Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been using my hotplate daily for 14 months now. It still works and (nearly) looks like new. It has served me well, because I recognize its limitations. If I cook in my 12" skillet or my super-large steamer pot, I expect to see longer cook times. That being said, I have made dozens of fried or sautéed dishes in the 12" skillet, and I've cooked pasta many times in the big pot, with excellent results. But, patience is required. However, if I use my 1-quart saucepan or my 8" skillet, I'm king of the hill. That is the size of cookware that this hotplate was made to handle. The saucepan will boil in only a few minutes; the skillet will cook an omelet in five minutes or fewer. (I would imagine one would get great results, too, using a 2-quart saucepan, or a 10" skillet, because they would still fit the heating element quite nicely.) The heavy iron pad on the heating element maintains heat evenly. I got the impression when I read some of the one-star and two-star reviews that people are expecting a Volkswagen to pull a rail car. One reviewer said he was trying to use this unit to heat a skillet on his patio. Hmmm... Ever heard the expression "if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen"? That is because kitchens need to be sealed environments. You don't have big open windows, and you don't have big fans, even in professional kitchens. It's impossible to regulate the heat or to obtain the heat you need if a breeze is blowing across your stove. If you plan to use this hotplate when camping, then you're going to have to find a proper shield for it. Folks, this hotplate contains a 1000-watt heating element. For comparison, consider that, on most commercially available electric ranges, the SMALLEST burner is 1200 watts. Often, one burner on that range top will meet or exceed 3000 watts. Obviously, this little guy is not going to perform like a built-in range. As to the complaint that the hotplate gets hot on the bottom and transfers that heat to the countertop it is sitting on; again, if you're trying to boil a gallon of water, or cook two quarts of chili, you're going to overheat this hotplate, and it's going to transfer that heat. I've been using my hotplate, as I said for 14 months, over a laminated countertop, and I don't have any burning or bubbling thereon. One final thing. The electric circuit that you plug into is going to have a big effect on the efficiency of this hotplate's 1000-watt element. If you're on a camping trip, for instance, and using a generator for power, or if you're on an electric circuit in some remote area, you may not be getting enough power in to get 1000 watts out. This hotplate has met all my expectations; thus, five stars. *EDIT* One reviewer said that their hotplate did not sit evenly on a flat surface. Please note that the hotplate comes with TWO DIFFERENT-SIZED RUBBER PLUG-IN FEET, three flat ones, and one that is thicker. By moving these, one can always keep the unit flat and steady, even if the unit should warp during use (which mine never has). I've never had to move the rubber feet around, but I thought I'd mention it since at least one reviewer was clueless.