Technological advancement is the reason why new kitchen chimneys are getting invented almost daily. Now, people are looking for more convenient and effective chimneys which can save them time and effort. One such new game-changer product is undoubtedly the auto-clean chimney.
Preparing Indian recipes means using too much oil and spices. An auto-clean chimney helps in removing hot gases and toxic items automatically from your kitchen and keeps it clean and hygienic. For this reason, all the best kitchen chimneys have auto-clean technology.
Every auto-clean chimney comes with a blower and an oil collector fitted under the hood. The blower sucks the hot gases along with the oil and smoke particles that pass through the vent. In this process, some oil content sticks to the internal parts of the kitchen chimney which the oil collector collects. Finally, the smoke and hot gases are led outside of the house and the oil and other particles get collected in the oil collector.
So, to differentiate auto clean and normal (manual) chimneys, it can be said that auto-clean chimneys are the reliable ones that save more time and require less maintenance.
Different Types of Auto Clean Technologies in Chimneys
Standard Auto Clean Chimney
A standard auto-clean chimney comes with an oil collector that helps in separating the oil and smoke particles from the hot gases. This oil collector can play an integral part in the auto-clean mechanism as it captures the oil particles from clogging the internal parts of the chimneys. Hence, your kitchen stays neat, clean, and purified. However, apart from an oil collector, this kind of kitchen chimney does not come with any additional functionalities like thermal auto-clean chimneys.
Thermal Auto Clean Chimney
Heat or thermal auto-clean chimneys also come with a special oil collector or tray. However, the chimney mechanism is different from the standard ones. This type of chimney has a heating element that melts and vaporizes the oil that gets stuck in the internal parts during cooking. The remaining oil content is collected in the oil collector.
Thermal auto-clean chimneys are the best options among all types of technologies in kitchen chimneys. In most cases, the chimneys are filterless or equipped with baffle filters. Thermal-based chimneys are the most expensive auto-clean chimneys.
Wet Auto Clean Chimney
Water or wet auto-clean chimneys have a sprinkling pipe around the filters instead of a heating coil like in heat auto-clean chimneys. These machines come with a storage space in which water gets automatically or manually filled up. Once you press the auto clean button on the chimney, the sprinkling pipe sprinkles hot water on the filters. The force of the water helps in rinsing the oil or grease from the filter.
Also Read: Thermal vs Water Auto Clean Chimney
Auto Clean Chimneys According to Filtration System
Baffle Filter auto clean Chimney
A baffle filter chimney is considered one of the most revolutionary auto-clean chimneys available for better kitchen sanitation. The cooking gases travel up the chimney and pass into this filter, allowing the smoke to escape. In this process, the oily substance is captured inside the filtration unit.
Curved stainless steel or aluminum plates of the highest grade are used as the material of the baffle filters. Baffle filter auto-clean chimneys are long-lasting and durable, but these are costly and produce noise when clogged. For this reason, we advise cleaning it every three months.
Filterless auto clean Chimney
From the name, it can be interpreted that filterless chimneys don’t have any traditional filters. Instead of filters, these kitchen chimneys use a heating element to vaporize the oily substance generated during cooking.
When you hit the cleaning button on a filterless thermal auto-clean chimney, the chimney will clean itself automatically. This process does not take more than 10-15 minutes to complete.
As the chimneys don’t have any filter, it doesn’t need to be cleaned vigorously. Filterless chimneys require cleaning once in four to five months. Another plus point is that the filterless auto-clean chimneys don’t create too much noise. However, these kitchen chimneys are pretty expensive.
Also Read: Baffle Filter vs Filterless Chimney
Auto Clean Chimneys According to Duct Availability
Ducted Auto Clean Chimney
Ducted or duct auto-clean chimneys use a large pipe to discharge exhaust fumes and hot gases. These vent pipes suck the hot air and smoke quickly and make your kitchen clean. Duct chimneys can move larger volumes of hot air more efficiently, making them an excellent choice for home use.
Ducted auto-clean chimneys don’t make much noise, which is obviously a great advantage. Most importantly, duct chimneys are low-maintenance due to the fact that they use a system of pipes to transport the exhaust air from the cooking space. If the duct pipe is long, there are some ways to hide it inside the kitchen.
Ductless Auto Clean Chimney
Instead of removing the smoke from the kitchen, the ductless auto-clean chimneys recirculate the air through a series of baffle filters, mesh filters, and activated carbon filters. It improves the quality of air in the kitchen by neutralizing smoke and polluted air.
A ductless auto-clean chimney makes a kitchen look attractive and well-decorated. However, it creates a lot of noise when these filters are clogged. Ductless chimneys are difficult to maintain compared to duct chimneys.
Also Read: Ductless Chimney vs Duct Chimney
Advantages of Auto Clean Chimney
1. High cleaning efficiency
Auto-clean chimneys have a significantly higher cleaning efficiency than manual-cleaning chimneys. This is because the oil and smoke particles are automatically cleaned in these types of kitchen chimneys. Here, the oil particles are trapped, preventing clogging and increasing the effectiveness of the blower without spending a lot of energy.
2. Low maintenance
As there is no auto clean mechanism to dispose of the oil particles in a manual cleaning chimney, the filters get clogged with oil particles sooner. However, this is not the case with an auto-clean chimney. Any type of auto-clean chimney, whether filterless or with baffle filters, needs low maintenance as the oily substance is automatically cleaned.
3. Increased suction power
Compared to manual clean chimneys, the auto clean chimneys can maintain high suction power consistently as the filters do not clog faster. Compared to ordinary kitchen chimneys, auto-clean chimneys are a superior solution for heavy-duty cooking such as deep-frying or grilling.
4. Low noise generation
Auto-clean chimneys are less prone to clogging, producing significantly low noise within 64 dB. We recommend ducted chimneys with a baffle filter or a filterless mechanism to choose a chimney with low noise. However, ductless auto-clean chimneys still produce higher noise.
5. Easier cleaning and maintenance
Auto-clean chimneys are significantly better in terms of cleaning and maintenance requirements due to the oil collector. Among all types of auto-clean chimneys, filterless chimneys need the slightest degree of maintenance as you do not have to clean any filter. For any problem, you can troubleshoot the chimney and find an easy solution.
6. More operational safety
Auto-clean chimneys are safer than ordinary chimneys as they minimize the chance of clogging. They also come with additional safety measures that reduce the probability of malfunction.
Disadvantages of Auto Clean Chimney
1. More expensive
Auto-clean chimneys are far superior to regular chimneys in terms of technology. For this reason, these chimneys are more expensive. While an ordinary kitchen chimney will cost you around ₹5000, auto-clean chimneys are usually priced in the range of ₹8000-₹30000.
2. High repair cost
An auto-clean kitchen chimney has a complicated mechanism in order to make cleaning easier. Additional components like an oil collector and baffle filter add up to the repair cost.
Best Auto Clean Chimneys In India
1. Faber Auto Clean Chimney
Faber is the pioneer of kitchen chimneys in the present market. It is an Italy-originated brand that set foot in India in 1997 and now manufacturing made-in-India auto-clean chimneys at Pune. While their latest kitchen chimneys are built with filterless thermal auto-clean technology, they also have good-quality baffle filter chimneys. Their products come with an oil collector, usually made of stainless steel.
The size of Faber chimneys ranges from 60 cm to 90 cm. You can find these chimneys with a suction power of 1000-1500 m³/hr, ideal for small and large kitchens. Faber manufactures kitchen chimneys with straight glass, curved glass, angular, and pyramid designs. Here are some of the best auto-clean chimneys from Faber-
2. Elica Auto Kitchen Chimney
Elica is the best alternative brand to Faber for auto-clean chimneys. Like Faber, Elica also originated in Italy and emerged as a joint venture between Elica PB and Whirlpool in 2010.
The company manufactures both the baffle filter and heat auto-clean chimneys with 60-90 cm size. However, they do not have a long product range as Faber has. The suction capacity of Elica chimneys ranges from 880 to 1425 m³/hr, suitable for most Indian kitchens. If you are looking for highly efficient auto-clean chimneys, Elica can be your ideal brand. Here are the best quality Elica kitchen chimneys-
Also Read: Elica vs Faber Chimney
3. Hindware Auto Clean Chimney
It is an Indian company founded in 1960 in collaboration with Twyfords, UK, as Hindustan Twyfords Limited. Hindware Appliances is a home/kitchen appliance brand by Hindware.
The company manufactures wall-mounted curved glass, straight glass, angular, box, and pyramid chimneys. Like Faber and Elica, Hindware also produces heat auto clean and baffle filter chimneys of 60 and 90 cm size. The suction power of these chimneys varies from 1100 to 1350 m³/hr. Here you can find some notable kitchen chimneys from Hindware.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chimneys that don’t require manual cleaning and can be cleaned automatically are known as auto-clean chimneys. They come with a blower that sucks the hot gases, fumes, oil, and smoke particles and an oil collector that captures the residual oil deposited inside the casing. Such a mechanism makes auto-clean chimneys highly advantageous for maintaining smoke-free air in the kitchen.
There’s no doubt that an auto-clean chimney is way better than a manual one. Those chimneys don’t require regular maintenance and produce less noise. Even with less maintenance, auto-clean chimneys last longer than manual ones. Thanks to the automatic cleaning technology, the kitchen chimney’s overall upkeep is lowered.
The blower inside the auto-clean chimney sucks the hot fumes from the food cooked on a gas stove or induction cooktop automatically. Most of this oily substance is captured in the filter( for baffle filter chimneys) or vaporized out (for thermal auto-clean chimneys). The oil collector present in these chimneys captures the remaining oil. Hence, your kitchen remains clean, hygienic, and pure through the efficient working of an auto-clean kitchen chimney.
The usability of an auto-clean chimney does not differ much from that of an ordinary chimney. Simply turn on the power, select a suction speed for your cooking requirements, and use it flawlessly. All auto-clean chimneys have one thing in common- the oil collector. To properly use this chimney, you have to notice the oil level inside the oil collector. If it is getting full, open it up and drain the oil. Apart from it, there are additional buttons to clean the filters in water auto clean, thermal auto clean, and filterless chimneys.
Auto-clean chimneys do not require heavy cleaning as the oil collector does this job precisely. If you prefer cooking with more oil and spices (like almost every Indian household), then you need to lightly wash the filters and empty the oil collector once in 3 months. On the other hand, if you use less oil and spices, clean the filters and clear the oil collector half-yearly.
It’s a huge time-saver to use an auto-clean chimney, as you don’t have to clean or maintain it frequently. Such a chimney is also extremely efficient in removing the polluted air from your kitchen. They are available in a variety of styles, sizes, and materials to suit your preferences. Choose a chimney as per your requirement and install it at a suitable height from the stove.
If you worry about the worthiness of an auto-clean chimney, rest assured, you won’t be dissatisfied with its performance. Having such a chimney has a lot of advantages that make the investment worthwhile.
Last update on 2024-04-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API