Lodge Carbon Steel Skillet - Expands When Hot

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Joined
Sep 26, 2021
Messages
53
Location
Florida
Lodge CR215 model.


We have a glasstop stove. When we heat this skillet, the bottom bulges, allowing the skillet to rock or spin, and I assume also makes it heat unevenly. We don't usually cook higher then medium heat.

When cool, it sits flat, so I think it's more a matter of expansion, than being warped.


Without directly measuring, I bet one side could be off by about 1/2cm if I hold down the other side.


Is there a fix for this? Is it even something to worry about?
 
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I'd contact Lodge or take it back from where you bought it. This sounds like it could be dangerous like from an internal flaw in the cast iron or something.
 
Unfortunately, that bulging is a normal thing with CI, as well as other metals. Many pans are made with a slight hump in the center, so it sort of flattens out, when heated. And my old CI pans have a ridge around the outer portion of the bottom, to keep it slightly off the cooktop, so when the slight bulging occurs, it hopefully doesn't rock on it. It doesn't really matter, on gas, but it isn't in total contact with a glass cooktop.

 
I believe the original poster said CARBON STEEL pan, not cast iron. Shall we try guessing again?

I have a glass top stove and two 10-inch carbon steel pans and neither one of them buckles when I heat them, so you might have a defective pan, which would be unusual for a Lodge product. Contact Lodge with the problem and they just might replace the pan. They do have a reputation to protect, after all.

Go here -> https://www.lodgecastiron.com/contact and scroll down to Contact Us
 
My mistake - sorry! I saw Lodge and immediately thought of cast iron. :rolleyes: Carbon steel does stay flatter, for sure, though some does buckle slightly - I had that a little with some old crepe pans.

Definitely go to Lodge, and see how they can help.
 
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Thanks all. I contacted Lodge through their website, and asked for guidance. Also went through their support page in case I was doing something wrong. Just waiting for some sort of response.

I know I'm supposed to preheat before adding food, then turn up to temp. But as we rarely need more than medium heat, I figured it didn't matter so much.
 
It shouldnt do that.

I have one carbon steel skillet and like 6 cast iron skillets and have been using them for many many years and none of them do that.

Sure, metal expands with heat, but that shouldnt result in the skillet not fully contacting the cooking surface.

I think contacting Lodge or the place that sold it to you is the way to go.
 
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