Kitchen range hoods

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

Hey guys. I'm remodeling my kitchen and am shopping for a range hood. I've been looking at every brand from viking, dacor, miele, and jenn air but they are pretty much all out of my price range and considering I'm not willing to pay more than 1k for a range hood. So I've been narrowing all my requirements down to a few other brands like kobe, signature hardware, electrolux, cavaliere, whirlpool "even though there's is only 400cfm", and the one I was going to pull the trigger on because it was the least expensive and looked the best is by AKDY but only had 1 review and it wasn't to great... Frigidaire also makes one but I've heard their appliances are below average in quality and durability.

I don't know much about appliance name brands since this is my first house and are only vaguely familiar with brands such as GE, kenmore, whirlpool, and if you list some other regulars I'd say I've heard of them but that's about it.

My question is are the other brands such as the kobe, signature hardware, electrolux, cavaliere, and akdy are of decent quality? I've searched but there's not to many reviews online anywhere and hardly any on amazon. I also tried searching of who makes them but came up with no answer. Sometimes major manufacturers make other name brands nobody has ever heard of but use some of the same internal components. Prime example of this are tools.

But here are my requirements

-Around 600 cfm
-30 inches
-modern design like tempered glass
-wall mount
-ducted to outside
-stainless steel

Any pointers are helpful.

Stephen

 

[passline]

I think Broan makes an electronic unit with "touch-type" buttons and auto turn-on for about $700. May be worth looking into?

 

[clarkm]

If it noise matters to you, watch out for it. There is an large difference in units, not always related to price, or flow rate.

 

[steveny]

If it noise matters to you, watch out for it. There is an large difference in units, not always related to price, or flow rate.

A good point and also a good reason to look at the units which pop up out of the counter top. The blower motor can be mounted in the basement or in the lower cabinet so the noise is almost non-existent.

 

[Gofastguy]

We just did a huge kitchen remodel and went with a Thermador to match the range. I believe its a 600 cfm and a bit noisy but, hey, we don't run it constantly either. We looked into the ones with a remote fan, and while possibly more desirable in the noise reduction arena, it was going to cost more and this particular one was going to be tricky to modify as far as getting the switching setup. I'm not an electrician, but you may want to talk to one about what is involved here. BTW, we love the Thermadore hood.

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

We just did a huge kitchen remodel and went with a Thermador to match the range. I believe its a 600 cfm and a bit noisy but, hey, we don't run it constantly either. We looked into the ones with a remote fan, and while possibly more desirable in the noise reduction arena, it was going to cost more and this particular one was going to be tricky to modify as far as getting the switching setup. I'm not an electrician, but you may want to talk to one about what is involved here. BTW, we love the Thermadore hood.

Thermadore hoods look nice but about 3x the price range I'd like to pay.

Noise level doesn't bother me to much. But I've actually never heard one on. I've only encountered the cheap ones that are ductless or ones that are under the microwave...

Stephen

 

[HIJACKER]

Thermadore hoods look nice but about 3x the price range I'd like to pay.

Noise level doesn't bother me to much. But I've actually never heard one on. I've only encountered the cheap ones that are ductless or ones that are under the microwave...

Stephen

Some of the ductless ones are $700+ actually.

The issue I have (about to remodel) is that we have a gas cooktop with a downdraft in the middle. We can't change to a ducted model above (which would look a lot better) without a HUGE renovation. However, almost all the nice gas cooktops have no vent at all. The only other alternative is a slim automatic one that raises up in the back, but that requires cutting pre-existing granite.

So, my options are a bit limited too.

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

Some of the ductless ones are $700+ actually.

The issue I have (about to remodel) is that we have a gas cooktop with a downdraft in the middle. We can't change to a ducted model above (which would look a lot better) without a HUGE renovation. However, almost all the nice gas cooktops have no vent at all. The only other alternative is a slim automatic one that raises up in the back, but that requires cutting pre-existing granite.

So, my options are a bit limited too.

Well I was referring to the under cabinet ductless ones that don't really work to well. But what's the downdraft in the middle? Is that a stove feature? I'm doing a slide in stove I believe since they cover the countertop sides.

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

This is one I'm thinking about.
http://www.rangehoodsinc.com/productcart/pc/Cavaliere-198D-30-Wall-Mounted-Range-Hood-3p18.htm

Stephen

 

[HIJACKER]

Well I was referring to the under cabinet ductless ones that don't really work to well. But what's the downdraft in the middle? Is that a stove feature? I'm doing a slide in stove I believe since they cover the countertop sides.

It's a Whirlpool 4 burner gas cooktop with a square rectangular vent in the middle that sucks down and vents out. I absolutely hate it. Any large pans, the steam is to high and it doesn't actually vent, it's really worthless.

Above my stove is a cabinet, so I don't have the option to get a true ducted style unless I remove that cabinet AND have everything re-routed in the kitchen (pain in the ass). So, I'm leaning towards an under cabinet, ductless, in stainless steel to match the new appliances.

Here's what I have now:. Planning to change to cherry cabinets and stainless steel appliances.

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

Oh ok, I know what you mean now. I love those cooktop stoves though. Your situation is different though because you don't have a section that hangs from the ceiling and to run a duct through.

Could you go through the ceiling if your joists run the same way and just route it outside? That's not to much work, just a hole in the side of your house with a vent and some metal ducting.

Stephen

 

[nsxtasy]

We got a Zephyr Savona hood as part of our kitchen remodel. I wouldn't recommend it; the buttons keep falling out and we had a problem with the controls caused by heat from the cooktop.

 

[johnmuller]

Hi, I'm going to redo my very tired kitchen and looking at these 24" range hoods:

Type 1 - Cost $259.00 but it has only a 600 cfm. Is this enough?
Type 2 - I like it more, but price $919.00. Is it very high?
Type 3 - How about noise level on 940 CFM?

Any advice would be welcome. :smile:

 

[nsxtasy]

How about noise level on 940 CFM?

I don't know about that one specifically, but on ours, there are different fan speeds, and the noise level varies based on which one you use. So one with a higher capacity isn't necessarily noisier unless you're using it on its highest fan speed.

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

Hi, I'm going to redo my very tired kitchen and looking at these 24" range hoods:

Type 1 - Cost $259.00 but it has only a 600 cfm. Is this enough?
Type 2 - I like it more, but price $919.00. Is it very high?
Type 3 - How about noise level on 940 CFM?

Any advice would be welcome. :smile:

I think certain range hoods even given the cfm produce different noise levels. The one I posted above I bought and installed. It looks great, works great for my kitchen "kitchen is only 10x10 about" so that's enough for me.

If you have a larger kitchen I'd probably recommend something more, but then again there's negative pressure as well. But just keep in mind you can always get a better performing range hood and run it only at 70% of performance so that may be your best bet.

Also I recommend not hardwiring it into your fuse box. If you go the cheap route like I did you may want to wire it into a switch on the wall like I did. This actually worked out well because if I had constant power to my hood the light would always be on! For some odd reason when you turn off the hood, and even the light the light stays on so I just switch it off from my power switch.

My range doesn't pull enough power either so I run 12 gauge, and I may have something else on that circuit as well. Again if you run a more powerful range hood you may need to run lower gauge wiring and other things as well. Ask a pro if you have any questions...

 

[nsxtasy]

if I had constant power to my hood the light would always be on! For some odd reason when you turn off the hood, and even the light the light stays on so I just switch it off from my power switch.

Most hoods with a light have a built-in switch to turn the light on and off. Yours doesn't?

 

[Stephen@NCAutoUSA]

Most hoods with a light have a built-in switch to turn the light on and off. Yours doesn't?

It does, but for some reason when you push that button it doesn't turn off the light, it just dims it, haha.

 

[yoda888]

One thing I will mention that a lot of people don't do is get the proper hood CFM and size. you should go +2" on each side of the range. So if your range is 36", you need a 40" hood. A lot of people will get a hood that's the same size as the range. You want some overlap of the hood to catch more of the smoke/oils/etc.

 

[L_RAO]

We remodeled our kitchen in 2009.

I would highly recommend a San Yang Pai hood. It's specifically designed to catch all the oils/grease associated with Chinese cooking. We compared it vs. anything and everything available at Home Depot, Lowe's and Pacific Sales. It kicked all their butts.

It's also pretty easy to disassemble for the purposes of cleaning/degreasing.