Can I Move a Hot Pan onto a Cold Burner With a Smooth-Top Stove?

Hot Pans

• You can safely place a hot pan on a cool burner on sealed ceramic glass cooktops. Because these types of cooktops are made to withstand such a temperature change, you can move pans from burners where you have been cooking to unused burners without fear of damage, which takes your ingredients off the heat source, so your pan can begin to cool, and your food won’t overcook.

Other Items

• Ceramic glass is insensitive to abrupt temperature shocks, according to the Schott website, which states that even cold liquids or ice poured onto a hot burner will not cause damage; however, the GE Appliances Response Team advises against placing frozen items on hot areas or burner surfaces of ceramic glass cooktops, as cracking may occur. Do not put hot lids -- particularly wet lids -- onto the cooktops. As the cooktop cools, air becomes trapped beneath the lid. You may break the ceramic glass when you attempt to lift the lid.

Pan Size

• Cooking in a properly sized pan is important for energy-efficient cooking and safety. Using a pan that is too large for the burner will trap heat between the pan and the cooktop, which may cause the cooktop to crack or damage the heating element beneath the surface. This is a particular danger if you use an oversize pan to fry or make syrups as you are working with ingredients that boil at higher temperatures than water. Pans should overhang burners by 1 inch or less. Using a pan that is too small for the burner carries the risk of accidental fire if towels or clothing brush the hot burner.

Pan Materials

• Glass, ceramic, earthenware and glazed cookware and containers may crack, break or become damaged by rapid or extreme temperature changes and are generally not suitable for use with ceramic glass cooktops. Empty porcelain and enamel pans may melt to the surface of your glass cooktop if you use them while they are empty or if you allow them to boil dry. Cast iron cookware can reach and hold a level of heat sufficient to trigger the burner’s element to switch off. Temperature limiters inside the cooktop cause the heating elements to cycle off to protect the cooktop from extreme temperatures.

Cleaning

• Wait for your cooktop to cool before you attempt to clean it. Not only do you risk being burned by steam, but adding cleaning products to a hot ceramic glass cooktop can cause damage to the cooktop, and cleaners added to a hot surface may create dangerous fumes.