The concept of kitchen chimney’s emerged in Europe, when people used to face problems due to the collection of smoke while cooking. In India a good kitchen chimney is even more important due to our cooking patterns like Deep frying , usage of vegetable oils in cooking which eventually makes our kitchens really messy so let us see what kind of kitchen chimney’s are available in the market and how can you choose one for your kitchen based on various features.
Basically according to the technology there are two most basic chimney types that we see:-
1. Ducted Chimney
There were days when you could see smoke coming from the houses that was due to this pattern of chimney. The working style of this chimney was simple to eliminate the cooking fumes outside the house through a vent or duct. But this method created a lot of pollution and it required whole lot of setup while construction.
2. Ductless Chimney
To improve the concept of modern chimneys DUCTLESS chimneys came into practice. In this there is no use of a vent or a duct as it comes with variety of chimney filters which filters the cooking fumes and removes all the dirt and oil inside the kitchen only refreshing the same air back into the kitchen.
A good modern chimney has a lot of features that you can consider like the aesthetics, speed level of noise, electric consumption, price etc. But the most important feature which you should definitely consider while buying a chimney is the type of filter used in it , because only that will make sure the effective performance of your chimney.
Types of Chimney Filters
1. Mesh / Cassette Filter
This is first type of filter is used in a ductless chimney. This filter is made up of multiple layers of stainless steel, galvanized iron and aluminium. The mesh takes up all the dirt and oil which gets accumulated in the mesh pores only so you have to clean it in every 7 – 10 days for effective working. Today nobody would suggest you to buy this chimney because these are high maintenance. However these are quite cheaper in price.
2. Baffle Filter
Baffles design involves the panels on the filter which have multiple curves that allows the smoke to pass through them freely and the oil and grease gets accumulated in these curves made up of aluminium. The maintenance of this filter is usually less then mesh filter as they require cleaning in every 2 – 3 months or even more based on usage.
3. Charcoal / Carbon Filter
This filter is made up of charcoal granules that basically remove the bad odor of food and dirt from smoke. In this also the oil and greasy material gets accumulated into the carbon filter making the smoke to pass easily. This type of filter is also very easy to maintain because you have to clean it in every 6 months. It is quite expensive as well than others types.
4. Auto Clean Chimney
Although this is not a type of filter, Auto clean chimney are much more preferred these days than the traditional filter chimney’s due to its working style and easy to maintain properties.
As the name suggests this chimney automatically cleans itself so you do not need to bother about cleaning it every once in a while. You have to just switch on a button and the chimney starts working on cleaning itself.
So basically this chimney has turbine blowers that forces the air towards the chimney walls, there is an oil collecting bowl so it enables the oil and grease to get collected in that bowl and you just have to change this oil collecting bowl in every month which is very easy to change manually. You just need to wash the bowl and change it again .If you have a good budget and you do not want to involve in cleaning again and again than this is the best option so far .
Types of Chimney based on the Mounting Locations
Chimneys are also divided based upon their mounting positions, based on these you can choose one for your kitchen according to the position of your hob.
1. Wall Mounted Chimney
This is the most common type of chimney location, where the chimney is fitted against the wall and the hob is also located adjacent to the wall.
2. Island Ceiling Chimney
Sometimes large kitchen have islands and the hob is also installed on the island only away from the wall. In this case the chimneys are placed hanging to the ceiling over the island.
3. Built-In Chimney
Sometimes large kitchen have islands and the hob is also installed on the island only away from the wall. In this case the chimneys are placed hanging to the ceiling over the island.
4. Corner Mounted Mounted
Sometimes large kitchen have islands and the hob is also installed on the island only away from the wall. In this case the chimneys are placed hanging to the ceiling over the island.
– Asmita Madan
