Maximum Suck

[Fat Guy]

The Allure replaces the 76000 Series from Broan (Microtek System III), which is what I installed a few years ago. The one I have blows at 200 CFM and it's quite a bit of suction. I don't know if this was mentioned -- I'm on information overload today -- but if you're going to cook maniacally, you should do it on your back burners. A standard hood is much more effective at pulling exhaust from the back of the stove than from the front. Also, remember, a hood has nothing to do with splatter. That's a separate issue. I find that doing my searing on the bottom of a tall stockpot makes a lot of sense from a splatter-control perspective.

[Dave the Cook]

The Allure replaces the 76000 Series from Broan (Microtek System III), which is what I installed a few years ago. The one I have blows at 200 CFM and it's quite a bit of suction. I don't know if this was mentioned -- I'm on information overload today -- but if you're going to cook maniacally, you should do it on your back burners. A standard hood is much more effective at pulling exhaust from the back of the stove than from the front. Also, remember, a hood has nothing to do with splatter. That's a separate issue. I find that doing my searing on the bottom of a tall stockpot makes a lot of sense from a splatter-control perspective.

All correct, Fat Guy, and thanks for the continuity information.

Unfortunately, the largest and most powerful burner I have (and this is true for all GE electrics, as far as I can tell) is front right.

It's just not practical to sear in a 12-inch pan (or stockpot, though it's an interesting idea) over an 8-inch element, even if the pan is preheated (sometimes in the oven). Even if you can preheat the pan evenly, a 12-incher won't sit anywhere close to center on the burner. This is a big part of what led me to the Allure design, which does a good job of controlling the smoke generated at the front of the range.

[Fat Guy]

Unfortunately, the largest and most powerful burner I have (and this is true for all GE electrics, as far as I can tell) is front right.

So just turn the stove around!

[Jason Perlow]

So, from reading the article, you're saying its a bad thing for me to run the 900CFM hood at full blast all the time? Mind you, I have a Garland with 6 burners, two of which can do 18,500BTU and the other 4 can do 15,000BTU and I usually have at least two going at once.

And we cook bacon and pork a lot.

[Dave the Cook]

So, from reading the article, you're saying its a bad thing for me to run the 900CFM hood at full blast all the time? Mind you, I have a Garland with 6 burners, two of which can do 18,500BTU and the other 4 can do 15,000BTU and I usually have at least two going at once.

And we cook bacon and pork a lot.

No. I'm saying that you might not need all that power. An you need to be careful -- about make-up air, and bragging about your equipment. People might get the wrong idea.

[hollywood]

[vogelap]

Be sure to check The Daily Gullet home page daily for new articles (most every weekday), hot topics, site announcements, and more.

I very much enjoy TDG, but would enjoy them even more if there was a way to format them for printing. I tend to do a LOT of reading at lunchtime (away from computer), and a PRINT THIS ARTICLE option would be most welcome on www.egullet.com.

Any chances of that happening?

[Fat Guy]

Vogelap: It's on the feature list for the Spring software upgrade. We're working with a minimalist beta version for now.

[col klink]

Any future plans on doing a version for the palm pilot like The Onion does?

[Rachel Perlow]

So, from reading the article, you're saying its a bad thing for me to run the 900CFM hood at full blast all the time? Mind you, I have a Garland with 6 burners, two of which can do 18,500BTU and the other 4 can do 15,000BTU and I usually have at least two going at once.

And we cook bacon and pork a lot.

No. I'm saying that you might not need all that power. An you need to be careful -- about make-up air, and bragging about your equipment. People might get the wrong idea.

Actually, I know we should be using the lowest setting most of the time. It is around 200 cfm, a little stronger than most generic kitchen exhaust fans and much quieter. I only put it up higher when we've got some serious steam and/or smoke going. When you put it up too high you can feel the cool breeze through the rest of the house as air rushes in to replace that pumped out of the kitchen. The highest setting needs to be used sparingly, and when it is I usually crack the kitchen window (about 4 feet from the stove), so the make up air isn't traveling through (and cooling off) the rest of the house.

[Nick]

So, from reading the article, you're saying its a bad thing for me to run the 900CFM hood at full blast all the time? Mind you, I have a Garland with 6 burners, two of which can do 18,500BTU and the other 4 can do 15,000BTU and I usually have at least two going at once.

And we cook bacon and pork a lot.

No. I'm saying that you might not need all that power. An you need to be careful -- about make-up air, and bragging about your equipment. People might get the wrong idea.

It's something to think about when Jason's stove top, if all burners were at full tilt at once, is equal to 38 horsepower. That's some power and doesn't even include the oven(s) - or the blower for the exhaust fan.

It got me to thinking about a friend from up the road that's in Guatemala building cooking stoves for Mayan Indians as I write this. Want some ventilation problems? Here's an excerpt from Pat's website.

"Our mission is to replace alot of what are known as 3 stone fires, with hand built masonry cookstoves. The 3 stone has a fire in the middle of 3 stones set as a triangle, with a metal plate (often the lid from a 55 gallon drum) laid over the top to cook on. These 3 stone fires are commonly located within a dwelling, providing heat as well.

"The problem with this method of cooking and heating is that there is no way of properly venting the wood smoke. These wood fires are the sole source of cooking and warmth for thousands of Mayan families. Unfortunately, it is also the source of chronic respiratory illnesses. In the extreme, because it is traditionally the woman's job to tend the fire and do the cooking, women are exposed to more woodsmoke, often damaging their eyes which all to often leads to blindness by age 40! Growing up Maya in Guatemala is difficult enough, without the additional disadvantage of smoke damaged lungs and the numerous illnesses resulting from breathing large quantities of wood smoke daily.

"One of the first dwellings that we went into, to see about building them a cookstove, still had their 3 stone fire burning. The air inside was kind of blue, and within a minute my eyes started to water, and within a few minutes they were burning. I could only stay inside about 3 minutes, but I could taste the smoke for hours".

Quite a contrast.

(I make the dampers for the commercial wood-fired ovens Pat builds in this country.)

[Fat Guy]

Any future plans on doing a version for the palm pilot like The Onion does?

Yes! Actually we're working on ways to make the entire site transportable, not just TDG.

(Vogelap, Klink: For future reference, please start new threads for questions like these. Thanks.)

[tcaffey]

Okay - second try...

I'm building a house right now, and am going to put my Wolf 60" commercial stove in it. Got the exhaust fan thing down pat, external with speed control. What I don't have a good handle on is the "dedicated make-up air" - Short of opening a window, how is this usually handled? I haven't installed the 8" duct for the fan yet...

Troy

tcaffey@dellmail.com