 They are excellent electrical insulators and, unlike their carbon analogues, are non-flammable.Their temperature stability and good heat-transfer characteristics make them widely used in laboratories for heating baths ("oil baths") placed on top of hotplate stirrers, as well as in freeze-dryers as refrigerants.Silicone oil is also commonly used as the working fluid in dashpots, wet-type transformers, diffusion pumps and in oil-filled heaters.