Easy One Day Building and Repair Projects

In a commercial kitchen, you need to have a vent and filter as required by law. However, it can also be good to consider going beyond simple legal requirements and investing in the best vent and filter system for your particular facility and type of cooking; this will ensure the kitchen is as clean as possible and may also contribute to the comfort of your staff. Note a few quick tips for choosing the best type of kitchen vent and filter system for your commercial kitchen.

1. Extraction depth

When choosing a commercial kitchen filter and vent, you'll note that they come with an extraction depth. This refers to how much cleaning and filtering they can perform; the greater the depth, the more air the filter or vent can clean. If your kitchen uses mostly fresh ingredients without a lot of grease and oil, you might be able to choose a filter with a very shallow extraction depth. However, the more oil and grease used in the kitchen along with pungent spices and other such contaminants that can get in the air, the greater the depth you should choose for your filter.

2. Condense canopy

A condense canopy is made to easily handle and clean condensation or extra water in the air. This condensation can clog normal filters or simply drip back down a standard filter canopy as it's collected. A condense canopy, made for trapping water and humidity, is better for use over anything that produces steam. Put a condense canopy over burners that are used for boiling pots, over dishwashers, and over sinks.

3. Spark arrester

A spark arrester canopy is one that has a special filter meant to stop any type of flame or spark. This type of canopy is needed when you cook with an open flame or solid fuel, such as a gas stove, grill, charcoal oven, wood stove for pizzas, and the like. The filter works to stop flames from entering the actual vent of the exhaust system, and in turn, this can reduce the risk of kitchen fires that start because of burning embers. 

4. Hinged filter

You may note that a vent with a hinged filter is often more expensive than any other type, but this can be well worth the investment, especially in kitchens with lots of grease and oil that could clog the filter. The hinged filter allows you to open it and clean it as needed, without having to call a professional service that would access the vent from the rooftop or elsewhere.