Oven FAQ

A feature of certain SMEG ovens, Pyrolytic cleaning is an automatic cleaning function which works by heating the inside of the oven to over 900°F, a temperature at which any grease stuck to the walls is simply burned off.  All Pyrolytic ovens use Cool Door Technology, which means that during the Pyrolytic Cleaning Cycle, the outer door glass will become no hotter than 130ºF, and feature a special safety device which locks the door for the duration of the process.  Once the program has finished, and the oven has cooled down, wipe off dirt and burned-on residue with a wet sponge, and then dry with a soft cloth.

The fumes produced as a result of burning fat and grease during the Pyrolytic Cleaning Cycle are burned off by the grill heating element, and filtered by a ceramic catalytic converter at the top of the oven.  When mixed with cooling air circulated by the fan, the fumes are expelled as cool water vapor out of the front of the oven (underneath the control panel).

No.  The door stays locked for the duration of the process.  You will be able to open it again at the end of the cycle, when the oven temperature has dropped to a safe level.

Once-a-month should be sufficient if you use your oven with a normal degree of regularity, and for normal purposes.  However, if you use the oven very-frequently, or often cook large quantities of food, then you should increase the number of cleaning cycles as-necessary.

Before starting the Pyrolytic Cleaning Cycle in built-in ovens, all internal accessories (pans, grills, pizza stones, telescopic shelf guides, et cetera) and the roof liner must be removed.  Please consult the user manual supplied with your SMEG product for more-detailed instructions.

The Pyrolytic cycle can be programmed according to the level of dirt to be removed.  If the oven is relatively-clean, then Pyrolytic ECO Mode can be selected, which lasts for 1 hour and 30 minutes.  However, if the cavity is very dirty, then we recommend setting a 3-hour cleaning cycle.

The temperature of the outer door glass of SMEG Pyrolytic Ovens will not exceed 130ºF during the Pyrolytic Cleaning Cycle.  This is thanks to the double cavity insulation, air cooling system, safety thermostat, and quadruple glass glazing.

The removable roof liner collects the dirt and grease that accumulates in the oven during cooking.  Once the oven has cooled down, it can be easily-removed and cleaned with non-abrasive cloths and cleaning fluids.  The liner is also dishwasher-safe.

Condensation often forms on the oven door glass when cooking water-based foods.  To overcome this, in the latest SMEG ovens, the condensation is heated by the upper element, and then re-circulated, thanks to SMEG's special tangential cooling system.  Moreover, the inner door features removable-glass which can be extracted quickly and easy for simple and effective cleaning.  See your product manual for further instructions.

SMEG built-in ovens can be installed under your cooktop in a suitable cavity as most models have a forced ventilation cooling system.  This means that your cooktop is not at risk.  Please consult the user manual supplied with your SMEG product for detailed installation instructions.

The oven cooling fan will continue to operate for around 20 minutes after the appliance has been switched off to enable the oven to cool down more-quickly.

24" built-in Pyrolytic and 30" multifunction ovens come with a rotisserie kit.  Only selected range models come with the kit.

The telescopic shelf guides are a practical solution for putting pans into your SMEG oven, and removing them.  The guides allow stable, level shelf extraction, assuring added safety when checking on or removing food, as you do not have to put your hands in.

The stainless steel telescopic shelf guides must be removed along with the side frames, and other cavity parts and accessories, before starting the Pyrolytic Cleaning Cycle.

A feature of various SMEG ovens, the pizza stone can be easily-cleaned using vinegar, and a non-abrasive sponge before a final rinse.  A handy tip to keep your stone as-clean-as-possible is to always slip a sheet of greaseproof paper underneath your pizza, or the food to be cooked.

SMEG models with digital electronic controls offer a number of benefits: shorter pre-heating and cooking times, consistently accurate temperature settings, better cavity insulation, triple or quadruple-glazed doors (depending on the model), and extremely-high energy efficiency standards for guaranteed energy savings.

Yes, built-in SMEG electronic ovens are very user-friendly.  The electronic display and programmer (a feature of various models) is easy to understand and set.  For more information on how to use your SMEG oven, please consult the supplied user manual.

When you select and start a cooking program, SMEG ovens will automatically begin pre-heating, and will indicate when it is time to put your food in the oven via a beep, or a flashing thermostat.

Yes.  Ovens will give off a strong "straight from the factory" odor the first time you use them.  As such, once you have had your SMEG oven installed, we recommend turning it on at the highest temperature, and then leaving it for around 1 hour (with the window open to allow fresh air in) before you start cooking any food.

The SMEG Smart Chef system is a program containing certain preset recipes, making it even simpler and quicker to cook your favourite dishes.  The stored recipes, a list of which can be found in your product user manual, include precise settings such as temperature, cooking times, et cetera.  Once you've tried out a recipe, if you want to change a particular setting, such as cooking method, temperature, time, and level (levels 1, 2, 3, and 4, where "1" is the least-intense), then you can store the new recipe just how you like it.  You will then be able to select it from the list in the future.

The ECO function, a feature of various SMEG models, is particularly useful if you only need to cook a small amount of food on one shelf.  A negligible amount of energy is consumed thanks to the program's combination of grill, bottom heating element, and fan (in fan models).

Fan ovens have a heating element around the fan behind the rear panel.  The electric element heats the air being circulated by the fan, and evenly-distributes it throughout the oven.  Fan-assisted ovens, on the other hand, have two heating elements, one in the roof, and one in the base, with the addition of a fan in the rear.  This allows you to use all the shelves at once without the flavors of different foods intermingling.  You'll save time, energy, and money, too.

If you need help in choosing the most-suitable cooking program for a particular kind of food or recipe, then please consult the user manual supplied with your SMEG product.  All of the different cooking functions and modes are clearly-explained, and relate to particular foodstuffs, indicating cooking times, temperatures, and the right shelf/tray position.

The Defrost Function uses the oven fan to circulate air at room temperature around the cavity, enabling you to defrost food more-quickly.