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Revere Ware Tri-Ply cookware

Revere Ware is most well known for its copper bottom cookware.  An often overlooked variety is the aluminum core Tri-Ply cookware, which has an aluminum disk on the bottom of the piece sandwiched between an inner and outer stainless steel shell.  An aluminum core is what most high-end cookware uses today to spread the heat out evenly.

The bottoms of these Tri-Ply pieces can be identified by the protruding disc on the bottom.

Here what our photo guide has to say about Tri-Ply cookware:

Kitchen technology changed in the mid 1980’s with the introduction of the smooth glass/ceramic cooktop surfaces. These surfaces used embedded thermostats requiring cookware with thick, cast metal bottoms (as opposed to the pressed steel or electroplated bottoms used by Revere Ware). In March of 1986, Revere responded with the Aluminum Disc Bottom Cookware, sometimes called “tri-ply” or “slab bottom” (identified internally as the 2000 line). It continued the classic Revere Ware styling of the earlier 1400 and 7000 lines, but used a stainless steel coated aluminum disc brazed to the bottom of each piece allowing for use on smooth cooktops (and giving it the heat dispersion capability needed for use on conventional cooktops. Initially, the discs were brazed and buffed in Korea, and the final product assembled at Clinton. Later the entire production process was moved to Clinton. The line was an immediate success, amounting to 20% Revere’s total cookware sales in 1986.

The aluminum disk is actually quite think and pretty effective at spreading the heat.

Because of the construction, these pieces are suitable for glass top stoves, as they are much more likely than the copper bottom variety to remain flat.

There is some danger though.  We continue to receive more and more reports of the aluminum disk separating, dumping out molten aluminum.

At best, this can damage your cook-top, flooring, etc..  At worst, it cause injury.  It isn’t clear if these failures occur due to extreme overheating, or just normal cooking.  We’ve gotten enough reports that we can no longer recommend people use this line that has the disk.

There were other versions of Revere Ware deemed Tri-Ply as well, that contained a carbon steel core between two stainless steel layers.  They were made to look like the tradition Revere Ware pans, sans the copper bottom.  While the aluminum disk variety over these are likely better at spreading the heat, I wouldn’t consider them safe anymore.  So if you want the Tri-Ply line, use the one with the embedded core.  The carbon steel / embedded core variety will not have the round disc on the bottom.

28 Responses to Revere Ware Tri-Ply cookware

  1. William Shannon April 15, 2019 at 8:42 am #

    I have a stainless steel Revere Ware roasting pan, 13 x 9 x2, #item 60098, and the stainless steel rack which fits inside the pan is broken. I want to buy a replacement rack.

    • RevereWareParts April 15, 2019 at 8:52 am #

      Unfortunately we don’t supply those. Your most likely option would be to look to eBay to find another set you can poach that rack from.

  2. Nancy Watson April 26, 2019 at 10:13 am #

    I have a Tri Clad bottom that is beginning to seperate. I would like to get it replaced. How can I do this?

    • RevereWareParts April 26, 2019 at 11:13 am #

      Warranty replacement is out as the Revere Ware brand is officially dead, and they no longer offer any warranty replacement.

      Your best option is a thrift store or eBay.

      • Theresa Sumrell April 24, 2022 at 6:43 am #

        Can the alluminum disc pans be used on induction cook tops?

        • RevereWareParts April 24, 2022 at 7:52 am #

          I think it is something you would have to try. Some Revere Ware is made of stainless steel that isn’t very magnetic at all, and some is more magnetic. It all depends on how magnetic your pieces are.

  3. MaryAnn May 27, 2019 at 3:03 pm #

    My concern is that after overheating my tri-ply sauce pan, the inside bottom of the pan remained dis colored, as if the stainless steel coating had been burned/scrubbed off, and I don’t know what metal is being revealed from below the stainless steel coating.

    • RevereWareParts May 27, 2019 at 7:43 pm #

      See this post on heat tint. That could be the discoloration you are seeing. The other thing it could be is hard water that is burned onto the bottom of the cookware. A good soak in vinegar, some scrubbing with a Scotch Brite pad, and polishing with Bar Keepers Friend should resolve that.

      Stainless steel can be damaged by overheating. Scratching it with utensils does damage the finish but it is quickly repaired as the chromium in the stainless steel reacts with oxygen in the air to form the chromium oxide protective layer over the damage part.

      • Laura Parsons August 3, 2020 at 4:15 pm #

        I have found that pouring in enough distilled vinegar to cover the bottom of a stainless steel pan that has “rainbow” discoloration almost always takes it away almost immediately. Just swish it around and rinse.

  4. Pam Evans June 4, 2019 at 10:28 pm #

    Where can I still buy Revere Tri-Ply cookware?

    • RevereWareParts June 5, 2019 at 4:11 pm #

      New Tri-Ply cookware isn’t available anymore. It is possible there may be some old stock still being sold here and there online, but Revere Ware is no longer making it.

      Your best bet is to find whatever you need on eBay. We recently added a Tri-Ply page to our eBay categorization tool for Revere Ware cookware, so I would try that.

      • Muriel June 26, 2021 at 11:41 am #

        My tri-ply disc came off the pan. I have the stainless steel outer disc and the inner disc core, either carbon steel or aluminum, I don’t know. How were these materials bonded together? Wondering if I can take it some place to be fixed. Don’t imagine jb weld would work well.

        • RevereWareParts June 26, 2021 at 2:29 pm #

          I do hear a few reports of this every year, so it does happen, but I still think it is a relative rarity and most tri-ply will last and is reasonably good cookware.

          I don’t know how they were bonded. The temperature on the bottom would almost certainly be too high for JB Weld. With other stainless steel repairs like handles, people have resorted to spot welding or brazing, but I think with the aluminum disk, this would not be as effective. Spot welding along such a large part of the pot or pan would be very unsightly and probably not make that great a bond, which would allow debris to get in there as stuff inevitably overflows when cooking. Brazing would leave some material between the rim of the disk and the bottom, so the disk itself would not contact the bottom very well and the heat transfer would likely be poor.

          You can almost certainly find a suitable replacement on eBay, for probably not that much.

  5. Grace January 22, 2021 at 6:30 pm #

    The bottom of my 3qt tri ply pan separated when I forgot to put water in. After the pan cooled down it seemed to adhere again. Can I still use it?

    • RevereWareParts July 18, 2021 at 2:25 pm #

      I would not recommend using it if it has already separated.

      • Cheryl Holub November 28, 2022 at 10:05 am #

        I have revere ware that was my mothers. I am 76.
        I really do not want aluminum pans
        This one has. 2 patent Numbers

        progress patent#2363973 in smaller lettering
        to the right of the wording

        and a patent number under the wording
        in larger numbers # 72609.

        Aluminum is not safe for me due to Many years of flu shots . Is there any aluminum in this or in
        others in the same Revere Ware set ?
        Is the food cooked in this older pan safe from any contact with aluminum and the food Cooked in them? Thank you.
        sent 11/28/22

        • RevereWareParts November 29, 2022 at 1:55 pm #

          Revere Ware made with the process patent logo on the bottom is stainless steel and copper, no aluminum.

  6. Bob June 9, 2021 at 9:39 am #

    Watch out for the aluminum tri-ply. If cleaned in a dishwasher, over time, the aluminum center section gets eaten away by the soap, leaving behind a RAZOR-sharp edge to the bottom disk

  7. Roxene Reinle April 9, 2022 at 12:17 pm #

    My husband bought me a set of the tri ply back in 2000 for a wedding gift. It’s. now 2022 and it is just as good as back then. I love the way it cleans. If food sticks it always cleans easy. I love it.

  8. Robert Werner August 24, 2022 at 3:57 pm #

    I have a 2000 series (2060) pan, In back it has the silhouette, under that it says Revere Ware, then 2060, then 25 cm, then Korea, then g 89 A . Looks like tri ply. Anyone know what the actual pan is made of?

    • RevereWareParts August 24, 2022 at 4:30 pm #

      The 2000 series is the tri-ply style with the disc bottom. It is stainless steel construction with an aluminum core inside the bottom.

      • Robert Werner August 24, 2022 at 8:20 pm #

        Thank you!

  9. Rudy November 3, 2022 at 5:07 pm #

    I have a full set of Designers’ Group 6000 Line of pans from my mother. What type of steel is this made of, 18/10 stainless? I ask becuase 1 pot has a handle that has come off and we need to resolder it back on and need to know the steel type.

    • RevereWareParts November 3, 2022 at 6:56 pm #

      I’ve never seen any documentation to this effect, but I did find an ad for Tri-Ply cookware on Amazon of all places; that specifies 18/10 (316) stainless.

  10. Jim December 29, 2022 at 8:58 am #

    My tri-ply pans have lost the plating around the aluminum disk, exposing the whitish aluminum layer. The disk is still well attached and the bottom stainless disk intact. Can I have the pans replated? Would that be economically feasible?

    • RevereWareParts December 30, 2022 at 7:24 am #

      We’ve heard from a number of owners of the aluminum disk pans in recent years of failures where the disks fall off spilling molten aluminum on their stove. Luckily, no-one has been hurt (yet) that we have heard of. I wouldn’t consider the pan safe to use anymore if it is already failing in the way you describe.

  11. Michael EMMONS October 24, 2023 at 7:02 am #

    where can I buy a full set

    • RevereWareParts October 24, 2023 at 3:12 pm #

      You can’t. It has been out of production for quite some time. The best you can do would be to find individual used pieces, or perhaps a used set that someone is selling on ebay.

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