I’m about to start building a vent hood for my new kitchen and I have several questions. I have bought a Broan Allure 30″ model which seems to be a pretty decent hood for the price. I plan on building a decorative out shell of wood to match the cabinets and hiding the vent hood underneath. I plan on making the wood hood shell 36 inches and lining the inside with stainless sheet and creating a “tapered” baffle arrangement so that all the fumes are sucked into the large Broan filter stack with no obvious traps for grease to collect. I plan on using a 7″ round ( per Broan specs)rigid duct to vent the fumes about 12″ straight up, through a 90 deg elbow and then through another rigid duct 12 foot long and out a side wall of the house. My questions are; Has anyone done anything similar and have some ideas to add before I start construction? I am somewhat concerned about the overall duct length, but the design of the house doesn’t allow for any other method. I have entertained the idea of installing an additional inline aux. fan in the duct just before it exits out the sidewall of the house. (The HVAC folks use these to boost performance of long duct runs.) Also what would be the ideal height of the lower edge of the hood above the cooktop? (Typical gas 4 burner Maytag range) I am six foot tall. I want it to be low as possible to create good fume evacuation, but I still want to easily see the rangetop also. I hate hoods that are puny and mounted too high to be of any real use. If anyone has anything to add, I would really appreciate hearing ideas or comments. Thanks in advance!
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I don't think you are going to have any trouble withh the ducting. I installed one of those Broans though that had a touch tape switch to adjust the fan speed and the customers had consistent problems with the switch. Ultimately it was replaced though it did work for a few years first.
It sounds like you want to hide a hood that is designed to be exposed within a larger wood hood. If that assesment is correct, it is not a good idea.
Liner kits are available for wood hoods, and they would be a far better choice. Obtain the size you need (30" or 36"), and build the hood to the specifications of that liner kit. (There is typically 24" clearance between a cooktop and the lower edge of a metal hood. 30" clearance is usually required between a cooktop and a combustible surface). The instructions with the liner kit should offer all of the information you will need. The duct specifications will also be included.
It will fit and function better, and will be easier to clean than a modified hood.
Bob