Non-Stick Pans-How long do they last?

[htc]

How long does your non-stick pans last? I noticed that mine die after about 5 years. Read online somewhere that nonstick pans can't take high heat. I didn't know this. Maybe that's why mine die so fast? I always thought they were supposed to last forever??

 

[Andy M.]

High heat is not good for non-stick.

There are two schools of thought on non-stick pans.

1. Buy cheap pans and toss them with no guilt when they go bad.

2. Buy good quality pans and they will last a long time.

I go with the first. I bought three heavy aluminum pans (8"; 10"; 12") with Teflon coating 6 years ago for $20 and they are all still going strong. When they finally give up the ghost, I'll buy three more for another $20 (gotta love Costco) and continue on.

 

[Aurora]

Teflon like any product has evolved over the years and been improves in many ways. Longevity and durability has increased with each new release. Within the Teflon product line there are a number of grades of Teflon. At this time (2006) these are Autograph (top of line), Platinum Pro (commercial grade), Platinum (also a commercial grade), Select (Demanding Use), Xtra (Regular use) and Classic (Convenience). All of these grades of the Teflon Brand have different use curves.

Each grade varies in price and durability and so it is not possible to answer your question with any certainty unless there is a specification as to the grade of Teflon you are talking about. You will, of course, pay more for the higher grade of the brand.

Teflon is also known as PTFE resin in industrial use.

Teflon is a Trademark of the Dupont Company which is the inventor and manufacturer of the Teflon coating. There are other manufacturers of "non-stick" coating which may have different names for their products such as "Non-Stick Plus" or "Non-Stick II". Unless you buy a Teflon product with a specific grade qualification, it's pretty much a craps shoot as to the useful life of the non-stick coating.

 

[skilletlicker]

How long does your non-stick pans last? I noticed that mine die after about 5 years. Read online somewhere that nonstick pans can't take high heat. I didn't know this. Maybe that's why mine die so fast? I always thought they were supposed to last forever??

In my experience 5 years is about par for the ones with a lifetime warranty.

 

[Katie H]

Ohmigosh! I must be doing something right. I've had a 10-inch non-stick Revere Ware skillet for almost 25 years and it's just now showing its wear. My 8-inch skillet, which is used at least once every few days, is still like new. It's Revere Ware, too. Maybe it's the Revere product. I just retired my 30-year-old Revere Ware pressure cooker. Not because it was not performing, but because I couldn't get gaskets, etc. It still makes a great stock pot.

I've cooked too many things in it to even remember and have always used wooden or plastic utensils to stir/flip, etc. in it. I love it an am sorry it's beginning to show its age.

However, I have always taken great care with my tools, etc. I still have my 1967 Osterizer blender I bought for $19. and it works like it was new. My Cuisinart food processor is almost 30-years-old and acts as though it was purchased yesterday. Ditto for my 1970 Rival crock-pot.

 

[devora]

lifetime warranty...5yrs??!

Holy cow, how can they get away w/ charging upwards of 500 smackeroos for those non-stick lines if they only last, say, 5 yrs?

I could never bring myself to shell out that kind of dough so bought a Cuisinart set for $150 and (I guess naively!) I fully expected it to last for decades. I also just purchased a Calphalon non-stick w/ the same expectation.

But as I understood it, these pans are not like Teflon. The process used to make them is not the same. Have I been misled? I was even told I could use metal utensils w/ my cookware, although I do not do so.

 

[Gretchen]

Lots of good info in all the posts I think. And use and care is certainly up there with "how long will it last". Non-stick cannot be heated to high temps especially when the pan is empty--as you might do/try if you wanted to sear some meat.
My non-stick Calphalon knockoffs from Sam's are 6-7 years old now and are doing just fine. They aren't pristine (burning things in a pan requires some scrubbing!!) but are OK. I have other pans for searing.
And from what others on this forum who DO buy expensive non-stick say, they claim the warranty with no problems.
Me, I concur with Andy. Don't spend too much and replace as needed. Another good shopping place is Amazon--and today is Friday, so the Friday Sale is on!!

Here is a link to a lot of cookware.
http://www.amazon.com/Cookware-Outlet-Kitchen-Housewares/b/ref=amb_link_1770242_20/104-9987316-1596717?ie=UTF8&node=526854

 

[Ron W.]

By high heat that means almost 600° (574°) and most nonstick comes with a warning not to use high heat, low to med hi only.

 

[Ron W.]

devora-With Calphalon One infused and some of thier older cookware like thier Commercial line it was said it was ok to use metal utensils but nothing with sharp corners but anything that's nonstick use no metal.

 

[lulu]

I have two non stick frying pans I got in the same year while at university. One is now going strong, one is on its last legs but both were bought 8? ish years ago. I am not a frequent frying though....so they are used maybe once a week. They were both cheap cheap pans. I have often used high heat with them, I did not know til joining DC you were not meant to.

My plan for the future is to continue buying non-stick frying pans at the low end of the market and replace as and when. I am the same with milk pans (which I get through quicker and replace every two to three years).

 

[Gretchen]

All right now! My education is obviously incomplete. What are milk pans?!!

 

[lulu]

LOL,Gretchen, little saucepans with a pouring spout, I guess they are so called because they were at some point mainly used for heating and then pouring milk. Mine get used for lots of things though!

 

[GB]

I have had my Calphalon non stick pans for about 5 years now and they are in near perfect condition. They get used frequently and sometimes abused (not be me of course). They have often been used on high heat even though that is not recommended. One pan has a scratch that happened early on (maybe 4.5 years ago) and it has not affected the performance of the pan in the least. The scratch, even though it is deep and long, has never gotten any worse and food has never stuck to it. I expect that I will get as many years out of these pans as I want to get.

 

[Ron W.]

All-Clad bonds thousands of minute metal beads to thier cooking surface just tall enough to reach through the surface of thier nonstick coating so in effect you are will not wear out thier nonstick surface as fast as some others. Some say because of this thier nonstick surface isn't as slick and a pure teflon surface.

Circulon claims thier high/low nonstick coating to be the longest lasting of all the nonstick surfaces.

Others add material such as titanium to thier nonstick coatings to reduce ware.

Calphalon has thier new Calphalon One Infused which they claim to be the best there ever was. They also offer a line of Calphalon One Infused nonstick.

I have one of the Calphalon One nonstick 10" everyday pans but havn't used it that much so far.

 

[RPCookin]

I have a set of Emerilware non-stick that's doing just fine. 4-1/2 years now and not a blemish on any of the pieces, even the 10" frying pan that gets used almost daily. How long it lasts is totally dependent on starting quality (not necessarily cost), how often you use it and how well you treat it. I never overheat an empty pan, never use anything but wood or plastic (or silicone now) utensils, and always hand wash... no dishwasher.

 

[mudbug]

RP, I probably have the same set as you, and mine's doing fine as well. I have to confess to throwing a piece or two into the DW when I was particularly lazy about the washing up, but I have not used anything but wooden or silicone utensils (I like them better anyway) in them so I must be forgiven.

 

[urmaniac13]

Our last purchase of teflon skillet was about 3 and half ago, we went for the teflon platinum. It costed a little more but it is still in perfect shape after taking a whole lot of "beating", while the cheaper one never lasted more than a couple of years without peeling.
If you do go for non stick, you should consider ones with higher grade. I will be worth your investment.

 

[htc]

Wow, this is great info. Thanks everyone for pitching in! I'm notorious for cooking things in my non-stick on high. My favorite little frying pan that I usually use for omlettes is now dead. I went to Ross and bought a replacement, about the same size and payed about 13 bucks. Hopefully this one will last. Most of my frying pans are nonstick but I think I will go look for a SS one. Then I can cook on high to my hearts content.

 

[skilletlicker]

In my experience 5 years is about par for the ones with a lifetime warranty.

Please forgive the quote of my own words but I want to elaborate for anyone in similar circumstances.

Several years ago, a good-hearted woman gave me the opportunity to start my own household. The unfurnished apartment came with a stove and icebox but I still needed pots and pans. The second best cookware set at the nearest discount house was a WearEver Freedom eight piece box, including lids. It sold for about $80 and had a lifetime warranty. The cookware selection was the best decision I made during that period of my life.

All of the pieces are now missing hunks of exterior “porcelain enamel coating” and, all but one, have badly scorched cooking surfaces. The “NeverStick NeverScratch NonStick” 8” omelet pan remains just as useful, although not as attractive, as the day it came out of the box. The 10” Safe-T Glass cover is a better stove-top lid to 10” All-Clad frying pan than the top that cost me almost as much the whole non-stick set.

If a WearEver representative sees this and sends me a replacement set; great, but if not, I figure I’ve gotten my moneys worth.

To all of you who have higher expectations from higher end cookware; I wish you decades, if not a lifetime of happy use. For the young bucks; this could be a cautionary tale about more than pots and pans.

 

[prozach2]

I’ve been researching cookware for a couple days and swiss diamond appears to be the most indestructible nonstick cookware. It claims to be dishwasher safe and metal utensil safe and comes with a lifetime warranty. Not sure if it does better with high heat or if it is as easy to clean as other brands. So far I haven’t talked to anybody that’s ever used them.