We have a Jenn-Aire oven that needs cleaning. It was in the house when we bought it a year ago; I think it is about five years old.

I’ve seen some people say that the self clean cycle can damage the electronics in the oven, but really? It’s a feature, it seems to me that it should be engineered properly, and I’d rather not clean by hand.

What say y’all?

We've had the self-cleaning feature in our ovens for at least 40 years.
Never had a problem with any of them.

This is the first I've heard about it causing damage.

The self-cleaning cycle can reach up to around 900F. I don't believe the oven can adequately protect the oven's electronics from all that heat. So no, I don't use it in our oven.

The electronics are not inside the oven, correct? Self clean away.

Ours has the self cleaning feature and its never been a problem using it.

I never thought there'd be any problem using the self-clean feature, so I have done that with this stove and the two stoves we had earlier in our marriage.

So far, no problems.

Bob

Don’t forget to remove the friggin’ racks!

Ask me how I know.

Use the ‘feature!’

Using oxidation to burn off food deposits using higher temps doesn't work nearly as well as a proper hand cleaning, reduces the life of the range, and if it's very old like mine is, could burn down your house. Unless it's a newer unit and you have a bona fide reason to avoid a proper cleaning, I wouldn't do it.

It's like driving an expensive sports car with immaculate paint into an automatic car wash with dirty brushes, recycled water, and caustic alkaline chemical agents to melt off the dirt. That's the best way to damage perfectly good paint, and in kind, burning off the food and dirt isn't doing any favors to your appliance.

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:
The self-cleaning cycle can reach up to around 900F. I don't believe the oven can adequately protect the oven's electronics from all that heat. So no, I don't use it in our oven.

It's a lot more than electornics. Burners, wiring, connectors, sheet metal, paint, coatings, etc., they all sustain damage.

Go for it, I wouldn't use it on a monthly basis or anything like that but it will be just fine.

Nope. You might cook the electronics, thermostats, etc.

Been there and done that.

Won’t do it again.

the oven is a porcelain coated vessel - it will be fine. The oven is then is wrapped in insulation and there is an air gap to the metal sides of the oven. If you have 60's plastic coated cabinets I would not run self clean.

Also if you have pet birds do not run self clean - chemical burn/carbon some type oxide will kill them - RIP Lord Stanley.

I recommend reading your manual and following what it says. Don’t mean that in a snarky way. But it will tell you how to do it and what to expect.

quote:

Originally posted by stuffgeek:
the oven is a porcelain coated vessel - it will be fine. The oven is then is wrapped in insulation and there is an air gap to the metal sides of the oven.

B I N G O

Read and follow the owners manual and you'll be fine. Some require racks to be removed, some don't.
Leave a window or two open, as you'll be burning any residue creating carbon monoxide.
Plus, carbon monoxide from a gas fired oven.

We seem to overlook some obvious things.

The smoke produced over time in an oven - the stuff you clean - gets into the locking mechanism too.

Heat it up with the self clean and it turns into cement.

Oven won't unlock.

That and the fact that in all too many instances, the electronics are not sufficiently shielded.

Don't use it, clean it by hand.

Spray Way makes an excellent product.

The fact that it's Jenn-Aire and 5 or so yrs old, I would think you're fine to do what the oven instructs.

My wife has tried it on the last couple ovens we've had, but was never satisfied with the results. She'd rather just do it herself.

used it on my whirlpool oven (new) and it nuked the electronics... dead