What is a Baffle filter? Baffle filter vs Filterless chimney! Which is better?

The job of the kitchen chimney is to remove the smoke and soot from the room and make it comfortable. Today, you have filter-less chimneys, but the traditional way of removing smoke is by using filters in chimneys.

While there are different types of filters like the mesh filter and charcoal filter, the baffle filter is the most preferable.

Baffle filters are made of stainless steel or aluminum. These filters comprise curved aluminum or stainless steel panels. The curve allows the oil and other heavy particles to stick to the panel while the air and the smoke escape through the exhaust pipes.

Why do people prefer baffle filters to mesh filters or charcoal filters?

If you compare mesh filters vs baffle filters, you will notice that baffle filters are more efficient.

Mesh filters are also made of aluminum. They have minute pores that allow the air to pass through while trapping oil, grease, and other heavy particles. As particles bigger than the size of the pores get blocked, these filters require frequent cleaning. It is not the case with baffle filters.

Though oil sticks to the curves, they do not require frequent cleaning. You can clean them once a quarter.

The mesh filters have a drawback because the clogged pores can affect the machine’s suction power. The baffle filters have curves arranged strategically to allow free air movement.

This filter works by changing the direction of the airflow substantially. However, the oil and grease particles cannot change direction rapidly. Therefore, they get collected on the filter tray. Hence, there is not much change in the suction power of the chimney.

The Advantages of Baffle Filters

Besides removing oil and grease from the smoke and allowing easy exhaust, baffle filters have other benefits.

• If there is a flame or a flare-up from the cooking range, the baffle filters block the flames from spreading all over the kitchen.
• Baffle filters perform an excellent job of sucking the air uniformly throughout the hood canopy.
• Compared to other filters like the mesh/cassette filters or the charcoal filters, baffle filters do not require much maintenance.
• Another positive aspect of baffle filters is that they are safe to use in a dishwasher.
• As baffle filters are made of stainless steel or aluminum, they are durable and last longer than mesh and charcoal filters.

How does the filter-less chimney compare with the baffle filter kitchen chimney?

As the name suggests, the filter-less kitchen chimney does not have any filter. Instead, the air and smoke are sucked directly by the motor into the exhaust pipe.

The advantage of having a filter-less kitchen chimney is that it does not require much maintenance. In addition, these appliances come with an Auto Clean feature that takes care of the cleaning at the touch of a button.

The filter-less chimney works on a different principle where the oil gets collected in the oil collector. Activating the Auto Clean feature ensures cleaning the oil collector. As these chimneys come with advanced features, they cost more.

However, the baffle filter kitchen chimney is the ideal kitchen appliance for Indian kitchens. They can handle the heavy smoke emitted due to frying of oil and heavy spices better than the filter-less kitchen chimneys.