How often do you use the self clean function on your oven?

[henene4]

Holidays are over, I did some cooking. One thing was making Bolognese in bulk. Have found that letting it simmer in the oven instead of on the stove is way less stressful as it doesn't burn or splatter as much.

Now the oven looks a little more dirty, but will put off running the self clean a little longer.

That made me think: How often do you run the self clean on your oven? And if so, how long do you run it for?

I usually only run it 2-3 times a year, if that, but run the longest cleaning cycle.
On my Miele, that's about 3:30h. Found that with the longer cleaning cycles, the soils towards the front edge of the cavity clean better where otherwise black spots remain in the front inch of the oven.
Most EU ovens no longer have them for complexity reduction, but with that, I sometimes wish they would still have the dedicated self clean heater for that area.

 

[qsd-dan]

Never, modern electronics are far too sensitive to roll the dice on that gamble.

 

[petek]

I haven't in the near 5 years since we bought this GE. It's not that dirty inside. However I do occasionally switch it on so the door locks and then turn it off to keep the locking mechanism from sticking. That happened on our previous KA stove where I ran the selfclean and when it was done the door lock woudn't unlock.

 

[beehiveboy]

2-3 times a year here…… although I always do it mid December cos I like the oven clean for Christmas.

 

[parunner58]

I have 13 year old GE Profile range and I usually self clean once a year. I have had self cleaning ovens for almost 40 years, they have all been GE. The two I have had since 2005 both have had electronic controls and never had a problem with any of them. I have learned by cooking experience what foods I need to make tin foils drip pans to put under them when cooking to catch spill overs, and what items need a cover for spattering. Most of the time I use the convection baking and roasting setting so the hidden bottom element never comes on. If something does spill over it wipes up easily with a spray of Dawn Powerwash.

 

[ea56]

I use the self cleaning cycle approx. once every 10 months and I always use the minimum amount of time 3hrs. which is plenty of time to clean my oven which is never really dirty. Since the control board is on the back panel it doesn’t get subjected to as much heat as if it were directly over the top of the oven door.

I had a Maytag slide in stove that had the electronic control board located over the top of the oven door and the third time I ran a self cleaning cycle the control board got fried. And the stove was 1 month out of warranty. This was in 2002 and the repair cost including parts and labor was going to be over $475.00. So I just got rid of it and for the next 20 years avoided getting another stove with a self cleaning oven.

So far I’ve used the SC cycle on my GE stove 3 times and no problems. I hope that my luck will continue to hold out.

One thing that I wish was possible is to be able to leave the chrome racks in the oven during the SC cycle. It’s a very tedious job to clean them by hand, so I usually don’t bother to clean them, they aren’t that dirty anyway.

Eddie

 

[joeekaitis]

Even if you never use the self-clean cycle . . .

 

. . . a self-cleaning oven will have beefier insulation than a manual clean oven.  Lower fuel consumption, potentially quicker preheat and more consistent temperature.

And there's always Easy-Off Fume-Free in the blue can.

 

Oh, one or two self-clean cycles a year on our rear-control Frigidaire induction stove.

 

[americana4]

My Americana is about 45 years old I think- no appliance outlet but analog clock.
I use SC once or twice a year, always with the racks in order to clean the panels from the upper over, and sometimes with the porcelain drip bowls.
Never a problem or issue.

 

[DADoES]

 
I don't directly track it.  Probably 2 to 3 years between cleanings on average.  Choices of Std (4 hrs) or Lo (3 hrs).  Did it a month ago on Lo.  GE range is close to 20 years on usage (Oct 2003 by serial, house construction finished in Apr 2004).  Racks are porcelain so can stay in, although became resistant to sliding on the supports.  I used a blue scrubbie sponge and touch of Dawn to finish-up spatters on the glass and a few on the lower part of the door.

 

[mark_wpduet]

My whirlpool oven that came with the house when bought new in Sept 2004.
I don't use the self-clean even though it has it...mainly because I read a long time ago about something about the extreme heat shortening the life of the control board? It's no big deal, it's easy just to spray a little easy off in the summer with the windows open and fan on and just wipe the area..

Maybe me just being totally paranoid... It's really dumb to have a feature and not use it to be honest.

 

[brisnat81]

I use my Miele oven heavily, so I run a cleaning cycle whenever it prompts me to, which I believe is the point it determines that the catalyzer needs to regenerate. It works out to being 5-6 times a year.

I use the longest cycle which seems to take between 4:40 and 5:15, I assume depending on how dirty it thinks it is.

I’ve been running it this way for 7 years and have never had a cleaning related failure.

 

[DADoES]

No panel failures thus far.

 

[DADoES]

 
This may be of interest:

HGTV via CNN:  How to clean an oven naturally

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

It's at least once to twice depending on how often my oven gets used and how dirty it gets...

I use a three hour cycle, between the two and four hours offered which gets the job down except for those annoying ashes which luckily someone cleaning the stove top opened the oven and cleaned out cleaning the window's inside too...

-- Dave

 

[Chetlaham]

Never

Last time I used a self clean cycles was 20 years ago just for curiosity. I find that it just dulls the inside of the oven and subjects everything to unnecessary stress. An oven isn't built like a pottery kiln in my view. With proper care during cooking there shouldn't be much spilling or splatter.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

I have to agree, I limit my self-cleaning to two hours if possible especially on my new range which while I do an occasional three hours I never go four... Actually used to set off the smoke detector but somehow recently has not gone off in a long time--and it still does work when I'm sometimes cooking...

And an appliance repairman complained how often he needs to fix a lot of ovens worn out due to that commonly misused feature,.. Couldn't weigh in on the fact it needs to be used as the oven gets dirty not when it becomes to sooty of which my dad's electric I think has gone beyond what I can safely use that self-cleaning cycle in even for the shortest time, of which my late-mom would have been much more watchful turning it in sooner...

-- Dave

 

[hvtech42]

Claims about self clean killing control boards are way overhyped. Yes, it has happened - it's mainly an issue on ovens with front controls (so slide-ins and wall ovens) where the door is not sealing properly. Damaged gasket, faulty hinges, bent door liner, etc. Some models had endemic issues in these areas so racked up a lot of complaints over self clean failures. On a freestanding range with rear oven controls you almost never see self clean kill the control board, though a bad door seal could cause latch issues or melt the burner knobs on a gas range (if plastic)

Other issue you see complaints about is self clean blowing the oven's thermal fuse or safety thermostat. Nowhere near as expensive a repair as the control board, but very frustrating for the consumer. Again, this is usually happens on slide-ins or wall ovens and usually is due to some issue the oven had. Bad door seal (causing the cooling fan to suck in hot air from the oven), weak cooling fan, crushed vent duct due to improper oven installation, etc. Or it could be due to a design fault with a particular model - probably the biggest one in this area was Whirlpool/KitchenAid wall ovens from the mid 2000s - they downsized the cooling fan to make the units run quieter but it wasn't enough to keep the oven cool enough for many installations - service bulletin fix was to upgrade the fan.

Some appliance repairmen will tell you to "never run self clean" but their perspective is warped because they only see the times self-clean caused a problem, and not the majority of times it worked perfectly fine. Advice that is good to follow, though, is to not run self-clean right before holidays or any other time you really need your oven - especially if you won't be repairing it yourself. Self-clean probably won't kill your oven, but if your oven is on the verge of failing, it is more likely to happen during the self clean cycle and you don't want to be stuck without an oven when you really need it and repairmen are busy. And make sure the functionality of the oven is good before running it. Gasket insulating properly - nice and poofy all the way around (not flat/hard), door well aligned and sealing, cooling fan (if present) running, etc.

 

[Chetlaham]

I Agree Dave.

My honest opinion? Self clean is another gimmick to "legally" raise the price point of an oven. Its sounds nice at purchase and appears to do something presenting a solution to a problem you didn't even now you had, so people are willing to spend more to have it.

To often I feel home appliances are not made around longevity or excelling at their intended purpose rather pushing gimmicks and style as part of a bait and switch concept or buy the last version marketing.

To me a perfect oven consists of a single knob between off and 550*F, short cycling thermostat, even heating through out the cavity, with both top and bottom elements on at the same time in the heat cycle. Bottom element at around 2,000 watts top element around 750 watts. Klixon, spring or hydrualic based thermostat(s), no semicons.

 

[henene4]

Having had modern NTC/PTC based ovens with PID temp regulation, and now one with adaptive venting, I would never go back.
Once I started to read into the service literature, there is a lot an electronic oven can do a simple thermostat just can't, especially once you get into convection and broiling functions.

Same with true high temp self clean. Maybe the EU has different oven cleaners (knowing the US, highly likely) but even the best widely available solutions, you either have to go in REALLY regularly, or just end up with a half assed result even with scrubbing.
You could never really clean the convection vents. Corners are a pain.
So cleaning the glass, switching it on, waiting, and wiping it out is just an irreplaceable function to me now.

On the topic of sticky/noisy racks after self clean. My Miele has PyroFit, so the rack, shelf guides and telescopic extension runners are run through the SC as well.
The oven does prompt you to rub the shelf guides with a cooking oil afterwards and that really does the trick.

Just take what ever oil you usually use for high temp frying, put some on a paper towel, then wipe the shelf guides and the contact points on the racks.
First time you heat the oven up it does smell a tiny bit, but sliding quality remains flawless until thr next SC.

The most elaborate SC system I know about is Gaggenaus. Some models still have the front frame heater, and they still run a specific temperature profile with 5 steps, all with different cycling of different elements.

The typical self clean times in the EU are anywhere from 1:15h up to the Mieles, though, those vary WIDELY from generation to generation and model.
We used to have auto sensing SC cycles on some brands, but that technology was very elaborate and fault prone.
Mieles SC cycles are still adaptive, but not truly auto sensing.

My Miele just adds 30min each step, but it does include a 30min cooldown where others don't. So the door unlocks last thing before the cycle ends, with the oven still at about 400F.

I am very aware SC ovens usually die to control issues and far as I am aware, that's one of the main lifetime design criteria.

Given though even the old ovens with mechanical stats usually died to thermostats wearing out giving you more of a guess of a temp then any real setting, I don't think that's my biggest concern.
It's one of these convenience things and how much it is worth to somebody.
Induction cooking is a similar thing. The power electronics in those just HAVE a limited lifetime by their nature. But once you started cooking on induction, and you love it, you don't flinch at the notion you probably will only get 10 years out of the cooktop.

 

[Chetlaham]

All electronics have a finite life span. If there is for example an electrolytic capacitor, that will figuratively have a best buy date from the day it leaves the factory. A good thermostat will only age slightly when in use, easily lasting for decades.

I will admit variable thyristor controlled heating elements radically improve cooking in toaster ovens. My Breville cooks far better than anything I've ever used toaster oven wise and better than most full size ovens.

In a full size oven with good thermal mass complimented by good heat distribution I am willing to except a small deviation in cooking for simplicity and longevity. In my view an oven ought to last 50 years- nothing inside should be able to fail in that period of time except the light bulb.

Right now the plus button on my GE range is acting up, I need to push it in with a metal spoon to get the temp up, so being honest that might be biasing my views lol. But at the same time it just makes me yearn what I've always craved.

 

[Marky_Mark]

I run the self-cleaning cycle during the winter, when I can have the windows open during the cycle, as the weather is cool and the heat output is welcome. I don’t run it during the blazing heat of summer, when the windows are closed and the A/C is running.

If my oven couldn’t cope with being used as designed without blowing up a circuit board or something, then it would rapidly get kicked to the kerb and replaced by something that worked properly.

 

[logixx]

Let's not forget self-washing steam ovens.

 

[hvtech42]

Pretty much all mechanical parts have a finite lifespan. Electronic boards are not unique in that respect, and in fact their reliability potential is better than average since they have no moving parts. When's the last time you "changed the board" in your car? Electrolytic capacitor lifespan varies drastically based on specifications and operating conditions - they can last decades if properly specified.

Yes, there was a capacitor plague a while back that led to a higher than normal failure rate. As with the scare stories about self cleaning, that was an aberration, not representative of how that technology works normally. Electronic control boards have been used in the vast majority of American made ovens since the early/mid 90s - after that time only BOL models, many Euro import models, and some "commercial style" models were still using manual/mechanical thermostats. I see boards from the 90s/early 2000s all the time that have been working fine for decades.

That's not to say electronic boards are perfect. They have lots of sub-parts and can be complex to design, which creates the potential for introducing problems, and certainly some board designs have had their share of issues. They are relatively expensive to replace and their sub components are generally not designed to be serviced (at least in the appliance industry) so are a contributor to driving up repair prices and junking appliances young. But to say electronic components inherently have shorter lives than mechanical components suggests a profound ignorance of basic engineering.

 

[Chetlaham]

Caps age 24/7 as they hold charge, which accelerates with heat, whereas stats only age as they cycle in use. Can caps trully last 50+ years in bulk?

https://www.xppower.com/resources/blog/electrolytic-capacitor-lifetime-in-power-supplies

Stats also precisely facilitate the repair and preservation of stoves.

If I had to choose between a new electronic stove or one of these, I'd choose the latter:

 

[combo52]

Life expectancy of range controls

Mechanical controls at one time were pretty good but ranges have became more complex. Electronics are just simply the way to go. When I look at how complex my old Thermidor ovens are with mechanical controls and the weird problems they develop as they age mechanal controls at one time we’re pretty good but as ranges became more complex. Electronics are just simply the way to go. When I look at how complex my old Thermidor ovens are with mechanical controls and the weird problems they develop as they age it would be far easier to have an ERC, electronic range control.That could simply be removed and sent away for rebuilding companies like cor centric in Illinois do a beautiful job of rebuilding these controls when problems do arise.

Hi Sam, you replies 16 and 22 are right on the money it’s nice to have somebody else that has actual experience and knows what they’re talking about with regard to Appliance problems on this site.

John

 

[Chetlaham]

Thermostat replacement:

 

[Chetlaham]

Ranges became more complex

Yup, all thats the byproduct of the marketing I spoke of in post #17. When all frivolous gimmicks are set aside whats left is a single pole switch opening and closing in response to a temperature change.

Mode selector consisting of one double pole single pole switch and one single pole single throw switch which either 1) connects the broiler to line two 2) connects bake to line two and broil to neutral 3) or leaves both bake and broiler disconnected.

3 switches total.

None of the weird failure modes or complexity to speak of.

 

[ryner1988]

Not even sure my apartment range has a self-clean function, LOL. It's a BOL Frigidaire with knobs for each burner and one knob for the oven. Believe the only electronic part on it is the clock.

I just wipe up spills when they happen, which is admittedly rare because I take care to cover dishes that are prone to splattering anyway.

Ryne

 

[Chetlaham]

BOL none self clean range

@Ryne: Consider yourself lucky! These are the best ranges one can use. When coupled with a large cavity, door window, interior light and built like a high end unit these are the best ranges money can buy. There is nothing to go wrong. Simple, dependable, reliable, accurate, time tested.

No self clean to simulate accelerated aging tests on behalf of the manufacturer or add complex failure points. Just cook, cool and wipe down as needed.

I've attached the wiring diagram for your make to show how truly simple a range can be for the skeptic here. L1 is routed into the thermostat, upon leaving it is routed into through a single pole double throw mode selector switch whereby power is sent to either to the bake element or broil element. The other side of the bake and broil is then run through a single pole single throw off switch before connecting to line two. One stat, two switches. Full thanksgiving meal guaranteed. No complexity and repair can be done by anyone.

 

[henene4]

Ahhh chetlaham

If it was to your taste, my car would still have a crank start and 4 speeds max, right?

Luckily, they still make ranges for your type of folk:
https://www.geappliances.com/appliance/GE-30-Free-Standing-Electric-Range-JBS160DMWW

Don't think many would be happy with this, but hey, you do you.