In The Hood
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday March 25, 2004
Qasair Range Hoods 9 Wrights Road, Drummoyne, 1300 360 563, www.qasair.com.au
We're a weird mob, apparently, when it comes to cooking methods. As Leo Wallin, state manager of Australian rangehood company Qasair, puts it: "In this country, because we have such a wide cross-section of cultures, we're probably the biggest consumers of unusual cooking equipment of anywhere in the world." Indoor barbecue grills, teppanyaki plates, satay grillers, high-powered wok burners - you name it, we cook with it. And create lots of heat, smells and smoke with it.
A rangehood is the usual way to deal with such nasties. If you use it, that is. Wallin, who says his company has designed and manufactured rangehoods for Australian conditions for more than 15 years, used to sell whitegoods. He found that people often didn't switch on their rangehoods because they were too noisy or didn't do the job.
"A lot of people now are opening up the living area. They're not having [a] separate kitchen, separate dining room, separate lounge room; they're sort of having one great big living area. If you have the family watching TV while you're in the kitchen area and the rangehood's too loud, then it's terribly aggravating."
As well, our love of interesting cooking equipment calls for "a much better [than average] air movement to rid the house of the heat and the cooking smells they create".
Of Qasair's capabilities in that regard, Wallin says even the single-motor unit circulates about 950 cubic metres of air an hour. And, when Trade Secrets stood in front of a working model at a local showroom, it did seem quiet. Wallin says it's possible to have a normal conversation beside one of the three-motor hoods going "full blast". As opposed to feeling as though you're beside a jet engine going full throttle?
Qasair's cheapest hood is the 60 cm under-cupboard model, $995; the most expensive standard model is the 1500 three-motor island canopy, $4570. There are about 80 different models, all manufactured in Ringwood, Victoria.
Wallin says a big part of the business is custom-made hoods. The company has a free in-home consultancy service - "which is me", he says. If someone has a ducting problem or wants something other than a standard hood, he will discuss options and give them a price.
Installation of a Qasair hood involves larger and more rigid ducting than usual and while it can be "more fiddly", it shouldn't cost much more. At the showroom, buyers are given a list of names of recommended installers to contact for a quote. "The installer will fill out the warranty card and, if it's one of our approved installers, [the buyer] gets a five-year warranty," Wallin says. If not, the standard warranty is three years.
Trader's tip
Wash rangehood filters at least once a month in the dishwasher.
Bestseller
A single-motor 90cm canopy rangehood - the 900H - retails for $1965.
DETAILS
For information about rangehoods and installation, contact the Sydney Building Information Centre's kitchen consultant on 8303 0514.
See Qasair and other rangehood brands at Winning Appliances across Sydney.
© 2004 Sydney Morning Herald
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