It is accepted that oil baths and heating mantles are no longer the preferred choice of chemists to heat round bottom flasks. The risk of oil fires and injury from hot oil spills, plus the mess associated with the use of oil means that oil baths no longer represent safe working practice in labs. Heating mantles are expensive, difficult to clean, do not respond well to spills and often create hot spots when heating. Therefore, scientists are increasingly turning to specially designed aluminum blocks located on stirring hotplates to heat standard round bottom flasks.