How often do I need to replace the charcoal filters in my cooker hood?
It is best to change these every 6 months, but this really depends on how often you use your hob and how much “fatty” food you cook. Inspect regularly and make sure that you have a spare set to hand. If you have your hood ducted out, you do not need charcoal filters.
How often should I clean the metal grease filter in my cooker hood?
These are designed to collect grease, particularly when the cooker hood is ducted to the outside. Again it depends on what type of foods you cook, but they also collect household dust and fluff. We would suggest that you visually inspect regularly as the cooker hood motor may become damaged if the grease filter is left saturated with grease, which could, in extreme circumstances, even lead to a fire hazard. Clean as necessary by hand or in the dishwasher. Dry well before replacing in the cooker hood.
ESSENTIAL READING BEFORE DECIDING ON A COOKER HOOD. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THE FACTS
You’ll enjoy a cleaner kitchen with a ducted hood – as steam, vapour, smoke and odours are quickly and efficiently removed.
Your home will automatically benefit from this improved environment – free from unwanted lingering fumes and smells normally associated with cooking!
Every Britannia Chimney Hood is ultra efficient. Superbly designed with tomorrow’s lifestyle in mind – each of our top specification units is remarkably quiet during operation and Britannia’s legendary reliability comes as standard!
GENERAL
Britannia hoods are an incredible help in removing cooking smells, vapours and condensation and are designed for quiet operation.
As a general rule you will mainly use the lower and mid speeds during normal cooking and resorting to maximum speed when dealing with emergencies – such as burning the toast! Maximum speed is sometimes necessary when using all burners or when griddling meat as this can create excessive vapours.
We purposely publish against each model the noise levels and the performance in cubic metres per hour for each motor speed to assist you when making comparisons with other makes.
The performance of a hood is extremely important and is normally measured in cubic metres per hour, i.e. how much air is moved.
All Britannia hoods have superior, powerful motors so it’s well worth making comparisons before making your decision. All our hoods feature hotplate illumination and metal grease filters that can be washed by hand or in a dishwasher. Our grease filters do not have to be replaced, they are designed to last the life of the hood.
DUCTED OUT OR RECYCLING
It is always preferable to use Britannia hoods as ducted models, i.e. ducted to an outside wall.
Air is drawn into the hood, fats are trapped by the grease filter. Odours, fumes and condensation are then expelled to the outside atmosphere.
On certain other models you can choose to install the hood as a ducted model or recycling model – we would only recommend that a hood is used as a recycling model if it is impossible to duct out. When using a hood as a recycling model, air is drawn into the hood, fats are trapped by the grease filter, the air then passes through charcoal filters to help absorb cooking odours, the purified air is then recycled back into the kitchen.
It is realistic to assume that using a hood on recycling mode will circulate at least 30% less air than by ducting out – this is because the charcoal filters will restrict a certain amount of airflow. Charcoal filters are an optional extra and will require replacing at least every six months or earlier with frequent use.
(Charcoal filters are not required if you duct out.)
If a hood is used on recycling mode it will help reduce cooking odours but will not reduce steam or condensation. If you wish to reduce odours, steam and condensation, then you must duct out to expel these to the outside.
DUCTED HOOD IN THE SAME ROOM AS A FOSSIL FUEL BURNING APPLIANCE
The following is a requirement of UK and European legislation and is based on the interest of your safety.
If the room where a ducted cooker hood is to be installed also contains a fossil fuel burning appliance such as a gas or oil central heating boiler, then its flue must be of the room sealed or balanced flue type.
A ducted hood is not suitable for use in a room where any open flue is in use, as dangerous fumes of combustion can be sucked back into the room. (This would include the following open flue appliances – central heating boilers, coal fires, log fires, gas fires, wood burning stoves, etc.)
Therefore if you have an open flue fossil fuel burning appliance in your kitchen, you are automatically compelled to select a hood that is capable of working on recycling mode.
POSITIONING
Try to plan your hood and cooker onto an outside wall in the kitchen if this is at all possible. By doing this, you will minimise the length of the ducting and maximise the hood performance.
DUCTING
General guidelines – all Britannia hoods have high performance extraction rates, therefore using the correct size ducting is of paramount importance.
The majority of Britannia hoods have outlets to accept 150mm diameter ducting. Do not be tempted to use reducers and fit 125mm or 100mm ducting as this will dramatically reduce performance and increase noise levels. Do not use concertina type expanding 150mm ducting.
When planning your ducting run try to keep the number of bends to a minimum as this will also help maximise the hood performance. We suggest that you always utilise Britannia rigid circular ducting or ‘Mega duct’ to optimise performance. (Please note the twin motor canopy hood model Vivace is designed to take 200mm diameter ducting due to the exceptional high power.)
Note that any ducting used must not be connected to any existing ventilation or flue system that is being used for any other purpose. See our Ducting Diagrams
VERY IMPORTANT – HOODS OVER GRIDDLES OR A CHEF TOP
If you intend to use your hood over a Britannia cooker with a Chef Top or griddle then you must duct out.
Maximum lengths of ducting runs:
Hoods with 150mm outlets
4 metres and one 90º bend
3 metres and two 90º bends
2 metres and three 90º bends
Hoods with 200mm outlets
5 metres of 200mm flexible commercial aluminium foil ducting.
HEIGHT ABOVE HOTPLATES – CHIMNEY HOODS
Ideally the chimney hood should be positioned between 650mm to 750mm above the Britannia hotplate surface. Note that the chimney hood must not be positioned lower than 650mm. If you are using a Britannia back panel with ladle rack the height is pre-determined at 660mm.
CHIMNEY HOOD – TELESCOPIC FLUES
Important – before ordering your chimney hood, measure your ceiling height. With the aid of the line drawing in the rear of this brochure and respecting the minimum distance at least between the cooker hotplate and underside of the hood, double check that everything will fit or ask your installer to check your sizes on your behalf. If you have any problems please contact our Product Support Department, we will be pleased to give advice on all technical matters including coping with lower than average ceiling heights.
ISLAND HOODS
When deciding on an island hood, there are several factors to take into consideration. Ensure that the ceiling is sound and that it has adequate strength to accept the weight of the hood. The second point is to consider the route for the ducting and if your ceiling has joists which direction do they run. It is obviously not possible to run ducting in the opposite direction to the joists. Check the height of the joists as these are often 5” – so our Britannia Megaduct may be your ideal solution.
CANOPY HOODS
These hoods are designed for fitting into an aperture of a canopy housing which can be of metal or cabinetry construction such as an over mantle arrangement. Sometimes a canopy hood is the ideal solution for positioning above a range cooker that is sited in a dissused chimney breast. Model Intimo is recommended above standard Britannia 90cm and 100cm range cookers whilst the more powerful twin motor model Vivace is recommended above all Britannia 120cm and 150cm range cookers.
If you are having a canopy housing constructed, it will be beneficial to incorporate an encatchment area into the underside of the housing – this would be a recess to hold and contain fumes, vapour, etc. before the canopy motor extracts these away. If the underside of the canopy housing is totally flat, you can run the added risk of fumes spilling around the front and/or sides of the canopy housing. If the canopy housing is constructed in a combustible material it must be a minimum of 650mm above the Britannia hotplate. If it is above another make of appliance, consult the manufacturer
Further help or support
If you have any questions or if you require support with your Britannia product, please email service@britannialiving.co.uk.
