted the build some where on the forum)

I'd aim for saving 500 up and then keeping a keen eye on ebay, a lot of things can be fixed cheap if you invest the time to learn about the mean common mode of failure.

as for the coffe pot method, the heater is welded to the plate, no real holes to drill
Quote:
Can postage be that expensive?


YES, yes it can!


[Edited on 19-3-2021 by XeonTheMGPony]

Rainwater - 8-1-2022 at 08:31

Quote: Originally posted by Lion850  
I have been using one of these that I locally purchased on eBay. They are fine as long as you don't spill fluids on them....if this happens the fluid can run inside and stuff it up. Happened to my first one when a beaker cracked; I'm now on the second.

There is a SH-2 and SH-3; if possible get the SH-3 it has a bit more powder.

Poormans Chemist on Youtube now uses a SH-2 and if I remember correct he mentioned on a video they are very cheap in the US.

I think good value for money. Search "hot plate magnetic stirrer SH-3" on your local eBay etc.


My heat controller knob quit working on my sh-2 yesterday(16 months old). Only had off or max heat. Found a very effective fix. A coupled onto the power then looped the brown wire that fed the hotplate through a relay.
Got her in calibration mode now.
i got this pid kit for about $40 for my kiln.
After i built a wifi controller for that this one was sitting in a box waiting for something. It took maybe 30 minutes to wire it in. Was super simple

16416592442825313051458180980503.jpg - 1.7MB

macckone - 8-1-2022 at 09:18

my only advice is stay way from hotplates that require a thermometer probe to work.
I have heard that the expensive hotplates don't last much better than the cheap ones.
But you can get parts easier for the expensive ones as noone is going to toss a $500 hotplate if it can be repaired.
While a $120 hotplate, you can buy 4 for that price and the parts cost as much as a new one.