Range Hoods & Vents

[HungryC]

I have an Amana downdraft unit (vent is built into the cooktop, between the burners). It is vented to the outside. It is pretty useless for removing vapors/odor, as the low setting doesn't seem to pull away any vapors, and the high setting pulls the cooking flames sideways away from the pots. It IS very good at dispersing heat, though: I use it to cool the kitchen after using the oven. I'd trade the downdraft in a heartbeat for a "real" upper hood (only the externally vented kind, though: why does anyone bother with the non-vented version?)

[sandercohan]

Yep. I figured it was a pretty terrible idea. Thanks for all your help!

Sander

[Fat Guy]

We spend a couple of weeks a year at our friends' beach house, where they have a Jenn-Air cooktop with downdraft ventilation. This is a high-end installation with ducting to the outside. In my experience with this one unit, it's not an effective system of ventilation for serious cooking. It's fine if you just need to pull out some steam from making macaroni and cheese from a box. But if you want to sear a piece of meat it's a different story.

[rooftop1000]

We spend a couple of weeks a year at our friends' beach house, where they have a Jenn-Air cooktop with downdraft ventilation. This is a high-end installation with ducting to the outside. In my experience with this one unit, it's not an effective system of ventilation for serious cooking. It's fine if you just need to pull out some steam from making macaroni and cheese from a box. But if you want to sear a piece of meat it's a different story.

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This is I guess is the same Jenn-Air wonder that my grandmother got...you can have a grill or griddle insert even a deep fryer insert....of course she wouldn't use any of the cool stuff after realizing the fan "sucked" and cooking made a greasy mess of her new kitchen.

Add to that mess, this is a spaghetti cookin' grandma and the kitchen also had the Micro over the stove so after a year of many many pots of pasta the steam freeked the controll panel of the microwave and it used to beep and go nutty all the time

tracey

Edited May 29, 2009 by rooftop1000 (log)

[Dave the Cook]

One of the kitchens I teach in has one of these: Gaggenau telescopic swivel ventilation system.

I've never used it because 1) it's located oh-so-logically next to the VK 230 in-counter steamer instead of the more appropriate VF 230 Vario deep fryer, which is on the other side of the kitchen (where there is no ventilation at all); 2) it scared the crap out of me when I accidentally activated it before I knew what it was, and I've never gotten over it.

It's not clear if this is supposed to be vented to the outside or if it recirculates (I'm certain that the specific installation I'm familiar with isn't vented, but it's as much a showroom as a working kitchen. I'm teaching there tomorrow and Sunday. I'll see what I can find out.

[VivreManger]

We are looking for a wall-mounted hooded vent.to go over a 36" or 30" gas cook top, which can produce a bit less than 60,000 BTU. The unit must have capacity for at least 600 cfm, be at least 36" wide, have two to three halogen lamps, and have filters that are easily dishwasher cleaned. It should also not be too noisy. The hood will be vented straight up through the ceiling, through the attic, and the roof. The house is a one-story ranch, about 30 years old. At this moment I do not know the size of the existing duct work, but I would imagine it might be as small as 6" and would likely have to be replaced with 8" or 10" for the kind of unit I anticipate.

As the heat of the cook-top suggests, I do a fair amount of wok cooking and steak searing as well as the occasional potato pancakes so the unit must be able to remove the grease, heat, and smell of high-energy oil-friendly cooking.

I realize that an easily cleaned filter might reduce the effectiveness of the air exhaust, but I won't want to spend a lot of time and hassle cleaning. As for noise level, it seems one solution is to remove the fan motor from the kitchen. The two options are an in-line motor or external motor, mounted outside the house. In a New England winter, the external option won't work. So the best solution is an in-line motor, probably placed in the attic crawl space which would be roughly 6 to 10 feet above the cook-top.

Since the other appliances right now are stainless, that would probably be the preference, but the appearance is not as important as the power, convenience, and reduced noise-level of the unit. As for the price I would like to keep it below $1,000, particularly since installation, if new duct work is needed will not be cheap.

Bottom-line: who makes a 600 CFM wall-mounted 36" vent with good lighting, easy cleaning, with, probably an in-line motor, for under $1,000? And if you know of such a product how reliable is it?

[C. sapidus]

Bottom-line: who makes a 600 CFM wall-mounted 36" vent with good lighting, easy cleaning, with, probably an in-line motor, for under $1,000?  And if you know of such a product how reliable is it?

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We have been very happy with Vent-A-Hood (click). Ours does a nice job of controlling grease from a 6-burner BlueStar rangetop. I can't remember the price, but I think it was in the ballpark of your preferred limit. Vent-A-Hood controls grease with centrifugal force rather than a filter, so their hoods provide more exhaust for the same number of CFMs compared with most competing models. Not sure about availability of remote blowers, but the filterless design is relatively quiet.

Good luck on your project.

[VivreManger]

Bottom-line: who makes a 600 CFM wall-mounted 36" vent with good lighting, easy cleaning, with, probably an in-line motor, for under $1,000?  And if you know of such a product how reliable is it?

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We have been very happy with Vent-A-Hood (click). Ours does a nice job of controlling grease from a 6-burner BlueStar rangetop. I can't remember the price, but I think it was in the ballpark of your preferred limit. Vent-A-Hood controls grease with centrifugal force rather than a filter, so their hoods provide more exhaust for the same number of CFMs compared with most competing models. Not sure about availability of remote blowers, but the filterless design is relatively quiet.

Good luck on your project.

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The problem with filterless hoods is that cleaning may be difficult.

How do you clean yours?

[C. sapidus]

The problem with filterless hoods is that cleaning may be difficult. 

How do you clean yours?

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Unscrew two thumb screws, open two latches, and everything comes apart easily. You can run the parts through the dishwasher or wipe everything down with a kitchen cleaner. Not my favorite activity in the world, but way better than cleaning stubborn oily gunk from kitchen cabinets.

[Raoul Duke]

I have a Vent-A-Hood 4 fan unit. Like it but, if you want to talk/entertain in the kitchen it's loud. My contractor suggested a roof mount vent, similar to a restaurant type, and in retrospect, I should have listened.

[&roid]

I've had a Wolf pro wall hood for the last 8 months or so - a PW362418 with an 81131 900cfm internal blower. I use it over a 36" wolf cooktop which goes upto about 50-60,000 BTU with all 5 burners on full.

Not sure how much it would cost in the states but it was about £1500 here in the UK so may be above budget (though you can get less powerful motors than the 900cfm one I went for which would save a bit).

I can't speak highly enough about it, I have been absolutely amazed at its ability to get rid of smoke/smells from my cooking. The noise level is pretty impressive considering how well it works - on the lower settings it is way better than the cheap and nasty vent it replaced and still does a good job with normal cooking; if you're browning or wok cooking you will notice more noise but I think that is just the nature of the job - certainly, there is little noise other than air moving, not like the old vent which was lots of screaming mechanical noise and little or no air moving.

Just for some examples of what it copes with: since the new kitchen has been fitted I have NEVER had any condensation on the windows, previously making pasta/risotto/anything with boiling liquid would cover all my windows in loads of water. I have a black iron skillet that I like to get VERY hot for browning meat, 10-20 minutes of heating, groundnut oil and batches of meat over ten or twenty minutes, lots of smoke which previously would have left the room unusable for an hour or more now leaves literally no trace within a couple of minutes of finishing.

We spent a long time researching and planning our new kitchen and I'm really pleased with all the different bits (big fridge, boiling water tap, wine fridge, decent german oven are all great) but there is nothing that has impressed me as much as the hood.

oh yeah and the baffles are a doddle to clean, just pop them out and stick them in the dishwasher.

EDIT - just re-read some of the OP's ducting points - the hood I have uses 10" round felxible ducting, ours goes up about 2ft, through one 90 degree bend then another 8ft or so. I had originally though I should get an external motor (or inline one) but was advised against it by wolf here in the UK, for the sort of lengths we are talking about there are apparently few benefits in this sort of setup to removing the motor from the kitchen - as already mentioned almost all the noise comes from air movement rather than motor noise so the cheaper internal motors are fine - I was sceptical but am glad I listened!

Edited June 22, 2009 by &roid (log)

[LindaK]

My hood is by Prestige, sold by the folks who make BlueStar ranges (which I also have). It's excellent at moving air and at the lower levels the noise level is reasonably quiet. It's louder at top speed, no question, but I rarely need to crank it for long. I live in a condo, so an external roof mount blower wasn't an option.

It's not in < $1,000 price range, but I thought I'd add another vote in favor of the filterless hoods. So easy to clean, just pop out the baffles and throw them in the DW.

[tsquare]

Since there are already some comments that agree with this, before you buy a remote motor unit, look at reviews or something. My understanding (I don't have first knowledge) is that the remote units may require more powerful motors, ie, are actually noisier. If you can get the sone rating for the hood, that is a better way to judge the noise factor. Lower sones the better.

Quietude is helped by fewer bends in the ductwork - and gradual ones where possible. Also, shorter distances.

[Mano]

When choosing a hood with about the same parameters we chose a Zephyr 600 cpm, although there are other hoods that are just as good for about the same price. When comparing the dozen or so we looked at all of them were loud at their highest level. But at the lowest setting, which we use about 90% of the time, it's pretty quiet. Ours has two filters that pop out easily and go into the dishwasher.

[DerekW]

We've been running a Sakura 747 centrifugal over our Bluestar range for a couple of years; very happy with it. The four greasetraps are removed in seconds without tools, and it shifts a lot of air. With both blowers running on high it's not all that quiet, but it doesn't need to run for long...

[deltadoc]

More important than almost anything else is replacement air capability. Your vent can't remove greasy air if there is no air coming into the house to replace what is being exhaused.

Close to importance, is to make sure that there is a fire barrier and a surge of flame cannot start an attic fire.

I have a 4-fan (total 1200 CFM) Vent-a-hood with fireproof baffles. Not much fun to take apart and clean but they do fit in the dishwasher. We open a door and a couple of windows (even in winter) to allow the exhaust to work.

Otherwise, the grease just collects inside the baffles, and we've found it dripping down into our food, especially if we're boiling water or steaming something!

Our motors are right in the hood, and the noise has never been a problem.

Had it over 17 years now, and never a maintenance problem or part failure.

doc

[jmolinari]

I have a Best by Broan with a 600cfm external blower. It uses a 10" duct, which is HUGE. It evacuates my 30" bluestar cooktop very well. I love it.

It should be pretty close to your price range. Installation is the expensive part (ducting, enclosing the duct etc.)

[OliverB]

interesting point with the air intake availability! Something to keep in mind. I have a whole house fan for those days where it's hot but not really hot enough for the A/C and locking myself inside. If I don't open enough doors or windows it draws the air in through my fireplace chimneys, which makes the house smell like a gigantic smoker. Not bad, but certainly not what I'd want my kitchen exhaust fan to do :-)

I'd venture to guess that this is particularly an issue in a newer and well insulated home.

[VivreManger]

interesting point with the air intake availability! Something to keep in mind. I have a whole house fan for those days where it's hot but not really hot enough for the A/C and locking myself inside. If I don't open enough doors or windows it draws the air in through my fireplace chimneys, which makes the house smell like a gigantic smoker. Not bad, but certainly not what I'd want my kitchen exhaust fan to do :-)

I'd venture to guess that this is particularly an issue in a newer and well insulated home.

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Sorry not to have been contributing to this thread, but I have been travelling in Europe over the past week and only now do I have access to my account.

The house is about thirty years old. We will doubtless be improving the insulation, but not to the point that would seal it up like a plastic bag. There is already a whole house fan and it does not create the chimney air pull that you describe so I think the kitchen fan will cause no air displacement problem. There is a large window a few feet from the stove so that should furnish enough air for displacement most of the time.

But it is a question I have been considering.

[Tsulli1]

Has anyone had any experience with these guys ?

I guess I don't trust the e-bay "buyer feedback" feature. 100% positive seems too good to be true.

[VivreManger]

On paper the Spagna Vetro hoods seem a steal for under $500 particularly since they claim to deliver 900 CFM.

http://www.euro-kitchen.com/proddetail.asp?prod=SV218B2%2D30

They are stylishly designed, though they are not that deep and lack a large capture area. The depth of the hood is about 20", less than an ideal of about 30" that would cover an entire range top.

I do not remember how to read noise levels, the website offers the following, whatever that means:

Noise Level (dB / sone) Approximately 23 / 0.3 to 68 / 7.0 (Lowest to highest Speed).

Anyone knows what that means?

The bottom line however is reliability. Does anyone have any experience with them? What is the reputation of the company that distributes them? - -

Euro-Kitchen, Inc. 2341 Industrial Parkway West Hayward, CA 94545

http://www.euro-kitchen.com/products.asp?cat=27

[DerekW]

Noise Level (dB / sone) Approximately 23 / 0.3 to 68 / 7.0 (Lowest to highest Speed).

Anyone knows what that means?

Roughly, from quiet conversation up to light automotive traffic.

[VivreManger]

Noise Level (dB / sone) Approximately 23 / 0.3 to 68 / 7.0 (Lowest to highest Speed).

Anyone knows what that means?

Roughly, from quiet conversation up to light automotive traffic.

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More specifically I wanted to distinguish between dB and sone. What precisely does each of these terms mean? What is the derivation of the term?

Normally I see sone on kitchen stove exhaust hoods, I had not seen dB before.

Apparently there is no standard objective procedure or body rating these numbers so each manufacturer is free to make their own claims. Furthermore there are multiple sources of noise. One is the exhaust blower itself. Second is the air passing through the entire apparatus. Lastly there is the presence or absence of sound-controlling design and materials.

I have been having trouble locating dealers who actually carry the models that have the features I seek. So I am even more reliant on the printed claims.

[&roid]

I have been having trouble locating dealers who actually carry the models that have the features I seek.  So I am even more reliant on the printed claims.

As you have pointed out the paper claims are pretty much worthless unfortunately so it's going to be difficult to be sure about the noise level without hearing the hoods in action.

[Sam Iam]

So, what would you trust for exceptional feedback on eBay? 80%? Less? More? I'm at 100% with over 900 transactions, and I'm always happy with purchases from a 100 percenter.