Cost of fire suppression vs. ventless fryer

[howsmatt]

Can anyone help me figure out the cost comparison between getting a regular hood and ventless fryer OR getting a hood with fire suppression system (installed) and a regular fryer.

Any advice is also welcome.

[Edward J]

Can anyone help me figure out the cost comparison between getting a regular hood and ventless fryer OR getting a hood with fire suppression system (installed) and a regular fryer.

Any advice is also welcome.

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Hard to say without seeing your operation.

A hood itself is just a hunk of s/s, BUT, you need a mechanical engineer to submit drawings to Cityhall showing the cfm of air removed, where the vent shaft goes, and where it exits, as well as where the extraction fan is located, and the make up air fans are located. If the route is short and the walls are cement or brick, it should be fairly easy, if the walls are wood or other combustible materials, elaborate fireproofing for the vent shaft is needed. So no real answer.

A hood makes sense if you are going to be adding other pieces of equipment (grill, broiler, 4 eye burner, etc) as the cost can be shared for more pieces of equipment. Figure on 3-4 thou for the fire suppression system

If it's ONLY a fryer you want to install, one of those ventless fryers with built in fire suppression would probably be the cheaper route. But then again, those boys aren't cheap neither

[howsmatt]

I don't have a space yet so I can't be sure how much it will cost to get the vent outside etc.

Perhaps a better question to start is... If I don't have a fryer can I just get a hood or do I need a fire suppression system for a grill or other items? If I don't need one then a used autofry would be cheaper than a suppression system and fryer.

[Edward J]

Put it this way, every single piece of cooking equipment-gas or electric-- requires a hood AND fire suppression. The only exception to this is an electric deck or convection oven.

The "Ventless" fryers have a built in fire suppression system and air scrubber system, mot are electric so they don't have to vent out exhaust fumes from the burnt gasses.

If you're still looking for a space and aren't familiar with your City's requirements for a food service establishment, go down to city hall and get all the information you can--incluiding health requirements.

Most N.American municipalities require a MINIMUM of a 55 gal. grease trap/interceptor--just a metal box with an inlet and outlet line, but depending on the installation, can get pricey.

There are a lot of requirements and hassles for restaurant kitchens, and usually the cost of the kitchen's ventilation system is the largest single infrastructure cost. On the other hand there are many "black" or illegal kitchens, and I've seen my fair share: Mickey- mouse 4" house-style ducting lines in lieu of proper fire rated shafts, no grease traps, "uncle Fred's" wiring/gas fitting jobs, shoddy floors and mickey mouse home made walk-in coolers. These places run for quite some time until something happens--perhaps a complaint lodged with the health dept, or a fire marshal actually doing a decent job, but usually because the landlord changes insurance companies. Landlords don't care if you set up illegal or not, (your just supposed to pay the rent) but when their insurance gets too high, they cancel and get the new insurance company over for a pre contract inspection. That's when the crap hits the fan, and that's when you see "equipped restaurants for lease/sale by landlord" in the local papers........

[howsmatt]

Thanks for all that information. I am a bit surprised because I know of a legal kitchen that has one stove and a hood but no suppression system. Granted that's not what I'll be doing anyway so...

I'm not the type to go the illegal route so hopefully I can find a fair price somewhere.

Edited May 4, 2009 by howsmatt (log)