Heat Diffuser for Electric Range

[Shel_B]

The electric range in my new apartment seems to put out quite a bit of heat, and I was wondering if there's a way to even out the heat that gets transferred to the cookware. I've seen diffusers for gas ranges, and on a few sites there seem to be some that are described as working for electric ranges as well.

Are there any that are designed specifically for an electric range? What brands or features should I look for? I'd really like to get my good cookware away from direct contact with the heating elements.

Thanks!

[Paul Bacino]

BellaCopper diffusers?

Maybe

[Ttogull]

I don't understand why you'd want one designed specifically for an electric range. Uneven heat is uneven heat. Be it an electric stove, a gas range (yes gas is uneven too), a charcoal grill, or a campfire.

In my experience, cast iron can't be beat. I use something similar to the following on my beanpots that can't take direct flame.

http://www.amazon.com/Ilsa-7-Inch-Cast-Iron-Diffuser/dp/B000I1WO8C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1377657634&sr=8-2&keywords=stove+heat+diffuser

[Shel_B]

I don't understand why you'd want one designed specifically for an electric range.

Because I'm ignorant of what's available and appropriate. Gas ranges have a grate over the flame that the cookware sits on, electric ranges don't, and the cookware sits directly on the heating element. It seems to me that difference may require different types of diffusers.

And, not to put too fine a point on it, I didn't say that I want a diffuser specifically for an electric range. I asked if there were any designed specifically for such use. If there are such things, might they not be better than a one-size-fits-all diffuser?

Thanks for the pointer to the item on Amazon.

Edited August 28, 2013 by Shel_B (log)

[dcarch]

"----The electric range in my new apartment seems to put out quite a bit of heat, and I was wondering if there's a way to even out the heat that gets transferred to the cookware. ----"

Can you explain a little more? I am not sure what is that you want. Too much heat and uneven heating are two different situations.

dcarch

[Edward J]

Odd you should ask, I just found a solution to a similar problem.

In my pastry corner at work I have an el-cheapo hardware store two burner cooker. I use this daily to produce a 2 kg batch of caramel. Milk boils, the pot boils over, the element and dish get full of caramel, and I get a big mess. Usually the burner lasts me 6 mths before it gets so grotty or burns out and needs to be replaced with another hardware store burner. Two weeks ago I finally got a 220 v commercial solid element cooktop. Powerfull sucker, no matter how low a setting I use, milk boils over, and the caramel cooks so fast I don't get much colour or flavour when it cooks so fast.

The pot I use is always the same, an Ikea 6 qt "365" cheap s/s pot with a "sandwich" bottom, recipe is always the same, straight out of Grewling's "Chocolates and confections".

In desparation I tossed a really cheap wire cooling rack on top of the solid burner element, put my pot ontop of that, and set it on the lowest setting. Works well. Milk won't boil over, I get decent colouring and flavouring, and the process takes me 90 minutes instead of 3 hrs. Wire rack was from a dollar store I think, don't know what guage, but the wire is almost the same diameter as raw spaghetti

[judiu]

I don't know if they are still made, but there used to be a gadget called a Flame Tamer. Ithad a perforated plate that went on top of the burner, with a high lid that fit over it to make a stovetop oven for baking potatoes, reheating rolls, etc. Generally I could find them at country stores, non-chain hardware stores, five and tens and the like. Handy little gadgets, and cheap, too!

ETA:

AHA! Go to the webstaurantstore.com; they appear to not have the lid anymore, but for less than 4.00, what the hell!

Edited August 31, 2013 by judiu (log)

[Shel_B]

My stove is electric. There are a couple of pots in my kitchen that are wider than I like than the diameter of my largest hob. My hobs don't heat perfectly evenly. I am thinking of getting a copper heat diffuser to help spread the heat evenly and hopefully help improve my cooking experience.  This is an example of what I'm considering:

 

https://bellacopper.stores.turbify.net/10in254mmcop.html

 

This diffuser is 1/8-inch (.125-inch, 3.175mm thick) Any thoughts, especially from anyone who has used such a diffuser? 

 

 

Edited January 6 by Shel_B
clarity (log)

[dcarch]

I don't think so.

 

1. Your pots and pans are round, this thing is square. A lot of heat will be wasted.

2. Unless the bottom of your pots/pans are perfectly flat to make perfect metal to metal contact, you may create a different uneven temperature situation.

3. Do you mind to have another thing in the kitchen to clean and store and may be special pliers to handle it because it will always be too hot to handle?

4. This square plate may be distorted and become not flat some time in the future because of subjecting to high heat and expansion and contraction of uneven shape and temperature.

5. Depending on the design of your oven, this thing can trap heat below and cause major electrical damages.

6. Use the $95 to buy better cookware.

 

Just MHO.

 

dcarch

 

Edited January 6 by dcarch (log)

[TdeV]

@Shel_B, I have several of these copper diffuser plates: 2 @ 6", 1 @ 8", and 1 @ 10".

 

We have a very large All Clad pan (11" or 12") which never gets properly heated because our largest gas burner only shoots a flame with a diameter a bit larger than 5". Our most common use for this pan is frying eggplant slices dipped in egg and breadcrumbs. Without the diffuser, the eggplant has to get moved around very frequently.

 

My other use for the diffuser plates is in the Anova Steam Oven when making baguettes. One 10" plate and two 6" plates make a terrifiic baking stone.

 

Oh, and I have a friend with an 8 quart cast iron Dutch oven. The diffuser plate is good enough to get the contents of the Dutch oven good and toasty!

 

Edited to add: I don't touch the plates until they've cooled down. They don't need any cleaning. They stack nicely above my fridge.

 

 

 

Edited January 6 by TdeV
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[Laurentius]

Diffuser plates serve two possible purposes:  moderating head and/or spreading it.  It sounds like your intended purpose is the latter.

 

Having said that, electric hobs are often the most even choice.  Are you finding yours to be uneven?  If there's unevenness within the footprint of the hob, the element probably needs replacing.  Unfortunately, coils do develop dead spots, and if you have hobs with two nested coils, one can fail entirely.  If this is the situation, a conductive diffuser (and/or very thick bottoms) can help, but not a lot.

 

However, if what you're trying to accomplish is to even out larger cookware on a smaller hob--mismatched--then a diffuser might be helpful.

 

As far as I know, there aren't specialized diffuser plates for electrics.  I think the rec of Bella Copper or similar is a good one for several reasons, not the least of which is that high heat can soften and delaminate aluminum ones.  But they do not have handles, so you need to be careful wrangling the flat sheets.

 

I have a VonChef clad (3mm aluminum core) plate marketed as an induction converter that functions ok as a spreader on small hobs on lower heat.  Inexpensive. 

 

 

Edited January 6 by Laurentius (log)

[Shel_B]

Excellent to know.  I'm going to use the diffuser for an 11-inch diameter All-Clad pan and a 12-inch diameter Le Creuset pot.  I posted the link to a 10-inch diffuser, but have since found a 12-inch one, which is what I'll get.  There's a metal fabricator near me that I will contact to see if they'll be able to help. I think the larger width or diameter is the way to go with these big pots.  Here are the online links to the 12-inch plates should you be interested:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/335502106579

https://www.ebay.com/itm/335502106574

 

You could also contact Stryker Welding in Stryker, OH if you don't want to go through eBay: https://strykerweldingandfabrication.com/stove-top-heat-diffusers/  The phone number to order from is at the link,  419-682-2301

 

Edited January 6 by Shel_B
clarity (log)

[AlaMoi]

I have the large and the medium size - since ages - actually since the first year they Bella Copper was in business.

I use them daily - albeit on gas - and find them extremely useful.

bought same for our youngest as a housewarming gift two Christmasi back.

copper is the second best heat conductor - silver is #1, but kinda' pricey . . .

[dcarch]

In many desktop computers, the CPU heat ejection is done using heat pipe design which is a very efficient heat distribution method requiring less metal. I wonder if this has been done or has been considered. As we all know, copper is kind of expensive today.

 

dcarch

 

 

[Laurentius]

4 hours ago, Shel_B said:

Here are the online links to the 12-inch plates should you be interested:

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/335502106579

https://www.ebay.com/itm/335502106574

 

This is good information, and an especially good price for a round--normally shops charge more because they can't just shear those.

[Laurentius]

2 hours ago, dcarch said:

...heat pipe design which is a very efficient heat distribution method requiring less metal. I wonder if this has been done or has been considered.

 

Yes, it's been done.  But not any 'ol heat pipe will do.  I'm barred by NDAs from saying much more.

[Shel_B]

I'm going to get this one ...

[Laurentius]

6 minutes ago, Shel_B said:

I'm going to get this one ...

 

Good choice.  People often also consider getting a rectangular one that straddles two hobs.

[AlaMoi]

I have the large and the medium size - since ages - actually since the first year they Bella Copper was in business.

I use them daily.

 

bought same for our youngest as a housewarming gift two Christmasi back.

 

copper is the second best heat conductor - silver is #1, but kinda' pricey . . .

 

[Shel_B]

The diffuser plate that I ordered arrived this morning, and I am very pleased with it and the transaction. Jordan, at Stryker Welding in Ohio, personally handled the transaction and was able to catch and correct an error in the ordering process. I purchased through eBay, and eBay screwed up the order, but because of Jordan's attention to the process, everything went smoothly.

 

 I called the company to place the order rather than just checking boxes on eBay. Jordan got back to me quickly and we discussed what I needed and he made sure that I got the right product. He sort of "held my hand" through the process, and kept me informed of progress from the initial phone call through shipping.  That's service!

 

Apart from being very nicely finished, the piece was wrapped very well, not only protecting the product but also showing pride in its manufacture.

 

I ordered a large, octagonal plate, as I have a couple of Le Creuset and All-Clad pieces with very wide bottoms that extend far enough outside the diameter of my largest burner that even heating of the pots' cooking surface has been an issue.

 

If you want a diffuser plate, I highly recommend Stryker Welding on eBay. Call 'em, speak with Jordan, and know you'll be in good hands.

Edited January 17 by Shel_B
clarity (log)

[Laurentius]

8 hours ago, Shel_B said:

The diffuser plate that I ordered arrived this morning, and I am very pleased with it and the transaction.

Great, please post about how well it works for you.

 

You probably already know this, but these will quickly become scuffed, stained and patinated to a deep gold-brown.  Nothing really to be done about that.  Enjoy.

[Shel_B]

2 hours ago, Laurentius said:

Great, please post about how well it works for you.

 

You probably already know this, but these will quickly become scuffed, stained and patinated to a deep gold-brown.  Nothing really to be done about that.  Enjoy.

 

I love old things that show age and use, so I look forward to the process.  However, the finish on this plate is truly beautiful - jewel-like - and tomorrow I'll see if I can capture it in a photograph. There is an exception to my love of old-looking things, and that's my cookware. I like it to look as close to new as possible.

 

That said, care and cleaning instructions were included with the copper plate:

 

Edited January 17 by Shel_B
addl info (log)

[Laurentius]

10 hours ago, Shel_B said:

care and cleaning instructions were included with the copper plate:

 

Oh, you can clean and polish it to a mirror finish if you want--just like copper cookware.  But depending on where you live, and how often you use it, you may be spending a lot of time...

 

For a fast, slightly brushed look, a quick scrub with Barkeeper's Friend might please you.

[Shel_B]

This evening, I made a big, wide, 6.75-quart Le Creuset potful of chili and used the diffuser for the first time. This post is not about the chili but about the diffuser and its behavior with the Le Creuset pot.

 

First, the size and shape of the diffuser were perfect for the pot, and my first concern was eliminated.  Just a very small amount of the plate stuck out from beneath the pot. That meant more heat was focused on cooking and less heat escaped to the surrounding environment compared to the square plate and seemingly, even the round plate. On that second point, I'm not 100% sure.

 

Making the soffrito was a big surprise, as the pot heated up much more quickly than I thought it would. I got the soffrito started, turned to do some cleanup in the sink, and much quicker than expected I could hear that the pot needed attention. I stirred and turned the heat down, and kept a more attentive eye on the progress from then on. I can't say for sure, but it seemed that the pot was heating quicker than without the copper plate when it rested directly on the hob. Perhaps one day I'll run a test and know for sure.

 

Apart from heating quickly, the pot and contents seemed more responsive to changes in temperature.  No "facts and figures" to share other than to say I've used that pot, on that hob, to make that same dish several times, and I could feel, or sense, a difference. In any case, I don't think anything was lost by having the plate between the pot and the hob.

 

The reason I got the diffuser was to even the heat on the bottom of the pot since the pot is wider than the hob and the heat at the edges of the pot was noticeably lower which affected the cooking performance.  The diffuser solved that problem beautifully, and based on the bubbles in the chili, the heat was even across the entire bottom of the pot.

 

Nothing is perfect, however, and the one issue I encountered was a result of the quality of the Le Creuset and the diffuser plate. Unlike my older LC, the bottom of the newer pots are fully glazed.  The surface is smooth and durable. Likewise, the diffuser is beautifully finished and is also very smooth.  When there was just the soffrito in the pot, the pot would slide around on the diffuser, and care had to be taken to avoid that movement. Grabbing a handle with a towel helped, as did being quite deliberate in my stirring method. When the pot was fuller and weighed more, the sliding stopped and cooking could proceed in a more normal fashion.   I have a very wide All-Clad pot (the other reason I wanted the diffuser) and it will be interesting to see how it behaves on the diffuser plate.

 

Overall, I am very happy with the decision to buy the plate even though it was somewhat spendy.  Shipping and tax added about 30% to the selling price. I don't regret spending the money one bit.

 

I hope my experience and review are helpful.

 

Here's a link to the seller and manufacturer of the diffuser plate:  https://www.ebay.com/str/swmetals

 

This is the pot used for this review:  (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

 

 

 

 

Edited February 25 by Shel_B
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