Hot Plate Not Working At All

[Extra Mint]

So ive heard people say hot plates take long (20 mins) to heat up cocos but i got one yesterday and its been an hour and the coals are still black and not heating at all.

Its 1000 watts but the plate is not flat and has kind of a grip on it.

Does anyone know the problem.

btw. im in uk so no coil burners.

[mushrat]

if its not heating at all, its broken out of the box.
You wouldn't be able to post a picture of it or one like it could you?

[Extra Mint]

it doesnt look broken and it does give quite alot of heat but doesnt heat the coals. ill try and get pictures

[Rani]

Okay, do need pictures, but maybe we can get around them. Is it a hot "plate" with a completely flat black-plate looking heating element? Or is it a slightly elevated coil that glows red? It's my understanding the flat plate version do not work well with coco coals. If you have a true hot "plate", that might be the issue. The coil version work just fine. Guys.... I have never successfully posted pictures here. Somebody grab some internet pics real quick and post the different versions just so we're clear on plates versus coils.

EDIT: Oops! Sorry, when I reread I saw the "no coil burners in Europe" thing. Missed it the first time through. Anybody familiar with European burners?

'Rani

[Rani]

Okay, so I went to amazon.co.uk (because I'm bored out of my frickin' mind at work)..... And Holy Crap! Nothing to flat hot plates available. So personally I might go the other way with a personal butane burner like this one...........

[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yellowstone-Portable-Gas-Stove-Black/dp/B001W78P0W/ref=sr_1_5?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1346275289&sr=1-5"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yellowstone-Portable-Gas-Stove-Black/dp/B001W78P0W/ref=sr_1_5?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1346275289&sr=1-5[/url]

Hookah-Shisha in Texas has something similar which I was really looking at before I caved and bought coil burners. It uses pre-packaged cylinders of butane that should be readily available to you. I don't think anything else is going to work well with cocos. Although a friend of mine when camping, wraps a cube in newspaper , dips it in regular cooking oil and then lights the whole bundle with a match and let's it burn. I've never been there when he's done it, but he swears the oily paper burns long enough and hot enough to properly ignite the coals. Might be worth a try.

'Rani

[Chreees]

Per Rani's request...

Single Coil Burner (Best for lighting coconut coals):

[img]http://www.texashookah.com/images/hookahburner2.jpg[/img]

Hot Plate (Some people use these, but generally most agree aren't better than the coil kind):

[img]http://www.asia.ru/images/target/photo/51552699/Electric_Hot_Plate.jpg[/img]

If you can't get a hot plate, then if your stove has the coil burners use it. If not, we can explore other options. Definitely don't use your stove if it's glass, though.

[mushrat]

[quote name='Rani' timestamp='1346275642' post='555396']
Okay, so I went to amazon.co.uk (because I'm bored out of my frickin' mind at work)..... And Holy Crap! Nothing to flat hot plates available. So personally I might go the other way with a personal butane burner like this one...........

[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Yellowstone-Portable-Gas-Stove-Black/dp/B001W78P0W/ref=sr_1_5?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1346275289&sr=1-5"]http://www.amazon.co...46275289&sr=1-5[/url]

Hookah-Shisha in Texas has something similar which I was really looking at before I caved and bought coil burners. It uses pre-packaged cylinders of butane that should be readily available to you. I don't think anything else is going to work well with cocos. Although a friend of mine when camping, wraps a cube in newspaper , dips it in regular cooking oil and then lights the whole bundle with a match and let's it burn. I've never been there when he's done it, but he swears the oily paper burns long enough and hot enough to properly ignite the coals. Might be worth a try.

'Rani
[/quote]

I have one of those for emergencies. You can get them at walmart, flea markets, restaurant supply places and camping supply stores.