I have both the Mr.Coffee mug warmer and now the Vobega warmer. I like my coffee as hot as possible, and while the Mr.Coffee does a good job at keeping things fairly warm, I wanted to try something that would hopefully be much hotter. However, the Vobega keeps my coffee at just about the same temperature at the Mr.Coffee model. Why? I decided to measure the heating elements with a hand-held laser thermometer (Vobega at max), just to see any differences. The Mr.Coffee element here measured 96C (205F) at the centre, and averaged at 86C (187F) around the edge. The Vobega measured 122C (251F) at the centre, and 85C (185F) around the edge. So, while being 26C (79F) hotter in the centre, why does the Vobega not heat my coffee more than the Mr.Coffee? I can only assume it's because in my case, the bottom of the mugs here are not flat, they only contact the heating plate around the edge - most of the centre is raised slightly (slightly less than 1/8"). That gap, while small, must be enough to negate most of the temp difference in the middle, and the mug must draw most of its heat from the outer edge that contacts the plate. The edges of the heating elements being the same temperature for both models, the coffee temp ends up about the same for both models. My suggestion to get the most out of the Vobega would be to only use mugs with perfectly flat bottoms....
And that misprint of the word 'Warning' in the middle of the Vobega heating plate (says "Waring") could be corrected.
Model Number | VOB-10-1 |
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Product Dimensions | 19.1 x 13.49 x 3.3 cm; 294.84 Grams |
Power / Wattage | 20 watts |
Item Weight | 295 g |