Smith + Andersen reached out for a full Spring Air kitchen exhaust system with a hood, ecology unit, and makeup air. The hood, ecology unit, and exhaust louvre are all connected with double walled ZERO clearance Van Packer GRZ rectangular ductwork. Although the system itself was simple, the hood and ecology unit are over 70’ from the exhaust louvre, with many obstacles along the way (VAV boxes, supply ducts, etc). This created a tough situation with the NFPA 96 required slope, aligning the duct with the exhaust louvre plenum, and placement of cleanouts along the length of the ductwork.
This project required multiple site visits with reps from Spring Air, O’Dell, and Opus Mechanical in order to determine the proper routing and size of the duct as well as placement of the cleanouts. The final design included moving the ecology unit outlet from the end of the unit to the side, changing the dimensions of the duct to maintain CFM rating and lower vertical size, and placing low point along the duct to ensure the slope is maintained and allow for access to the duct for cleaning. There were many challenges to his installation, but they were overcome by excellent teamwork.