Range - "P7" Oven Cleaning

Ranges and Wall Ovens with a "Self-Clean" oven were originally called a "P7" oven. The "P" stands for pyrolytic and "7" is the number of kilowatts used to clean the oven. Generally speaking, this means the oven uses high heat to incinerate food soils, thus cleaning the oven.

When GE Appliances introduced its model P7 self-cleaning electric oven in 1963, the drudgery of manually cleaning a dirty oven was eliminated. This was the 1st self-cleaning oven on the market! Since it was released, these ovens have been called "P7", Auto Clean, and/or Self-Clean.

Using the Self-Clean or "P7" Oven Cleaning Feature

A self-cleaning "pyrolytic" oven heats to approximately 880 degrees Fahrenheit during the cleaning cycle. That is about twice the temperature used for normal cooking. At this high temperature, food soil decomposes from the oven walls, top, bottom, rack and even the oven light cover.

The cleaning cycle takes 1.5 to 5 hours to complete, depending on the Range or Wall Oven and the amount of soil. Only a small amount of light ash remains after the cleaning cycle is complete, similar to that of a used charcoal briquette.

Most owners self-clean their Range or Wall Oven two or three times a year, which is adequate to remove cooking soils and spills that accumulate in typical usage. Our Ranges and Wall Ovens are designed to operate through self-clean cycles reliably. We have no set limit on the frequency of self-cleaning, but very frequent self-cleaning (more than once a month) could possibly shorten the life of the Range or Wall Oven due to additional wear and tear on the components and controls.

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