Found Collection

> The first time I used it I almost burned my house down. And that was
> when I thought I had it turned OFF. Now, when I turn it off I also
> unplug it, lest it burst into flame. When it's actually running, the
> spinning rotor inside seems to move the air around enough to keep it
> below, oh I don't know, 120 F or so.

> The first starter I tried to make was destroyed, by cooking on the stir
> plate after I thought I'd turned it off. Now I'm making another one,
> and it seems to have survived its ordeal except that it fermented warm,
> and by warm I mean like around 100 degrees. Not far beyond body
> temperature, but definitely in that range.

> Is this starter going to be usable, or will it turn my beer into a
> hellish goo? Obviously, I'll decant as much of the starter beer off the
> yeast as I can, before I pitch it.

> The first time I used it I almost burned my house down. And that was
> when I thought I had it turned OFF. Now, when I turn it off I also
> unplug it, lest it burst into flame. When it's actually running, the
> spinning rotor inside seems to move the air around enough to keep it
> below, oh I don't know, 120 F or so.

> The first starter I tried to make was destroyed, by cooking on the stir
> plate after I thought I'd turned it off. Now I'm making another one,
> and it seems to have survived its ordeal except that it fermented warm,
> and by warm I mean like around 100 degrees. Not far beyond body
> temperature, but definitely in that range.

> Is this starter going to be usable, or will it turn my beer into a
> hellish goo? Obviously, I'll decant as much of the starter beer off the
> yeast as I can, before I pitch it.

> The first time I used it I almost burned my house down. And that was
> when I thought I had it turned OFF. Now, when I turn it off I also
> unplug it, lest it burst into flame. When it's actually running, the
> spinning rotor inside seems to move the air around enough to keep it
> below, oh I don't know, 120 F or so.

> The first starter I tried to make was destroyed, by cooking on the stir
> plate after I thought I'd turned it off. Now I'm making another one,
> and it seems to have survived its ordeal except that it fermented warm,
> and by warm I mean like around 100 degrees. Not far beyond body
> temperature, but definitely in that range.

> Is this starter going to be usable, or will it turn my beer into a
> hellish goo? Obviously, I'll decant as much of the starter beer off the
> yeast as I can, before I pitch it.

> Scott

>>I know some stir plates tend to run warm, but yours may also be a hot
>>plate. Is it? If so, you may be able to disconnect the heading element
>>inside.

> It isn't supposed to be a hot plate. The heat mostly comes from the
> area near the speed control dial, not the top of the plate. There is
> very clearly something wrong with the unit.

> Also, when I turn the dial past 5 (it ranges from 1 to 10), the thing
> flies out of control. And I don't just mean that the stir bar breaks
> away and jumps around -- I mean the motor revs up and sounds like a jet
> engine. It's like turning the dial anywhere past 5 just ramps it
> straight up to maximum power.

> So I am very suspicious that a rheostat or other component near the
> speed control is failing.

>>You could also try to come up with some sort of insulator to put between
>>the stir plate amd the flask, but it needs to be thin, or you won't get
>>enough magnetic "grab"

> It is a Precision Mag Mix, 8 inch diameter. Here's a picture of it:

> The area near the words "Mag Mix" is where the heat appears to be
> coming from. Not the top of the plate. This is not intended to be a hot
> plate.

> When the unit is initially plugged in, nothing happens. But if you turn
> the dial to start it, and then turn it back to stop it, it will begin
> to heat up and continue to heat up, presumably until it catches fire.
> The only way to stop it is to actually unplug it.

> I'm currently running it, unsupervised, but it is inside a large
> galvanized metal tub which should sufficiently contain it in the event
> that something happens.

> I may take it apart tonight just to see if there's anything OBVIOUSLY
> wrong with it, that I might have parts to fix.

>>>Hey Scott, what is the brand/model # of the plate?

>>It is a Precision Mag Mix, 8 inch diameter. Here's a picture of it:

> http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/30050944/Images/sm_3...

>>The area near the words "Mag Mix" is where the heat appears to be
>>coming from. Not the top of the plate. This is not intended to be a hot
>>plate.

>>When the unit is initially plugged in, nothing happens. But if you turn
>>the dial to start it, and then turn it back to stop it, it will begin
>>to heat up and continue to heat up, presumably until it catches fire.
>>The only way to stop it is to actually unplug it.

>>I'm currently running it, unsupervised, but it is inside a large
>>galvanized metal tub which should sufficiently contain it in the event
>>that something happens.

>>I may take it apart tonight just to see if there's anything OBVIOUSLY
>>wrong with it, that I might have parts to fix.

> I suspect that the speed controller is failing. I would not recommend using
> this unit until it is fixed to avoid burning your house down. Who knows what
> the next failure mode will be?

> Bob

> So I am very suspicious that a rheostat or other component near the
> speed control is failing.

> Scott

> Damn...  It is soooo hard to put into words.  Damn.. Damn...