I was cooking some food when I noticed a burning plastic smell and some smoke coming out of the knob, I let it cool down, and when I turned it back on, there wasn’t any smoke but the burning smell returned, is the plate damaged, or is it some stuck food being burned?
The burning plastic smell seems to be coming from the plate, even when it is dissassembled like this, i can smell it from the centre.
I feel like the other side of that central plate has your answer. Pop the central screw and see what is on the other side of that discoloration.
Looks the same on the other side, the pattern on the unburnt metal looks like galvanized steel, did the zinc burn off?
That looks like it, maybe use vinegar to dissolve the zinc?
That just looks like discoloration that sheet metal gets with repeated heating. I would investigate the controls, there are contacts that open/close as a bimetallic strip heats up and cools off (basic thermostat). if the contact are arcing or stuck it could over heat, also since you said smoke was coming from the knob. . .
I’ve been cooking some slow recipies that need a lot of heat (a lot of boiling water and slow stewing) under the kitchen fan, and the smell has greatly dissipated, it looks like the smoke was not a really big problem.
It could be the heating control element. If that’s broken, the heating element can easily overheat and damage the coating on the metal plate. It will also melt your wiring and eventually your whole house, potentially even the whole world. I would buy a new one (or fix it, if that’s your fancy)
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I’ve already used this hot plate regularly for about 2-3 months already. If this is burning off some other residue, how can I get the smell to go away faster?
The orange tape bit on the top is actually connected to a light that turns on when the heating coil is on. One of the elements is a power switch, the other is a temperature regulator.
Looking into the wires, I couldn’t find a third wire, so it probably doesn’t have a ground, even though it does have a 3 prong NA design.
Take it outside and turn it on high for a few minutes.
If it catches fire, turn it off and buy a new hot plate.
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