The solid fuel fired catering equipment has experienced a significant increase in popularity over the course of the last couple of years. The Technical Support Advisor for ceda, Peter Kay has said that they he is often asked for more information about the industry regulations that relate to the use and the installation of this type of equipment in commercial kitchens.
Previously, the company had no ready-made document in order to assist with these enquiries, therefore Peter has spent the last 18 months working closely with HETAS in order to produce some essential industry guidelines. As a result of this collaborative work, the new guidelines that have been created are in harmony with the latest version of DW12, which is the specifications for the ventilation systems used in commercial systems.
Ceda Ltd are known for being the premier Trade Association working to represent the most professional catering design, project management, equipment distributors and service companies in the UK. The Trade Association has more than 100 members offering both local and national support to a wide range of commercial catering and foodservice companies. HETAS is the not-for-profit organisation that approves heating appliances that use biomass and solid fuel heating appliances, fuel and services. The service offered by HETAS including the registration of competent installers and servicing businesses.
Installing this type of equipment in commercial kitchens has a number of related risks. The risks connected to this type of equipment include the production of carbon monoxide, Sparks from fuels being burned and Very high temperatures being created by exhaust fumes. The guidelines created by Peter Kay have been tailored for a broad cross section of the industry. The guide has recommendations that focus on foodservice operators, kitchen design teams, equipment supplies and installers, ventilation designers and engineers, maintenance engineers and ventilation cleaning specialists. The topics covered in the newly created guidelines also cover all phases of the equipment selection and positioning process as well as ventilation requirements, fire suppression features, equipment operation, fuel types and the storage and handling of these, cleaning the equipment and ductwork of the equipment and maintenance issues.
It is thought that the guide that has been created by ceda in collaboration with HETAS will become the “go to” document used in the industry in the near future.