bent pans, bent coils. Questions about electric cooking.

July 23, 2024 8:58 AM

Get outta here, gas cooking ranges, we're going electric. My rental house has an electric range, which I prefer over gas. However, there are gaps where the bottoms of my pots and pans don't touch the heating elements. How does this impact heat transfer, and how do I fix it?

I was boiling water for soup last night, and I lifted the saucepan. About 1/4 of the pan was making contact with the coil, and that section was a dim red / normal black.

The other 3/4 of the coil was "red hot". Inspecting the bottom of my sauce pan, it has a slight curve to it, so it would not make perfect connection with the coil even if the coil were completely flat.

Inspecting the elements (when cool), I notice that some of the wraps of coil stand higher or lower than others. And, the bottoms of my (copper-bottom Revere Ware heirloom) pots and pans are slightly warped, and wobble when put on a flat counter.

I suspect that the heat transfer on the parts where the coil touches the pan directly is much more powerful than the heat transfer on the parts where the coil gets hot, heats the air, and the hot air touches the pan. Is that true?

If so, does the "red hot" part of the coil contribute any heating to the pan? How much?

My theory is that the black part of the coil is the only part transferring heat energy into the pan to boil the water, and the "red hot" parts of the pan pushing heat into the air, which rises away from the pan before transferring a significant amount of energy into the pan. Is that true?

I've tried to research what to do about this but my google fu has failed me. I expected there to be blogs about how to flatten the bottom of cooking pans using hammer taps, or heating and pressing, or something. I expected there to be youtube tutorials for how to level the bits of the coiled heating elements where they rise and fall, but I've seen only recommendations for replacing the coils.

So, what's the deal? Is this a non-issue? Or is this making me use 4x the energy to cook my food, and there are good ways to solve this?

posted by rebent to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

The red hot coils heat the nearby but not touching pan through radiative heating, which is much more effective than the air transfer you describe, though a little less than contact heat transfer. Anyway, it's not a big deal. If you like your pots keep using 'em.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:21 AM on July 23 [2 favorites]

Direct touching is going to conduct more heat as air is a poor conductor in general. This is why you are able to put your hand in a 400F degree oven for short periods of time without incident but put your hand in 200F water for just an instance and you'd be in a world hurt.

How much this is a problem, I'll leave to those that are more knowledgeable. Same for the fixes.
posted by mmascolino at 9:21 AM on July 23

For cooking with lower temps on an electric coil, you can use spacer (I forget it's correct name), so you are getting less heat without contact. A clever person might be able to bang the pot back in to shape a bit with a sturdy wood block and mallet.
posted by theora55 at 9:24 AM on July 23

Bang those dents out. All you need is a doming tool, and a shaping hammer from a jewelry supply store.
posted by Czjewel at 9:30 AM on July 23

Probably doesn't matter much. I haven't worried about inconsistencies with my beat-up 50-year-old electric coil stove. Pots probably could be straightened out with a lot of effort, but it is probably not worth it. I wouldn't try bending the coils as that would risk damaging the ceramic insulation inside of the coils. Coils are cheap, so just get new ones if they bother you.
posted by fimbulvetr at 9:37 AM on July 23 [2 favorites]

For the heating elements themselves that are warped, know that replacing heating elements is trivially easy (you usually just yank out the existing element and push the new one in) and not expensive (replacement heating elements cost as little as $15USD, although they can get up to $50 and probably beyond depending on size/manfacturer/etc.).
posted by mskyle at 9:38 AM on July 23 [4 favorites]

Pans quit being flat on the bottom when someone puts cold water in the pan immediately after use, before allowing the pan to cool. When I started using an induction stovetop instead of gas, my spouse quickly hammered the bottoms of our good tri-ply pans flat using a rubber hammer and frequent checks for flatness with a straight-edge. Not difficult at all. Those bent coils on your stove should be replaced though.
posted by metonym at 10:11 AM on July 23 [3 favorites]

In the grand scheme of things this should not affect anything to a meaningful degree (in terms of electrical power [money] wasted or extra time spent).

...now, if it bugs you then go for the fixes outlined above. Just understand it won't make a difference beyond not being a source of irritation (which is intrinsically significant and perhaps sufficient!)
posted by aramaic at 10:17 AM on July 23 [3 favorites]

The real way to solve this is to use an induction cooktop, which are more forgiving about flatness. You don't even have to wait for your next house, you can order a little portable one for like $100!
posted by credulous at 11:00 AM on July 23 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Swapping out the range is not an option: I rent, and I don't have space, and I don't want to buy new pans.
posted by rebent at 2:14 PM on July 23

Like mskyle says, the heating elements themselves are easily removable and considered a wear item on an open burner stove. So you can replace them for yourself if it bothers you, and put the old ones back in when you move out if you chose to do so.
posted by The_Vegetables at 8:41 AM on July 24 [1 favorite]

I'd kinda think that since the whole ring gets hot and turns off to maintain temperature, it won't matter at all. The points where the ring contacts the pan will transfer more heat. If the whole ring was in contact, the whole ring might transfer heat for 3 seconds, then turn off for 3 seconds, then transfer heat for 3 seconds again. With partial contact, it will probably transfer heat for 3 seconds, but during that 3 seconds of "off" time, it will keep heating as the non-touching part keeps the touching parts hotter.

I do not think that the radiant heat will do much. Holding your hand above a hot stove is WAY different than touching it.

Think of it like ice in your drink. Will one big ice cube cool things down differently than 4 smaller ice cubes? The smaller ice cubes will do it a bit faster because of surface area, but generally the performance will be the same once the water reaches 32 degrees.

So, your stove might bring things to a boil slower, but once it gets to the temp where the heating element is cycling, it shouldn't have much impact on your cooking experience. And generally that happens quickly.
posted by bbqturtle at 11:12 AM on July 25