Should extractor hood be same width as hob?

[morningporridge]

We were thinking to have a 70cm chimney extractor hood above a 60cm hob to hopefully do a better job extracting cooking smells. Has anyone tried something like this? I just wanted to make sure it will end up looking ok! Thanks 😊

Also, if anyone can recommend an extractor hood that is easy to keep clean that would be great!

IMO it should be wider, to catch steam that may billow when you take a pan lid off. I wanted a 1000mm one but could only find 900mm.

Do you want a simple hood fixed to the wall, or a more modern canopy type that fits in a bridging unit like a wall cabinet?

Do you have a budget in mind?

Have you got a hole through the wall, or duct? What diameter?

One thing to bear in mind if you have wall cabinets either side and base units either side of the cooker is that the wall cabinets will need to be 5cm narrower than the base units if you want the far sides of them to line up with one another. Not all suppliers of cabinets do them in 5cm increments.

Cleaning the filter weekly (and having one you can easily do so in the dishwasher) will do more for extraction power than anything else. So I’d spend a bit more and get dishwasher proof filters than a bigger one

@PigletJohn I think we'll just go for a simple one fixed to the wall as we didn't order a unit for it when we ordered our kitchen. We will duct it to outside.

I've always be happy with the middle range Elica extractors. Their website is cumbersome so ask them to post your their glossy brochure, it is easy to flip from page to page comparing models.

Some of their "stylish" models are quite wacky and I think "form over function" in black glass panels or balls dangling from the ceiling. Italian designers.

look for a max extract rate exceeding 300 cu./hr, some powerful extractors are in the 500-700 range, and look at the noise rating in db.

There are examples here, but not the full range. I think the main distributor is in Surrey or Hampshire, I have their name somewhere.

Our extractor is 900mm and hob is 600mm.

Our hob is 80cm wide and the hood is 90cm (just had to check because I’d never noticed that it looked odd - photo attached). We also had the hood set higher than average. Most people set it at the minimum recommended height but this can cause issues for taller people. Pretty pleased with it tbh.

We have a Neff and I’ve been happy with it. I also second @PigletJohn recommendation of an Elica, had one in a previous house and it was very good - but was quite noisy and harder to clean. I would expect a newer model to be better though.

Oops. Photo.

yes, the newer ones seem to have washable metal grease filters, and some are quieter and more powerful than older ones. Today I would go for a built-in.

and I agree it should be at a height where a user cannot hit it with their head

Are there any powerful ones with washable filters that don’t need an outside wall duct - as ours would require a convoluted ducting system to get outside - and suspect would lose any efficiency?

What do people who live in luxury flats with no outside ducting do?

I always assumed they should be wider. When I went to buy one, the manufacturer I bought from said to get one the same width as the hob.

@PigletJohn

and I agree it should be at a height where a user cannot hit it with their head

Height it tricky- too low and it obscures the hob for the tall and hits tall people on the head. Too high and it won't be as effective. Small people like me could have it lower, but if they share the kitchen with giants, as I do....

@Sssloou

Are there any powerful ones with washable filters that don’t need an outside wall duct - as ours would require a convoluted ducting system to get outside - and suspect would lose any efficiency?

What do people who live in luxury flats with no outside ducting do?

if you don't duct the steam outside your home, the fan is little more than an ornament.

I would expect a luxury home to have some means of ventilation.