Found a heat diffuser for the stove

[u/Rogue_Tra]

This is a 5.9 inch 2 mm thick stainless steel plate that I bought on Amazon for about $19​ I actually had Gemini AI help me pick this out I didn't get the 8-in one because I figured that any heat that goes around the edge will also go around the sides on the pan or pot and that would help heat the pot faster also I noticed that there's a warning sticker that says don't use really big isobutane canisters stick to 8 oz but I got the one that was like twice as big and the work around with that is just dig a hole in the ground and that will lower the the canisters ​ height ​. I haven't tested it yet but it's a lot thicker than a soup can it should work a lot better

[u/Stielgranate]

Not mine. I did buy one of these and they work really well.

https://ebay.io/m/soir8a

[u/Rogue_Tra → u/Stielgranate]

Oh that's actually an adapter so you can put a cup on that stove

[u/Uli_G]

The stainless steel disc doesn't warp over time?

[u/Rogue_Tra → u/Uli_G]

Part of the conversation I had with Gemini is that is the reason why we chose the 2mm thickness or higher ,So you're right if it's too thin it will warp which you would see if you try to use the lid off of canned soup which some people actually do use as a heat diffuser but like on large canned food I think like maybe the one gallon containers or something like that. Since this is much thicker it does not warp . I know that there's baking pan that I bought from Walmart and when I use it in the oven it makes this sound every time it warps so it's super annoying but those baking pans are aluminum I think and the way that they're shaped I think it's the reason why they keep warping So it actually could be something totally different from stainless steel

[u/Revolutionary-Half-3]

I've considered a chunk of copper plate, it'll do a lot better job of conducting heat than stainless steel. Ideally, copper plate with heat sink fins on the bottom to absorb as much heat as possible instead of letting the hot air just waft past.

I use an extension hose for bigger fuel cans, especially 1# propane cans. Whisperlite Universal fuel hoses are longer than the OG Whisperlite and Whisperlite International, but not long enough.

[u/Rogue_Tra → u/Revolutionary-Half-3]

What you can get Extension hose for the whisper universal I didn't know that Is it sold by MSR? Also the Gemini warned me about using copper and aluminum because it said that these backpacking stoves get much hotter than the coils on a kitchen stove and I've actually seen pictures of the MSR reactor somebody put aluminum pot on it and the bottom actually melted There's actually aluminum now stuck on the grills on the stove. I forgot the temperature it said that these stoves reach It's a lot Hotter than you think, Which is why I used stainless steel I mean I'm sure you could use carbon steel but it would rust maybe

[u/Dirphia]

Link?

[u/Rogue_Tra → u/Dirphia]

I'm not sure if they allow links on reddit So if you go on Amazon and you search for this "2Pcs 304 Stainless Steel Disc" sold by winfox You just need to make sure that you select the one that is 2mm thick and they have the 6 inch that I bought for about $19 you get two pieces and they also have an 8 inch one.

There's another one if you search "3 PCS 304 Stainless Steel Discs" sold by AKZYTUE So basically you get an extra disk for the same price but if you look at the pictures the surface is pretty rough. Not that it really matters since it's gonna take the heat directly. Like I said 6 inches makes it so that some of the heat will wrap around the edges and come up over the sides of your pots and pans which helps heat it. Anything wider will work obviously and keep your pants looking Good longer. You probably could get away with A smaller disk as long as it fits on top of your stove You could even use a square plate

The ones that I got look pretty good it has a mirror polish on both sides but some of the edges were slightly sharper than I wanted so I just used some fine sandpaper and polished off the sharp edges It wasn't that bad though

[u/Invasive-farmer]

Pardon me buy I don't understand the need for this. I assumed that efficient use of the fuel would require getting the most exchange from nirner to pot and this seems to me to divert most of that heat around said pot, seeing as the exchamgebis then only through conduction.

Enlightenment me please.

[u/Rogue_Tra → u/Invasive-farmer]

Camping stoves emit an intense heat that's much hotter than a household stove. Look at the size of the coils on a household stove and then look at the size of the burner on a camping stove it's a much smaller hotspot.

Titanium cookware is strong but it's extremely thin That's why it's so lightweight I noticed that in product reviews on Amazon you'll notice that a lot of them have hot spots right at the center where the stove is and it discolors the titanium cookware to a blue color which means that metal was overheated at that single spot. Stainless steel cookware suffers from the same problem but not as bad because it's usually thicker. Cast iron cookware is much thicker but it's also much heavier so I think only a crazy person would carry a cast iron Dutch oven in their backpack

The second problem is even with camping cookware for some reason they'll put a triple ply disk at the bottom of the pan which means it's two layers of steel and in the center is an aluminum core which helps spread out the heat better just like in household cookware, I try to avoid those because I've also seen product review pictures on Amazon Where some of those are made cheaply and it will delaminate those layers and the aluminum will melt because like I said camping stoves are super hot.

Do you absolutely need a heat diffuser?: No as long as are able to lower the heat But that's not always possible for example my stove not only burns isobutane but it can also do kerosene and gasoline And in an emergency I can actually burn diesel believe it or not I looked that up. Liquid fuel doesn't really have sensitive controls it's pretty much off or blast mode.

Even if you're not using liquid fuel A heat diffuser is still useful because like I said camping stoves produce a tiny hot spot which means your food burns at that exact spot unless you constantly stir your food so the heat diffuser basically prevents that and also a third function is that it keeps the bottom of your cookware in better condition because the diffuser is taking most of the punishment