Home brew lab hotplate

Melodolic · 2006-08-05T13:49:55+00:00

I'm thinking of making a small hotplate for the purpose of heating PCBetchant, and possibly to keep the tank up to temperature while etching. Atthe low end of the temperature range, it should be able to maintain 50degCmax. Being able to go hotter and boil stuff, etc, would be good.Seems to me that the cheapest way to get a heater, plate and thermostat is adomestic clothes iron. I got one for 5ukp (new!) and it looks easy enough tochop up and mount upside down in a box of some sort. The thermostat controlis mechanical, so some gubbins is needed to link that to a front panelcontrol.I've never used an iron as a hotplate, and I've never used a lab hotplatethingy either. Would an iron make a suitable base for a home brew effort, oram I missing something? How long would it likely take to heat a litre ofetchant from, say, 20 to 50degC?-- Melodolic Spielberg