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Oven on fire bcuz of leaking cake tins!!

post #1 of 14
6/27/12 at 4:02pm
Thread Starter 
I bought two 6" and two 10" locally made square cake tins. Made my usual red velvet cake batter and was going to take a run on the treadmill while the cakes were in the oven timed. Decided to put around the kitchen and mop the floor again. Then I see a bright orange flash in the oven. My oven doesn't have a light so I couldn't see what else may have been stirring up in there. Another flash. Open oven and a flash of fire from DRIPPING BATTER FROM THE DARN LOCALLY MADE CAKE TINS! I don't even have a fire extinguisher in case it was worse. Had to turn off the oven and main switch and keep the oven open. Shoved in a baking tray on the bottom rack to catch the leaking batter. Can't believe this ish. Now I am wondering if I am going to have a sunk cake because of the loss of heat only 2 mins into baking. How can someone make a pan that is so badly soldered. I paid $9US (equivalent) for the 6" square pan and $13 US (equivalent to my currency) for the 10" square cake pans. I really didn't even notice there was bad soldering and I don't even have liability insurance for this kind of drama!!!
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post #2 of 14
6/27/12 at 4:13pm
Well I have news for you. They used solder that is NOT foodsafe.

You might not see any gaps in the solder but the only solders that melt at such a low temperature have lead or cadmium as a primary ingredient.

In future you can test cake pans--put them into the oven set at 200C and bake them empty for 15 minutes. When they cool, add some water and look for drips.
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post #3 of 14
6/27/12 at 4:37pm
Thread Starter 
Lead and cadmium. These are definitely things I would never want mixing up with my cake batter for customers or myself!. Good lord. This sounds like it needs to be reported. Lead is not safe for food ware :S The man who makes it makes other things as well for household use. Clearly he isn't aware of what is food safe or not. He sells these cake tins to all our cake stores... :s I found it odd the cake tins were wobbling and bending when I moved them from counter to oven. What would you do Irene? Would you report it and take it back to the cake store? Is it even the cake store's fault? This is something that should be addressed.
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post #4 of 14
6/27/12 at 6:22pm
I posted earlier but the net ate my post...

Contact the chemistry department of a local university or college to ask them to test for lead & cadmium. Do NOT tell them where you got the pans. Just say you were curious...

After you get the written results of the test, take a copy to the cake store (with receipt if possible). They really need to know that there is a problem, but they are the ones to take it any further.

I'm not going to say it's anybody's fault, but...the price should tell the store something. I was reluctant to buy some very cheap local pans, until I found the mfr's website. There was positive information of their process, and their list price in this area is right for the weight and quality of the pans. These pans are being sold at discount but they are solid aluminum and the few seams are welded not soldered.
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post #5 of 14
6/27/12 at 7:14pm
Thread Starter 
Hmmm I could do that and get the tins checked out. In the mean time, I am battling with the 2nd round of red velvet cakes in the oven. Oven was smoking for the 1st 10 mins. I put a large cookie tray on the last rack the 1st time I noticed the flash fire and did it again the 2nd baking round. When the cakes baked and I took out the baking tray I saw that it was the shortening I used to grease the cake tins that was leaking. No wonder it was causing bursts of flames. Have to get oven cleaner tomorrow and fix this.
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post #6 of 14
6/27/12 at 7:58pm
Just a quick tip, if you have something burning on the bottom of your oven, cover it with table salt and it will stop the flames so that you can continue cooking. I seem to have to do this ALOT! icon_wink.gif
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post #7 of 14
6/27/12 at 8:22pm
Thread Starter 
Table salt...interesting. Never heard of this before except for shooing away frogs! Very interesting. I guess anything but a fire extinguisher would be good here. Who wants to damage the cake anyway! icon_smile.gif Thanks for the suggestion. Anyone else ever had a smoking oven or a flash fire and how did you deal with it?
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post #8 of 14
6/27/12 at 8:24pm
Every summer one of my fruit pies runs over something wicked. It dumps about a cup of fruit filling all at once...MAJOR smoke...This usually happens the week after I clean the oven.
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post #9 of 14
6/27/12 at 9:44pm
Reminds me of my 1st year of marriage and my first time baking a turkey. I decided a 25 lb turkey would be sufficient for the two of us. I had it in my bright mind that I would make turkey pies with all the leftovers. I slapped that bad boy in one of those aluminum flimsy disposable baking pans. Not a large one either. Oh the smartness of me. You should have seen the fire in my oven!

My husband loves to tell that story even after 13 years. I'll never live it down.

Def. get those pans tested! And Irene, your knowledge never fails to astound me.

D.
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post #10 of 14
6/29/12 at 4:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dandymom

Reminds me of my 1st year of marriage and my first time baking a turkey. I decided a 25 lb turkey would be sufficient for the two of us. I had it in my bright mind that I would make turkey pies with all the leftovers. I slapped that bad boy in one of those aluminum flimsy disposable baking pans. Not a large one either. Oh the smartness of me. You should have seen the fire in my oven!

My husband loves to tell that story even after 13 years. I'll never live it down.

Def. get those pans tested! And Irene, your knowledge never fails to astound me.

D.



Been there! LOL!

I didn't get a fire in my oven though. I did however have turkey, onions, garlic and broth all over my kitchen and under my oven and fridge. Oop! I have no clue why they even make those dumb disposable pans.
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post #11 of 14
6/29/12 at 5:34am
Years ago i turned a cake half way through baking time.....
Shut oven door - turned my back to put the kettle on and think to myself -

hmmmmm, self, what is that god horrid smell.

*CLICK* the light in my brain goes on

S - L - O - W - L - Y open oven door - so as to remove burning teatowell.
Yes, i had closed the oven with one of my teatowells still resting on the door..... icon_redface.giftapedshut.giftapedshut.gif

S - L - O - W - L - Y drop teatowell in sink - run tap -
place cremated teatowell in bin then continued making my cup of coffee.

Only good thing to come out of this - i didn't have to wash that teatowell at the end of the day. icon_rolleyes.gif

Bluehue
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post #12 of 14
6/29/12 at 6:27am
Thread Starter 
haha that is FUNNY!!!!!!!!
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post #13 of 14
6/29/12 at 6:39am
Well those foil pans are OK if you use them double. I fill them about 2/3 full of lasagna and stuff that in the freezer. Then my catering customer schleps them off to the lake for baking onsite.

And turkeys in my experience leak lots of juice while baking. So in the absence of one of those wonderful blue enameled roasters, I would use the really deep foil pans, again doubled.
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post #14 of 14
6/29/12 at 6:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pearl645

haha that is FUNNY!!!!!!!!




Lollllllll - if i close my eyes i can still see myself moving in slow motion opening that oven door.
Pearl - if you think that is funny wait till you read this...its hysterical and oh so true.

35+ years ago dh and i cooking dinner for 8 guests.
Guests 1 & 2 arrive - bringing bottle of wine.....thank you
Guests 3 & 4 arrive - bring homemade chocolates - thanking you
Guests 5 & 6 arrive - binging fresh flowers - awwe how lovely..thankyou
Guests 7 & 8 arrive - bring more wine - many thanks.

Everyone milling around kitchen....
Guest 6 asks where i keep the vases.
Over there ---------> i point.
Me trimming flowers and arrange in vase.
DH bundles up trimmings and flower wrapping and places in bin.

Dh and i with all guests move to lounge area for a chat and pre dinner drink.
So far all is good thumbs_up.gif

15 minutes pass
I excuse myself to attend to kitchen.

few minutes pass - then i let out a tapedshut.gif followed by a icon_eek.gif followed by a small yelp.

THEN I NEARLY PASS OUT WITH FRIGHT....

Standing at stove about to stir the gravy and all of a sudden the gravy started to walk up the side of the saucepan.... WT????

A large spider had crawled out of the flowers and into my gravy.
Apparently it was too hot for it so it tried to escape - but the gravy was too thick........

A VERY LOUD AND QUICK DH PLEASEEEEEE COME HERE soon had the situation under control....

Neddless to say there was no gravy served that night -
We all went out for Japanese - i couldn't stand the thought of eating anything just incase the spider had walked over/across/near or around it.

After a few wines and a lovely Japanese meal the giggling started about what had transpired - and by the end of the night we were all in hysterics.

That was the first and last time i ever trimmed flowers in my kitchen -
lesson learnt......
I still blush at the thought of the evening - thankfully our friends saw the funny side and came back the next month for a *take two* of the pre planned dinner -

Most odd - Guests 5 & 6 never bought flowers that night - lollllllllllllllllllllllllllll
They bought Port - lollllllllll


Bluehue icon_smile.gif
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