Is it bad to wrap the burner drip-catchers (don't know if they have a special name) on an electric stove with alumimum?

I’ve never heard that. Before we moved to a house with a gas stove (YEAH!), our electric range’s burners were constantly covered in aluminum foil (for ease of cleaning). We never had a problem, but then, we are just one family.

I’m living a college-owned house right now. There was aluminum on the electric stove when I arrived. Plenty of use, no fire yet.

Now, when I dropped a little macaroni noodle under the burner… _that_ cause some smoke.

I’m not sure what the implications are of this.

Random fact: the melting point of aluminum is 660 ºC.

if oil or something drips into the foil, then yes, it can catch. It’s happened to me a few times, but it usually burns out quickly.

@poof
Did that have anything to do with the aluminum, or the did just the oil itself catch?

@aidje: The food caught, not the foil.

Aluminum is flammable, but at higher temperatures that you will likely encounter on your stove. If you are concerned, most hardware (and many dollar-type) stores sell pre-made burner pan liners. These too are aluminum, but of a heavier gauge than foil.

Eh, we’ve used foil on our pans since before I can remember. Nothing bad has ever happened. :)

Aluminum is not flammable. Once aluminum reaches its melting point which is about 600 degrees Celsius it will melt, not burn. It is likely as a drip catcher that you won’t have a problem. Some of the better stove tops can get pretty hot, well over 600 degrees celsius but the aluminum is not in direct contact with the burner if electric stove or the flame if gas. You should be alright, but you don’t need to worry about a fire.

@critter1982: A block of new aluminum isn’t highly flammable, but aluminum oxidizes easily and the oxidization layer is flammable.

@jvgr: True.

I heard a great tip on this subject. Since it’s nearly impossible to keep drip pans clean (even with foil…it rips), you should save yourself the trouble, and buy an extra set of them. Use one set for cooking, the other for looking. In other words, when you’ve got company coming, swap out the messy ones for the perfect, clean ones. Never cook on the clean set. I haven’t actually gotten around to doing this yet, but I plan to!

I would think that aluminum foil is designed for use in the oven/stove. The grocery store sells aluminum drip pan liners. I’ve lined drip pans with foil for over 25 years with no problem.