Holes in new Cast Iron pan

[quicksilver]

Yeh. What GB said. But I would also get on his site and tell your tale. I'm sure anyone attaching their name to a mass produced product would be interested in feed back, as the general public will tell someone, who will tell someone, etc., etc. And POOF, there goes their rep.
Then stocks
D
I
V
E .

The general public then suffers, not being able to get affordable produces that endure.

[zzrdvark]

I've never heard of cast iron pans with holes in them and don't see why they'd be useful. I'd take it back too.

[Michael in FtW]

Originally Posted by mj1

I was cooking burgers in my new cast iron grill pan and noticed two tiny holes in the inside bottom of it. The only reason I could even see them was because they were bubbling. The grease got in them which caused the holes to bubble. They're small holes, but big enough that I could fit a toothpick in them. Is this ok/normal? Or does this mean the pan is defective and should be exchanged? If I saw something like this in any other pan I would probably take it back, but I'm not familiar with cast iron, so I don't know what's normal.

A lot depends on what you call "a hole". When you say it was a hole on the "inside" of the pan it doesn't sound like the "hole" went all the way through the pan. And, there is no way of knowing how deep the hole was just because you could stick a toothpick in it. I've had brand new Lodge CI that had voids I could stick the end of a toothpick in - that after seasoning was perfectly fine.

The surface of cast iron will have little voids naturally as a result of the casting process - regardless of brand. Basically - they press a mold into sand, and pour the CI into the sand mold ... so surfaces can vary not noly from brand to brand - but pan to pan within the same brand. Each CI pan is unique.

As it is seasoned, both before use and with repeated use, fats will fill in the voids (through a process of polymerization) and produce a smooth, virtually non-stick surface.

The problem with being able to advise you on whether this is a normal variation in the casting process, or a defect, is that we can't see it. If you're not happy with it - take it back.

[wysiwyg]

mj1,
Is this a cast iron enameled pan? Regular black cast iron?

Seems like your pan has some porosity holes as results of the manufacturing process.
If you were able to see them bubbling, it means there are probably some additional voids inside the pan. After you heat up the air inside them, it bubbles to the surface.

Did you experience some sort of leakage?
If not, I would do the following test: Fill the pan up to 3/4 height with water and heat it up. If the water starts to bubble all over the pan (tiny bubbles, when evaporation just starts), the pan is fine. If you see bubbling all over, but near the area of the "tiny holes", it means is not heating up evenly. In that case, I'd exchange it.

[mj1]

Originally Posted by wysiwyg

mj1,
Is this a cast iron enameled pan? Regular black cast iron?

I have no idea. I'm guessing regular. I don't see where it says it's enameled, how would I know?

Originally Posted by wysiwyg

Did you experience some sort of leakage?
If not, I would do the following test: Fill the pan up to 3/4 height with water and heat it up. If the water starts to bubble all over the pan (tiny bubbles, when evaporation just starts), the pan is fine. If you see bubbling all over, but near the area of the "tiny holes", it means is not heating up evenly. In that case, I'd exchange it.

Thanks, I'll try this. What I did notice while cooking some burgers is that the pan got hotter in the area where the hole is. The rest of the pan took longer to heat up. But I suppose that could be a problem with the burner. Maybe I should try turning the pan around the other way and see if the same area gets hotter faster.

[mj1]

I tried to take some pictures of the hole. These aren't very good, but it's the best I can do.

[GB]

I would absolutely return that. That is most certainly a defect.

[wysiwyg]

mj1,
From the pictures you posted, looks like a regular cast iron pan. Enameled pans have a different finish inside when compared to the outside (shimmier, smoother). In some cases, the enamel is clear (like LeCreusets), but also could be dark (IKEA)
As some others recommended, I'd take it back to the store for exchange.

[Michael in FtW]

Yeah - from the pictures it looks like a casting defect. I would return it ... and look carefully at the surface of the new pan you get (if you swap it for another one) before leaving the store.

[mj1]

Thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate the input. I also appreciate everyone being so nice about it.

I'm not sure if I should exchange it for another Emerilware pan or not. I've also heard that Tools of the Trade/Belgique is decent. I know a lot of people like Lodge, but I may not be able to get that. I don't think any stores around here sell that. As a rule, I prefer not to order things like this online. It's such a pain to return them and the shipping will kill you.

Any tips on what I should be looking for in regards to quality of the pan? Obviously, I'm going to want to make sure there are no holes.