Help needed: Cofeemaker too small for stovetop

I have two Bialetti moka express coffeemakers, a one-cup and a three-cup.

I haven't been able to use the one-cup pot for the past year, because the metal grids over the burners on my gas range -- these things -- don't extend sufficiently inward to support the pot. Its diameter is smaller than the opening in the grids.

Is there a heatproof, flameproof product that can bridge that gap and still transmit the heat to the pot?

(Cross-posted to Your Choice.)

Wire grill plate but smaller.

(Also posted on YC but without the link)

Something like this would also do the trick.

They exist in Italy for sure......its a small piece of metal,cross shaped,that you put on the hob over the flame.Don't know what its called though..even in Italian ;-)

That cast-iron heat diffuser reminds me that I may have seen something similar made of asbestos many years ago. Even if that were the case, though, I suppose it wouldn't be on the market now because asbestos is known to have deleterious effects on health.

A friend gave me a lovely little cast iron trivet that covers that gap on the burners. He bought it in New York City-- maybe at Zabars? (Will ask him next week.)

Moka gas reducing ring.

Moka gas reducing ring.

My first search brought up only UK sellers, but a second try found one in this country. I've ordered it. Thanks!

Gotta get that kind of rack thing with little feet that goes over the burner. You have a peculator right? Wonderful invention

One of these is on its way to me right now, via U.S. Postal Service express mail. Thanks, all.

You can jerry-rig with aluminum foil Also useful as a flame-tamer.

Where were you, nutrax, before I spent a ton of money on that cast-iron thing? (Just kidding; I think it was about eight dollars.)

Your photo made me smile, because I use aluminum foil when I make popcorn. I pop corn on the stovetop in an old Club Aluminum 1.5-quart pot. Two level tablespoons of kernels make just a little too much popcorn for that pot, so I extend its height by wrapping a ring of folded aluminum foil around it.

Careful if your burner is big, the reducer isn't and the flames if turned high can burn the pot handle...and your fingers.

Thanks for the warning, Donkeystone. In fact, the smallest flame on my gas range comes from a circle smaller in diameter than my little coffeemaker. It acts as a "simmer" setting for larger pots, but will be enough to heat that small pot without the flames lapping at the sides or handle.

The stove in my last house has 2 medium sized flames one extra large one and one small one. I think I used the small one twice in the 14 or so years I had it. It just wasn't convenient for me.

I used that small flame today when I made a meal of potatoes, onions, and eggs in a cast-iron frying pan. I sautéed the chopped potatoes in olive oil over that low flame, which takes a while longer but won't result in potatoes that burn on the outside without being cooked through. I tossed the onions in when the potatoes were about 3/4 done. When the potatoes and onions were cooked, I turn them out onto paper toweling to drain any excess oil, then poured beaten eggs into the pan and swirled them and scrambled them. Mmm, good.

There's only one thing worse than burnt Bakelite and that's the smell it gives off.

According to Wikipedia, nutrax, kitchenware is one of the few consumer products in which Bakelite is still used. A snip from Wikipedia:

Phenolics are seldom used in general consumer products today....An exception to this overall decline is their use in small precision-shaped components where their specific properties are required, such as molded disc brake cylinders, saucepan handles, electrical plugs and switches and parts for electrical irons.

Emphasis added.

*NorthAmerican....
Are you in a part of The USA that has any Russian/Eastern Europe Shops?
There are some in Chicago and New York.
I have one of these and it's not only cheap, but excellent - too.
Coffee at its finest....

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/429199622/coffee<u>maker_KPC_SN100A_900A</u>/showimage.html

To battybilly: Yes, there's a Ukrainian shop that has been here for at least 30 or 40 years, and a Russian shop that opened more recently. But I already have two pots similar to what you show at your link; click on the words "moka express" in my OP.

Thanks for the link, though; it would have been a lifesaver if I didn't already have a couple of coffee pots of that type.

Ah - no worries. It was just an idea.
I buy one of those coffee makers about every 3 years. They tend to spring a leak soon after that.

I used metal chopsticks as a lattice. That worked for a while.