Anyone have opinion? I am remodeling cir 1984 home. Popcorn is gone, honey oak cabinets outta here. Now I face appliances. Curr lovely range has downdraft and no ductwork for exhaust hood vent. Do I replace with JennAir range with downdraft, or invest $500-700 on hood and needed duct work? Could use the $$ elsewhere in project
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
There are a number of ways to achieve a level foundation and mudsill.
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
Depends on how the cook top is used.
If your an average user & most of your smoke is generated from a frying pan then I would stay with the downdraft.
If your the type of cook that uses large pots, high heat & generate your smoke at a higher elevation from the cooktop, then a downdraft is pretty much worthless.
Thanks. Funny, most of my cooking is really 1) Grilling outside 2)Microwave for pkg dinners and re-heating day old coffee. I was just wondering about resale, although thats at least 10 yrs away.
forgot to mention - use search function here at BT. Just recently there was a longish discussion on the pros and cons and brands available. In that discussion, Jennaire was mentioned as the only one making them.
I just learned that Jennaire and Thermador have combined forces at some point in the last ten years and so Thermador has a similar unit too.Personally I hate downdrafters for cooking and for installations. The only good thing about them appeals to me as a designer in certain limited situations.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Jennaire is SO eighties-ish!
But maybe they'll come back in style in ten years.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Piffin, "Jennair is so eighties-ish"That means he's 71 years ahead of the next big trend!To the OP, for performance, it depends. A big high honkin' BTU gas burner normally creates too much vertical convective for a downdraft to be able to turn the vertical up into vertical down and adequately clear. So an overhead is the better choice for moisture vapor and cooking particle removal.For aethetics, it depends. In a contemporary house, clean lines might dictate a downdraft or a pop-up downdraft as the better aesthetic choice. In colonial CT where I live, an overhead vent might be the better choice to blend with the overall look of the kitchen.So performance versus aesthetic. Sometimes they take a common path, sometimes the paths diverge.
Had a Jenn-aire downdraft when I moved into my house. Looked like it had never been cleaned. Took it out. Hood is how I'd go.
Testing has shown that downdraft exhaust doesn't work as well as a hood. It might satisfy you, though, depending on your expectations.
But I do think spending $700 on a hood is crazy.
"Testing has shown that downdraft exhaust doesn't work as well as a hood"Of course, that would depend on a lot of variables such as how well the downdraft ducting is laid out and installed, vs whether the hood is an $89 model with 3-4 elbows in a 4" duct or a 900-1200CFRM super sucker with a straight out 10" duct
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Either way, you gotta get the air to the outside. What's the cleanest look? Did a Wolf cook top with down draft, needed a deeper than standard 24" cabinet top to fit properly. Clean look though, installed the control in the granite backsplash, not the counter top, good look also.
Reply to all. You have all convinced me that downdraft Jennair is outdated and not a real solution. Wish could go with Gas, but to run line is about $800.... so electric slide in will work. Thanks for everyones feedback and opinion's. BIG help