Saturday, December 5, 2009

Working Safely With A Hot Plate In A Lab

By Andy Zain

Probably when you think of a hot plate, you more than likely think about something that fills in a small place where you may not have a stove, so that you can cook your food. This is one use for it, but they are used quite often in high schools and college labs for a variety of reasons.

No matter where a one might be used, it is still very important to know how to use one correctly to avoid injury to oneself and to others. It is especially important that students are instructed on how to correctly use a hot plate.

One of the first things and most important things to remember when using one for a water bath is to make sure that they use only heat resistant glassware. Make sure that they are aware that they also need to check the glassware for any size crack that might be visible to the naked eye. A student should be instructed to never to place a glass flask, soft glass or jars directly on the hot plate. And the surface needs to be larger than the object that is being heated.

It is also important to know that they should never be used with any type of flammable or combustible material. A person is risking a fire or an explosion should they do such a thing.

It is always a good thing to add stones that are specially made for boiling and add them to what you are trying to boil. This will help facilitate the heating process of whatever is being heated on the hot plate.

Never lose track or concentration on what you are doing when boiling items, it becomes dangerous when a liquid is allowed to boil down. This can cause cracks in the glassware even the hazard of them shattering.

The objects placed on the surface of one should never be heated above medium high, this even includes common water. Also, any liquids that are known to have a low point of boiling should never be boiled on a high setting.

It also should be noted that by using foil or a metal pan is not a good thing to use with them. This can damage it, even give an electrical shock to the person using it, if not careful.

When it is time to remove the item from the surface, never use your hands. Tongs or something that has some sort of rubber grips should be used to not just remove the item but to pour it as well.

One of the most important things that should be remembered is that as soon as the use of it is no longer needed, it should be turned off immediately. It takes a long time for it to cool off and looks the same whether it's on or off, so it's important that everyone is aware that the hot plate was used recently.

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