Safety concern
 

So, as a brand new and very inexperienced doll owner, I was checking through the little extras thrown in with it, and I looked at the usb heating stick.

I've read opinions on things like electric blanket use and the like, with the consensus seeming to be that a very gentle and even heat should be ok, I assumed the usb stick would produce just such a gentle warmth.

I was very wrong.

I plugged it into my laptop and left it for about a minute and then picked it up and promptly dropped it again because it was burning hot - painful to the touch. after unplugging it and letting it cool, I pulled it open and 'low quality' doesn't come close. Poundland would blush if they sold anything so poorly made. The heating element, just a thin strand of wire, was twisted up and coiled around itself where someone had presumably jammed it into the tube, and at just the point where the heat had been most intense. I certainly wouldn't let it anywhere near TPE in that state.

I untangled it and put the cover back on and the heat is now much more what I expected, being warm and comfortable to hold rather than scolding hot. I think I trust it not to go back to it's previous state, but are these generally acceptable to use (if functioning correctly)?

Bin it, it will melt TPE - I speak from experience... :no:

It is not temperature controlled in any way.

Ouch. I hope it didn't get chance to do too much damage. Advice heeded and it's headed straight for the bin.

The... 'victim' was edited to take an insert.

I used it once or twice on an insert before I inserted the insert inside dolly. It didn't melt the insert but only warmed the first 2 inches if that and by time I'd got the insert inserted it had lost all heat. It dropped to bits so I inserted it in the bin.