Under Cabinet Hood Recommendation
Like some other posters I've found very little in actual reviews about vent hoods. Chowhound has been the most useful place but some of the recommendations are a little advanced. We're replacing our under cabinet 1991 vent in our condo and have narrowed our selection to 4 candidates. 1) Bosch DUH30252UC (400cfm), 2) Broan Allure 111 (300cfm/430cfm boost), 3) Boran Elite E66130SSAG (330cfm/500cfm boost) and 4) KitchenAid KHTU705ssss Architect (600cfm).
We were impressed with the Bosch contruction, and CFM of the KitchenAid (but not the slider control buttons; they seem cheap). the two Broan seem quite but both have single fans. The Bosch has dual fans. Is there any advantage to single or dual fans over the other. Also, we have 5" duct work with 2 90 degree angles and a 20 foot run to the outside wall. We have a basic electric range that we cook a lot of fish on.
If anyone has experience with these units, I would love to hear your experience with them. Are the Bosch and KitchenAid quite? And what about the KitchenAid slider control...any issues? Is 600cfm too much for 5' duct or is it needed because of the long run?
Thanks for your input.
Archetypemusic
archetypemusic
Mar 01, 2009 06:32PM
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I have the KitchenAid you describe, and I can recommend it. It does specify a 6" duct; I took out the old 7" duct and fitted the new setup with a better elbow arrangement than the original. IMO it is worth it to make your ducting fit as best as possible. If you have 20' of ducting with a small diameter I would seriously reconsider the lower CFM units. They may not push the air volume you need. The switches for the lights and fan would be nicer in something other than plastic, but they do work well. Full speed is, well, medium loud and very efficient; medium speed is pleasant and fine for most heat issues and some fumes. I've attached a pic. The front of the hood is 28" above the counter. I'm not familiar with the other models; if they have squirrel cage fans fine, but any with regular bladed fans I would consider passing on them. Best of luck!
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That's a beautiful installation. It's tough to get a real sense of what it would look like installed because none of the pictures I've found show the thickness of the back and the sloping filters. I love that look.
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You're right, the angles are deceptive. Here's a side shot. This is the only hood that let us keep the cabinets above, and gave us decent height. I cut the backsplash to accomodaqte the 10" depth at the back; the old hood was just 6" deep.
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We have the Broan Allure (not sure what the model number is, it's not on the hood) and were I to do it over again I'd not buy this one. The hood is too shallow resulting in cooking vapors, smoke and steam from the front burners escaping into the room and not being pulled up by the vent fan. It is quiet on the low setting, too loud on the high setting and overall ineffective.
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You bring up a good point about a shallow not being effective. When we looked at our original hood we realized that it doesn't even come close to covering the front elements. Mind you, this is the original contractor install of a 30$ fan. Sad. We've now ruled out the Broan in favour of the KitchenAid (if it will fit) or the Bosch (the more practical install).
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