Lets start at the beginning... What is ducting?
Ducting is the piping that allows air pushed by a cooker hood extractor to travel. We sell all the products you will need to get the dirty air taken in by your cooker hood and expel them out of your home.
There are different types of ducting available, what ducting you buy is mainly down to two variables: What size ducting fits on your cooker hood and where the ducting has to travel.
For example: There are two main shapes of ducting, round and rectangular (flat channel). Round ducting is best but not always suitable, a good alternative is to use flat ducting that can be used to run along the top of kitchen units or in the ceiling. Each of these types is available in either rigid or flexible tubing (Try to only use flexible hosing over short distances in cases of the hoods being in difficult positions or to avoid obstacles).
Shapes of ducting
Round Pipe
Rectangular
Ducting Made Easy - How this guide will help you
This document offers help and advice on choosing and installing ducting. Do not rely on builders or kitchen fitters to look after your ducting. Ducting is a specialist skill and tradesmen will normally take the easiest option which may not be the best option for you.
The first and most important action to take before designing your ducting system is to find out what the size ducting outlet diameter is for your cooker hood. This should be found in the manual/instruction. There are generally 3 sizes 100mm (4"), 125mm (5") and 150mm (6").
You now know which size ducting to buy, the larger the ducting the better, so you can go up a size but it is important NOT to reduce the size of the ducting, as this may void your warranty!
It is worth remembering that our ducting kits should cover must circumstances and therefore are the cheapest and easiest way to buy a ducting setup!
Noise from cooker hoods can be irritating, many people don't know that the noise doesn't come from the motor, it comes from the air travelling, the straighter and less you disturb the ducting the quiter your hood will be.
Here are some quick steps to think about. The closer you can stick to these guidelines the more efficient your cooker hood will run.
- Choose the shortest and most direct route to the outside.
- Ensure that bends are kept to a minimum.
- If the duct system is inaccessible for maintenance, it is recommended that all joints are secured, using Ventilation Duct Sealant.
- Air travels better through a round duct. However, the installation space available may prevent this ideal and flat panel ducting is a great alternative.
- A rigid duct is more efficient than a flexible duct.
- If flexible hose is used, the hose should remain taut and as straight as possible.
- In practice, the actual installation may mean that all the above points cannot be adhered to, but at Glotech we have the products to provide the best solution.
Generally with all cooker hoods you have a choice, to duct to an exterior wall OR to use carbon filters that recirculate the air. Ducting is ALWAYS the preferable option. It is only recommend if ducting out is IMPOSSIBLE.
Recirculating with charcoal filters will reduce cooking odours but will NOT reduce steam and condensation. If you wish to reduce odours, steam and condensation, then you MUST duct to expel these out of your home.
Cooker hoods can be noisy, the quietest opinion is to duct. Using filters can be very noisy so if noise is an issue then it is best to duct.
What we sell is split up into kits and separate parts.
- Kits are the easiest way to install ducting, they come with everything you will need for most setups.
- Parts can be used to make up your own custom ducting run, but it may also be cheaper to buy a kit and then some separate parts if needed.
Round Pipe (EasiPipe)
A round duct provides optimum airflow performance and should be used if installation space allows. Polypipe Ventilation has a selection of bends and adapters to meet most installation requirements.
Rectangular - Flat Channel (EasiFlat)
Rectangular or flat channel ducting is an excellent alternative when space is restricted. Its low profile enables the ducting to be easily concealed in the ceiling void or along the top of wall units. Polypipe Ventilation has a selection of bends and adapters, including the new Universal Duct to meet most installation requirements.
Flexible Hose (EasiFlex)
Flexible hose is available in round and rectangular form, to complement the rigid systems. It provides a solution to overcome awkward situations where a rigid system cannot be installed. Flexible hose is most effective for slow moving air, such as with tumble dryers, but can be used with higher volume appliances (with due care taken to ensure that its use is limited and that the hose is kept as taut and straight as possible).
Extra Tips for using your cooker hood
- Turn on your hood 5 minutes before cooking, this sets up the airflow in your kitchen and stops the smells propagating through the house.
- As a general rule you will mainly use the lower and mid speeds during cooking and resort to maximum speed when dealing with emergencies such as burnt toast, griddling meat or when using all burners.
- If you intend to use a griddle or chef top, which created a lot of smoke then you MUST use it with a ducted extractor hood.