Cooker hoods/extractors - IKEA and others.

[David]

In refitting my kitchen (approx 12 sqm floor space, 2.3m height), I
intend to install a venting hood or extracor over the (60cm) hob. I'm
looking for advice on which to choose. The Ikea kitchen catalogue
lists some (relatively) cheap items. The built in extractor fans are
£85 and £135, the latter being for an ingenious 'telescopic' unit
which extends to 45cm (compared with 51.5 cm for non-telescopic and
for hoods) but which tucks out of the way when not in use. Unlike
more conventional units operated by pulling forward a hinged 'door',
it seems to lie flat allowing use of some cupboard space above it.
Its motor is 125 watt, giving 217 cum/hr extraction rate. Has anyone
any experience/ recommendations concerning the effectiveness of this
unit?

The alternatives are two hoods. Clearly these cost me storage space.
One at £225 (stainless steel) with rectangular base, 160 Watts and 527
cum/hr extraction, the other is round, looks great but costs £295 and
only 382 cum/hr extraction. Again, any experience out there?

I suppose one question underlying this is, how much extraction rate is
really needed to be effective?

thanks and regards, David Fuller

[RichardS]

Shop around.

A couple of years ago I was in the same position - needed a cooker hood
for an ikea kitchen in a flat. Found a Neff model in South Ruislip
(unfortunately supplier now seems to have disappeared) for a relative
bargain - very quiet and very efficient (vented to outside - this is a
must!).

It was also "telescopic" and since moving I miss this hood - have one of
the hinged ones now and will replace as soon as the kitchen is done.

However, be careful. This Neff unit was only about 25cm high. This
meant that a useful cupboard was possible above it. I have seen that
most other units appear to take up the whole cupboard above them - some
60cm or more. I can't see that this is any more than wasted space - an
empty steel cabinet, perhaps?

Look carefully at the sound output rating and compare models not only on
airflow but also on decibel output. It's so much better when you can
have the extractor running and don't notice it#s on.

Hope this helps.

Richard

[Andy Hall]

"David" <david_...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:bf5f6e35.01121...@posting.google.com...

Have a look also at Elica products. They are an Italian manufacturer, the
largest in Europe of cookerhoods, and make quite a lot of the branded
products for the major kitchen applince manufacturers.

There are a large number of different types and sizes and the UK importer is
DR Cookerhoods. www.cookerhoods.net This has on-line catalogues with
dimensions the lot. They sell through the kitchen trade and there are also
a few on-line sites .

There are some low profile built in units that you can install into the
underside of a cupboard and that have a pull-out drawer as you describe
(SA60-7G) and in this case 170mm high in total which still leaves some
usable space in the cupboard.

I have one of their BI80UHS models which is quite a bit larger but still
gives a fair amount of space in the cupboard in which it's mounted. It's
unusual that I run it on full tilt because it's over an AGA, where most of
the cooking happens in the ovens and the cooking smells mainly go up the
flue. When it is run, it's normally on the lowest setting and is extremely
quiet.

Possibly one of the tradeoffs off a compact unit is going to be more noise
on higher settings.....

Two other recommendations.

1) Even if you have to use flat duct over the cupboards, duct it to the
outside. Recirculating filters are a waste of time.

2) Remember that you have to clean it. The fancy glass and bright metal
canopies look pretty in the shop but look awful the moment they are used.
I don't think you had those in mind though... What is a good idea are the
removable metal filters that can be dishwashed. The disposable fabric
ones are OK for a bit, but people tend to forget to change them regularly
enough.

.andy

[gary]

In article <bf5f6e35.01121...@posting.google.com>, David
<david_...@yahoo.co.uk> writes

>In refitting my kitchen (approx 12 sqm floor space, 2.3m height), I
>

[snip]

>The alternatives are two hoods. Clearly these cost me storage space.
>One at £225 (stainless steel) with rectangular base, 160 Watts and 527
>cum/hr extraction,

[snip]

Dear David,
we got this one and we extract to the outside with it using the pipe
kit. It works well. Being sick and tired of feeble extractors I would
always get the v8 version. The variable speed con you can either run it
gently or suck your tupee off.

--
gary
* I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing. *