UK Gas regulations for extractor fans.......

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Just bought a Hotpoint GC604IX Gas Hob for installation by gas fitter and on reading the "blurb" I noticed it requires an extractor fan???

Reads as follows........

"This unit may be installed and used only in permanently ventilated rooms in accordance with current national guidelines.
The following requirements must be observed.

The room must be equipped with an air extraction system that expels any combustion fumes.
This may consist of a hood or electric fan that automatically starts each time the appliance is used.
The room must allow proper air circulation and the flow of air must not be less than 2m3/h per kW of installed power"

Do I really have to get an outside extractor fitted as I've used this large two windowed dining kitchen with a gas cooker for the last 40 years without any problems!

Should that be the case I'd rather bin the gas hob and get an electric one which I can fit myself and I assume it does not require industrial ventilation to boil an egg;)

or does it ?

I don't even have any central heating in my flat.......

Any advice would be most appreciated,

thanks.
 
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Kitchen should have a permanent vent and extractor fan as a minimum to avoid moisture build up and the resulting damp and mold.
 
Hotpoint GC604IX Gas Hob which is a very basic four burner hob.

Kitchen 3.5m x 4.5m and ceilings 3.75m high which has always had a gas cooker and gas fire and has never seen any mould, moisture build up or damp.
This is a Victorian built flat from 1900 with wooden floorboards, drafty doors etc.
Gas cooker was installed using a bayonet fitting by Scottish Gas engineer who never mentioned a requirement of permanent vent as well as external extractor fan.

I've seen several similar kitchen setups in the area without external extractors so just wondered if this was health and safety going overboard and perhaps referring to a huge industrial six burner hob and oven......

If that's the diffinitive answer from Gas people then I don't see the point in paying £100+ to have hob fitted (pipework to move 300mm) as well as probably £100+ to supply, drill and fit an external vent to a third floor flat.

Cheaper to go with an electric hob which I can fit myself also allowing simple removal if required and I'll just return the gas hob.

Thanks again guys
 
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The instruction just ask for adequate ventilation, a requirement of any gas appliance, as you stated ''This may consist of a hood or electric fan that automatically starts each time the appliance is used. ''
Is a suggestion and not mandatory.
 
Thanks Foxhole but sadly it does not SUGGEST anything but clearly STATES what MUST be done.

"This unit (may be installed and used) ONLY in permanently ventilated rooms in accordance with current national guidelines.
The following requirements MUST be observed.

The room MUST be equipped with an air extraction system that expels any combustion fumes. ( WHICH)
.... may consist of a hood or electric fan that automatically starts each time the appliance is used.

(In the absence of such a device, there would be no system to extract and expel combustion fumes. Cost wise I would also require an electrician to install a system which came on at the same time as the gas hob :confused: )

The room MUST allow proper air circulation and the flow of air MUST not be less than 2m3/h per kW of installed power"

Surely any Gas Fitter reading the above would be unable to LEGALLY install the hob without confirming that the wording had been adhered to, no matter that it appears to be total overkill since I am still alive after using gas cooker with four gas rings for forty years.

Thankyou for your efforts but while I am quite happy to DIY with some electrics, painting, papering and plumbing, I'm not willing to mess with gas.

It does make things a lot easier with an electric hob and gives me a proper excuse for dropping gas which I can show the wife. :eek:
 
The air circulation has to be achieved but they only suggest how it may be achieved , by no means a regulation.
Must be permanently ventilated is specification of gas appliances.
So adequate ventilation would comply with their stipulation.
 
Cheers PDB,

but I wonder if you can actually separate these two phrases.....

1. The room MUST be equipped with an air extraction system that expels any combustion fumes.

........ this is then quantified by the following statement showing the only two methods capable of expelling combustion fumes which are a hood to a chimney flue which will draw it away naturally or an electric fan which will draw it up and EXPEL it OUTSIDE by means of ducting etc.

2. This may consist of a hood or electric fan that automatically starts each time the appliance is used.

These are the only two methods of combustion fume removal that I can think of that would also allow this removal to start AUTOMATICALLY when the appliance is used.

Perhaps Hotpoint should invest in some English lessons........
 
Thanks Foxhole but sadly it does not SUGGEST anything but clearly STATES what MUST be done.

The room MUST be equipped with an air extraction system that expels any combustion fumes. ( WHICH)
.... may consist of a hood or electric fan that automatically starts each time the appliance is used.

:eek:

As if by magic! the extractor fan must start automatically when the cooker is brought into use, now to me this does not make much sense, If this is a serious requirement stated by a cooker manufacturer, then they ought to have provided you a means to connect your cooker hood fan to extract the combustion fumes through their cooker automatically But have they provided on their cooker any means to autmatically switch on a extractor fan?

Sometimes manufacturer's cover their back by stating these things yet they do not provide any means to automatically engage an extractor fan.

And if you were to strictly adhere to this requirement, then how would you get your extractor fan to switch on automatically? this means one has to install a device that may consist of a gas flow sensor, that senses when a gas hob is drawing gas, and it then provides volt free contacts to switch on your extractor fan. As far as I know, there are no such devices available to general public other than to industrial users, they may have such devices specially manufactured for them, and again who would then install and wire up such a device then has to be competent eneough, as this is not within the scope of many Gas safe registered engineers, it requires manufacturing and installation skills. And the only other choice is to discard gas appliances altogether. Most gas safe engineers won't have a clue how to integrate such a device with an extractor fan.

And further more, you are right, I have a kitchen with no windows and a manual extractor fan, which my wife only uses when frying onions! and we have been using our gas hob and oven for the past 30 years with no problems from any angle. it is just H&S going mad!

(You are more likely to get overwhelmed by choking smell of frying onions rather than combustion fumes!)
 
I think there should be an Onion Frying Safety regulations body to stricktly govern anyone frying onions without an Automatic Extractor system, and each year it should be safety inspected, lots of people have known to have fallen to Onion fumes, many start crying as soon as they start chopping onions! :LOL: (And it should be mandatory for all landlords to provde an annual Onion safety record along with a gas safety record!)
 
Hotpoint GC604IX Gas Hob which is a very basic four burner hob.

Kitchen 3.5m x 4.5m and ceilings 3.75m high which has always had a gas cooker and gas fire and has never seen any mould, moisture build up or damp.
This is a Victorian built flat from 1900 with wooden floorboards, drafty doors etc.
Gas cooker was installed using a bayonet fitting by Scottish Gas engineer who never mentioned a requirement of permanent vent as well as external extractor fan.

I've seen several similar kitchen setups in the area without external extractors so just wondered if this was health and safety going overboard and perhaps referring to a huge industrial six burner hob and oven......

If that's the diffinitive answer from Gas people then I don't see the point in paying £100+ to have hob fitted (pipework to move 300mm) as well as probably £100+ to supply, drill and fit an external vent to a third floor flat.

Cheaper to go with an electric hob which I can fit myself also allowing simple removal if required and I'll just return the gas hob.

Thanks again guys

So did you eventually get around this .
 
LOL! I was only asking the OP to what solution did he adapt, electric or gas.

Still I opened both your links, and read a bit, the second link has over 50 pages to read! A whole chapter on ventilation, will read another time. I have an internal kitchen, and it has no other ventilation other than extractor hood, fanned to outside via a 100mm PVC Duct and the total length is around 3.5meters, with 4 90 degree bends, and by the time the air emerges from the outside grill you can barely feel the flow, even though I have one of the most powerful twin fanned extractor made by Hygena,

we have had this set for well over 22 years (1992) and haven't suffered from any moisture retention, as the volume of the kitchen is huge, and has two doors that lead to main passage way and the door is always open, as well as to the lobby and then into utility room with all doors wide open.
 

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