It can seem at first a rather daunting range of options when you consider buying a kitchen extractor hood unit, but the purpose of this short article is to list the basic questions that you need to be asking yourself when making your choices.
Do You Need an Extractor with Ventilation to the Outside or a Re-Circulating Model?
The vent-to-the outside model will take the air from your cooking range, filter it through grease filters and then expel the air to the outside of your home. This of course requires the installation of ducting to channel the air and also the small matter of making a hole in the outside wall.
It is without doubt the better arrangement of the two however it is likely to very expensive to install unless you already have some of the requirements in place.
The re-circulating model does not require any access to the outside world and is therefore much cheaper and more compact to install. This type of hood extractor draws in the air from the range, passes it through the same type of grease filter as the vent-to the-open models but then passes the air through a second charcoal filter which is intended to filter out the cooking smells. It then passes the scrubbed air back into the kitchen. As long as the filters are cleaned (in the case of the grease filter) and replaced (in the case of the charcoal) regularly these units perform their jobs well.
The main advantage of the vent-to-air hood as opposed to the re-circulating model is its capacity to cope with condensation. The charcoal filter does not cope well with moisture and if your kitchen is subject to a lot of condensation it may well be worth spending the extra and installing a vent-to-air model.
Connecting a kitchen extractor hood to the outside world
Which Types of Kitchen Extractor Hood Filter are Best?
The first point to note is that if you are choosing a re-circulator the charcoal filters are disposable, once used they can’t be cleaned but must be replaced (it’s probably worth getting a price for the filters for any particular model that you are considering before going ahead).
Typical charcoal filter for a re-circulating cooker hood extractor unit
There are suppliers who sell rectangular blocks of charcoal filter in various thicknesses which the user can then cut to the appropriate size.
With regard to the grease filters, I would try and select a model that offers dishwasher proof filters. Cleaning them manually is a bit of a chore (especially if you leave it for too long, you will then usually find that you need to soak the filter in a bucket with mild detergent for 30 minutes or so to shift the grease). You can opt for disposable grease filters (but again worth checking the prices first).
A grease filter (in the factory judging by the state of it)
When it Comes To Installation What Height is Best?
The choice of height is always a compromise between the following points:
You want it sufficiently low that you can comfortably reach the lighting and fan control switches (which are usually at the base of the hood) and sufficiently high that you don’t concuss yourself every time that you try to prepare a meal. It is also worth making the point here that if you are planning on installing the extractor hood above a gas hob you must make sure that it is sufficiently high that the heat from the gas burner won’t damage the hood. If a gas burner is left on full with no covering pan then the heat radiated upward extends well beyond the flame itself. The installation manual should advise on minimum clearances and most manuals can be downloaded online from the manufacturer before making a purchase.
What About Physical Appearance?
Of course for any proud kitchen owner this is important and it is also important from the point of view of easy cleaning. Personally I would always go for a gleaming stainless steel finish kitchen extractor hood, it looks great and there are endless products available on the market to make keeping it clean easy.
Finding a Kitchen Extractor Hood Should Now Be A Little Easier
Hopefully this short guide has pointed you towards some of the key considerations involved in selecting the kitchen extractor hood system that will meet your needs.