Improvements to a Townson and Mercer Type 5 electric melting point apparatus are described. Magnification and back-illumination make the thermometers more easily read. The temperature in the cavity is made uniform by fitting a glass window to the observation aperture, and by extra lagging. An extra switch position employing the boost voltage makes the instrument very much easier to use in the range 300-400° C. The settings of the controls are made reproducible by running the instrument from a constant voltage transformer.