Extractor Hoods

From the slim under-cabinet extractor to the chimney hood:

the real difference is where it hangs. An under-cabinet extractor is a shallow box fixed beneath the wall cabinet over the range, the cheapest kind and the one many rented apartments already have. A wall chimney hood hangs on bare wall, with a stainless or glass canopy and a telescopic cover hiding the duct, and suits a kitchen where nothing sits above the range. Island hoods drop from the ceiling over a kitchen island. Restaurant canopies are another machine entirely, long stainless hoods with baffle filters that come up for sale when a kitchen closes.

A duct to the outside or a charcoal filter:

that decides how much a hood can do. Ducted, it pushes smoke, heat and steam out of the building. Without a duct it recirculates: the air passes through the grease filter and a charcoal filter and comes back into the kitchen without the smell or the grease, but with all its heat and moisture. Most household models can be fitted either way, and without a duct you will be replacing charcoal filters, which are thrown away, not washed. One of the microwaves built to mount over a range does the same job with a weaker fan, enough for a small kitchen but not for heavy frying.

Hood width and height over a gas range:

most Panamanian kitchens cook on gas from a cylinder, and a flame throws heat and grease wider than an electric ring. Buy a hood at least as wide as the range, a 30-inch one over one of the 30-inch stoves and cooktops, and go a size up if you fry often. Hang it at the height the manual gives for gas, which is higher than for electric: too low and the filters bake, too high and the smoke slips round the sides.

The price step up to a wall chimney hood:

a flat under-cabinet extractor runs from about $50 to $150 new, while a chimney model from Drija or Frigidaire starts near $170 and climbs past $250, with island and premium hoods well above that. With new ones that cheap, a used flat extractor is worth little once the buyer has paid someone to mount and wire it. A clean chimney hood with every cover section holds its value better, because the canopy and the steel are what you paid for.

Grease inside the fan housing of a used hood:

matters more than any scratch on the outside, because filters can be replaced and the motor cannot. Take the filters out and shine a light up into the housing: a sticky brown coat on the fan means years without cleaning, and a fire risk until it is degreased. Run it on every speed and listen for a rattle, or a hum that rises and falls, the sign of worn motor bearings. Look for rust along the canopy edges and chips in a glass canopy. Bent mesh filters are no reason to walk away, since aluminium replacements are sold by width and cost little; charcoal filters are tied to the model, so look up the number first. On a chimney hood, make sure both cover sections, the wall bracket and the duct collar are there; for a lesser-known brand those pieces are close to impossible to replace.

Taking a chimney hood down with its cover and brackets:

is half the sale, because buyers want the full set. Before you unscrew it, photograph it running with the light on, the canopy with the filters out and the label with the model number. Give the width, whether it was ducted or recirculating and the ceiling heights its covers reach, since that decides whether it fits under a low apartment ceiling. Wash the mesh filters before the visit: someone driving in from Chitré to collect a hood from a remodel in Condado del Rey will judge the whole thing by them.