Built-in hoods: minimalist design, maximum performance

The Portuguese manufacturer of Teka is quite popular in the world due to its powerful distribution and a wide range of household appliances for every taste and low-cost. The company cares about its reputation, so all its products have an official warranty and service support in many countries.

TL 2000 is a compact built–in hood with a capacity of almost 600 cubic metres per hour. This means that in 1 minute at the 3rd (maximum) speed, the hood distills almost 10 cubic metres of air. It sounds impressive, but in fact it means that in a couple of minutes the extractor hood will easily remove most of the smells from the kitchen with an area of up to 10 m²., whether it's the smell of fried potatoes, tobacco, or a pie burnt in the oven.

TL-2000 works according to the principle: drainage / recirculation. That is, it can be connected to an air duct with air running through a conventional fat filter, or used in a circle without air escaping outside.

Important: recirculation requires a carbon filter, which is not included and is purchased separately.

The higher the speed of the motor, and TL 2000 has two of them, the greater the noise of the hood. The maximum noise level claimed by the manufacturer (at the third speed) is 48 dB. Anyway, the dangerous volume of sound, from which a person gradually begins to lose his hearing, starts at 75 Db, and the leaves rustle at a volume of 10 Db. From this we conclude that 48 Db is a completely acceptable sound pressure level, especially since it is significantly lower for built—in hoods, even very expensive ones, this parameter is unlikely to be found.

There are no electronics in the hood. There is no display. All controls are mechanical. Illumination is carried out using two conventional incandescent lamps with a power of 40 watts each. The light is warm with a yellow tint.

A very decent "Spaniard" with an official service and a 2-year warranty for the "build-in", which indicates that the manufacturer is confident in the quality of its products.

The maximum performance of this model is high — 760 cubic metres/ hour. At least, this is stated on the official website of the company, so there is no reason not to trust it, and a test with a sheet of paper confirms this: it sticks to the hood instantly.

Anyway, 760 cubes for a kitchen of sizes up to 10 m². is even a lot, so the model is perfect for rooms with a larger area.

The hood has two speeds. Hence the two noise level indicators: 44 and 57 dB. The run-up for the ear is noticeable, however, numerous customer reviews say that it makes no sense to use the hood at the second speed, not because it is noisy (and it really is), but because there is no need, because the first speed is enough with the head. Anyway, the owner has a choice, and if you need to eliminate odours very quickly, then it's not a sin to be patient a little bit.

Like the previous participant in our review, TF 2003 works on air removal/recirculation. For this purpose, two permanent fat metal filters are provided in the hood and the possibility of additional installation of a carbon filter, which is needed only in case of operation in recirculation mode, that is, without air removal to the ventilation system. The disadvantages of recycling are that it requires replacing the carbon filters at least 4 times a year. And I washed the fat filter and that's it.

TF 2003 is controlled by a simple push of buttons. There is no display. Illumination is provided by 50 watt halogen lamps that shine brightly enough.

The modern updated hood model is available in three versions of the housing material: duralumin, black glass and white glass.

The brand is really German. What you can read about on the official resource of the brand. But, as they say, not all that glitters is gold. Even if the case is made of stainless steel, as in our case.

However, here, rather, the stereotype of a preconceived opinion works: "If it is German, then it must be from the needle." Everyone has their own shortcomings. And the Kaiser EA 562 has excessive fan noise at high speeds.

Claimed by the manufacturer UZD (sound pressure level, and if it's easier the volume of sound) 59 Db. According to the comparative table of the impact of noise levels on human hearing, this indicator is equivalent to the noise level of an office or a busy street. Let's assume that this is the maximum value, since the fan speeds of the hood are three.

The noise level becomes not such a problem when you find out what the hood performance is. And it is impressive, 780 cubic metres/hour. Again, most likely, the parameter is specified at the top, and performance is significantly lower at the first two speeds. However, 400 cubic metres will be enough for rooms with an area of up to 10 m, but 780 will be useful for larger kitchens. Based on this, we conclude that EA 642 is a unit that is already suitable for the category of private houses and large apartments.

Like most of the "built-in" of this class, the EA 642 Kaiser operates in the discharge/recirculation mode, and is equipped with optional carbon filters. But the fat aluminium filters are reusable, easy to remove, easy to clean and serve for a very long time.

From other "buns" — electronic control. 4 buttons on the front panel are responsible for the backlight and three fan speed modes. The light is provided by two halogen lamps with a capacity of 20 watts each. A little weak, of course, but the logic of the Germans is quite clear: this is a hood, not a lamp.

Elica is a well—known Italian brand specializing only in the production of hoods, which compares favorably with the "mass workers" who do everything in a row.

The Elite 26 model has incredible power for its compact size. The maximum capacity of the hood reaches 900 cubic metres per hour. There are 4 speed modes, 3 standard, one intensive. It is important to take into account that the diameter of the duct to ensure such performance should be 150 mm.

Everything is standard here. 2 modes: discharge and recirculation. For the first, reusable washable aluminium fat filters are used, and for the second — additional carbon filters that require replacement at least once every 4 months. It is noteworthy that the hood has an indication system for contamination of fat and carbon filters, so you will not have to guess when to wash or replace the filter.

In terms of noise level, Elite 26 has surpassed everyone so far. At the maximum speed, the volume of its operation is equated to a loud conversation at a distance of 1 m between the interlocutors, that is, 62 Db. In general, it's a little loud, of course, but with such a power, you won't have to listen to her "chatter" for a long time.

On the web, you can find negative customer reviews that the installation of the model is far from simple, but in order to avoid such difficulties and errors, there are detailed installation instructions on the manufacturer's website, both in writing and in pictures. Anyway, it should be fairly noted that the dimensions of the hood are somewhat larger than the standard models in this class. But it's no wonder, with such a performance.

Obviously, this German will not cause doubts about the quality. Siemens has always been able to make good equipment, and hoods are no exception. Well, what can I say here? LI 67RB540 can be briefly characterized by one phrase that everyone understands: "full hardware".

The Germans managed to translate their traditional excellent quality into an almost perfect combination of high performance and low noise. Having 5 speed modes, 2 of which are intensive, the maximum noise level when the hood is operating at a capacity of 740 cubic metres per hour does not exceed 55 Db! And the minimum noise threshold starts at 42 dB, which is no louder than ordinary everyday speech.

The hood supports two filtration modes as standard: drainage and recirculation, while it has a filter contamination indication mode, metal grease filters that are more durable than aluminium filters and the possibility of installing an active carbon filter.

Important:Carbon filters are needed in order to eliminate odours during air recirculation, therefore, if only fat filters are used in this mode, there will be little sense from the hood, and the filters themselves will need to be washed more often.

It should be noted that almost all built-in Siemens hoods have non-standard enlarged dimensions due to the use of a highly efficient IQDrive motor, which should be especially taken into account when designing kitchen furniture. Standard upper modules of the housing may not fit it. This point must also be taken into account during installation and clearly follow the instructions included in the kit.