My stove has small heating plates, about eight inches diameter. I have a
large cast iron griddle that I place onto that, about 20 inches wide. I
am looking for a product that might integrate copper into the base, so that
the heat will distribute uniformally all over the cast iron. Does anyone
make that?

The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in the
area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few inches off
the edges of that plate. I thought cast iron would distribute heat in a
uniform way, but apparently is not doing that.

Typical application for this grill would be pancakes. Right now the
pancakes get more cooked on the side that is over the middle of the grill
than on the outside side. I don't want to hassle with constant change of
position to get an evenly cooked surface.

--
W

On 1/8/2014 9:07 PM, W wrote:
> My stove has small heating plates, about eight inches diameter. I have a
> large cast iron griddle that I place onto that, about 20 inches wide. I
> am looking for a product that might integrate copper into the base, so that
> the heat will distribute uniformally all over the cast iron. Does anyone
> make that?
>
> The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in the
> area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few inches off
> the edges of that plate. I thought cast iron would distribute heat in a
> uniform way, but apparently is not doing that.
>
> Typical application for this grill would be pancakes. Right now the
> pancakes get more cooked on the side that is over the middle of the grill
> than on the outside side. I don't want to hassle with constant change of
> position to get an evenly cooked surface.
>

Cast iron can take a lot of heat, but it is not a great conductor, as
you can see.

Comparative conductivity numbers
Cast iron 55
Aluminum 250
Copper 350

Rather than trying to add copper you may be better off just getting an
aluminum griddle. I like my Chef's design that I use over two gas
burners. Something like this may work.
http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Design-6.../dp/B0019ZZEKG

On 1/8/14, 9:07 PM, W wrote:
> My stove has small heating plates, about eight inches diameter. I have a
> large cast iron griddle that I place onto that, about 20 inches wide. I
> am looking for a product that might integrate copper into the base, so that
> the heat will distribute uniformally all over the cast iron. Does anyone
> make that?
>
> The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in the
> area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few inches off
> the edges of that plate. I thought cast iron would distribute heat in a
> uniform way, but apparently is not doing that.

Can you position the griddle over two burners? That would help.

Alternatively, you could use the griddle over a multi-burner outdoor gas
grill.

-- Larry

On 1/8/2014 4:07 PM, W wrote:
> My stove has small heating plates, about eight inches diameter. I have a
> large cast iron griddle that I place onto that, about 20 inches wide. I
> am looking for a product that might integrate copper into the base, so that
> the heat will distribute uniformally all over the cast iron. Does anyone
> make that?
>
> The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in the
> area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few inches off
> the edges of that plate. I thought cast iron would distribute heat in a
> uniform way, but apparently is not doing that.
>
> Typical application for this grill would be pancakes. Right now the
> pancakes get more cooked on the side that is over the middle of the grill
> than on the outside side. I don't want to hassle with constant change of
> position to get an evenly cooked surface.
>

I would just learn to live with the uneven heat distribution. I don't
think that having hot spots and cool spots are a bad thing. Having a
cooler area on a griddle would be useful. Well, that's my awesome
opinion anyway.

You could also get a electric griddle. Those things are pretty cheap and
allow you to cook a heap of pancakes. Unfortunately, they don't really
have a uniform heat distribution either. That's the breaks.

"dsi1" > wrote in message
...
> On 1/8/2014 4:07 PM, W wrote:
> > My stove has small heating plates, about eight inches diameter. I
have a
> > large cast iron griddle that I place onto that, about 20 inches wide.
I
> > am looking for a product that might integrate copper into the base, so
that
> > the heat will distribute uniformally all over the cast iron. Does
anyone
> > make that?
> >
> > The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in
the
> > area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few inches
off
> > the edges of that plate. I thought cast iron would distribute heat in
a
> > uniform way, but apparently is not doing that.
> >
> > Typical application for this grill would be pancakes. Right now the
> > pancakes get more cooked on the side that is over the middle of the
grill
> > than on the outside side. I don't want to hassle with constant change
of
> > position to get an evenly cooked surface.
> >
>
> I would just learn to live with the uneven heat distribution. I don't
> think that having hot spots and cool spots are a bad thing. Having a
> cooler area on a griddle would be useful. Well, that's my awesome
> opinion anyway.
>
> You could also get a electric griddle. Those things are pretty cheap and
> allow you to cook a heap of pancakes. Unfortunately, they don't really
> have a uniform heat distribution either. That's the breaks.

I wanted cast iron rather than teflon coating because a heavy spatula tends
to scratch teflon. I like really heavy duty stainless spatulas with sharp
edges.

Once you have experienced cast iron and the scratch-free nature of the metal
it is hard to go back to teflon coatings.

Really surprising to me that no one makes a cast iron griddle with some kind
of copper or aluminum bars glued into the based to help distribute heat.

--
W

On 1/8/2014 6:50 PM, W wrote:
>
> I wanted cast iron rather than teflon coating because a heavy spatula tends
> to scratch teflon. I like really heavy duty stainless spatulas with sharp
> edges.
>
> Once you have experienced cast iron and the scratch-free nature of the metal
> it is hard to go back to teflon coatings.
>
> Really surprising to me that no one makes a cast iron griddle with some kind
> of copper or aluminum bars glued into the based to help distribute heat.
>
> --
> W

I can dig that, I have a nice, heavy, chrome-plated, spatula that I use
when I want to admire it's beauty. You have to be really gentle on
non-stick pans. It's not too hard since I've been doing this for a
while. Most times I use some wooden or some really ugly plastic spatula.

Here's Kenny Shopsin on the grill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayZYfRXS6Do

On Wed, 8 Jan 2014 18:07:03 -0800, "W" >
wrote:

>My stove has small heating plates, about eight inches diameter. I have a
>large cast iron griddle that I place onto that, about 20 inches wide. I
>am looking for a product that might integrate copper into the base, so that
>the heat will distribute uniformally all over the cast iron. Does anyone
>make that?
>
>The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in the
>area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few inches off
>the edges of that plate. I thought cast iron would distribute heat in a
>uniform way, but apparently is not doing that.
>
>Typical application for this grill would be pancakes. Right now the
>pancakes get more cooked on the side that is over the middle of the grill
>than on the outside side. I don't want to hassle with constant change of
>position to get an evenly cooked surface.

You can go to Target or K-Mart, Walmart or such and get an electric
griddle for about $20. The heat is distributed evenly with this
appliance.
Janet US

"Ed Pawlowski" > wrote in message
...
> On 1/8/2014 9:07 PM, W wrote:
>> My stove has small heating plates, about eight inches diameter. I have
>> a
>> large cast iron griddle that I place onto that, about 20 inches wide.
>> I
>> am looking for a product that might integrate copper into the base, so
>> that
>> the heat will distribute uniformally all over the cast iron. Does
>> anyone
>> make that?
>>
>> The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in the
>> area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few inches off
>> the edges of that plate. I thought cast iron would distribute heat in a
>> uniform way, but apparently is not doing that.
>>
>> Typical application for this grill would be pancakes. Right now the
>> pancakes get more cooked on the side that is over the middle of the grill
>> than on the outside side. I don't want to hassle with constant change
>> of
>> position to get an evenly cooked surface.
>>
>
> Cast iron can take a lot of heat, but it is not a great conductor, as you
> can see.
>
> Comparative conductivity numbers
> Cast iron 55
> Aluminum 250
> Copper 350
>
> Rather than trying to add copper you may be better off just getting an
> aluminum griddle. I like my Chef's design that I use over two gas
> burners. Something like this may work.
> http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Design-6.../dp/B0019ZZEKG

If he got something similar that his griddle would fit on to, would the
spread of heat below help the cast iron's heat spread? IYSWIM <g>

--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

"Ophelia" > wrote in message
...
> "Ed Pawlowski" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On 1/8/2014 9:07 PM, W wrote:
> >> My stove has small heating plates, about eight inches diameter. I
have
> >> a
> >> large cast iron griddle that I place onto that, about 20 inches wide.
> >> I
> >> am looking for a product that might integrate copper into the base, so
> >> that
> >> the heat will distribute uniformally all over the cast iron. Does
> >> anyone
> >> make that?
> >>
> >> The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in
the
> >> area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few inches
off
> >> the edges of that plate. I thought cast iron would distribute heat in
a
> >> uniform way, but apparently is not doing that.
> >>
> >> Typical application for this grill would be pancakes. Right now the
> >> pancakes get more cooked on the side that is over the middle of the
grill
> >> than on the outside side. I don't want to hassle with constant change
> >> of
> >> position to get an evenly cooked surface.
> >>
> >
> > Cast iron can take a lot of heat, but it is not a great conductor, as
you
> > can see.
> >
> > Comparative conductivity numbers
> > Cast iron 55
> > Aluminum 250
> > Copper 350
> >
> > Rather than trying to add copper you may be better off just getting an
> > aluminum griddle. I like my Chef's design that I use over two gas
> > burners. Something like this may work.
> > http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Design-6.../dp/B0019ZZEKG
>
> If he got something similar that his griddle would fit on to, would the
> spread of heat below help the cast iron's heat spread? IYSWIM <g>

I think a copper lattice below the cast iron grill would help to spread the
heat more evenly.

But no one makes a copper lattice for heating grills?

--
W

"W" > wrote in message
...
> "Ophelia" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "Ed Pawlowski" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > On 1/8/2014 9:07 PM, W wrote:
>> >> My stove has small heating plates, about eight inches diameter. I
> have
>> >> a
>> >> large cast iron griddle that I place onto that, about 20 inches wide.
>> >> I
>> >> am looking for a product that might integrate copper into the base, so
>> >> that
>> >> the heat will distribute uniformally all over the cast iron. Does
>> >> anyone
>> >> make that?
>> >>
>> >> The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in
> the
>> >> area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few inches
> off
>> >> the edges of that plate. I thought cast iron would distribute heat
>> >> in
> a
>> >> uniform way, but apparently is not doing that.
>> >>
>> >> Typical application for this grill would be pancakes. Right now the
>> >> pancakes get more cooked on the side that is over the middle of the
> grill
>> >> than on the outside side. I don't want to hassle with constant
>> >> change
>> >> of
>> >> position to get an evenly cooked surface.
>> >>
>> >
>> > Cast iron can take a lot of heat, but it is not a great conductor, as
> you
>> > can see.
>> >
>> > Comparative conductivity numbers
>> > Cast iron 55
>> > Aluminum 250
>> > Copper 350
>> >
>> > Rather than trying to add copper you may be better off just getting an
>> > aluminum griddle. I like my Chef's design that I use over two gas
>> > burners. Something like this may work.
>> > http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Design-6.../dp/B0019ZZEKG
>>
>> If he got something similar that his griddle would fit on to, would the
>> spread of heat below help the cast iron's heat spread? IYSWIM <g>
>
> I think a copper lattice below the cast iron grill would help to spread
> the
> heat more evenly.
>
> But no one makes a copper lattice for heating grills?

I have no idea, but I was thinking of the thing that Ed is using. Could you
griddle sit on top of it? If the heat was spread underneath your griddle
....

--
http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/shop/

W wrote:
>
> But no one makes a copper lattice for heating grills?

I'm just wondering.... if your cast iron griddle is thick enough,
would letting it heat up longer give the rest of it time to heat up
more and be a more even heat? For example, let it heat up for 20
minutes rather than 10 minutes before cooking on it? Just a thought.

G.

Interesting problem, make a good project for a student.

For your solution to work I believe it will need a fairly
thick copper base. Otherwise, as the heat is conducted
away from the burner by the copper, convection will cool
down the copper before the heat can be transferred to the
cast iron. This will be exacerbated by the small air gap
(insulation) between the copper and cast iron. Neither
will be perfectly flat.

A better solution may be to diffuse the heat by creating an
enclosed air box below the cast iron. Imagine the cast
iron forming the lid of a shallow oven which sits on the
burner. The air is heated by the burner and will result in
a fairly even distribution of heat. However, the downside
is that it will be both difficult to design properly,
clean, and heat up to the required temperature.

http://www.richardfisher.com

Helpful person wrote:
>
> A better solution may be to diffuse the heat by creating an
> enclosed air box below the cast iron. Imagine the cast
> iron forming the lid of a shallow oven which sits on the
> burner. The air is heated by the burner and will result in
> a fairly even distribution of heat.

I think I'd just buy some frozen pancakes to microwave before I went
that far. haha

G.

On 1/8/2014 11:50 PM, W wrote:

>>> The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in
> the
>>> area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few inches
> off
>>> the edges of that plate.

> Really surprising to me that no one makes a cast iron griddle with some kind
> of copper or aluminum bars glued into the based to help distribute heat.
>

I wonder how much it would cost. What you want is along the same lines
as the tri-clad and copper clad pans. They tend to heat very evenly. I
have no idea if it is even possible to properly bond them. Given the
price of copper today, doubt you will ever see t hat done, but aluminum
would still be better.

In article >,
W > wrote:
>
>Once you have experienced cast iron and the scratch-free nature of the metal
>it is hard to go back to teflon coatings.

To each their own, I suppose. I like cast iron for some things,
teflon for others, and plain stainless steel for yet a different
purpose. The right tool for the job.

Cindy Hamilton
--

On Thursday, January 9, 2014 9:28:10 AM UTC-5, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
> I wonder how much it would cost. What you want is along the same lines
> as the tri-clad and copper clad pans. They tend to heat very evenly. I
> have no idea if it is even possible to properly bond them. Given the
> price of copper today, doubt you will ever see t hat done, but aluminum
> would still be better.

I'm not sure if the heat distribution would be significantly
better. The tri construction eliminates hot spots. Convection
will still result in considerable heat loss away from the burner.
I'm not sure if the thin ply would be good enough for the pancake
application.

I don't think you can bond a metal to a porous material like cast
iron. Anyone know?

http://www.richardfisher.com

On Thu, 9 Jan 2014 11:38:45 -0000, "Ophelia"
> wrote:
>
>
> "Ed Pawlowski" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On 1/8/2014 9:07 PM, W wrote:
> >> My stove has small heating plates, about eight inches diameter. I have
> >> a
> >> large cast iron griddle that I place onto that, about 20 inches wide.
> >> I
> >> am looking for a product that might integrate copper into the base, so
> >> that
> >> the heat will distribute uniformally all over the cast iron. Does
> >> anyone
> >> make that?
> >>
> >> The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in the
> >> area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few inches off
> >> the edges of that plate. I thought cast iron would distribute heat in a
> >> uniform way, but apparently is not doing that.
> >>
> >> Typical application for this grill would be pancakes. Right now the
> >> pancakes get more cooked on the side that is over the middle of the grill
> >> than on the outside side. I don't want to hassle with constant change
> >> of
> >> position to get an evenly cooked surface.
> >>
> >
> > Cast iron can take a lot of heat, but it is not a great conductor, as you
> > can see.
> >
> > Comparative conductivity numbers
> > Cast iron 55
> > Aluminum 250
> > Copper 350
> >
> > Rather than trying to add copper you may be better off just getting an
> > aluminum griddle. I like my Chef's design that I use over two gas
> > burners. Something like this may work.
> > http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Design-6.../dp/B0019ZZEKG
>
> If he got something similar that his griddle would fit on to, would the
> spread of heat below help the cast iron's heat spread? IYSWIM <g>

I have a two burner, cast iron griddle. It was useless on my old
electric stove (two hot spots with a cold middle) but works like a
charm on gas. I'm guessing it's because gas burners are less
efficient than electric and throw out more unfocused heat, which is
just what the two burner griddle needs to in order to work well.

--
"Corporations aren't people, they're Republicans"
(Rev Al Sharpton 10/7/2011)

On Thu, 09 Jan 2014 08:02:58 -0500, Gary > wrote:

> W wrote:
> >
> > But no one makes a copper lattice for heating grills?
>
> I'm just wondering.... if your cast iron griddle is thick enough,
> would letting it heat up longer give the rest of it time to heat up
> more and be a more even heat? For example, let it heat up for 20
> minutes rather than 10 minutes before cooking on it? Just a thought.
>
No. BTDT.


--
"Corporations aren't people, they're Republicans"
(Rev Al Sharpton 10/7/2011)

On Thu, 9 Jan 2014 05:39:36 -0800 (PST), Helpful person
> wrote:

> Interesting problem, make a good project for a student.
>
> For your solution to work I believe it will need a fairly
> thick copper base. Otherwise, as the heat is conducted
> away from the burner by the copper, convection will cool
> down the copper before the heat can be transferred to the
> cast iron. This will be exacerbated by the small air gap
> (insulation) between the copper and cast iron. Neither
> will be perfectly flat.
>
> A better solution may be to diffuse the heat by creating an
> enclosed air box below the cast iron. Imagine the cast
> iron forming the lid of a shallow oven which sits on the
> burner. The air is heated by the burner and will result in
> a fairly even distribution of heat. However, the downside
> is that it will be both difficult to design properly,
> clean, and heat up to the required temperature.
>
You also have to take the surface underneath the middle of the two
burner griddle into consideration. What is all that heat going to do
to the finish between the burners?


--
"Corporations aren't people, they're Republicans"
(Rev Al Sharpton 10/7/2011)

On Thu, 09 Jan 2014 09:06:02 -0500, Gary > wrote:

> Helpful person wrote:
> >
> > A better solution may be to diffuse the heat by creating an
> > enclosed air box below the cast iron. Imagine the cast
> > iron forming the lid of a shallow oven which sits on the
> > burner. The air is heated by the burner and will result in
> > a fairly even distribution of heat.
>
> I think I'd just buy some frozen pancakes to microwave before I went
> that far. haha
>
You can make two pancakes easily on one of those griddles, but all
that space in the middle is wasted unless you use it as a warmer.


--
"Corporations aren't people, they're Republicans"
(Rev Al Sharpton 10/7/2011)

sf wrote:
>
> On Thu, 09 Jan 2014 09:06:02 -0500, Gary wrote:
>
> > Helpful person wrote:
> > >
> > > A better solution may be to diffuse the heat by creating an
> > > enclosed air box below the cast iron. Imagine the cast
> > > iron forming the lid of a shallow oven which sits on the
> > > burner. The air is heated by the burner and will result in
> > > a fairly even distribution of heat.
> >
> > I think I'd just buy some frozen pancakes to microwave before I went
> > that far. haha
> >
> You can make two pancakes easily on one of those griddles, but all
> that space in the middle is wasted unless you use it as a warmer.

I use a 12" diameter, thick aluminum frying pan (teflon coated) to
make the rare pancakes. Put on one burner and allowed to slowly heat
up, I can cook 3 pancakes at a time.

I need to make some soon too. A friend and his wife sent me a pint of
really good maple syrup from a specialty store in Connecticut for
Christmas. :-)

G.

W wrote:
> My stove has small heating plates, about eight inches diameter. I
> have a large cast iron griddle that I place onto that, about 20
> inches wide. I am looking for a product that might integrate
> copper into the base, so that the heat will distribute uniformally
> all over the cast iron. Does anyone make that?
>
> The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in
> the area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few
> inches off the edges of that plate. I thought cast iron would
> distribute heat in a uniform way, but apparently is not doing that.
>
> Typical application for this grill would be pancakes. Right now the
> pancakes get more cooked on the side that is over the middle of the
> grill than on the outside side. I don't want to hassle with
> constant change of position to get an evenly cooked surface.

We've tried a 2-burner griddle over gas burners - it's still not great,
and it's real unitasker because it never did anything except make
pancakes. I'm not sure if you have a single burner setup; if that's the
case, a griddle that covers 2 burners on your stove will certainly work
better.

When we have a lot of pancakes to make at once, we just take out a
second frying pan or we put the first few batches on a cookie sheet in a
low oven to keep warm.

-S-

On Wed, 08 Jan 2014 23:03:54 -0500, pltrgyst > wrote:

>On 1/8/14, 9:07 PM, W wrote:
>> My stove has small heating plates, about eight inches diameter. I have a
>> large cast iron griddle that I place onto that, about 20 inches wide. I
>> am looking for a product that might integrate copper into the base, so that
>> the heat will distribute uniformally all over the cast iron. Does anyone
>> make that?
>>
>> The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in the
>> area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few inches off
>> the edges of that plate. I thought cast iron would distribute heat in a
>> uniform way, but apparently is not doing that.
>
>Can you position the griddle over two burners? That would help.

Depends on the stove. For most stoves it's not a good idea to use
those griddles spanning two burners, the heat in the middle becomes
excessive and will damage the porcelain stove top... I got one of
those aluminum griddles as a gift, instructions warned about how it
can cause damage, I got rid of it. If I wanted a large griddle I'd
buy one of those electric appliance type

On Wed, 8 Jan 2014 20:50:28 -0800, "W" >
wrote:

>"dsi1" > wrote in message
...
>> On 1/8/2014 4:07 PM, W wrote:
>> > My stove has small heating plates, about eight inches diameter. I
>have a
>> > large cast iron griddle that I place onto that, about 20 inches wide.
>I
>> > am looking for a product that might integrate copper into the base, so
>that
>> > the heat will distribute uniformally all over the cast iron. Does
>anyone
>> > make that?
>> >
>> > The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in
>the
>> > area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few inches
>off
>> > the edges of that plate. I thought cast iron would distribute heat in
>a
>> > uniform way, but apparently is not doing that.
>> >
>> > Typical application for this grill would be pancakes. Right now the
>> > pancakes get more cooked on the side that is over the middle of the
>grill
>> > than on the outside side. I don't want to hassle with constant change
>of
>> > position to get an evenly cooked surface.
>> >
>>
>> I would just learn to live with the uneven heat distribution. I don't
>> think that having hot spots and cool spots are a bad thing. Having a
>> cooler area on a griddle would be useful. Well, that's my awesome
>> opinion anyway.
>>
>> You could also get a electric griddle. Those things are pretty cheap and
>> allow you to cook a heap of pancakes. Unfortunately, they don't really
>> have a uniform heat distribution either. That's the breaks.
>
>I wanted cast iron rather than teflon coating because a heavy spatula tends
>to scratch teflon. I like really heavy duty stainless spatulas with sharp
>edges.
>
>Once you have experienced cast iron and the scratch-free nature of the metal
>it is hard to go back to teflon coatings.
>
>Really surprising to me that no one makes a cast iron griddle with some kind
>of copper or aluminum bars glued into the based to help distribute heat.

Would be expensive... a whole lot cheaper to cook that slew of
pancakes with two pans... cast iron griddles are cheap, and most times
one is sufficient.
http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Pro-Logi...griddle+square

Gary wrote:
>Helpful person wrote:
>>
>> A better solution may be to diffuse the heat by creating an
>> enclosed air box below the cast iron. Imagine the cast
>> iron forming the lid of a shallow oven which sits on the
>> burner. The air is heated by the burner and will result in
>> a fairly even distribution of heat.
>
>I think I'd just buy some frozen pancakes to microwave before I went
>that far. haha

If I liked pancakes (I don't) I'd go to IHOP.

On 1/9/2014 9:06 AM, Gary wrote:
> Helpful person wrote:
>>
>> A better solution may be to diffuse the heat by creating an
>> enclosed air box below the cast iron. Imagine the cast
>> iron forming the lid of a shallow oven which sits on the
>> burner. The air is heated by the burner and will result in
>> a fairly even distribution of heat.
>
> I think I'd just buy some frozen pancakes to microwave before I went
> that far. haha
>
> G.
>
Or buy a waffle iron.

Jill

"Gary" > wrote in message ...
> W wrote:
> >
> > But no one makes a copper lattice for heating grills?
>
> I'm just wondering.... if your cast iron griddle is thick enough,
> would letting it heat up longer give the rest of it time to heat up
> more and be a more even heat? For example, let it heat up for 20
> minutes rather than 10 minutes before cooking on it? Just a thought.

No unfortunately. As the post originally replying to this thread
indicates, cast iron does not spread heat easily. But the side effect of
that is that it retains the heat it has. That makes it a perfect tool for
oven cooking since it is heated uniformly and then creates a kind of perfect
oven condition for the food inside the enclosed cast iron.

I think a thick copper lattice place under the grill would solve the problem
for the grill application.

--
W

The cure you seek is called aluminum. Contrary to what old folks say cast iron is not a very effective heat dispersal material. Copper would prob be best with aluminum running it a close second. It has strange properties in other words. you could get a piece of flat aluminum plate to put between the heat and the cast iron griddle or you could skip a step and get an aluminum griddle. They can be picked up in the camping section at Wally Word for around 15 bucks. No stick on the top side. Works wonderful on a boy scout camp stove too. Ideal for pancakes. In fact a person can cook a full breakfast on it including the bacon. Now the most ideal pancake cooker in the world are the George Foreman Grill stype things. We have a GE Clone with two no stick stufaces. Works like a charm. Learnt that trick from Alton Brown. Kindly keeps us posted on how it works out.

"Ed Pawlowski" > wrote in message
...
> On 1/8/2014 9:07 PM, W wrote:
> > My stove has small heating plates, about eight inches diameter. I
have a
> > large cast iron griddle that I place onto that, about 20 inches wide.
I
> > am looking for a product that might integrate copper into the base, so
that
> > the heat will distribute uniformally all over the cast iron. Does
anyone
> > make that?
> >
> > The problem I have is that the cast iron gets to about 380 degrees in
the
> > area over the stove plate, but is about 230 degrees just a few inches
off
> > the edges of that plate. I thought cast iron would distribute heat in
a
> > uniform way, but apparently is not doing that.
> >
> > Typical application for this grill would be pancakes. Right now the
> > pancakes get more cooked on the side that is over the middle of the
grill
> > than on the outside side. I don't want to hassle with constant change
of
> > position to get an evenly cooked surface.
> >
>
> Cast iron can take a lot of heat, but it is not a great conductor, as
> you can see.
>
> Comparative conductivity numbers
> Cast iron 55
> Aluminum 250
> Copper 350
>
> Rather than trying to add copper you may be better off just getting an
> aluminum griddle. I like my Chef's design that I use over two gas
> burners. Something like this may work.
> http://www.amazon.com/Chefs-Design-6.../dp/B0019ZZEKG

Here is my best solution so far. There are 9 inch and 11 inch aluminum
heat spreaders he

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004XWCO96/

I will match the 9 inch plate to a smaller 9 inch cast iron skillet, and
I'll match the 11 inch plate to a second smaller 10.5 inch skillet.

I hope the solid aluminum plates won't cause back-heating into the heating
element that overheats it....

What I really want is this product, made with a copper base:

http://www.amazon.com/Heat-Distribut.../dp/B001NFLMKI

The one above is stainless steel, so probably not the best choice for a
non-induction, heat-spreading application.

--
W