Salton Cordless Electric Warming Tray - Medium 23.75" x 7.75" Hot Plate for Buffet Serving, Food Warming & Entertaining - Perfect for Parties, Catering & Home Kitchen Use

I bought this product for an unusual purpose: an hygienic, easily-cleanable winter air humidifier.I put it on a dresser near our bed. Each night, I put a big aluminum baking tray on top and fill it with about 1/4" of water before going to sleep. With the warmer on, the water is almost totally gone by morning, leaving only a mineral residue.Over a year ago, I spent a whole day on line evaluating specifications reviews of winter air humidifiers. Every single one, it seemed to me, had a big flaw: it had filters, nooks and crannies in which mold and bacteria could grow. In many cases, there was no way to inspect all places of likely growth visually.So the makers all recommended cleaning, weekly or preferably daily. The humidifier I had then, a cheap Kaz, took about fifteen minutes to clean properly, at least once a week. It also required keeping a big supply of vinegar on hand to clean the heating element. I couldn't find any other commercial humidifier--even the most expensive--that seemed more hygienic or easier to clean.I'm sensitive to mold and paranoid about germs, so I decided to use this food warmer as an easy-to-clean air purifier. Each night, before filling the aluminum baking tray with water, I empty any remaining water, wipe the tray with rubbing alcohol and let it dry. In less than a minute, the job is done; the alcohol kills any germs and mold and evaporates without a trace. And in a flat, open baking tray, there's no place for mold or germs to hide.In the high-desert climate south of Santa Fe, indoor humidity in winter is typically in the low single digits. Using this device as a germ-and-mold-free humidifier, I sleep better, and my sinuses feel better when I get up. If we ever need a food warmer, it's ready at hand.We got this because of the unique design: you plug it in to warm it up, then unplug and place on your table where it will keep food warm for the whole meal. This avoids the problem of routing an extension cord to the table. It's long enough to hold 2 or 3 dishes in a line, but narrow enough to fit in the space in the middle of the table. Very well thought through design.I bought the 3-plate warming tray as a present for my Mom earlier this year. I figure it'll come in handy for meals at holidays or family gatherings with many dishes. I've tried it out myself a few times. Here are my thoughts:* It works as advertised-- you plug it for around 8 minutes to heat it up, and the food on it really stays warm for about an hour. (I timed it.)* This is important: Plates with perfectly flat bottoms work better. More surface area in contact with the warming tray.* The power cord is very short. If you plan on plugging in the warming tray while it's sitting on your dining table, you may need an extension cord.* There is no ON/OFF switch. You turn it off by unplugging it. So you can't just leave the tray plugged in all the time on a counter somewhere.* Presentation-wise, the warming tray looks nice. Not too cheap-looking. No problems with leaving it on the dining table when your guests come.* When it says "3-plate", it means 3 individual-sized plates. With larger serving plates, you might manage only 2 plates. Knowing this, if I were to buy this tray again, I would probably get the 4-plate version.This is great if you need to keep food hot (not steaming hot). If there is no outlet within reach, you can plug it in for 10 minutes. Then place in on the serving table and put your hot casserole on top. It will keep it warm for about 60 minutes. I have placed this on a plastic tablecloth and have not had any problem of burning or melting the table cloth. I will remove after 60 min and warm up the tray for another 10 min and then bring it back to the serving table. It has worked great.To some, it may seem a lot of trouble, but when there is no socket near by and the serving table is out in the middle of the room, then this is the next best thing. It is slightly heavy, but easy to carry. The handles on both side stay cool. If there is no socket nearby, this way is the best that I can find.I understand if you have a socket near by, it will turn itself off and on. It does not have temperature control. It does not need it. When the temp get high, the light turn green and when it cools, it will automatic come on with a red light.I've never used a warming tray before so it took some getting used to. My goal was to help me eat slower as part of my dieting process, and keeping my home cooked chinese food tasty over 30 to 45 minutes. This tray meets that goal by 75%, if I use a flat bottom plate.The only problem I found was that the top of the dish will still cool down while and bottom stays relatively hot. After a while, the food could get cold on the top while it's warm at the bottom. Ideally, there would be a warming lamp above the food in addition to the bottom heating, like they have in a buffet. But I suppose that is too much to ask for this price.The tray feels somewhat heavy, but it's well built and does keep warm for one hour. The cord is the same as a computer cord with a three prong plug that can be detached, it would be better if it used a magnetic plug like they have for electric thermos.Still a great product for the $40 price.I purchased two of these right before Christmas thinking oh I really don't need these, oh I'm not sure if I'll use them but I bought them thinking well maybe they'll keep some side dishes warm on the counter and let me tell you on Christmas or microwave basically imploded and was dead and I unpackage these two warmers and wow what a fantastic product they kept every single dish which was 7 side dishes and two large dishes at perfect just out of the oven temperature these are absolutely fantastic I would definitely recommend adding them to your holiday or large gathering, you just can't go wrong nothing burned everything stayed at perfect temperature I would give this a hundred Stars if I couldL'article fonctionne vraiment très bien, on le branche pendant 8 minutes et lorsqu'on le débranche, il reste vraiment très chaud durant plus d'une heure. Le seul hic, c'est que la commande que j'ai reçu, la boite avait visiblement été ouverte plusieurs fois et la qualité de la finition n'est pas à la hauteur. j'ai demandé un remplacement du plateau et le 2e que j'ai reçu était pire que le premier, j'ai donc gardé le premier et retourné le 2e. Je donne un 3 étoiles seulement pour la mauvaise qualité de l'emballage et sont visiblement des boites ouvertes qui ont fait plusieurs clients.Pour l'utilisation, c'est génial qu'il soit sans-fil. Parfait pour les buffets et pour garder des plats aux chauds pour de longues périodes.Just perfect.I ordered the larger unit first but found it to big for our table - despite the table having a good size - returned it.This smaller item now ordered is perfect for our setting.Love the fact that one can remove the power cord, retains heat very well and looks great.A good buy indeed.I have had two bbq's with this and it's great for keeping the food nice and hot. I am looking forward to using it for Thanksgiving and Christmas it will make it so easy. Just what was needed. Love it!We use it almost daily especially in the winter. Now we could chat over dinner without worrying food getting cold!I liked the old one I had better but of course it eventually gave out after many good years of service. This one is very good for its purpose. However, I like one that is a little wider for dinner plates. Mostly, I don't use it for entertaining but for daily meals where I don't need it transferred. However, for that purpose it is good. It is a good product. I may not live long enough to compare its life to my old one.