[mvadg]

Originally Posted by Fraz33r

Visiting India soon, Wanting to gift a nice cooktop/Chimney combo for Mom
...
Some things i am looking for:

1) Powerful
2) Less Noise --We have an exhaust fan but that is largely being not used due to Noise it generates.
3) Adequate suction of hot air.

Can anyone recommend what i should be looking for? Thanks!

For oily Indian cooking, I suggest self-cleaning chimneys, not the ones with the soap water spray, but those with a heater built-in to melt the congealed grease and collect it in a receptacle.

Be wary of suction and noise specs. Sound levels are for the minimum fan speed; and suction, of course for the highest speed.

There are some chimneys with the "Vent-a-Hood" style centrifugal fume catchers. I think these work best in our environment. (e.g. Kutchina, and some others)

I would also look for a chimney with easy access to the fan blades, otherwise you'll be paying for "deep-cleaning" very often.

I think the height (from stove-top to chimney) requirements for chimneys are too conservative, given that they are meant to work in countries with very high BTU stoves. You can lower it a couple of inches without any safety concerns when used with our much lower BTU stoves.

May be others can chime in with their suggestions of what worked best for them.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by Fraz33r

Visiting India soon, Wanting to gift a nice cooktop/Chimney combo for Mom......
2) Less Noise --We have an exhaust fan but that is largely being not used due to Noise it generates.

I recently renovated my house and was sold on getting a chimney as its a must for our "Indian" cooking.

On someone's advice, I decided to get a silent yet powerful exhaust fan and that guy said that just in case one isn't enough, I could plonk a second one (my kitchen has windows on two sides).

Long story short, when the entire house used to be engulfed in parantha smoke on Sunday mornings, one can hardly tell what's cooking after I installed the exhaust fan.

Its not pin drop silence but the exhaust humm isn't bothersome.

Now the tricky part, we all know exhaust fans with retractable blades aren't the best for kitchen because once the dirt, grease and grime sticks to those blades, they just don't open all the way.

Wadbros solved this for me by having a fan with 2 motors where second motor's job is to open those fans. This means that no matter how much grease and grime gets deposited, the blades will open all the way and if it gets too dirty we still have the option to take it out and clean it. One has to clean the chimney also so cleaning an exhaust fan is still far more easy.

My suggestion would be to give such exhaust fans a try because while Chimney looks cool, I haven't seen it do a great job yet. Maybe some that cost above 35-40k are better but the ones that I have seen (costing between 5k to 30k) just didn't seem to work effectively.

I don't remember the model but its Wadbros with 2 motors and one can find it easily in the local market. How do you make sure the motors work independently, ask the seller to take the fan out and when he powers it on (without the fan) the blades at the back still flip open, neat party trick!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Our Kaff chimney does a good job, but, ten years on, it is far from silent. I suppose a new motor would be an option. Only just this minute thought of maybe asking a high-st motor guy to change the bearings. Kaff do service, but I don't think they will do this.

Anyway, ten years! I'm not complaining!

[Fraz33r]

Great Points! Thank you for the feedback guys! Will keep those in mind while shortlisting.

[Sebring]

Self-cleaning chimneys are a lie. They don't work. We bought the latest Elica model for mom and asked for the highest suction rating. Now a strong motor means loud sound and we instantly regretted buying it after hearing the loud boomy noise. When we complained, they inform us that the 'quiet range' of chimneys are also there with them!

Now, After 6 months of use, mind you - we deep fry and our dishes are very oily, I turn on the self-cleaning heater and got 'zero' oil deposits. Zilch! (I have the picture below to prove this). My suggestion would be to go for a very expensive chimney, in the range of 50-60K plus, which actually works. Or go for a very good exhaust fan set up (This is an 'all-time' good trick).

Originally Posted by mvadg

For oily Indian cooking, I suggest self-cleaning chimneys

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by Sebring

Self-cleaning chimneys are a lie.
...

I agree completely. I have the soap water sprayer type and it has been unsatisfactory.

When the chimney was new, it collected quite a bit of oil in the receptacle. When the service person came, all he did was clean the outer shell and the first intake plate with a bunch of holes. The oil collection dropped drastically after a while, which I put down to our hiring a new cook.

What I inferred, looking at the insides, was that grease had coated everything inside, including the suction fan. Now this grease is tough, it will not just rinse off with some soap water. This also means the fan dynamics have completely changed.

I now have to go to an outside agency to "deep clean" the insides, because the product service center does not even acknowledge the need to deep clean - after all, the receptacle would have collected all the grease and the insides would be "perfectly clean". The service person stated that the newer models that have the heater don't have this problem - that was the reason why I suggested it, no first hand experience.

What we need is a "fume cupboard" design adapted for domestic use.

If anyone knows of a good degreaser, please let me know.

P.S. I am not too sure there is any great difference with the expensive models.

[skchettry]

With a not so good experience with recirculating type of chimney, I thought of avoiding it in my new flat. I have a window that opens to the dry balcony, so placed my cooking top adjacent to this window and got a small exhaust fan installed on the wall of the balcony. Pretty satisfied with this arrangement. The only issue during heavy oily cooking work is that the oily stuff would get accumulated on the lower surfaces like the platform slab and the kitchen floor. That's still manageable since the oil deposition is limited to the lower areas and it does not look to be rising high enough to cause any issues.

[condor]

Sharing a small point I found:
The RO filter we have had a 3-pin plug - indicating the unit was earthed. But found that the 3-pin plug top has a dummy earth pin. There is no wire for earthing in that cord !

(was trying to extend the wire of our RO unit to reach the socket on the wall. I got a 3-core wire, and opened the RO unit. I see just 2 wires ! Got another 2-core wire and completed the job.)

[Aroy]

We bought a "Hindware" self cleaning chimney a few months back. Here are amy observations
. Self cleaning works like a charm. Switch the button and in 10 minutes oil collects in the receiver.
. The chimney is a "Baffle Filter" type, so in normal operation the oil intercepted by the baffles also collects in the drip tray.
. If there is a lot of heavy frying, then the baffles need to be cleaned with soap water once a week.
. We run the "Self Cleaning" (which is heater based) once a month.


The specifications


Piping for exhaust


Installed

One thing that I noticed is that a few brands are offering the same model, so it an OEM import.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by Aroy

We bought a "Hindware" self cleaning chimney a few months back. Here are amy observations
. .

Just as I was about to ask about this brand. These people were originally manufacturers of bathroom ceramic ware.

So self-cleaning does not mean air re-circulating? You still need a chute?? Understandin features and functions of these things are becoming more complicated than Android devices.

[mvadg]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Just as I was about to ask about this brand. These people were originally manufacturers of bathroom ceramic ware.

So self-cleaning does not mean air re-circulating? You still need a chute?? Understandin features and functions of these things are becoming more complicated than Android devices.

The chimney sucks air from the cooking area containing fumes and separates the fume particles (oil and other cooking byproducts) via some sort of filtering action. This filtering action results in the filter trapping the oil and other particles. This filter is heated and the oil becomes less viscous and flows into a receptacle for you to discard - this filter cleaning is the 'auto clean' part of the name. Non-heated 'auto clean' uses a spray of soap water - not very effective.

Sometimes a charcoal filter is used to clean the air, and supposedly the air is so clean that it can be sent back into the kitchen. (how long it is effective is anybody's guess). I think you are referring to this - and such a system is called a "recirculating" Chimney. (Not recommended)

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

So self-cleaning does not mean air re-circulating? You still need a chute?? Understandin features and functions of these things are becoming more complicated than Android devices.

Air recirculating would be limiting. It is not just oil you are trying to get rid of, it is all the various smells of cooking, and, perhaps just as important: at least some of the heat!

[rdst_1]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Air recirculating would be limiting. It is not just oil you are trying to get rid of, it is all the various smells of cooking, and, perhaps just as important: at least some of the heat!

Recirculating chimneys are definitely for colder regions like mine. Have been thinking of getting one of those since I moved to Himachal. Smells and odors are supposedly taken care of by charcoal filters.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by rdst_1

Recirculating chimneys are definitely for colder regions like mine. ...

Sounds like that will work for you. Down here, both removing the heat and sucking in cooler AC air through the kitchen door is important, if not essential in the summer months.

(Especially for a mad Brit, roasting a chicken when it's 40-plus C outside!)

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

So self-cleaning does not mean air re-circulating? ...

In Kochi, I'd say probably yes, if you want it to contribute to your all-round comfort.

By the way, one of my favourite uses of the chimney is: turn it on when chopping onions, and do it near the stove. Pulls those tear-making fumes away from your eyes. It is not just for the hot stuff!

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I bought a couple of LED floodlights recently.

I had been thinking that I might need something like 100W, but I bought one 30W and one 20W for trial. The 30W is plenty for lighting up the drive, gate, pumping area; the 20W is plenty for casting a lower light on the rest of the garden. Not very bright, but enough, for instance, to spot an intruder (usually, they have four legs: somehow dogs occasionally jump in, and are then baffled as to how to get out again).

This is nameless Chinese stuff from a local lighting shop. For as long as it goes on working... I'm happy. In fact, I'm very pleased with it, and want to fit some more, eg for terrace lighting.

Bumping up your post. I am looking to floodlight my covered (but 3 sides open) garage to help in washing my Octavia after dusk. I typically park the car jutting out more than usual so that the rear wall (with electric meter box etc) stays dry. As a result, inevitably I find the next morning that I should have cleaned and/or dried better on certain parts of the car, but could not make the same out at night.

Any recommendations on a pair of LED lights? Budget total of 4k max! And white light or yellow preferred for this particular use-case? Amazon selling a huge range of brands starting from no-names to brands like Oreva, Eveready and of course the Philips Smartbright series.