I've got a gas cooktop that for some unfortunate reason, the manufacturer decided to make the "grates" which sit on the cooktop and hold the pot above the flame, much taller than they need to be. As a result, it takes an inordinate amount of time to heat anything. Boiling water takes way too long. Each grate appears to be cast, with a ring that has five fingers extending upwards, then converging in the center, providing a surface on which to set the pan.
Being the resourceful type, I cut a ring on my lathe (from an old brake rotor) and some fingers from 1/4" by 3/4" iron stock and tapered them on the mill, and after a bit of drilling an tapping, had a replacement "grate" that sits on the standard cooktop mount ring, but is short enough to put most of the heat on the bottom of the pan, not around the sides. After using this single iron grate for well over a year, it has (of course) rusted, and I've pretty much given up on finding a decent enameling solution, and besides, creating the first one took me way longer than I expected, and I really don't have enough time in my schedule to make five...
Thus, I'm at the point where I'm thinking about having some rings cut from 1/4" or 3/8" Stainless, along with some fingers, and bolt together a set of five of these grates, made of SS.
Can Stainless take this sort of heat without significant discoloring or rusting? What type of Stainless should I be using? Where can I get rings cut? They would need to be about 8.7" OD, 8.1" ID, and .250" or .375" Thick. I need five total. I can provide exact size, but right now, I'm not close to the cooktop to be able to measure the one I already made to test the concept.
I live in Hawaii, on the Big Island (the southernmost island) and we don't have much industry here, so I wouldn't expect to find anyone in the state that could do this, so I will need to look somewhere on the mainland.
Thanks
--Rick