cooker flame bright green

[noddyholder]

I am just cooking some potatoes and have noticed that the flame is bright green rather than the usual blue Is this dangerous?Does anyone know what it is?

[megandsoph]

not sure but sounds a bit funky

hope some one with a bitta chemistry knowledge will have a clue

bump

[GeorginaA]

Green flame is due to copper (copper chloride?), if I remember right. Got copper bottomed pans that might have corroded a bit?

[SoupDragon]

Something on the burner?

[Twiglett]

turn it off, change pan and try again??

sorry don't know

[SoupDragon]

common colours here

[GeorginaA]

Got a bright yellow flame on the bottom of ours when cooking the other night, must have been some impurity on the bottom of the pan - burnt off after a while and the flame returned to normal colour. Don't think it's anything to worry about, especially if it goes away after whatever it was was burnt off?

[CountessDracula]

A gas burner on a cooker should burn with a blue flame. If it is yellow it is wasting gas, it does not have enough oxygen, it should be adjusted. Often cleaning the burner components can restore a blue and efficient flame.

[GeorginaA]

Yay, copper I was right. Copper bottomed pans are the likely culprit

[SoupDragon]

Your yellow could have been sodium - would salt do that do you think?

[noddyholder]

thanks it must be the copper base on the pan as they are stainless steel everywhere else Haven't ever noticed it before

[SoupDragon]

don't have a gas hob so can't try it out. Booo!

[GeorginaA]

Highly probably, Soupy. I was having a slovenly cooking day and was spilling stuff all over the place.

[GeorginaA]

Noddy - copper by itself shouldn't turn the flame green, but if something has corroded it slightly you might see that being burnt off. If it stays green throughout the whole cooking (and doesn't go away on another ring after a REALLY thorough scrub) then it might be time to replace that pan just to be on the paranoid side?

Am completely hypothesising here though.