There is a reason that all high-grade stainless steel cookware has that thick aluminum plate on the bottom.  It is really not just a very heavy frisbie!  The reasons that Brewhaus includes aluminum diffuser plates with all of our kettles are the same as those of the better cookware producers.  First, the diffuser plate helps to spread the heat evenly across the base of your kettle, eliminating hot spots that can cause scorching.  They also help to reduce the effect of a cycling heat source by holding a reserve of heat and leveling off the cycling.  Lastly, the diffuser plate protects the bottom of your kettle when using gas heat.

So, why do we not have the diffuser plates permanently attached?  Although rare, we have seen instances where a heat source has been powerful enough to actually melt the aluminum plate.  In these cases the plate can be replaced, at a much lower cost than the replacement of a complete kettle.  There are also times where a heat source may produce barely enough heat to distill a product, and the very slight additional heat loss will make it impossible to achieve the required still head temperature.  In such cases it is best to place the kettle directly onto the heat source.