Advice - Overhead range hood
We are renovating our kitchen and need some advice on a range hood. We have a Frigidaire 30" dual-fuel slide in range and cook a lot. We don't bake as much but still use the oven a fair amount for main dishes like cooking the turkey at the holidays etc.
Problem is, I can't get much information on range hoods. There are the CFM ratings, but we live in quite a small house and have been told not to go to extremes to get the highest CFM rating. What I am also concerned about is the noise; I figure if the hood is really loud, there will be a tendency not to use it. And of course durability. I will likely get an extended warrantee on the unit just to be safe.
Oh yeah, the best part: our kitchen is fairly small. It's 11' x 9'! We are able to put in whatever size duct, as there is no duct now (existing rangehood is purely ornamental, and only good for hitting your head.)
I was looking at the Kitchenaid KWVU205YBA (Its about 350 CFM and has a slide out panel that turns on the fan, but can't get any sound rating on it, or if its dependable.)
I know that's a long list, but reading some of the posts, it seems like a pretty important piece of equipment.
Thanks in advance for all your help!
By Bonus
on Jan 30, 2009 11:56 AM
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For a 30" residential range I wouldn't obsess over it. The KitchenAid should be fine (it will be loud enough to notice but you aren't using it for hours at a time). Sizing only becomes an issue with larger, higher-output "pro" cooktops.
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Get a hood that has the blower mounted outside the house - virtually silent. And don't settle for a max of 350 CFM. One advantage of a more powerful hood is that you can mount it higher and you won't hit your head on it.
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I agree. You want as many cfms as you can get, and mounting it externally cuts down significantly on the noise. Our unit is very large, and it is in the attic with the blower on the roof. You can certainly hear it, but it is not very noisy. Not having the house smell like beet stew or whatever is completely worth it. Now, baking an apple pie is another story entirely!
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look at Kobe and Zephyr. If your cooktop is 30 inches, your best size would be a 36 inch. while I have nothing against Kitchenaid, you might be surprised at what your $ will get for you if you go with a brand that specializes in range hoods, and doesn't just slap their logo on someone else's product.
http://www.zephyronline.com/v2/
http://www.koberangehoods.com/
Also, re. noise:
If noise is really that big of an issue, you might wanna think about a timer option. Many brands will offer these (at an extra cost) You turn it on, and it cuts itself off automatically after x minutes.
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Great advice. I think that you are right- I looked at the Zephyr and it looks like you get more for your money.
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Since it looks like you are just putting a range hood under cabinets, my guess is that will limit your choices. (My guess is that you aren't ready to part with cabinet space to make room for a huge hood.)
350 CFM probably is ample -- the Fujioh website recommended that the minimum CFM should be the stove's total output in BTU's divided by 100. I doubt a 30-inch range with all the burners going will put out much more than 25-30,000 BTU.
More CFM is not necessarily a good thing. Consider that if you are ejecting air through that range hood, that air is coming from somewhere. Since most homes don't have make-up air units (like commercial and institutional kitchens) best-case scenario is that it is pulling unheated or un-AC'd around doors and windows. I don't know about your energy costs, but mine are high enough, thank you.
Worst case scenario is that the range hood pulls air through the vents for gas furnaces, water heaters, fire places and laundry driers. You could actually pull combustion gases into the house, making your indoor air quality worse. Since CO and CO2 are odorless, you will be the last to know.
By the way, I checked out that KA model -- love the slide out feature, but, boy, it looks like you are paying for it! The brushed aluminum finish is nice -- my biggest beef with range hoods is that the enamel finish is remarkably bad. (Why is that? If it was as good as the finish on ANY of my other appliances, it would be satisfactory!) As far as sound is concerned, you have to go to a home store or appliance store, and turn them on and listen for yourself. (Go on a weekday during the day when the place is quiet.) I would put zero-creedence in any sound rating that the manufacturer lists--let your ears be the judge.
Keep shopping. You can get a LOT of range hood for a lot less than what you are planning to spend.
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That sounds like great advice... I know that esp with air flow in our house, we just put in new windows that really decrease air leakage, so as you say, we don't want to suck in too much exterior air.
I will check other manufacturers; with the recent Whirlpool acquisition, I have heard that the quality of the products isn't the same as it used to be.
Thanks!
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Very true. You could also crack a window open and solve a lot of those problems if needed when using the higher CFMs. In some climates that would not be a desirable alternative.
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For a 30" range you do not need more than a 30" hood. I would suggest 600CFM. Any hood that works well (IMO) will make noise. Noise means there is air flow! The hoods with interior blowers that are mounted in the hood Vs the exterior of your home are far more cost effective or at least they were when we shopped. A quality hood should have a fan speed adjustment. So you only crank it up to high (most noise) if you need it. We probably use ours 75% of the time at medium or lower and there is virtually no noise. When you are considering CFM the most important aspect you need to consider is the length of the run to the exterior of your home. If you have a 20' run with two 90 degree turns you will need more CFM than a 10' straight run. Any reputable dealer should be able to help you calculate how many CFM you actually need for your home.
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I would agree that the 350cfm is not adequate. You want something larger to pull the odors out of the house (a larger range, like my Viking, you want to pull the heat out as well)
Our hood is 900cfm and I can sear scallops without stinking up the house. Does it make noise...yes some but i actually more quiet than the useless one we had before (one that as integral to the microwave above the cooktop)
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I hadn't thought about the run length for the duct, but since the range is on an exterior wall, we are going straight through the wall for about a 2 ft. run!
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Then 350 CFM may well be enough. I'd be more concerned about features and cost than just CFM. A simple old fashioned metal hood with an internal blower should fit you needs and your budget well. Since you mentioned KA I would look at a fixed unit Vs a pull out.
http://www.kitchenaid.com/flash.cmd?/...
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Costco has a nice deal on a Franke hood online.
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Just installed a KitchenAid KHTU705 30" hood over a Viking cooktop. Very happy! 600 CFM, 3-speed clean looking. Installed the recommended 6" duct, through the now insulated soffit, and the sound is acceptable on high. Mid speed is Very quiet, and useful for many cooking tasks. Low speed actually works well, too: as I was patching the wall of the soffit, I had the fan on low and you could see the dust particles zooming out the vent!
Re: ducting, remember that every bend reduces your CFM. Sharp turns are worse than gentle ones. I had the room to use two adjustable elbows to make approximately a 90 degree bend that is now a gentle sweep. The old setup had three elbows each in a contorted 90 degree bend (lazy install design) Huge improvement!
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Here's a photo
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