UL 300 · THE HOOD
The hood system has to work the one time grease goes up.
If you cook with grease under a hood, there’s a fire suppression system up there. Most days nobody thinks about it. It has to work on its own the one time it’s needed, with nobody touching it.
We inspect and service the hood system and the extinguishers in that kitchen on the same visit. We keep the due dates. You don’t have to think about them.
How a hood system works
A cable runs across the hood over the cooking appliances. Along it are fusible links, small metal links held together with solder that melts at a set temperature. When a grease fire gets going, the heat melts a link and trips the release.
The wet chemical goes out through nozzles aimed at each appliance, and up in the hood and the duct. At the same time, the gas or power to the cook line shuts off. The agent turns the top of the hot grease into a soapy layer that holds the fire down, and it cools the grease so it doesn’t flash back up.
Every one of those parts has to work, in order. That’s why the service matters.
How the service goes
- We check the cook line against the system. If an appliance got moved or added, the nozzles may not cover it anymore.
- We replace the fusible links. Grease builds up on them and changes how they react to heat.
- We check every nozzle and cap, and the tank and cartridge.
- With the cartridge out so nothing discharges, we trip the system and make sure the release works and the gas actually shuts off.
- We reset and seal it, service the extinguishers that are due, and leave a report.
Between meals is easiest, but we can work while you’re cooking. We don’t shut you down.
How often
A hood system gets inspected and serviced every six months. The fire marshal wants proof, and so does your insurance company. We keep up with the date.
The extinguisher by the line
A hood system needs a Class K extinguisher close to the cook line. Here’s the part people get backwards: pull the station first and let the system go. Then use the K if there’s still fire. The K backs up the hood. It doesn’t replace it.
The rest of the kitchen and the dining room usually get ABC extinguishers. We do all of them on the same visit.
Still got an old dry chemical system?
Older hood systems used dry chemical. They were built before today’s cooking oils, which burn hotter and hold heat longer. UL 300 is the fire test kitchen systems are held to now, and a system that isn’t UL 300 has to be replaced. Not sure what’s up there? We’ll tell you when we look.
Who it’s for
Restaurants, cafeterias, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, churches, and any commercial kitchen with a hood. We service all makes of hood systems.
If it goes off
Once a hood system discharges, you can’t cook under it until it’s recharged and back in service. The agent also leaves a soapy film on the appliances that has to be cleaned off before you cook. Call. Our 24-hour service recharges it and gets the line going again.
Questions
- Is hood cleaning the same as a suppression inspection?
- No. Hood cleaning gets the grease out of the hood and duct. A suppression inspection makes sure the fire system works. You need both. We don’t do hood cleaning; that’s a job for a hood cleaning company. We take care of the suppression system.
- We moved our fryer. Does that matter?
- Yes. The nozzles are aimed at where the appliances used to be. Call us before you cook on it.
- Can you take over from the company we use now?
- Yes. We’ll look at the system, tell you what shape it’s in, and put it on your calendar.
Where we work it from
Dispatched from Paducah, Madisonville, and Princeton, IN.
Full service area · Suppression systems · Fire extinguishers · Fire safety training
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