Self-cleaning oven

A self-cleaning oven is an oven which uses high temperature (approximately 900 degrees Fahrenheit or 500 degrees Celsius) to burn off leftovers from baking, without the use of any chemical agents.

Process

A self-cleaning oven is designed to stay locked until the high temperature process is completed. A mechanical interlock, patented in 1982, is used to keep the oven door locked and closed during and immediately after the high-temperature cleaning cycle, which lasts approximately three hours, to prevent possible burn injuries. Usually, the door can be opened after the temperature cools to approximately 600 °F (approximately 300 °C).

Some newer self-cleaning ovens do require a liquid cleaning soap, and a small amount is used if needed. Most self-cleaning ovens, however, do not require the use of any cleaning products.

Self-cleaning ovens usually have more insulation than standard ovens to reduce the possibility of fire. The insulation also reduces the amount of energy needed for normal cooking.

The walls of self-cleaning ovens are coated with materials acting as oxidation catalysts, usually in the form of catalyst particles in a binder matrix. Cerium(IV) oxide is one of the common materials used. Other possibilities are copper, vanadium, bismuth, molybdenum, manganese, iron, nickel, tin, niobium, chromium, tungsten, rhenium, platinum, cobalt, and their oxides, either alone or in mixtures. Highly active coatings typically contain a copper oxide, manganese oxide or cobalt oxide, and copper and manganese oxides are often used together. The binder may be a fluoropolymer or an enamel frit. [http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3988514.html]

Precautions

During the high-temperature cleaning process, some smoke may be generated. Some oven manuals recommend removing pets from the area around the oven because they may be susceptible to fumes generated by the process.

Modern self-cleaning electric ovens may emit invisible noxious fumes during the heat cleaning cycle, but a properly functioning oven should not emit any smoke during the cleaning process as a specialized heating element, much like a car’s catalytic converter, is placed within the oven’s standard exhaust duct found in all stoves (usually found under the back right element). This heating element combusts remaining organic compounds exiting the oven during the cleaning process to carbon dioxide, thereby eliminating any smoke.

References

* [http://home.howstuffworks.com/question559.htm HowStuffWorks - How do self-cleaning ovens work?]