Is it normal to see flames inside my self-cleaning oven?

I spilled some sauce in the oven, so I decided to clean it today.

I wiped the bottom and glass door, but the rest of the stuff was crusty and stuck to the bottom of the oven. I started the cycle and went about my business.

About 15 minutes later I hear a loud POP and saw little flames dancing at the bottom of the oven. I freak out, turn off the self-cleaning feature, grab the fire extinguisher and try to open the door, which wouldn't open. I later found out this was a safety feature because the temperature inside was close to 480 °C (900 °F).

So, were these little dancing flames and the resulting smoke safe and normal in the operation of the self-clean cycle? If not, what can I do before running the cycle again to minimize flames and smoke?

Best Answer

Smoke is normal in an electric oven, but flames are definitely not.

In order to start a fire, you either need a spark, or you need to heat something beyond its autoignition temperature (AKA kindling point). You might have had a short - or you might actually be using a gas oven with spark ignition - but I'm guessing your issue was the latter.

Cooking oil or grease being heated beyond its autoignition point is one of the most common causes of kitchen fires (grease fires). Supposedly, some oils have autoignition points as low as 550° F (or 288° C), though I'm not sure which oils those are. Olive oil would be my guess as the lowest, but pepperoni grease could very well have ignited at self-cleaning temperatures (which, as you noticed, go up to nearly 1000° F).

Fortunately for you, all modern ovens have a mechanical interlock which prevents them from being opened during a self-cleaning cycle. If you'd opened it, you would have made the problem a lot worse by (a) supplying the fire with abundant oxygen, and (b) drawing all the hot air and flames out of the oven and into your kitchen, quite possibly setting your whole home on fire. Heat wants to move to where it's cold; that's why you keep your doors and windows closed in the winter.

There are a multitude of oven cleaners available for self-cleaning ovens - you are supposed to use these before you run a self-cleaning cycle. Yes, I know it's odd, but "self-cleaning" doesn't really actually mean that it cleans itself, it just gives you a little extra help. You need to try to clear out all the grease and big chunks of food first using one of these cleaners, then run the self-cleaning cycle to deal with anything you might have missed.

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Quick Answer about "Is it normal to see flames inside my self-cleaning oven?"

Food or grease bursting into flame during oven self-cleaning is normal. You shouldn't open the oven door when this happens. The flames will eventually die down due to the absence of air.

Is there supposed to be flames in self cleaning oven?

Though electric ovens are not supposed to have fire in there they do a fine job of containing it. Even if you somehow manage to set the heating element aflame (I've done this and still don't know how). Leave it closed and wait for it to go out.

Why did my self cleaning oven catch fire?

Self Cleaning Ovens & Fires Some users have reported fear and alarm at seeing fires inside their self cleaning ovens, If large pieces of food, or a large amount of grease is inside the oven when the high heat builds up, then there is a chance of fire and flames being seen inside.

Why are there flames in my oven?

Your oven can catch fire for a few reasons: If you are cooking something with a lot of fat and grease, it can splatter and cause a flame. If you are baking, the batter could overflow, drip to the bottom and start a small fire. Sometimes food scraps or other items might be left in your oven, and they could catch fire.