Planning to go electric and want to try "Bargain Fittings" method of placing 3 electric coils close together to heat my BK. I got a Whirlpool stainless drop-in cooktop on Craiglist - 2 large coils rated at 2600 W each and two small ones at 1500 W each. I plan to use one large and two small for a total of 5600 W. While trying to plan how I'm going to mount these, I had a crazy thought. Instead of doing all that work, what would happen if I had a sheet of thick aluminum (say, at least 1/8 inch thick) large enough to cover all the coils in their present location and set the pot on top of that - let the metal sheet conduct the heat from the coils to the pot? There are some obvious potential problems that I see and maybe some I don't see:
1. the metal may warp, losing contact with the burners
2. the metal is going to radiate a lot of heat, so does anyone know if there is some kind of spray-on insulation that would take this kind of heat - I would put some on the top side on all metal not contacting the BK and on the bottom in the center on metal not contacting the coils
3. 1/8 inch may not be thick enough, driving up the cost to an impractical level (sheet would need to be about 24 by 21 inches)
4. aluminum may permanently deform or weaken due to the heat - is there a better (reasonably priced) choice?
Does anyone have any experience with something like this? I really don't have a feel for this at all, but thought I'd throw the idea out there for some feedback.
1. the metal may warp, losing contact with the burners
2. the metal is going to radiate a lot of heat, so does anyone know if there is some kind of spray-on insulation that would take this kind of heat - I would put some on the top side on all metal not contacting the BK and on the bottom in the center on metal not contacting the coils
3. 1/8 inch may not be thick enough, driving up the cost to an impractical level (sheet would need to be about 24 by 21 inches)
4. aluminum may permanently deform or weaken due to the heat - is there a better (reasonably priced) choice?
Does anyone have any experience with something like this? I really don't have a feel for this at all, but thought I'd throw the idea out there for some feedback.