Does a passive vent to the roof for this pizza oven count as an exhaust system, pursuant to Section A–>Cooking Area, of the Commercial Inspection Standards of Practice?
The vent is the hole in the wall behind the pizza oven. It goes through the roof of the building, and it does not have a visible fan or damper mechanism.
It’s in a commercial kitchen of a gas station/convenience store.
This is what the standard of inspection states:
A. verify that all smoke- or grease-laden, vapor-producing cooking equipment, such as deep-fat fryers, ranges, griddles, broilers and woks, is equipped with an exhaust system.
There should be an exhaust fan and make up air unit somewhere. I doubt that you failed to see either. My guess is that they purchased a used hood without the fan & MUA unit and the local AHJ has no idea that it is needed.
Someone at Lincoln tech support who I talked to on the phone told me that the “-V-” suffix was something that the company started using in newer models. However, the tech support guy clarified that the unit with the model number and serial number in question does not require ventilation. The local AHJ has adopted the 2015 IMC and IFC, which I could not intelligently interpret for this appliance. I apologize for not having reached out to the manufacturer before posting my question about this. Either way, it’s some good information for anyone else who sees one of these in a gas station/convenience store. He provided me with this letter: Ventalation requirements.pdf (95.2 KB)
