First, keep everyone safe
If the fan has stopped, turn off gas appliances under the canopy if the interlock hasn’t already done it, and don’t try to cook without extraction. If you can smell burning from the fan or ductwork, switch the fan off at its isolator.
Five quick checks
- The fan isolator. There’s usually a switch near the fan or canopy. Make sure it’s on.
- The speed controller. Check it’s switched on and turned up. Some get knocked to zero during cleaning.
- The fuse board. Look for a tripped breaker labelled extract, fan or canopy. Reset it once. If it trips again, leave it off.
- The interlock panel. Note any fault lights. Many need a reset button pressing once the fan is running.
- The canopy filters. Badly clogged filters reduce airflow so much the interlock won’t prove.
If none of these bring it back, the fault is almost always in the fan itself, its motor or its controller. Take a photo of the label on the fan or motor and call us on 0333 090 2002.
What usually causes it
- Burnt-out motor. Years of heat and grease wear the windings out. The most common reason we replace a fan.
- Seized bearings. Often heard as rumbling or screeching for weeks before the fan stops.
- Failed speed controller or inverter. The fan is fine but gets no power.
- Failed capacitor on single-phase motors, where the fan hums but won’t spin, or spins slowly.
- Snapped or worn belt on belt-driven fans.
Why we replace rather than repair
By the time a kitchen fan has failed, it has usually had years of heat and grease. Patching up the motor often just buys a few weeks. We fit a new fan matched to your canopy and duct, so the problem is fixed properly. If the fault turns out to be the controller or the interlock rather than the fan, we’ll tell you before any work starts.