We have finally began a long overdue remodel of our kitchen and are shopping for a range hood. We’ve never had one and now want to install one. It needs to be a wall chimney because there are no cabinets on either side to support it. Our criteria is:
1. Quiet……..very quiet. We hate the noise range hoods are notorious for.
2. Moves a lot of air…….
3. Will fit in the general style of our 1920’s farmhouse and not a piece of eurotrash modern stainless steel and glass contraption.
4. Quiet……..very quiet.
I’m leaning toward a rangehood/microwave combo unit to save space on the countertops.
Any body have any suggestions for what your experiences are with and what you have installed. Good or bad.
Thanks
BjR
Replies
BjR,
I don't think you'll find a combination microwave/hood that'll fill your needs. You emphasize q u i e t so I think you'll want one with a remote blower. My personal favorite is a Vent-A-Hood, here: http://www.ventahood.com/home.jsp. And these hoods can move a lot of air - up to 1500-cfm. I think you can find something that'll fit the style of your kitchen; perhaps a liner that can be surrounded by cabinetry.
Gary W
gwwoodworking.com
The only way to get a lot of air movement while keeping the db's down (well, not "quiet", but "quieter") is to get a hood with a remote fan. Think $$$$$. If you get a remote fan, the hood can be pretty much any design you want.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Edit: Remember that if you suck a lot of air out, you need to provide an equal amount of makeup air and consider that in your HVAC planning.
Edited 11/13/2007 3:51 pm ET by MikeHennessy
You gotta specify the CFM if you want any answers. You also should state your budget.
Also, you should state who will do your cab and finish carp work, and their qualifications.
If you don't want a "contraption" and seek a look compatible with your old farmhouse (how old?), then you might want to consider buying the fan-filter-light unit and building (or having built) a wood hood to enclose it.
I agree that "contraptions" do not speak "farmhouse kitchen," but really, neither does a microwave-hood.
'Moves a lot of air' and 'very quiet' are somewhat incompatible.
Get a Prestige insert and do the hood enclosure in wood and use the remote (attic-mounted) fan if you can. http://www.prestige-america.com/hcliner.html The variable-speed remote mounted fan is the size of a small suitcase, BTW.
Do NOT put a microwave over your range/cooktop ... besides the implication is if you need to 'move a lot of air' it is becasue you have a high-heat range/cooktop and then you can't put it there anyway. Microwave exhausts do not move enough air.
Jeff
Edited 11/13/2007 5:13 pm ET by Jeff_Clarke
The most important part of having a quiet range is proper design and installation. Make sure sure to design the vent to have as little bends as possible, try not to use flex pipe, and most importantly, have very little reducers. Often, an expensive range will be installed and because of poor design, will sound way louder than it should!
Use a remote fan and don't mount the fan close to the kitchen or the fan noise will travel back up the duct to the hood.
A 500 cfm fantec remote fan for 10" duct is only $250 or so. A backdraft flapper is another $50 or so.
The expensive part is the hood or hood liner if you want a custom look to the exterior. We spent about $800 for a 42" fantec liner, but those costing less are probably just as good. A liner isn't anything more than a hood stripped of a motor and exterior metal. Essentially $200 of stuff for 4x that.
Fantec also makes a duct silencer that is placed along the duct to keep noise from traveling back down the duct, for $200. My bet goes to longer duct and getting the fan away from the kitchen.
I'll warn you now that the hvac guy will insist on terminating the duct close to the kitchen, not because he knows, but because it's easy.
Good building
PS A friend recently had a megga $$ "quiet" range hood installed. I was inpressed with the cfm's and cost, but it doesn't matter what the marketing guys say it was very loud compared to a remote fan, even one that's poorly installed.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
I went to an appliance dealer today and did some shopping. The salesman was telling me that even the remote blowers are about as noisy as the regular fans. Un fortunately they didn't have many range hoods actually set up to listen too. but the ones that were hooked up were not that quiet and they were all spendy. The one I liked was a Miele Decorator Wall Hood DA408 but it only came in Stainless steel but I could get it in white for an additional $350.00...ON TOP.... of the $1890.00 sticker price and 6-8 weeks out.
Daaaamnn.....
BjR