Mechanical maintenance
The equipment that moves the air, not just the grease that's on it.
Hood cleaning takes the grease off. Exhaust maintenance keeps the fan, the bearings, the belts, the hinges, and the roof containment running. Scheduled across the DMV on quarterly cycles — or sequenced with your existing hood-cleaning visits so a single overnight shift handles both.
Cleaning vs maintenance
Hood cleaning passes inspection. Mechanical maintenance keeps the kitchen open.
Most DMV operators schedule hood cleaning on the NFPA 96 cadence the fire marshal requires — monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual depending on cooking volume. That removes grease from every wetted surface and gets the system the certificate it needs for the next inspection.
What it doesn't do is service the mechanical equipment that moves the air. Fan bearings dry out and seize. Drive belts crack and slip. Hinge hardware corrodes and stops opening. Roof containment gaskets degrade and leak. Amperage climbs on a slow curve that's invisible without instrumentation.
Every one of those is a mid-service shutdown waiting to happen. Exhaust system maintenance is the parallel service that addresses them on a schedule — usually stacked with the hood-cleaning visit so a single overnight crew handles both. When stacked, a separate visit isn't needed, scheduling overhead is one event instead of two, and the systems get diagnosed together.
What's covered
Every mechanical failure mode on the system
Each item is checked, measured, and logged at every scheduled visit. The visit closes with a written condition report that flags anything trending toward failure before the next visit.
Exhaust fan bearings
Bearing inspection, lubrication, and replacement on a scheduled cadence. Bearing failure is the most common mid-service exhaust shutdown and the cheapest to prevent.
Drive belts & tension
Belt inspection, retensioning, and replacement on the V-belt or cog-belt drive between motor and fan. Slipping belts cut exhaust CFM long before they fail outright.
Hinge kits & access panels
Hinged-fan installation, hinge replacement on existing fans, and access-panel kit installation along the duct run so future NFPA 96 cleanings happen without cutting the duct.
Roof grease containment
Containment unit emptying, absorbent pad replacement, gasket reseating, and full unit replacement when corrosion compromises the seal. Required under most local roof-protection codes.
Fan amperage testing
Clamp-meter amperage draw against motor nameplate spec at every visit. Climbing amperage is the leading indicator of bearing wear, fan imbalance, or motor degradation before audible failure.
Vibration analysis
On larger fans, vibration measurement at the bearing housing identifies wheel imbalance and shaft misalignment before they spread damage to motor and ductwork mounts.
One overnight visit
Stack mechanical maintenance with your hood-cleaning visits
Hood cleaning already requires the system to be powered down, the access panels open, the fan housing apart, and a crew on the roof. Mechanical maintenance uses the same setup time.
Stacking them turns two scheduled visits per quarter into one and catches mechanical issues while the system is already disassembled — when bearing wear, belt slack, and hinge corrosion are easiest to see.
Visit deliverable
- Bearing condition + lubrication record
- Belt tension reading + replacement log
- Amperage draw vs nameplate, photographed
- Hinge and access-panel condition checklist
- Roof grease containment status + pad swap
- Vibration reading (on fans where applicable)
- Trending flags for the next visit
FAQ
Common questions about exhaust maintenance
How is exhaust system maintenance different from hood cleaning?
NFPA 96 hood cleaning removes grease from the wetted surfaces of the system — hood interior, baffles, plenum, duct walls, fan housing. Exhaust maintenance covers the mechanical equipment that moves the air: fan bearings, drive belts, motor amperage, hinge hardware, access panels, and roof grease containment. They're complementary services on the same system but they fix different failure modes. Hood cleaning passes the fire-marshal inspection; mechanical maintenance keeps the system running between cleanings.
How often does the mechanical equipment need service?
Most DMV restaurants get the best mileage on a quarterly mechanical maintenance cycle stacked with hood cleaning visits. High-volume operations (24-hour cooking, heavy charbroiling, high-rise vertical fan runs) often need monthly belt and amperage checks. Annual is the minimum acceptable cadence even for low-volume kitchens — bearings dry out on a calendar, not a usage curve.
Do you install hinge kits and access panels on existing systems?
Yes. Hinged-fan retrofits and access-panel installation along the duct run are some of the most common scope items we run. NFPA 96 requires accessible cleaning points every 12 ft of horizontal duct, and many older DMV restaurants have duct runs that pre-date that requirement. Adding access panels once cuts every future hood-cleaning bill substantially.
What happens if the rooftop grease containment unit fails?
When the containment seal fails, grease leaks onto the membrane roof. Membrane warranty voids are common, building owners issue chargebacks, and several DMV jurisdictions cite restaurants under property maintenance code. We inspect the containment unit at every mechanical visit and replace gaskets, pads, or the full unit as needed before it fails.
Can you service the fan motor itself?
We diagnose motor issues — winding resistance, amperage draw, bearing condition — and partner with motor specialists for major rewinds and full motor swaps. Most kitchens get more value from a planned motor replacement during a scheduled visit than from an emergency motor failure during dinner service.
Stack mechanical with your next cleaning
One overnight visit. Both jobs done.
We'll work the mechanical scope into your existing hood-cleaning calendar so there's no separate visit, no separate setup, no surprise downtime.