Cooker hood height

[David]

Finally (after long bout of flu) getting round to replacing the cooker hood.

The instructions say 650-750 mm above the hob.

Internet says 650 mm for electric and 750 mm for gas.

A quick measurement shows that the top of my head is roughly 900 mm above work surface level so head banging is guaranteed.

Cross check; I am roughly 1.84 metres tall in bare feet (6').

Work surface is roughly 0.92 metres off the floor.

So (1.84 - 0.92) = 0.92 meters above the work surface to clear my head.

Allow a bit more for the edges of the glass as they curve down.

There is no chance of changing this at the moment because of where the vent through the wall is positioned. I am not up for filling it in and drilling a new one!

So for purely academic research/future use is there any reason not to have the hood about 1 metre above the hob?

There will be some loss of efficiency (I assume) but is there anything in any regulations?

I have (mainly) learned not to bang my head over the last 5 years but there must be a lot of people who are 6' or taller who also like to cook so you would expect more head clearance.

Cheers

Dave R

[Huge]

AFAIK, the instructions (regulations) you quote are minima, so you can put it as high up as you like. I've seen (ugly, expensive, useless) ones that hang from the ceiling like a huge light fitting.

[Chris J Dixon]

I did go for an expensive extractor, but as I explained to the kitchen designer, for that amount of money I wasn't just going to recirculate the steam (less some of the grease).

Chris

[Huge]

IMNHO, recirculating cooker hoods are stupid & pointless.

[Tim Streater]

Quite. Part of our kitchen refurb was the requirement that the hood vent to the outside, which it now does via a Bosch telescopic cooker hood.

[dennis]

They take out grease and smells if they have a carbon filter. They do nothing for moisture but you don't get much moisture if you cook in pans with a proper lid.

[Brian Gaff]

I don't think this house has ever had a cooker hood. One just opens the window a bit! Brian

[Chris J Dixon]

There is quite a lot of cooking where part of the intention is to reduce the liquid, so it is necessary to permit this to escape from the pan.

Chris

[Huge]

Quite so, skipping over the fact that everything "dennis" says is wrong.

[Tim Streater]

Try doing that when there's a howling and freezing gale from the north.

[S Viemeister]

Or in the northern Highlands, during midge season.

[newshound]

FWIW the bottom of mine is 97 cm above the hob (and I have 2 x 600 mm hoods over a 1 metre cooker, because that was less than half the price of a range cooker hood). There's a bit of spill but it is fairly effective.

[David]

Yeah, right.

Especially this time of year.

Even more so if the cooker isn't next to a convenient window.

So you recommend centrally heating the house then creating a through draft to move all the warm air outside and save yourself money........no, that can't be right.

Externally vented cooker hoods are a Very Good Thing if you cook a lot on the hob.

Apart from anything else they help reduce the flow of cooking smells to the rest of the house.

Cheers

Dave R

[dennis]

What I said is correct you moron.

[Roger Hayter]

It is correct so far as it goes, although the use of the word "proper" before lid is a bit tendentious. There is a lot of cooking where you don't want to use a lid at all, let along a well-fitting one.

[dennis]

There aren't that many reasons not to have a good lid.

Reducing if you want and frying are about the only two I use.

Things like rolling boil and such are rubbish and just waste energy.

[ARW]

If we could get him to tell us what numbers will not be pulled on the EuroMillions draw this Tuesday.....

[dennis]

Yours will.

[sm_jamieson]

The cheap hoods have to be positioned low to work effectively, and I have seen installations where you basically cannot see into the pans at the back as the hood is in the way - ridiculous. I got at fairly powerful one - about 450 quid, Bosch I think, and put it just above my head (about 6 foot). So a taller person might bang their head. It works effectively on the lower settings with several pans, so no problem at all. Just don't get a cheap rattly fan, and you will be fine.

Simon.