HELP!

My Hot Plate crashed and burned! After a week of leaving it ON (because it takes awhile to heat up wax when it's cold and I'm inpatient) working on things daily until I recently got sick....then left it on even longer, I woke to a cold, cracked and imploded glass surface! YIKES... didn't expect that. Now I need another hot plate ASAP and looking online at a lot of different ones along with different prices. I think to avoid the Crash & Burn incident again :) I'm going for a metal surface instead of glass this time around. ANY THOUGHTS and SUGGESTIONS on #1 What Kind of hot plate is best? #2 What kind of Hot Plate do you use and what's the best thing about it? #3 Pros & Cons THANKS!