While there are certainly cheaper stir plates on the market, and we have used them, they have a homemade quality and feel. This unit is professionally made by Hanna and you will not be disappointed with the quality. This unit is protected by a fuse.,,Stir plates will increase cell counts in your starters through continual aereation. A teflon coated stir bar (inlcuded) rotates in the flask to create a vortex. This keeps the yeast in suspension and provides them with large amounts of oxygen. Leave the starter on the stir plate for the duration of the starter. The INCLUDED stir bar can be boiled with the starter to sanitize. We strongly recommend using our sanitary filter, FIL90, with the appropriate sized stopper. This will keep the air that is being pulled into the flask clean of bacteria or wild yeast. We also recommend picking up an extra stir bar as they can easily be poured right into the fermenter and then forgot about when you are cleaning out the fermenter (we know this only because it has happened a bazillion times here in the shop!),,The speed is adjustable from 0 to 1000 RPM. Dimensions: 4.8"L x 4.8"W x 1.8"H