What does this mean? " Our food warming plate consumes a mere 0.25 degrees per hour,…"
Seems like some technically challenged copywriter doesn’t know their watts from their degrees, eh?
When I went to the Mother Ship and looked at the tech specs, I found that the unit is rated at 250 watts or 0.25 KW/hr. Since I=P/V, then I=250(watts)/110(volts)=2.27…amps. Thus the unit draws 2.27 amps, which is a lot, but not entirely unexpected for a basic heating element.
Just be aware that depending on what else is on a circuit such as in a kitchen, this unit’s contribution to the circuit load could trip a circuit breaker. Generally speaking, kitchen circuits are some of the most heavily loaded in a home with toasters, air fryers, mixers, and other counter top and heavy appliances when in use at the same time.
On Amazon, this unit (a discontinued model) is currently retailing for $59.99 is really discounted by 40%.
The newer model ($79.99) offers seven heat ranges from 104°-212°F. If one is thinking of using this to proof bread, then the newer model would be more suitable owing to the lower temperatures available.
Perhaps more importantly, the newer model features an adjustable, automatic shutoff from 2 to 8 hours. Which also brings to mind that in addition to covering a lot of counter or table area (~16x20"), one should be cautious about using it on a fine piece of furniture. Be aware that some surfaces could be damaged from hours of heat soaking even though the unit has raised feet to mitigate this.
Looking deeper into this, every time I go back to the Amazon pages for these devices, while composing this comment, the prices keep shifting. And it seems that more models from the same brand with different features in terms of temperature settings and times show up and then disappear. It is very confusing.
Well 250 watts is not a lot of power. Most microwaves are over 1,000. A standard circuit has 1,800 watt capacity.
I have looked carefully at the offerings on the mother ship, yes, the three settings is a substantial limitation, at least for my intended use.
That said what concerns me more is the two technologies on offer, one is good old fashioned resistance wire heating and the other looks like a conductive film sandwich. I would love to see a proper technical analysis of each.
The sad thing about this plethora of alphabet soup brand names is we can’t rely on reputation. They come and go like mushrooms after a spring rain. There is a sea of junk out there and zero QC by sellers, i seriously doubt any have real UL or ETL certifications. And I would not be surprised if they were all built in one factory.
I will build an insulating pad to set mine on and never leave it unattended.