Glass-topped stove (=cooker)--can I place very hot pans on the glass?

Factual Questions
1

I’m looking to buy a new gas stove (that’s a cooker, for British readers). It’s a free-standing model, not a built-in the countertop style.( It’s a style more common in Europe than in America, I think)
A model similar to thispicture
or this picture

The stove (=cooker) in my kitchen right now has a metal top-cover. Like
this pic

I like having the top; it keeps things cleaner–But mostly—it’s useful. When I’m not using the stove, I lower the top, so it gives me an extra flat surface that is convenient, almost like a countertop. And it’s especially useful for those first few seconds when baking, and I take a very hot pan out of the oven, and need to set it down (fast!) , before I either drop it or burn my hands .
But these new models have a glass top, not metal.
So here’s my question :** Will the glass shatter if exposed to very high heat?**

If I open the oven, take out a piping-hot, metal pan of chicken in wine sauce, and then realize that my oven mitts are too thin and my hands are burning, or the pan is heavier than I expected, or whatever, and I need to rest the pan on the nearest surface-- right now!–the most obvious place is on the cooker , either on the burners, on on the closed top.

The warning sticker from the manufacturer tells you to never lower the glass top without first turning off the gas flames*, because the glass will shatter from the heat. But it doesn’t say anything about how long it takes, or whether putting a hot dish on the glass for a few seconds, or a few minutes, will do damage.

*( Well , DUH! I can’t imagine why anybody would do that anyway…It’s just common sense. And, of course, it’s a basic safety rule when using gas cookers that you never leave an open flame burning if it’s not in use. )

2

I don’t have experience with gas stoves with glass tops.

But I’ve had various electric stoves with tops like that for years. And I’ve put innumerable hot pans straight from the oven or broiler onto it exactly as you intend. With zero problems.

Anecdote isn’t proof, but I wouldn’t worry. Especially if you’ve downloaded the manual for a model you’re interested in and found no cautions against doing that.

3

This. The instructions warn against exposing the glass to flame because the adiabatic flame temperature for natural gas is around 3500F. The hottest pan from your oven isn’t likely to be more than ~400F on the bottom, and there will be some contact resistance between it and the glass top that limits the rate of heat transfer, so the glass won’t develop such a massive thermal gradient between the hot side and the cold side (which is what stresses it).

4

A question for the OP about the glass-topped stoves in the pics you linked to. I hadn’t looked at them closely before replying and I now think they’re more different than I at first believed from the smooth electric cooktops of my experience.

Are those burners/hobs normally used with the glass sitting horizontally on top of the metal grillwork above the flameholder and the pot or pan then placed atop the glass, or are they used by raising the glass top out of the way to a vertical position then placing the pot/pan directly onto the metal grillwork above the flameholder?

If the former, then my earlier advice fully applies. If the latter I’m thinking that maybe the glass is little more than a decorative cover and might be cracked if an unusually large and hot pan straight from the oven was placed on otherwise cold glass.

5

We have had an electric gas top range for years. We routinely slide hot pans from an “on” burner to an “off” one as well as hot pans from the oven. Not a problem.

The main weakness seems to be material that spills over and traps the heat at the top layer of glass. This softens the glass over time and eventually it abrades away. So we have some depression rings on a couple burners. Mildly noticeable cosmetically. Sugary spills are especially bad in this department.

If you watch out for spills and clean them immediately such a rangetop can last a while. Ours is at least 20 years old.

OTOH, the electric burners underneath don’t last all that long and are expensive to replace, even for a DIYer.

If we were replacing the rangetop today, I’d go with a traditional electric coil style.

6

yes, they are different…the pics show a gas-burning stove, not “smooth electric top”.
The glass cover is decorative…it must be raised out of the way, in order to put a pot directly on the gas flameholders.

My question is whether the glass cover is made of a tempered glass(like pyrex) that can withstand a 400 degree (250 C) pan from the oven.?

7

Are you in the UK? I’ve never seen a stove like that before!

My stovetop is way too deep for most people to be able to reach across and stand the glass up. Is that stovetop pretty shallow or when you say “free standing” does that mean you will always have access to the side of the unit?

8

The standard stove is 60 centimeters wide, (24 inches), 60 centimeters deep, and waist high. Some models vary by 10 cm (4 inches) . It’s no problem to lift the cover up while using the gas,and then drop it back down to cover the burners when not in use.