If you just picked up a Subitism Electric Oud Burner, either on its own or as part of our Oud Starter Kit, you got more than a heated base. Every burner ships with a mica disk, two stainless steel pans, and a pair of tongs, and each one has a specific job. Skip a piece or use them out of order and you'll still get smoke, but you won't get the clean, even release the burner is actually built for. Here's what's in the box and how it all fits together.

What's in the Box

• The burner base — Sapele wood body, quartz glass top, and an alumina ceramic heating plate underneath the glass, adjustable from 60 to 420C.
• 1 mica disk — a thin, heat-resistant sheet that sits directly on the heating plate.
• 2 stainless steel pans — small dishes that sit on top of the mica disk and actually hold your material.
• 1 pair of tongs — for handling anything once the burner is hot.

We cover general burning technique and temperature ranges by material in our charcoal vs. electric burning guide. This post is about the physical setup itself: what each piece does and why the order matters.

Why the Mica Disk Comes First

The ceramic heating plate underneath the glass gets hot fast and holds heat unevenly right at the surface, hotter in the center, cooler toward the edges. Placed directly on it, a chip near the middle would scorch before one at the edge even started releasing scent.

The mica disk sits between the heating plate and your material and spreads that heat out. Mica handles high temperatures without degrading and transfers heat gradually rather than in a hot spot, which is what gives you the even, all-over warming that makes low-and-slow burning possible in the first place. Set it on the plate before you turn the burner on, glass-smooth side up.

Why the Pan Sits on Top of the Mica Disk, Not on the Plate Directly

The stainless steel pan is where your oud chip, resin, or drop of oil actually goes. Using the pan instead of setting material straight on the mica disk keeps oils from soaking into the disk over time (which shortens its life and can carry old scents into your next burn), and makes cleanup a wipe instead of a scrub.

You get two pans in the box on purpose. Keeping a second pan on hand means you can switch materials, say, from an oud chip to a resin, without waiting for the burner to cool down and without cross-contaminating scents in the same dish. Let one cool while the other's in use.

Why You Need the Tongs

Once the burner's running, everything on top of it is hot: the glass, the pan, and definitely the material inside it. The included tongs let you place chips, reposition them mid-burn, or pull a spent piece and drop in a fresh one without touching anything above room temperature. Don't substitute fingers here, and don't substitute metal tweezers that weren't sized for the pan, the tongs that ship with the burner are shaped to grip inside it cleanly.

Full Setup, Start to Finish

1. Place the mica disk flat on the burner's heating plate.
2. Set one stainless steel pan on top of the mica disk, centered.
3. Use the tongs to place your material, one small chip or a pinch of bakhoor, into the pan.
4. Set the temperature dial low to start (150C is a reasonable default if you're unsure what you're burning) and increase gradually until you get a clean release rather than a burnt one.
5. When the material's spent, use the tongs to remove it. Let the pan cool, or swap in the second pan if you're switching materials right away.
6. Once fully cooled, wipe the pan and mica disk clean with a soft, dry cloth before your next use.

Care and Cleaning

Let the whole setup cool completely before touching or cleaning anything, the ceramic plate and glass both hold heat longer than they look like they would. Wipe the pans and mica disk with a dry or slightly damp cloth; avoid soaking the mica disk, since it's more fragile than the steel pans and can degrade if it's regularly saturated. Store everything together in a dry spot out of direct sunlight when it's not in use.

Questions

If a piece from your kit seems off, or you're not sure whether what you're seeing (discoloration on the mica disk, for instance) is normal wear, email support@noblearoma.com with a photo and we'll walk you through it. We test every burner ourselves before it ships, so we know what normal use looks like versus a real issue.