Skillet Cooking-Do I need a Heat Diffuser?

[Brad W]

Picked up a MSR Quick Skillet for shorter trips. Plan to cook steaks, eggs, etc. using my Soto Amicus stove. Do I need a some kind of diffuser plate to prevent hot spots on the skillet?

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

wouldn’t hurt.  You can use a can lid as a diffuser.  My 2 cents.

[Roger Caffin]

But you should avoid using an aluminium as a diffuser. It is quite easy for a flame to melt aluminium, after which you have molten aluminium wandering around.

One of my stove customers had this problem, with molten aluminium from a heat diffuser dripping onto the hose. These was a bit of a fireball until he flicked the safety valve on the canister and cut the gas off.

Cheers

[Brad W]

Yeah, don’t want that for sure. @Jon, are most food cans now made of aluminum?

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

nope, steel.  It will have a coatin9 on it but it will burn off.  They will also rust but they are free and easy to get.  I make SS ones, but you don’t really need that.  My 2 cents.

 

[Brad W]

@Jon thank you.

[Bonzo]

Two thoughts:
– Recycling worn-out metal items into cookware can be a fun distraction.
– Air and motion make excellent diffusers.

[Ken Larson]

4″ dia plate I use with my white gas stoves I have use for many year and it does the job.

[Roger Caffin]

Curiosity compels the question: instead of using a heat diffuser, why not just turn the stove down (and save fuel)?

Cheers

[Brad W]

@Roger stove is down but it’s the narrow head that concentrates heat, thin skillet doesn’t help. I thought with a diffuser to spread the heat wider it may help.

[Jerry Adams]

If you’re going to fry eggs you’d want to spread the flame to make the heat more uniform across the pan

“Real” skillets are thick and made out of copper or aluminum.  But they weigh too much for a sane backpacker.  The spreader sort of accomplishes the same thing.

I just boil water so this is theoretical to me

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

Well, I do have some experience in this matter.  Here is an old video of frying a pancake using a thin walled MSR BlackLite frypan and a Kovea Spider: Thin pan / small burner head.  The video demonstrates the heat transfer with and without a diffuser.  My 2 cents – Jon

 

[Jerry Adams]

Nice video.  The last pancake looks sad, but still quite tasty I’m sure : )

[DAN-Y/FANCEE FEEST]

No heat diffuser needed if olive oil is used, stove on low heat and pan held in hand over flames. Small silicone spatula used in other hand to stir contents.

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Jon

What you need is a spondonical!
Otherwise known as a billy-grip.

The MSR one is the lightest commercially available one, and it works excellently. It has an insulated red handle.

Highly recommended both the pots and for pans.
Cheers

EDIT
To my intense annoyance, I find that MSR does not list this invaluable item on their web site any more. Which says something about the (lack of) brains behind the modern MSR. Sad.

However, the first sort is readily available on ebay.
I never travel without mine. Sue also uses one in the kitchen with a little frying pan without a handle.
R

[Bruce Tolley]

Looks like MSR sold all the lite lifters to Amazon

:https://www.amazon.com/MSR-LiteLifter-Camping-Pot-Lifter/dp/B000FBWSS6/ref=asc_df_B000FBWSS6/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=194884170462&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=8591667366594336054&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031921&hvtargid=pla-310752838962&psc=1

 

[Ron Jameson]

I use a small paint can lid. About 4″.

[Christopher S]

I just hold the pan slightly raised above the pot supports and move it back and forth a bit in a swirling motion to distribute the heat. With such a thin pan anyways and unless your stove truly simmers (most really dont) I dont trust it not to burn anyways. For less sensitive stuff you can occasionally slightly offset it at different positions from center every like 10 seconds or as needed

[David Thomas]

I’ve used local, flat rocks. Including one time I had a automotive radiator over a 150,000 BTU/hour burner (about 15x a backpacking stove) for a remote hot tub.

No added pack weight.

[Brad W]

So I was all set with my tuna can lid heat diffuser. Set up camp and it’s nowhere to be found.  Regardless, the MSR skillet did surprisingly well for being so thin. I wasn’t cooking anything delicate though-no burnt spots.

[Bonzo]

I wasn’t cooking anything delicate though-no burnt spots.

Well, if you do want to cook some delicate things, you can always order a small piece of .125″ copper from eBay – I think there are 4″ by 4″ pieces for about $12 – and create a diffuser worthy of the best vintage French cookware.  Sure, it’ll weigh about 250g, but if you’re doing omelettes in browned butter in the backcountry, there’s nothing better. ;)

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