Ducting a cooker hood or extractor fan
A properly-functioning cooker hood or extractor fan needs the right parts and materials installed
The two types of cooker hoods: vented and recirculating
Cooker hoods that return air to the room (recirculating hoods) do not remove moisture, odors, or grease effectively if charcoal filters are saturated or missing. They leave high indoor humidity, lingering cooking smells, and fine grease particles in the kitchen air, while requiring frequent, costly filter replacements
Vented cooker hoods, on the other hand, send moisture, odours and grease outside of the building via a duct connected to the hood.
Handyman Clonakilty does not recommend recirculating hoods because of their association with grease build-up, damp walls and ceilings, and mould growth.
Cooker hood not working
More often than not, when a cooker hood that is not extracting air to the outside efficiently (or at all), it’s because the ducting is either disconnected, broken or not installed properly.
When ducting is disconnected, it is typically due to either a) the wrong size duct connector being used, or b) the wrong tape being used to adhere the ducting to the connector.
Sometimes there is a blockage at the vent outside the building, where the duct terminates.
Typically these repairs are inexpensive and require little by way of materials.
Choosing the right ducting
Rigid ducting is best at extracting air, because unlike flexible ducting, it has no ridges to impeded air flow, but it’s also the most expensive.
Flexible or ‘hose’ ducting does a good job of extracting to the outside but it’s just not quite as efficient as rigid ducting.
The better the extraction rate, the less power needed and the quieter your kitchen can be. If you have a small kitchen, rigid ducting might be the way to go because they are, in theory, less noisy.
If flexible ducting is used, the ducting should remain taut and as straight as possible. The more bends in the ducting, the less efficient the extraction rate.
The right ducting for a cooker hood means the right duct connector and tape being used
Get in touch about your kitchen or oven hood
Contact us for a free quotation, with no expectation of a commitment. Based in Clonakilty, covering West Cork, fully insured.
Handyman Clonakilty provides handyman services in Clonakilty and surrounding areas in West Cork. We are insured and VAT-registered. For more information, visit our website at www.handymanclonakilty.ie