A professional kitchen requires a hood. This complex design with a system of air ducts provides a favorable and healthy microclimate in the working area (near stoves, ovens, hobs). Housewives also appreciated the benefits of exhaust systems. Therefore, hoods are increasingly becoming one of the main elements of home kitchen equipment. We have previously considered models without duct, and in this article we will tell you how to properly install the hood in the kitchen.
Functions of exhaust devices in the kitchen, their difference from ventilation
The importance and necessity of using the equipment under consideration is confirmed by the tasks that it solves:
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- Contaminated air with particles of combustion products, vapors, smoke and odors is removed from the area adjacent to the stove.
- In place of the exhaust air with pollution, an inflow of comfortable - clean air is provided, which has lower humidity and temperature.
- Thanks to the operation of the hood, conditions are not created for the undesirable appearance and reproduction of harmful microorganisms.
- Significant or complete removal of air contaminated with grease, soot and dirt helps for a long time keep the appearance of kitchen furniture, interior items, household appliances presentable, increase them durability.
- Favorable comfortable conditions are created not only for those working in the kitchen, but also for the family members and guests of your house in the neighboring rooms and premises.
The air outlet, which is provided by exhaust systems, cannot be replaced by classical ventilation. The latter only creates conditions for air exchange in some limited space. Air saturated with combustion products and vapors is not removed. The installed hood solves this problem. Connecting with special pipes to the ventilation shaft, it ensures the removal of contaminated air outside.
Important! The ventilation pipe connected to the exhaust pipe must have a cross-section that matches or exceeding the cross-section of the branch pipe itself (in the latter case, a transitional shaped element). Compliance with this condition makes the air removal more efficient.
Types of kitchen hoods, their important parameters
Installed kitchen hoods are represented by the following types:
- Suspended - budgetary, the most common devices for mounting under a shelf.
- Embedded - harmonize well with kitchen furniture; the slide-out panel makes them compact.
- Dome - universal chimney-type hoods with the ability to work in flow and recirculation modes.
- Insular - used in large kitchens with a central stove position.
Before buying the hood, be sure to remove the linear dimensions (length x width) of the cooking surface of the stove. For the purchased product, these dimensions should be slightly larger, or at least the same. With a smaller area, the efficiency of the air extraction will be reduced. This will immediately affect the general microclimate of the kitchen area and cause some disappointment with the purchase. The next parameter - productivity - depends on the volume of the room (which can be easily calculated by multiplying the kitchen area by its height). Productivity (m3/ h) should be 10 or more times higher than the obtained volume value.
The hood should be installed 65-75 cm from the hob of electric and induction cookers. Above the gas stove, this distance increases by 10-15 cm. Decreasing the height of the device will lead to inconvenience in working at the stove and can create a fire hazardous situation due to overheating of the equipment.
Required tool
For equipment installation and preparatory work, you may need:
- hammer drill or drill with impact function;
- screwdriver;
- electric jigsaw;
- building level;
- tape measure, ruler;
- hammer;
- screwdriwer set.
Correct installation of the purchased hood: how to install and fix
Let's take a look at the most common installation methods.
The set with the purchased hood provides a diagram of the installation of an electrical appliance in the kitchen. Be sure to read it before carrying out installation work.
Installation in a cabinet
The method provides for the permanent location of the electrical appliance in a hanging cabinet above the stove. If the installation of the hood coincides with the general work on the arrangement of the kitchen, it is logical to order a special cabinet with all the furniture according to an individual sketch. The main feature of the furniture unit is the absence of a bottom and a securely fixed, solid middle shelf, which will bear the entire load after attaching the body of the electrical appliance to it. The distance from the bottom of the cabinet to the shelf must match the height of the purchased device. In all shelves and the top cover, order the presence of holes of the desired shape for the duct. The dimensions are determined according to the exhaust pipe used. Holes are not made for devices operating on the recirculation principle (air purified by filters enters the room again).
If the furniture was installed earlier, you will have to independently mark and make the necessary cutouts in the shelves and cabinet lids with an electric jigsaw. In this case, perfect accuracy is not required - after installation, possible flaws will be hidden.
Depending on the set of fasteners supplied, the hood is fixed to the shelf with self-tapping screws or a screw-nut connection through the holes pre-drilled in the shelf. After hanging the cabinet on the wall, put on and fix the air duct pipe on the outlet pipe. It is advisable to bring the electrical outlet and place it in the cabinet itself. The slack in the wire and other unaesthetic details will be hidden by the closed door.
Installation under the cabinet
This method is very similar to the first option. Only the hardware is attached to the bottom of the cabinet. Such a fastening is used when the distance from the hood to the stove is shortened for effective suction of contaminated air. Appliances are selected that will look easy in the kitchen interior. If you want to hide the front panel of the hood, install a decorative false panel made of a material similar to the front of the cabinet door.
How to mount to the wall
When placed above the stove, the furniture is exposed to high temperatures and steam. Because of this, its appearance may suffer, and its service life will decrease. Therefore, there is often a gap between the pieces of furniture above the slab. If there are no cupboards above the hob, the hood can be wall-mounted. This is a simple and reliable way.
First, the height of the electrical appliance is determined and a horizontal line is drawn along the level. Now the hood is applied to the wall at the required height and marks are made for drilling through the holes in its rear panel. After marking, the dowel seats are drilled (minimum depth - 50 mm). Then the upper screws are screwed in and the hood is hung. If it is located without deviations and hangs securely, the lower self-tapping screws are screwed through the panel holes.
If there are no places for fastening on the rear panel, the hood is installed on a specially made frame from the corner. The frame itself is attached to the wall with self-tapping screws. If it is not possible to fix it close to the wall (a pipe or other communications, a wall with cladding passes in this place), for fastening the frame, collet pins or long self-tapping pins are used (a self-tapping screw with a thread for a nut on the other side products).
Features of electrical installation
The wiring for the equipment to be installed is planned and installed in advance.
Depending on the method of connecting the hood to the electrical network and the complex design of the kitchen, the solution to the issue may be as follows:
- The standard power cord for the hood is rather short. Therefore, when connecting with a plug to an outlet, the latter must be provided and installed in advance. Wiring or an extension cord with an outlet can be neatly laid behind furniture or covered with a PVC box.
- Connection through the machine (permanent) is made in the phase gap.
- The ground is always connected first.
The second and third points are required.
Types of pipes used
Corrugated aluminum products represent a base of metal rings covered with foil in several layers. The main advantages of corrugation: low cost, ease of installation, the ability to easily bend and avoid obstacles, folded "accordion" stretches with an increase in length several times, the ability to withstand heat up to + 250 ° С, easily builds up with the help of a metal scotch tape. Described in more detail in this publications.
Useful information! If the corrugated pipe does not have a maximum stretch, when exhaust the operating system produces characteristic noise. Its cause is the unevenness of the inner surface, which creates additional resistance to the diverted air flow.
The plastic elements of the exhaust pipelines have the following advantages:
- Light weight does not load kitchen furniture, does not create difficulties for installation alone, excludes additional supports and fasteners.
- The assembled structure is characterized by high strength and tightness.
- Ease of assembly of shaped and linear elements.
- The aesthetics of the assembled structures.
- Good soundproofing.
- The material (PVC, polyurethane, polypropylene) is environmentally friendly and does not corrode.
- Grease and dirt do not accumulate due to the smooth inner surface of the pipes. For the same reason, they are practically silent.
- Durability.
The most popular cross-section of the pipes used is round. Plastic pipes can also be rectangular. It is easier to lay them against the wall itself, they have a more aesthetic appearance.
Features of the duct assembly
The correct choice of an exhaust device, calculations and selection of pipes, transition elements, connecting devices may not give the expected result. All the efforts of the previous stage are easily canceled out by elementary mistakes or negligence of the subsequent assembly and installation of the pipeline to the ventilation shaft. For the correct and correct operation of the exhaust system, the following points should not be overlooked:
- Assembled from standard elements, the pipeline should be as close as possible to a straight line. Deflections and drops on its flat areas are not allowed. In the case of using corrugated pipe, pay attention to its maximum extension.
- Be sure to use a sealant to treat the joints of pipes with adapters, nozzles and with each other.
- The bend radii of the pipeline must exceed the value of the diameter of the corrugation itself. Violation of this condition leads to a decrease in pressure and the efficiency of the entire system.
- The optimal pipeline is considered to be no longer than 3 m with a minimum number of turns and bends (the desired angle of rotation is blunt).
- The use of special adapters helps to keep the duct intact when installed through a wall.
- Long corrugated pipes are fixed with clamps every 1-1.5 m. This helps to exclude their possible sagging and swaying during the operation of the exhaust system.
- At the junction of the laid pipe and the exhaust shaft, it is advisable to use a special frame. There is a valve (non-return) on it, a flange for securing the edge of the pipe, the rest of the area is occupied by a ventilation grill. The principle of operation - when the kitchen equipment is not in use, nothing interferes with air circulation through the grate (the valve is open); when the hood is turned on, the valve closes and the exhaust air with dirt cannot get back into the kitchen.
- The entire system must be grounded to protect against static electricity.
Remember! The performance of the operating exhaust system is reduced by 10% for each bend of the air duct at an acute and right angle. With several such sections, the work of the hood becomes ineffective and occurs with overloads. If it is impossible to change the route of the pipeline, it is necessary to increase the capacity of the installed equipment and the nominal cross-section of the pipe.
How to hide the exhaust duct?
Careful installation of the air duct is not a guarantee that its design will be included in the design concept of the kitchen. Especially if it was assembled from an attention-grabbing shiny corrugation. In this case, decorating or masking the mounted structure cannot be avoided. Read more here.
The main ways to hide a pipe are:
- A pre-provided special plasterboard or plastic box.
- Stretch and suspended ceiling structures, which also help hide the external elements of other utilities.
- If possible, the pipe is passed through a prepared niche in the hanging furniture.
- The false panels with the decor of the furniture facade or adjoining wall help to close the communications. They are usually fixed or mounted on hanging units of kitchen furniture.
Video
Correctly selected elements and components of the air exhaust system, their competent connection and installation allow you to create an area in the kitchen where cooking becomes safe and enjoyable.
