How do self cleaning ovens work?

misskool

Browsing round and discovering that there are things such as self cleaning ovens....:D :j

But how to they work? I'm guessing pyrolytic is when the oven goes superheated and burns everything off and you wipe it. But no idea about all the other fancy descriptions I've read.

Which one is better? I'm not good at cleaning ovens so something that works instead of a gimmick would be much appreciated

whitts

I purchased a new kitchen last year and went for a self cleaing oven, it really works!!.
The only pain is that you have to remove all the rails ( wish it cleaned them too). All the dirt ends up as a white powder on the bottom of the oven, it takes one wipe when completed and then put the rails back in.

Fire_Fox

"Self-cleaning

Most of our ovens are finished in smooth, hardwearing enamel which is resistant to chipping and the burning on of grease and food particles, making it easy to clean. Some ovens are supplied with catalytic stay clean liners which make the oven self-cleaning at higher temperatures. Catalytic liners should never be cleaned manually. However, it may be necessary to ‘service’ the liners (if, for example, the oven has become ‘smoky’) by putting the oven on its highest heat setting for approximately an hour.
Top range ovens use a high temperature pyrolytic cleaning system which cleans every part of the oven's interior. During the cleaning cycle the oven temperature rises to 500ºC and any soiling in the oven is carbonized and falls to the floor of the oven as ash. A catalytic converter in the oven roof neutralises the smoke created. The process takes two to three hours and needs to be carried out every few weeks."

http://www.johnlewis.com/Magazine/Feature.aspx?Id=35

"The basic idea is "burn baby, burn!" Self-cleaning ovens use an approximately 900 degrees Fahrenheit (482 degrees Celsius) temperature cycle to burn off spills leftover from baking, without the use of any chemicals. A self-cleaning oven is designed with a mechanical interlock (patented in 1982) to keep the oven door locked and closed during and soon after the high-temperature cleaning cycle, which can be approximately three hours. The door stays locked to prevent burn injuries. You can open the oven door after the oven cools to approximately 600 F (315 C).

If baking spills are not wiped up after baking, there may be some smoke during an oven cleaning cycle. It is a good idea to remove any pets from the area when running the oven's self-cleaning cycle. There have been reports of oven-heated Teflon-coated items releasing odorless fumes deadly to birds. Self-cleaning ovens have the added benefit of more insulation, which helps the energy efficiency for regular baking. This is similar in concept to an increased R-factor for home insulation.
You will also save energy costs by using the self-cleaning cycle right after baking, to make use of the already partially heated oven."

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/question559.htm

Or try:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-cleaning_oven

To clean the racks use Oven Pride - shove everything in the bag and leave for as long as possible, shaking or turning the bag occasionally. If you leave it overnight the gunk will literally just wash off in the bath: I'm guilty of getting impatient and having to use unnecessary elbow grease. Just cleaned my five year old oven yesterday with Oven Pride and the shelves are literally as new.

dander

I think mine must be the catalytic version - it essentially has self-cleaning sides, but I have to deal with the bottom and the door. I have something like this on the bottom,
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/F/product/3318
which I just take out and run under the tap every now and again.

I still have to clean the racks and door - but as Fire Fox says, the Oven Pride is brilliant stuff.

ic

I normally run my oven's clean cycle straight after using the oven - seeing as the oven is already hot and half way there to being super hot. Have to agree with the others, it really does work!

I did make the mistake of leaving the wire shelf in once - it burned off all the chrome coating. Luckily I sourced two replacements off eBay pretty cheap. I now stick the shelves in the dishwasher whilst the oven is cleaning itself.

Fire_Fox

jimmo wrote: »

I have only recently realised the problem but conventional oven cleaners and my Polti simply have no effect. I am actually considering attacking that with a wire brush attachment in my power drill but something is telling me I could do more than good.
In the last 30 odd years (oh dear, am I really that old) every cooker I have bought has come with self-clean linings. They are, sort of, quite good, but they are definitely not self-cleaning ovens.

Have you tried Oven Pride? I have tried several 'leading' brands plus a lot of elbow grease, and not had anything like the results of Oven Pride with a smattering of patience. With the roof you do have to paint it on every hour or so as gravity has an effect, but eight hours plus and ANYTHING seems to come off.