100% Duty cycle hot plate w/o hacking

[Single Malt Yinzer]

Simple as this. The big fan will slow things down a small amount, the little fan very little if at all. The key is putting the hotplate up a little so airflow can go under and through the plate just enough to keep it from overheating. A little experimentation is all you need to perfect it. I happen to be lucky enough to have ~1 inch granite samples that work but it should be easy enough to find something else that works the same. I consider this much safer than hacking the thermocouple as if the plate does overheat it will still turn off. I don't know if this will work for other hotplates but it works a treat for mine.

Link for small fan, it's usb powered but does not come with a charger: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00080G0BK/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

[still_stirrin]

Many ways to skin a cat.... But, you’re literally “throwing money to the wind”.

Running the hotplate at full power when you only need 75% full power to run the boiler is a waste. And then, using a fan to remove the surplus 25% power only compounds the loss. Plus, when the fan blows across the boiler it removes some of the heat already conducted into the stock pot, potentially affecting stability of the vapor production. Your system is wrought with inefficiency.

But, if you don’t mind the wasted cost (electrical energy adds up over time), then “cheers”.

It sure seems that modifying the hotplate would be much more cost (and energy) efficient, although there is an initial cost to the hardware for the controller. And a controller will give you adjustment of input power to help regulate vapor production. Insulating the boiler will help conserve recurring costs by reducing heat loss from energy already transferred into the system.
ss

[Single Malt Yinzer]

Many ways to skin a cat.... ss

That's what I was going for. I mention the losses - though I don't agree that they are as bad as you think. The small fan doesn't really effect it. It isn't as efficient as the other way but it effective.