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Did you know that there is an Electronic Engineering Technician in Kew Garden Hills, Queens, NY that has been working to make your Yomim Tovim and Shabbos safer? After the recent tragedies in the Orthodox community he became extremely frustrated with the quality of hotplates available on the market and in most Hamish stores. When friends asked his opinion on which hot plate to purchase, he was unable to recommend one. He drew on his past experiences, repairing broken and shorted hotplates for friends and family while going to college. Now, he has designed a Low Risk Fire and Shock Hazard Safety Hotplate that runs on half the electricity with Jewish Orthodox observance in mind.
For a hotplate to function in a Jewish kitchen, it needs more than just the standard UL certification, it needs to be designed for demands of a Kosher kitchen. Our hotplates not only get used every week for 26 to 74 hours for years at a time but they are used in a busy family environment. It needs to exceed the minimal safety standards. This Electronic Engineering Technician claims that he is just enough of an obsessive nerd to design the perfect Shabbos Safe Hotplate.
He has created a Kickstarter to pre-sale his unit at a fraction of the future retail price to pay for the cost of manufacture. What is so different about his hotplate that makes it so safe? The self-made video displayed at the beginning of his Kickstarter does a great job of explaining but I will list the specifics in layman’s terms here.
1. The unit’s heating element is capable of reaching chulent heating temperatures at about half of the wattage of most hotplates.
2. The heating element is the same long life shock free tubular insulated element that is found in all common household electric ovens.
3. There are no glass or ceramic parts needed to insulate the element thereby avoiding any kind of breakage.
4. It has an impressive restaurant grade solid brushed stainless steel housing with aluminum handles and no internal breakable parts.
5. It has 1 ½ inch legs that raise the heat from your counter.
6. It has built-in thermal sensing circuitry that not only keeps it at a safe temperature but kills theelectric flow if there is any kind abnormal change in temperature.
7. Combined with a tool grade power cord and a three prong ground fault circuit breaker
8. All parts and the unit meet ETL safety certification.
In the first day alone, the Kickstarter sold over a hundred units towards production of the Shabbos Safe Hotplate. Please take the time to watch his Kickstarter and share in the mitzvah.
Learn more and donate here – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/900922798/shabbos-safe-hotplate
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5 Responses
Is there an option for an Israeli or European outlet?
I pledged, but it would be a huge shame if he doesn’t get enough in total to actually be able to make them. What he really needs is an investor.
Very good project, Safety.
Which Rabbonim give their Hechsher on this? (the thermostats, blech issues, etc.)
Keep up the good work!
May Hashem constantly watch over us.
The usual definition of a “hot plate” is such that it probably isn’t usable on Shabbos (for halachic, safety and practical reasons). A “hot plate” is an electric burner similar to what one might find on a stove. A “hot plate” is designed to cook something, not keep it warm – and is not designed to work over a prolonged period of constant use.
What most people want is a “warmer” or “warming tray”, which this might very well be. For chlent, a dedicated “slow cooker” might be preferable.
I believe that the recent “tragedies” can be better attributed to misuse of appliances including extension cords.
NEW UPDATE!!!!
The Shabbos Safe Hotplate has been approved MUTER FOR SHABBOS by Oregon Kosher Vaad Hakashrus!
They are also currently writing directions for the proper kashuring of the stainless steel.