Choose Rangehood

Q: I am wondering if someone would recommend a range hood that is 1) powerful (esp for Chinese cooking) 2) easy to clean and maintain and 3) durable? Also, where can I buy installation service?


A: We bought a Zephyr range hood about 3 years ago similar to this one:
http://www.homeclick.com/1/1/14464-zephyr-30-hurricane-range-hood-ak2500.html

It’s fairly powerful (it has a 3-speed fan) and cleanup is easy. We bought ours at Crossroads Appliance, and they did the installation.

A: +1 for Zephyr. I have it and we love it.

A: Ok some links may help:

http://www.broan.com/display/router.asp?CategoryID=618

See, this is interior model (blower inside)

http://www.broan.com/display/router.asp?ProductID=100529

And this is exterior version: (requires the external/roof-top blower in the first link above)

http://www.broan.com/display/router.asp?ProductID=100059

There apparently now is an “inline” version of blower as well. Personally I’d put a high powered external one than to have that noise in the middle of the kitchen. I’m not sure about the “difference” in suction capability but we’re happy with the 36” Broan that we have (the EX model)..

A: Just moved into my new home and got a Zephyr Tempest I (http://www.zephyronline.com/#page=essentials/27/18) put in. It provides the best esthetics vs. functionality that we could find… 650CFM and works great with Chinese cooking, now if only my cooktop did it justice

Fredericks Appliance in Redmond (http://www.fredericksappliance.com/) did the install and was able to get me a great price, there is also a Microsoft prime thing where the warranty on the unit is extended for 1 year. I worked with Luke in their sales team for this.

A: I have a 600cfm Vent-A-Hood (http://www.ventahood.com/hoodmodels.jsp?id=9) from Crossroads Appliance, and we love it – VERY easy to clean. They coat the parts with some sort of super waxy paint, and the box that traps the grease just unsnaps from the unit. Put it in the sink with some hot water, and it pretty much washes itself. They call it the “Magic Lung” (http://www.ventahood.com/magiclung.jsp)

I have used it almost daily for over 2 years and have never had any reason to think about heat loss. Maybe the hot stove / oven underneath is compensating for that. :)

A: Not sure about heat recovery – the house stays pretty toasty regardless. As Dan said, it’s probably the cooking that compensates for it. We looked into Vent-A-Hood as well, innovative design, and did look very easy to clean, but we didn’t have the vertical height for it. The Tempest is pretty easy to clean as well but not as easy as the Vent-A-hood, you just have to put the stainless steel filters into the dishwashers every couple of months.

A: We have a GE hood and like it a lot… 600CFM, 4 speed, 2 lights.

http://products.geappliances.com/ApplProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=SPECPAGE&SKU=JV936DSS&SITEID=GEA

Cleaning: Although the mesh/grill that traps the grease just unsnaps, there are other areas under the hood that do accumulate grease over time and need to be cleaned. Cleaning those sections is a little more time consuming since they are not easily removable parts and need to be cleaned in-place.

It looks great though :-)

A: One additional consideration I don’t think I saw mentioned below is to look at the sound level (measured in Sones). It seems like you usually have to look at the spec sheets for each range hood you’re considering to find that information. (ex. - http://www.broan.com/ImageLibrary/broan/pdf/Specifications/99043473.pdf) When I bought a hood ~2years ago I found that some of the more expensive hoods were just as loud as the cheaper hoods even if the range hoods’ CFMs were the same.

A: Also, in our case I think we went “overboard” on power and that creates an effect where it actually disrupts the air-flow in the fire-place, causing the smoke alarm to go off sometimes. To remedy that, we usually leave a window near the range hood slightly opened to keep the pressure balanced.

Also, when talking CFM, keep in mind that the actual air displacement drops drastically as you add piping to the outside.