The First Self Cleaning Oven?

[captainmoody]

I picked this up off Craigslist last week for $25. From what I can see on the internet, it looks like a 1964 model, and from what GE's website said, it is supposed to be one of the first self cleaning models.
While it does'nt matter to me if it is or not, (i'm just going to use it as a second oven) I would like to know if what they claim is true? Any GE experts out there?
The serial# CZ25032 Model# J 757D1WH

 

[captainmoody]

I also am looking for the racks for it (the dum-dum that sold me the range used them for his campfire!)Sheesh!
When I try to look them up on the appliance parts website, I get an "incorrect model# error" Most likely because the thing is so darn old I suppose..
Will ones work off a newer P7?

 

[toggleswitch2]

Size matters.

.
It is interesting to note the slide-up window shield in the earier pyrolytic self-cleaning ovens such as this one. If you look carrefully there are two handles on either side of the window the help raise the window.

If you can get the orginal racks from the seller, it may not hurt to do so. You see, the high temperatures (850*F to 1,000*F) used to incinerate the grease and dirt also removes the chrome-plating from the racks.

To even-out the plating/finish just run the racks through a self-cleaning cycle. You will then need to lubricate them with salad oil to get'em in and out of the oven easlity. They' be blue-gray but their structural integrity and functionality is not reduced.

Bottom line is this: any racks that will fit will do. Problem is the insulation required in self-cleaners makes for a narrower oven cavity, so earlier (non-self-clean) ovens even by the same manny will differ in size.

 

[toggleswitch2]

Tell us yoru story, baby!

.
oh and BE CAREFUL.

Didn't some nice guy here lose a house to a fire when his cat stepped on the buttons activating a top-burner?

 

[gyrafoam]

Great old GE. Yes, I think the P-7 was the first.

E-Mail Combo52. He will likely have the racks you need.

Congratulations!

 

[danemodsandy]

Age of Unit:

This is not from the first generation of P*7 ranges, which debuted in '63. At that point, they didn't feel comfortable putting a window in the door, so if you bought self-cleaning, you gave up the option of having a window. This situation applied through about 1966-67 or so. After that, GE began putting in windows, but they invented that sliding metal guard to protect them during the cleaning cycle. I'm not sure when GE decided that the world was not going to come to an end if the window was unprotected, but I do remember friends building a house in '77 that had a new double GE wall oven (in the latest fashion colour, Almond), and it still had the guards.

 

[circlew]

Very nice GE

Something makes me think 1965 was the year GE started putting windows in the P*7 ovens. I know I've seen self-cleaning models in turquoise (not the later shaded Aqua they had),so would have been prior to '66. Will have to do some investigating to find out for sure. As is obvious from the picture, Toggleswitch is right about the oven cavity being smaller than the non self-cleaning ones. This appears to be a TOL unit, with the recessed cooktop, and switches at sides. This was also used as the bottom part of the Americana range that had 2nd oven on top.

 

[danemodsandy]

Someone...

...Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think GE's last year for Turquoise was '66.

 

[circlew]

Discontinued upon intro of Avocado?

Was thinking Avocado came out in '66, but maybe it was late in the year. I'm thinking that as soon it arrived, Turquoise was gone. Maybe there was a short overlap. I know Pink was already gone by then, and Yellow continued on until Harvest came about. Sometime I'll have time to visit the library, and look thru old magazines for the ads.

 

[appliguy]

GE introduced avacodo in 1966

and introduced harvest, as they called the color, in 1967

 

[whirlcool]

We had a 69' model GE P7 double oven in the last house we lived in. We really liked it. The self clean feature really worked well.
One thing to remember, the glass shield must be in place (over the glass) in order for the self-clean cycle to begin. If the shield is lowered, it won't start.

 

[norgeway]

p 7

P-7 oven cleaning was one of the best...mainly because it got hotter than the self cleaning ovens of today..and it is MUCH better insulated than anything on the market now.

 

[appnut]

lose a house to a fire when his cat stepped on the buttons a

I believe it was Chuck (laundromat)

 

[captainmoody]

Still trying to figure out the CZ code in the serial#. Does anyone have an older GE date code list? I have the newer one, but it does'nt seem to work with what I have.

 

[tomturbomatic]

The other reason that the early GE self-cleaning ovens cleaned so well was that they had a "mullion" element that ran around the opening of the oven liner, maybe an inch or two back, that kept the edge of the liner and the inner door liner hot enough to really clean those surfaces, unlike today's self-cleaners where the inner door and the front corners of the ovens don't clean as well. Something interesting about the GE self-cleaning system was that all of the elements ran on 115 volts for the self cleaning operation.

 

[toggleswitch2]

What was the reason/logic for 115v operation?

 

[magic clean]

The window

shields went by the wayside when(in the early 80')heat reflective coatings were applied to the window panes. Effectively reducing self-clean surface temperatures to a safe level and simplifying the construction of the oven door. The coatings account for the rainbow or irridescent appearance of oven windows in certain lighting situations.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Toggle, the lower wattage was to protect the porcelain especially on the oven floor from the intense radiant heat of the bake element operating on 230V to reach and maintain such a high temperature. To speed up cleaning, we used to heat the oven to about 500F on the bake setting, then lock the door and put it into the clean cycle. In addition to the bake, broil and mullion elements, GE also had the heater going for the smoke eliminator. Those metal tabs at the front of the rack guides on the GE oven were pieces of silver to help the racks glide smoothly after the self-cleaning process roughened the chrome finish. Westinghouse used the broiler for the whole process and above the broiler was a shallow metal box with perforations in it following the pattern of the loops in the broiler element. Inside it was the smoke eliminating catalytic material.

 

[toggleswitch2]

.
Interesting, thanks!

To self-clean, my gas Calric brand cooker of 1991 would fire-up the broiler burner tube (upper) and then after reaching about 550*F the bake/roast burner tube(lower) would light. Problem was, in the two minutes it took for the gas-ignitor to heat up, and ultimately open the gas valve, the oven would cool down a bit and the thermnostat would again call for the broiler ("grille"=> UK))to go back on. It took several attempts to "jump" from one burner to the other to finish tye pyrolytic (self-clean) process.

BTW, gas self-cleaners have the bake and broiler burners in the same oven cavity. Older gas cookers have one burner that generates heat for both an oven cavity above, and a broiler compartment below the burner tube.

My sister has modern a double electric wall-oven by GE with electronic controls. One of the ovens is self-cleaning. That oven cycles the heating elementst on and off during the sef-clean cycle, but cycles then on and off way BEFORE the target temeperature is reached. I'm not sure if this is what that oven does to avoid over-shooting the intial set temp during preheats, or if that is designed to limit sudden and intense heat input (during self-clean only) to avoid hairline cracks in the porcelain.