On Wed, 29 Mar 2006 20:03:59 GMT, "sheltech"
wrote:



"Eric R Snow" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 29 Mar 2006 14:19:41 GMT, "sheltech"
wrote:


... or whatever the F the right name is (I knew it yesterday ! ) .
The wife's cast iron skillet recommends a heat spreader thingy to
go between the element/glass top and the skillet , and the copper
ones are priced ridiculously . I'm off to scrounge a 1/4" Cu plate
today , but thought "well, I already have some aluminum..." .
So the obvious question is : is this safe ?. I know the element itself
gets hot enough to melt Al , but what about the glass top ?.
Also , does Al put off toxic fumes when it's hot ?. What do the big
giant heads say? ...

Thanks ,

Dar http://www.sheltech.net metal work
http://www.soundclick.com/darshelton (free mp3's)


Greetings Dar,
I make these plates for friends and family to spread the heat. I've
even gone so far as to research the thickness required to get the
plate to be at the same temperature throughout. 7/16" inch thick 6061
plate will do for a low flame. Because the aluminum transmits heat so
well if the plate is too thin you will get a hot ring. It will diffuse
the heat some but you can still burn food. I make all of mine out of
1/2" 6061 plate and they work very well. Everybody who uses them just
keeps them on the stove full time. I clear anodize them myself. I sent
some out for black anodize once when I had a bunch of money making
parts being done. The black turns brown after a couple years. My
neighbor, the clean freak, used Easy-Off to clean the plates. This
highly alkaline cleaner ruined the finish on the parts so I put 'em in
the lathe to clean them up.
ERS


good info... any differences you think for a glass-top electric vs. gas
flame?.
i figured I'd just use the 1/4" that I have laying around and see what
happens.

DS


Whatever the heat pattern of the glass top is, the 1/4" aluminum will
be.
ERS