Range hood (wall/undermount cabinet) and cooktop what is the best one/powerfull one

[janjan]

I have added new kitchen and have been researching on appliances for last 2 months. Wish could have found this site earlier. Anyway hope someone could give me a good advice. I am using my old fridge for now. planning to buy Bosch dishwasher. Bought Ge counter top microwave oven and shopping for the trim which cost same as the microwave.
My main important one is the cooktop and the range hood. I need a high BTU since I have big wok. I bought the Bosch stainless one and the returned it. I was adviced that stainless steel cooktop needs continuous cleaning. So finally chose Electrolux 36" gas cooktop black. This has 18Btu and , 14, and others are lower. I still have time to cancel that if I don't want it.
I need a powerfull range hood , since I cook a lot of curry.... I should have designed the cabinet for 42" range hood and not it is too late for that. thinking about getting the 36" undermount . But this has max of 600CFM. I need more powerfull one. Any advice on the kind of cooktop and the range hood .

[fmed]

I have a Vent-a-Hood undermount with 2 fans. Solid, built like a tank, and made in the US (if that's important to you.) I use it with an 8" vent pipe and it clears the air fast. The published CFM ratings are lower than with other hood fans, but it performs at a higher equivalent CFM rating.

I can't help you with a cooktop as I'm actually fairly disappointed in my choice (GE Profile gas slide-in).

[convonh]

I am seriously considering the GE Profile gas slide-in. Why are you disappointed? What would you recommend instead?
Thank you.

[fmed]

I like the GE again, but it did take some adjustment.

I do a lot of wok cooking and my old "Pacific" cooktop (Australian made) was just so much hotter and better for that purpose despite being "rated" lower in terms of BTU. (BTU ratings I have since learned are an "input" rating - it doesn't indicate how much heat it produces).

I have since adjusted my cooking technique to accomodate the GE - instead of woks - I use smaller pans (specifically blue steel "Lyon" style pans) which concentrate the heat better since the burner does not have to heat up all that excess steel on the wok.

This GE is all-gas and also didn't get as hot as my old GE electric walloven which did a good job at high-heat pizza cooking.

[Tinger]

You might want to look at the Blue Star gas range for wok cooking. You can take the tops off the burner and put your wok directly over the open burners which cradles the wok in the gas flames, plus they have supernova burners in front with a 22,000BTU rating. See YouTube for a wok demo on the Blue Star...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgyfoF...

[fmed]

That's a great design. Next time I have an opportunity to redesign a kitchen, I will definitely have a look at this.

[fayelee]

Does anyone own a Windster hood and willing to share your experience? Windster WS38's specs look great and price is unbeatable for their features. However, I'm hesitant in buying one as there are literally no reviews on this product or company at all. I am a wok cooker myself, and am in need of a high CFM hood that can be easily cleaned.