Selecting the perfect kitchen chimney: A guide

Below are some tips that will help you with your doubts on how to choose a kitchen chimney. Use the tips in this kitchen chimney buying guide to buy the right chimney today!

2. Chimney Size

The size of your stove is the most important factor to consider when you’re looking for the best chimney for your kitchen because it directly affects the kitchen chimney dimensions. Smaller stoves, with one or two burners, require smaller-sized 60 cm chimneys, whereas stoves with three or more burners go well with bigger kitchen chimney dimensions, 90 cm chimneys.

3. Suction Capacity

The suction capacity of a chimney tells you how well it can absorb the smoke and the odour from your kitchen. Chimney suction power varies from 670 m³/hr to 1600 m³/hr, and heavily depends on your cooking style and food preferences.

For example, if you’re a vegetarian who uses minimal oil for cooking, you can go for a chimney with 670 m³/hr to 1000 m³/hr suction capacity. But if you’re a non-vegetarian who tends to use a lot of butter, ghee, and oil, a chimney with 1200 m³/hr to 1600 m³/hr suction power might be more suitable for you.

4. Chimney Speed

While the suction power of a chimney decides how well it can clear a kitchen of fumes and odour, the chimney's speed decides how quickly it can do that. Kitchen chimneys that come with adjustable speed options are a great choice for those who like to have a clean kitchen as soon as they are done cooking.

5. Chimney Design

One of the topmost factors to consider when looking to buy the best chimney for your kitchen is how it will fit with your modular kitchen design. There are multiple options to consider based on where you want to place the chimney, its alignment, and its functionality. Let’s look at them one by one.

SHAPE AND ALIGNMENT
 

1. Wall-mounted: This type of chimney is installed against the wall, over the cooking platform.

2. Corner-mounted: Here, the chimney is fitted along the corner of the kitchen, alongside the cooktop.

4. Island: A subcategory of ceiling-mounted chimneys, island chimneys are placed at the centre of the modular kitchen, and over the cooktop.

5. Downdraft: A downdraft chimney is quite rare; it stands at the head of your cooking platform, and may or may not be fitted against a wall.

6. Built-in and Integrated: Built-in chimneys are integrated with the kitchen furniture over the cooktop, and installed against the wall.

Based on Where it can Fit

There are five different options you can choose from, depending on where your chimney can fit and your kitchen ideas for design-

1. Box Type
2. Straight-Line
3. Angular
4. Curved Glass
5. Pyramid

FUNCTIONALITY

1. Contemporary: Contemporary chimneys are designed to fit perfectly into modular kitchens, are made using stainless steel with glass or crystal and pay equal attention to performance and design.

2. Conventional: Conventional chimneys focus more on performance than design, come in straight line models and are generally less expensive.
 

6. Chimney Filter

A chimney’s filter is responsible for the rate at which smoke particles get absorbed from your kitchen. This means that a chimney with a better filter will absorb more particles, faster, while also not letting its suction power get affected.

There are three types of filter available in the market-

MESH/CASSETTE FILTER

A mesh or cassette filter is made up of multiple layers of aluminium or stainless steel mesh. The gaps within the mesh are designed to trap the solid particles while allowing the smoke to go up the chimney.

These filters are inexpensive and durable, but they require frequent cleaning and maintenance. This is because the holes in the mesh tend to quickly get blocked, affecting the chimney’s suction power and generating a lot of noise.

Baffle Filter

Baffle filters are designed using multiple curved panels made from stainless steel. These panels serve the same functions as the aluminium traps in mesh filters, but they are washable and much easier to clean. This makes them perfectly suitable for Indian kitchens.

Baffle filters are also durable, create very little noise, and only need to be cleaned once a month for high performance. However, they are more expensive than mesh filters.

They do not make any noise and are great for Indian kitchens that don’t use generous quantities of oils and spices. But for all the benefits they offer,  filter-less chimneys are costlier than the other options available in the market.

Please Note: You may also find chimneys that use a combination of the filters stated above.

7. Duct

The ducts of a chimney are responsible for removing the smoke from a kitchen and maintaining its ventilation. They come in two types-

Ducting Filter

A ducting or an extracting filter channels the smoke out of your kitchen exhaust chimney, cooling it so you don’t have to sweat while cooking. However, installing this filter takes time, and you may have to change your modular kitchen design to accommodate it. This is why as far as a small modular kitchen is concerned, a chimney with a ducting filter is the best.

Ductless Filter

A ductless or recycling filter, on the other hand, uses filters to clean the air and release it back into your kitchen. However, it can’t do much about the heat. This is why ductless filter chimneys should be installed in large kitchens, where there’s more room for air. One benefit of ductless filters is that they are easy to install and do not affect the interiors of a kitchen.

8. Chimney Service and Warranty

No matter how top-notch your kitchen chimney is, it will need constant care and cleaning. So make sure you select a brand that is reputed for offering prompt maintenance and repair services.

Also, double-check the warranty period on your chimney before you buy it; it can be anything between one year and the lifetime of the product. Pick the option that suits you best.

9. Budget

Kitchen chimneys can range anywhere between ₹4000 and ₹1,60,000, depending on size, suction power, filter, design, and other add-on features, like LED button controls, motion sensors, and body material.

To filter through the thousands of chimney options available in the market, you will need to pen down your minimal requirements and set the budget accordingly.

Bonus Factors

Apart from the factors mentioned above, there are a few more salient features of a kitchen chimney that you can look at. Like-

3. Features: 

If you fancy advanced features in your gadgets, like button controls, motion sensors, and LED lights, consider them when buying a kitchen chimney.

4. Reviews: 

Most buyers consider tons of technical features and designs but forget to look at the reviews of the model they like the most. Going through other people’s experiences is a great way to find out if you’ll end up using a kitchen chimney in the long run or not—an important factor to assess when you’re investing so heavily in your kitchen.
 

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