Proof how closely foundries watched what the others were doing. Wagner/Griswold come out with a Teflon cast iron pan and BS&R comes out with a Teflon pan. I always wondered if that fancy bottom grid was to keep electric ranges from getting the pan too hot. Teflon sure smells funny it it gets to hot.
Russell mentioned "burning off" the coating in the Self-Cleaning cycle of his oven.
Please don't do this in your house, it could possibly be dangerous.
That smell you mentioned, that's the toxic gases being released from the overheated teflon.
When overheated, Teflon gives off TFE (tetrafluoroethylene), HFP (hexafluoropropene), OFCB (octafluorocyclobutane), PFIB (perfluoroisobutane), carbonyl fluoride, CF4 (carbon tetrafluoride), TFA (trifluoroacetic acid), trifluoroacetic acid fluoride, perfluorobutane, SiF4 (silicon tetrafluoride), HF (hydrofluoric acid), and particulate matter.
At least four of these gases are extremely toxic:
PFIB, which is a chemical warfare agent 10 times more toxic than phosgene (COCl2, a chemical warfare agent used during World Wars I and II),
carbonyl fluoride (COF2 which is the fluorine analog of phosgene),
MFA (monofluoroacetic acid) which can kill people at low doses,
and HF, a highly corrosive gas.
Lovely stuff to be cooking with, don't ya think?
