How high do you lot have your extractor hoods?
Ours is low enough that I can rest my chin on it. That seems stupidly low to me.
Just measured mine. Lowest point is 1.54m above ground, 630mm from the hob. It tapers towards the front so the front panel is pretty much eye level, I can see on the top of it if I crane my neck slightly.
I suspect the installer was working in feet, it's almost exactly 5' from the floor.
Ours is 2m from the floor.
Our current extractor is a outside venting Bosch, set 750mm exactly above the hob, 1660mm above the floor. I’m 186cm, I have bashed my head on it once but generally isn’t a problem. Our kitchen fitter used rectangular 205x60mm (Edited as I just checked!)tube to the outside, which works fine and is easier to hide above wall units, but I think is probably less efficient than 150mm round would have been, and this may be why it is a bit noisier than expected.
The gauze filters wash in the dishwasher, it it so much better than the previous recirculating carbon filter one we had in our old kitchen.
We have an island unit that would have been big enough for a hob, but chose to keep it on a wall unit partly for this reason. Some friends of ours have an island extractor ducted under the floor and it does work well but I think it was quite expensive
Indeed but given the choice between banging my head off the thing or it being slightly less efficient..... I'm taking the latter all day long.
205x60mm (Edited as I just checked!)tube to the outside, which works fine and is easier to hide above wall units, but I think is probably less efficient than 150mm round would have been, and this may be why it is a bit noisier than expected.
We fit 220x90 rigid flat ducting where possible or 150mm round. 205 a bit skinny for a powerful machine, it has 30% less volume that the bigger section.
Ideally all ducting should be minimum 125mm (pref 150mm) and rigid. A lot of builders still chuck in 100mm flexi ducting, which is pretty bad for extraction and very noisy. The longer the run, the bigger the section should be.
For those with a Bora, do you have the extracting versions, or just recirculation?
And did you use Bora's own (expensive) ducting?
A shop we spoke to said they recommend recirc with Bora as they are really sensitive to badly fitted ducting. With all others brands go extraction.
We’re unsure whether Bora is worth a bit extra over Bosch. Everyone who has one loves it - but few people will have tried both to properly compare!
When we did the kitchen last year, an extractor was a must have for me, if only to avoid setting off the smoke alarm every night, but also to avoid smelling last night's dinner for the next 24 hours, and to stop filling the house with condensation.
Having done my research and a bit of thinking, my conclusions were:
- Vent externally if at all possible. Recirculating is a poor imitation - it'll help with the grease, but not condensation. Due to attached garage and conservatory, there's only about 2 foot of external wall in our kitchen, so I had to route the ducting along the wall above a window and through a wall cabinet to get there, but it was worth it.
- Go big or go home on the ducting. Builder (who wasn't going to be doing the extraction anyway) was adamant 4" diameter would be fine "because that's what they usually put in". Bigger=better flow and less noise. I went for 6" diameter equivalent rectangular section.
- Angled hood FTW. You want it as close as possible to the hob, but I'm 6'1" and in our last rented house there was a standard square stainless hood, and I think I still have the scars on my forehead.
It was an absolute pain in the a**e to route the ducting, drill through the wall to vent outside, box in the ducting, plaster and paint, but now I've done it, I'm really happy with it. Rarely use the extractor on more higher than speed 1 of 3, smoke alarm rarely goes off from cooking, noticeably less smell after cooking, less condenation.
We're right in the middle of having a new kitchen fitted. We discussed extractors with the designer and he said unless it is a proper outside vented one they are really just for aesthetics and essentially useless and not to bother with one.
So we havevn't.
We did have one at the old house when we had a new kitchen and probably used it twice. Never really noticed the difference with or without one. Never noticed an issue with cooking smells, grease, condensation etc...
Since this thread started, we got a new kitchen, with a new extractor that now vents outside (vertically straight upwards out of the single-story extension). And is located much higher above the hob.
Notable differences to the shitey old one: I don't bang my head on it, and sometimes the flaps don't close properly so we get a cold draught. Not sure about any differences to smells, grease etc.
We've just finished our new kitchen - of course it has an extractor - and after a last minute change of plan to get a Stoves one to match our oven, have a brand new in box one of these spare: https://www.johnlewis.com/bosch-dwb64bc50b-60cm-box-chimney-cooker-hood-brushed-steel/p3533297
DM me if anyone's looking
