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Original poster

Kitchen Extractor Fans Never Work!

28 replies

Wavingnotdowning · 03/12/2021 22:12

Any advice appreciated.

We have had a new kitchen installed by a well known high street kitchen company. Our expensive extractor fan isn't working properly and a fitter arrived today. According to him the fact that I have condensation running down the windows, even when I have lids on my pans, is to be expected as no extractor fans ever really work, and I should open a window or a door. Surely this can't be true?

OP posts:
Grenlei · 03/12/2021 22:16

A lot of extractors I've seen aren't fitted on an exterior wall/ don't have a vent to the outside so they're not extracting anything.

Mine is pretty good and removes steam/stops condensation but is so bloody noisy I don't always have it on when I'm cooking because it's impossible to hold a conversation.

Original poster
Wavingnotdowning · 03/12/2021 22:23

Ours is fitted to an exterior wall. It is extracting air, but not enough. Actually it is really noisy too

OP posts:
Seemslikeagoodidea · 03/12/2021 22:45

I think he has a point, many such fans are not powerful enough to do the job thoroughly. IME you need a window open as well as the fan, to get the air flowing, which raises the question - Why not just open windows?

A friend has recently had a new kitchen put in, and had all windows blocked in to make more room for cabinets. She has no window, but is convinced the fan will suffice. I didn't say anything, she made her choice and will learn the hard way that a fan is no replacement for a window.

nannybeach · 03/12/2021 22:53

I have an electrolux,it has 3 speeds,it is noisy on 3. Outside wall,my kitchen is open plan,then a minute hall, bedrooms bathroom, don't get condensation or open the window when cooking. My last House it was on an internal wall, going through the old bread oven,then up through the loft via the chimney that worked fine as well

saleorbouy · 04/12/2021 00:09

What is the volume of the kitchen and the m3/hr rating on the fan? Are they suitability rated, a kitchen should normally have a fan that gives 15+ air changes per hour.
Is there also a wall vent or means of air entering the room so that the fan is not pulling a vacuum.

Dougieowner · 04/12/2021 09:26

To say they never work is just silly.
If it is extracting the air (rather than just recirculating & filtering) then it MUST be dumping moisture & smells outside but common sense tells you that a SMALL amount of fresh air will also help.

When I fitted my last kitchen I wanted the cooker in the middle of the room but knew I needed a proper extract hood (rather than recirculation) so I pulled the ceiling down and ducted to an external wall. Worked perfectly!

Delphinna · 04/12/2021 09:33

Is it a big square extractor directly above the hob? Or just a fan on a wall nearby? Wall extractors don’t work well, you need a proper powerful one above the hob, and then it does work really well.

Oblomov21 · 04/12/2021 09:53

It is odd that it seems to be standard that they work poorly.

PigletJohn · 04/12/2021 21:24

show us a photo please

include something to show scale

the inside fan

and the outside vent in the wall.

ReviewingTheSituation · 05/12/2021 00:08

To say they never work is ridiculous. We have a bog standard one - nothing special, and have never had condensation on the windows, or on the glass splashback behind the hob (and I often have a few pans going at once).

Clearly yours isn't doing its job for one reason or another, but they do work, so something needs to be addressed - especially if it's a brand new kitchen/extractor.

PigletJohn · 05/12/2021 00:16

I bet I know what it is.

(Awaits photos)

Mondy · 05/12/2021 02:59

Ours worked (to an extent), but then blew a fuse or something. We've never bothered fixing it. It's just something to bang my head on in the kitchen as it sticks out further than the top cupboards.

PigletJohn · 05/12/2021 09:11

A cooker hood should be fitted high enough that the user can't bang it with their head.

Some people look at the "minimum height" specified (which is to prevent it catching fire) and insist on fixing it there.

A cooker hood that does not extract is just an expensive ornament.

Bluntness100 · 05/12/2021 09:15

I have a rangemaster extractor, one which just recycles and it’s very good. It is noisy on the highest setting though.but it works, I can see the steam from pots being pulled into it,

PigletJohn · 05/12/2021 09:18

@Bluntness100

I have a rangemaster extractor, one which just recycles and it’s very good. It is noisy on the highest setting though.but it works, I can see the steam from pots being pulled into it,
And, as it is not an extractor, the steam is then blown back into your kitchen.

You have bought a noisy ornament.

Userevermore · 05/12/2021 09:22

Have you a gas hob, gas will cause much more water vapour than electric because of how it burns, when we had gas we had condensation but with electric, hardly anything

schnubbins · 05/12/2021 09:24

I dont' think they work and I have one of those high end' in hob' extractors from Gaggenau . Its so loud also .I love listening to music when I cook so I often just turn it off and open the doors/window to the outside and close the door to the rest of the house.

jaundicedoutlook · 05/12/2021 09:27
  1. Make sure it’s at the right height.
  2. Make sure it vents outside.
  3. Buy a good quality extractor.
  4. Try and switch it on a minute or so before you need it.
  5. Switch it on full power, or 2nd most powerful setting - the lowest setting is usually useless for anything other than a small pan of gently simmering water.
oviraptor21 · 05/12/2021 09:30

I don't bother with mine. Opening windows is much more effective and quieter.
Mine does extract to outside. You can see it pulling the steam up but it's still not worth the noise and inefficiency.

neverdidnt · 05/12/2021 10:05

Mine vents outside and works brilliantly - I can smell what’s cooking far better from outside than I can when standing over the hob!

Walkacrossthesand · 05/12/2021 15:52

Exactly so, @neverdidnt- I can smell what's cooking outside better than inside, and I have a cooker hood I can't bang my head on (thanks @PigletJohn, I didn't know that little gem about cooked goods!)

Walkacrossthesand · 05/12/2021 15:53

Cooker hoods! 🤣

BruceAndNosh · 05/12/2021 16:04

@neverdidnt

Mine vents outside and works brilliantly - I can smell what’s cooking far better from outside than I can when standing over the hob!
Same here! I went out to the bins last night just as DH started cooking and could smell onion and garlic outside! We have an Elica (I think) with filters that get chucked in dishwasher. All the gunk that's on these filters is not on my walls and cabinets
MintJulia · 05/12/2021 16:10

If you open one of your windows a crack, it will create a current of air through the kitchen and up through the ventilator, carrying fumes with it.

But condensation can form from the water vapour generally in the kitchen. If your kitchen is warm and your windows are cold, you will get condensation regardless.

FedUpAtHomeTroels · 06/12/2021 10:28

Ours vents outside and we don't have steamed up windows in the kitchen. You can smell the cooking outside when we cook