The sheet metal base and the additional sheet metal insert shield the heat development well at the bottom. In this respect, there are no temperatures at the bottom that could set something on fire. The cooker also has rubber feet. I consider a wooden base to be harmless. I would be careful with plastic materials (plastic, plastic resin coating...) if used for a long time. Otherwise, it's better to put a sufficiently large board underneath. Incidentally, the cooker is really great.

Yes, that shouldn't be a big problem. It will be a little warm, but not burning hot. A little caution is still advisable.

Hello - I have never touched the bottom during operation ... but we have used the cooker on a Rako box and you can't see anything. So I assume that nothing gets excessively hot there. Greetings