Just bought a krups kt406550. The hotplate does not give off any heat. why?

You could try giving us a model number, there is more than one Krups Espresso maker. One error code 10 that springs to mind is either not heating or the sensor that detects the heat is detached, broken or disconnected.

That hole is most likely a vent for oven where some heat escapes.

Heat the cup before you use it, run hot water over it, or boiling water. The machine does not make very hot coffee otherwise.

There is an overheat protection link under the hotplate. It is probably burnt open. murf427

http://www.ereplacementparts.com/krups-kt4065505ca-dahlstrom-therm-timer-coffee-maker-parts-c-144838_144839_300018.html
Replacement parts! Search the website for your exact model. Mine was the kt406550 /5ca. You can find it on the bottom of the machine.

many times if you call the company they are all to happy to help you out. Or email them of course. I just phoned the company that I bought speakers from and said my cat ate the wires and they are giving me a new set for free!

If the rest of the hotplate elements are working correctly and you are performing the same tests with all of them then you have a problem. We know that the hotplate works. When hotplates are faulty they don't turn on and off, they just don't work. This would generally be a hotplate controller problem. It sounds as if the controller is faulty and requires replacing. If you are handy you can switch the suspect hotplate controller with a good one and see what happens. This will confirm our suspicions.

Hotplate heating on high only when control is on low - faulty hotplate control.

OH Yeah!
That is the number one failure in these machines. (owned four of them)
The problem is one or both of the "twin" thermal fuses or the thermostat for water
heating and hotplate,( one in the same) has gone open. I have tried for a long time to locate correct replacement parts to no avail. I would STRONGLY not recommend trying to bypass as these are not only controls but a safety feature as well. I was lucky a wile back and found one without a carafe at a garage sale. used it for parts, now those have failed also. Really miss them. If I ever find a source for parts I will post it here with replacement procedure.

EfACTOR

Hotplate heating up when regulator/selector switched off. Hi ,this is gil1714 in Scotland. Two possibilities on this one, 1) the regulator is faulty:- replace
2) if the control circuit (regulator) is wired on the neutral side the hotplate may be leaking current to
earth, thereby completing the circuit. This would only occur on a supply that was not protected by
an RCD. If so replace hotplate. Hope this is useful,