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Part of the fun of building an outdoor kitchen is cooking in the great outdoors. But the smoke and fumes from these barbecues will need to go somewhere, which is why proper ventilation is a must. Vent panels and vent hoods are the best ways to address this issue and ensure your outdoor kitchen is as safe and enjoyable as possible.
Vent panels are necessary to disperse excess gas and protect your outdoor kitchen in the event of a leak, while vent hoods clear the area of smoke. Both are crucial for proper safety practices and are often required by local codes when building an outdoor space with a grill. Let’s look at each item individually to see what makes them so important.
Do I Need a Vent Hood?
Grills and smokers can be damaged by smoke. It carries grime and grease that then clings to every surface of your outdoor space, and in time those substances can peel paint, corrode stainless steel, permanently stain ceilings, and clog your grill’s burner ports, ignitors, and electrical components. A vent hood’s job is to remove smoke and grease from your outdoor kitchen to keep your space protected, so we strongly encourage you to install a vent hood if you’re grilling under a roofed structure. You’ve put a lot of time and money into your outdoor space, so taking measures to protect it will serve you best in the long run.
Vent Hood Mounting Types
To begin your vent hood search, you’ll need to determine the placement of your cooking appliance since the mounting type of the vent hood will depend on whether your grill is installed against a wall or not.
What CFM Should You Go With?
CFM, or Cubic Feet Per Minute, refers to the volume of air a vent hood can move from a room. This capacity is influenced by various factors such as vent hood construction, blower count, blower size, and ducting requirements. With a variety of vent hood options available, CFM ranges widely. For indoor cooktops with minimal air movement, a vent hood or insert should maintain a ratio of 1+ CFM per 100 BTUs of the maximum BTU count. However, when it comes to outdoor cooktops, additional factors come into play due to the open environment. We still advise following the 1+ CFM per 100 BTU rule for outdoor vent hoods, but with a crucial distinction—they should provide a minimum of 1,200 CFM for any outdoor application. Remember, in this context, more CFM translates to a healthier outdoor living space.
Shop by CFM
How Wide Should My Outdoor Vent Hood Be?
To determine the ideal size for your outdoor kitchen vent hood, aim for dimensions that surpass the cooking surface of your grill by an additional 3 inches on each side and extend as deeply as the grill itself. Remember, when it comes to outdoor vent hoods, bigger is better. This becomes especially beneficial when covering multiple adjacent appliances or grills. A wider hood translates to more effective smoke filtration.
Shop by Width
Barbecue Island Vent Panels
Barbecue island vents are another important safety feature that will prolong the life of your outdoor kitchen. Their job is to dispel heat, gas, and pressure, preventing it from building up in your barbecue structure. If you have an island that contains a gas grill, it must be properly outfitted with vent panels to ensure no propane or natural gas builds up inside it. The dangers of unvented grill islands are unfortunately more common than you’d think, so we firmly believe that every outdoor kitchen island must be properly ventilated.
Keep in mind that all cooking appliances like grills, smokers as well as outdoor refrigeration units such as ice makers, wine coolers, and kegerators all need proper ventilation and circulation to operate correctly. This means that even an outdoor bar island with no cooking appliances needs to breathe so proper evaporation by condenser units can occur. In short, every outdoor kitchen island needs ventilation.
The only thing to keep in mind is where they should be installed on the island. We recommend 1 panel for every 4 feet of horizontal space and vertically, placed as low as possible for propane appliances, and as high as possible for natural gas appliances.
Natural Gas VS Propane Vent Panels
Placement of vent panels is the main concern with natural gas and propane, which can build up inside a kitchen island and potentially ignite if there’s a leak anywhere. These two gases have different densities that cause them to behave in certain ways, so you must be aware of their properties when installing vent panels in an outdoor area.
Final Considerations for Outdoor Ventilation
Vent Hood Extensions
Remember that the depth of your outdoor vent hood is equally important as its width, so it covers the surface of your grill or cooktop. If your outdoor kitchen countertops offer extended depth, finding a standard hood that reaches forward enough might be difficult without a vent hood extension. These are installed behind your vent hood, so it closes the gap between the hood and the wall.
Vent Hood Duct Covers
For wall-mounted vent hoods, vertical ducting is required, either running up the wall and through the ceiling or horizontally out through the back wall. While generic ducting is available at any home improvement store, its appearance might not be aesthetically pleasing on its own. To address this, manufacturers provide vent hood duct covers designed to cleverly disguise the ducting, seamlessly blending it with your stainless steel components.
Outdoor Fans
Proper ventilation to any space is partly achieved by cross-ventilation. Outdoor fans will blow away unwanted smoke and grease particles in the air, leaving you with a more pleasant backyard experience. For more information on what’s right for you and your space, check out our Outdoor Fan Buying Guide!
This is just the start of your backyard dreams. For more information, give our experts a call at (877) 743-2269 and they’ll be sure to answer all your questions. You can also check out our Design Center for help envisioning your perfect outdoor kitchen island.
