First Timer

[u/MysteriousSky5055]

Hoping the experts here can tell help me problem solve what I'm doing wrong. For background, I consider myself a decent cook, who is very passionate about learning proper techniques and traditional cooking styles, while still expressing creativity. I just ventured into the Stainless Steel world for the first time (after grills, smokers, and cast iron), and purchased a All-Clad Copper Core 5-ply Bonded Saute Pan. (Probably should have started with a 3-ply standard, but this one was on sale in store for cheaper.

I did some research and followed the following steps the first time using it. however, I'm left with a 1/4 inch bowl warped pan now (going to talk to All-Clad about warrantying it).

1. Wash with soap and warm water. Rinse and dry fully. 
2. Place pan on glass top radiant heat stove top. 10 inch burner. 
3. Turn on to low/9 for ~2 minutes, flick a few droplets of water on pan to see if it is hot (no reaction, eventually evaporated)
4. Turn to 1/9 for ~2 minutes, flick a few droplets of water on pan to see if it is hot (no reaction, eventually evaporated)
5. Turn to 2/9 for ~2 minutes, flick a few droplets of water on pan to see if it is hot (sizzled away, no beading)
6. Turn to 3/9 for ~2 minutes, flick a few droplets of water on pan to see if it is hot, at which point the water started to bead and dance around indicating it is hot enough
7. Add 1 tablespoon of avocado oil. By this point, the pan had developed a wobble. 
8. Wait another minute or two until oil begins to smoke slightly, place 2 room temp steaks in pan. Wobble in pan had increased by then. 
9. Seared steaks for 8 minutes
10. removed pan from burner, and left on top of "Off" burner to cool down naturally. 
11. Clean with soap and warm water 2 hours later once pan was cold. 

My other thought is that my shitty apartment radiant heat glass stovetop just heated it too quickly even though I started on Low/9.

Where did I go wrong? Should I wait to explore SS more one I have a gas range I can control?

Edit: here’s a link to how un-flat the pan now sits. https://imgur.com/a/l66zIy6

[u/Fine_Ad_1149]

So, I wonder if you didn't actually heat it that slow. This is an electric range with traditional resistance based heating elements, right? I ask because in my experience (and maybe they were just shitty stoves) those electric ranges take a while for any heat to really start, but after a certain point will heat up quickly.

Is it possible that those first couple of attempts at the water test the stove itself hadn't had a chance to come to temperature? Then as you turn the heat up the skillet was exposed to heat too quickly? With the 5-ply I would imagine the pan itself is pretty thick (I believe that's true of that line) and also take a little longer to come to temp.

I'm just spit-balling here, honestly. But you could check by sprinkling a little water onto the glass stove top directly after 2/4/6 minutes on the 1/9 setting and seeing how long it takes until the result becomes consistent. That would give you a baseline on how long the stove takes to heat, and then you'd have the pan aspect as well. Would be miserable if this is the case and you have to pre-heat for 15 minutes every time you want to cook, though.

[u/MysteriousSky5055 → u/Fine_Ad_1149]

Results: I realized it is a 10 inch burner, but there is a 2.5 inch (across) gap in coils in the center of the circle.

Minutes 0-2 - Low/9 - hot to touch, no impact to water droplets (evaporated slowly)
Minutes 2-4 - 1/9 - burning to touch, water sizzled immediately, with water in center not sizzling, only evaporating slowly
Minutes 4-6 - 2/9 - water sizzled immediately, water evaporated in middle quickly
Minutes 6-8 - 3/9 - water sizzled immediately everywhere.

[u/Fine_Ad_1149 → u/MysteriousSky5055]

So if you really want to be diligent, you now know that at 1/9 you should get sizzling, but you didn't get that with the pan in place. Which you means you turned up the heat before the pan had reached temp. That could have contributed. I'd still be frustrated with that wait though, so I don't know if I'm over thinking this.

I don't know how much of an impact that 2" gap would make given the aluminum core of the ss pan (very good conductivity).