Cleaning oven exhaust fan

Boiling softens the crap so it can be scraped off, if you can remove the housing. Dishwasher also gets some off.

NT

I can remove the stator/frame and the top bearing from the housing but the fan is very securely press fitted to the rotor shaft and unfortunately I cannot remove the rotor or the lower bearing without destroying it :(

The rotor and fan would probably survive the dishwasher quite happily, but I don't think the bearing will :(

I've put whole motors through a dishwaher before now as a last resort. They survived, but it's a small sample set. I expect wrapping the motor well in plastic would help. Maybe holding the fan over a kettle would soften enough, I don't know.

NT

Ammonia will etch the aluminium.

Perhaps a aluminium wheel cleaner, for alloy rims on automobiles?

Most alloy wheels are alloy with a coat of paint, powdercoat, or whatever, but I'd expect a cleaner to not attack unprotected aluminium -- as it would be in scratched rim. Still, I wouldn't leave it on for long without testing it for a short period first...

Thomas Prufer

I forgot we have a steam cleaner...

I've had to put it back together for now - women and ovens, eh :) It's working nicely at the moment. Took nearly five years to get bad enough to be rattling, I guessing it won't take any where near as long for it to do it again...

I'll probably just replace it next time, but I will remember to chuck it in the dishwasher. Even if it's just for educational purposes :)

White spirit?