
We will master the basic rules that will help to install the hood in the kitchen with your own hands, using step by step instructions
Installing a kitchen hood with your own handsYou can do without many things and devices in the kitchen, but not without a ventilation system. A forced hood installed above an electric or gas stove does its job very well. It not only removes excess odors, but also refreshes the air in the house or apartment more quickly. “Canteen” odors without reliable ventilation very quickly go beyond the kitchen. However, an unpleasant aroma is not the worst thing. If something often burns in your kitchen, then know that many harmful substances are formed at these moments.Research by some scientists has shown that inIn an average family of 3-4 people, about 9 kilograms of fat, liquid, smoke with carcinogenic elements are formed on the walls and surrounding objects in the kitchen along with the dishes being prepared. If you cook in such conditions without a ventilation system, these substances can settle on the respiratory tract. Cold weather makes the situation even worse, because a rare housewife opens the windows in the kitchen at this time. Having decided to equip the kitchen with a ventilation system, you will be faced with a choice: forced hood, natural ventilation or recirculation?
In Soviet times, domestic apartment buildingshouses were equipped with natural ventilation systems everywhere. It is based on the process of displacing heated (i.e. lighter) air masses by cold and heavier ones coming from outside. This effect is easily achieved thanks to the presence of wide vertical air ducts connecting basements with attics. The bathroom, toilet and kitchen of each apartment were connected to these ventilation ducts, which made it impossible for foreign odors from neighbors to enter. Modern apartment dwellers do not care much about the correct attitude towards neighbors, so in pursuit of constant redevelopment and repairs they pay little attention to the risk of destruction or damage to ventilation ducts. Residents on the lower floors suffer the most from this. In this case, there are only two possible solutions for them: installing a forced exhaust system or equipping the kitchen with a special recirculation filter unit. The process of air recirculation consists of distilling them with the help of fans through a filter layer (a mesh of metal or plastic and fine-pored material), and then through a layer of activated carbon. Then the purified air returns to the room. As a means of air ozonation and its disinfection, such systems are additionally equipped with a quartz lamp. The average service life of a filter with activated carbon is about one year, after which it should be replaced, otherwise it will not clean, but on the contrary, pollute the air.
The best time for the kitchen is when the harmful onessubstances will be forcibly removed from it through ventilation ducts. It is quite natural that the air masses removed from the kitchen must be replaced by something. Modern technologies for the production of metal-plastic windows ensure their sufficiently reliable tightness, which is why they must be equipped with special vents. Before choosing a hood, it is necessary to calculate its power, which should be more powerful, the larger the volume of the room. The norm for air exchange is its tenfold replacement within an hour, or, at least, fivefold. In other words, fans with a capacity of 200-400 m3 / hour are perfect for a kitchen with a volume of 40 m3. It is easy to determine the main source of polluted air masses - this is an oven and an electric or gas stove. It is above them that harmful substances are formed, which then spread throughout the kitchen and other rooms. To prevent this, an air intake hood is placed on top of them. The area of the hood should completely cover the dimensions of the stove in order to draw in polluted flows as much as possible. Modern hoods are no more than 60-90 centimeters wide. To calculate the height at which your hood will be located, you should take into account not only convenience and aesthetics, but also fire safety regulations. When installing the hood lower than 50-65 centimeters from the heat source, it is possible that the accumulated fat on the hood elements will catch fire.
The air is set in motion by means ofa fan powered by the mains, which is usually mounted inside the hood. Such ventilation devices are equipped with air exchange speed controllers, a timer for setting the fan operating time, and stove lighting. Another criterion that should be taken into account is the length of the ventilation duct. Excessively long boxes create a lot of resistance to the movement of air masses through them, due to which the fan power may not be enough. In such a situation, it is advisable to place a roof fan at the outlet of the box, or equip the system with an additional duct fan. To reduce the noise level generated by the hood, it is worth connecting the exhaust hood directly to the ventilation duct, and placing the fan itself in the air duct near the junction with the hood. This option is very economical. Exhaust electric fans consume little power, but you should still make sure that the wiring and electrical protection can withstand this device. If your own knowledge of electrical engineering is not enough, use the services of a professional electrician.
Stages of installing a hood in a private home.The example below demonstrates the installation of a hood over a hob located near a façade wall. This allows you to mount the ventilation duct directly into the ceiling and attic, and through them to the roof. It would be possible to lay the air duct through the wall, but in this case the appearance of the façade would be spoiled. In any case, the air duct box should be led outside the house, but not into the attic. 1) Considering the size of the stove, select an hood and the required section of the ventilation duct. Make markings on the wall at the place of future fastening. We remind you that the hood should not be located lower than 60-75 centimeters above the stove. 2) Use a miter saw to make a hole for the ventilation duct. To avoid clogging the stove, cover it with old newspapers in several layers and ask someone to simultaneously collect the flying dust with a vacuum cleaner while sawing. 3) Using a long 10mm drill bit, drill a hole in the roof in the center of the resulting hole, which will serve as a guide for the center of the air duct on the roof. 4) Draw the outline of the air duct on the roof with chalk and use a saw to make a corresponding hole in the roof and the sheathing underneath. 5) Place the fan in the hole on the roof and secure it, and put the pipe on top. Connect the flange and seal the joint along the outline. 6) Connect the air duct to the fan pipe from below, and power it from the electrical network, laying the cable through the ceiling into the kitchen. 7) Connect the hood pipe to the flexible air duct. Make sure that the connections are as strong as possible. It is recommended to wrap the joints in foil. 8) Place the hood in the marked place and hang it on the brackets.
That's it! Your kitchen will no longer have unpleasant odors and harmful substances.