When do I NEED a range hood?

14 years ago

Hi, we just bought a fixer upper that is quickly depleting all of our funds. The kitchen has no range and the walls and ceiling of the kitchen are made of concrete so installing a vent hood will be a costly challenge (I'm sure). We would like to wait to buy and install a range hood until our cash flow is better. When buying a range, what BTU level do we need to stay under considering we will have no vent hood for now?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

weissman
14 years ago
The need for a range hood is to vent grease, smoke, heat, and odors from your kitchen. The need is based more on what you cook rather than the type of range you cook it on - although higher BTU ranges give you the opportunity to generate more smoke, heat, etc. There are people on this forum who will tell you that you must have a vent hood particularly for a high powered gas range but that's not absolutely true - people have lived for years without them - most areas do not have codes requiring them although you should check on your area. While you're renovating is the best time to put in ducting for the hood although it's up to you whether you can live without one.
0
User
14 years ago
Cooking (on any type of cooktop) creates airborne oil, smoke, odors, and especially, steam. All of those cooking byproducts will damage your home without external ventilation. That's why it is a code requirement. Some jurisdictions will allow an operable window within a certain distance to serve as the required ventilation, but that is awkward at best, and on very cold or very hot days, compromising for you HVAC system. You need to check with your local codes office regarding what requirements they may have for home ventilation. You may not be legally able to have a range at all unless you put in some form of vent.
0
Related Discussions
Range hoods....do they always need to be wider than the range?
Q
Comments (6)
With surrounding cabinets and, I'd assume, a back wall a 36" hood over a 36" range should work fine. Be prepared to have a little more grease collect on the edge of the cabinets and back wall. Routine cleaning should prevent any nasty build up. How high you mount your hood also plays in to the size of hood. Typically hoods are mounted around 30" from the top of the range but there's a pretty wide variation. I've seen people go as low as 25" or so. That's too low IMHO especially with higher end (i.e. higher BTU/h) cooking surfaces. At about 28-32" mounting height, standard 36" with cabinets and back wall should be fine. If you go as high as 36" or more, then I'd look at a hood that extends out farther from the back wall. This will allow it to capture the fumes coming away from the wall better. I have an island configuration which is the worst since there's nothing to contain the fumes and sight lines are a concern. When we had our hood installed, the installer showed us what the recommended 30" height would look like. At that height, the bottom edge of the hood would be right at the bridge of my nose which would block the sight line across the island and I think cause me to bump my head if I had to lean across to reach the back burners. I ended up having him move it up to between 34-36" position which worked a lot better. Fortunately, we did have the foresight to oversize our hood. In the end, you will have to make your own trade offs between performance, aesthetics, and cost.
...See More
Help! What kind of range hood do I need?
Q
Comments (2)
I have just been through a similar situation. I opted to ask two appliance stores, well respected in my area, for their suggestions. I told them what cooktop I was purchasing and listened to what they suggested. Then I double checked their advice with this forum and my contractor. Then the specs for the hood insert I selected went off to the cabinet maker. Good luck.
...See More
Do I really need a 600 cfm range hood for an induction cooktop?
Q
Comments (37)
leel.....glad to get your feedback on the induction. Thanks! As for me, I certainly wouldn't mind having to buy a new pan or 2 for the new oven. :-) gsciencechick....thanks for the pots and pans suggestions and the confirmation about induction. I'm ready to be done with gas (although I love the way it cooks) because it's just so dirty to keep clean. muskokascp.....I HEAR you!!! Whatever happened to the days when we just went to the store and asked the opinion of the saleman or perhaps picked out a unit because of style or color? These days we almost have too much info, and it can become crippling, honestly. At some point I just need to make a decision. davidro1.....I love your 'final answer' comment. I WISH!!!! Although I certainly know a lot more than I knew before, I still have questions. But today at the appliance store helped clear up some things. (Meaning that they don't know anything either and I can basically do whatever I want). The inspector on our job (both HVAC and electrical) don't know anything about MUA and can't advise us what we should get. So I just told them I'd get something that wasn't too powerful, and they seemed fine with that. They told us to adhere to the recommendations in the manual that comes with the hood. I swear!!! It's not rocket science.....why is it that nobody knows about this technology?
...See More
How much range hood do I really need?
Q
Comments (7)
The hood's width at 6" wider than the cooktop is ideal, but many people have the hood the same width as the cooktop, and it's fine. Often people don't want to give up the 6" of upper cabinets, or cannot, because the cabinets are already there. If you have the space for a 42" wide hood, it would be the better choice, but is not an absolute requirement. The thinking on hoods has moved somewhat from emphasizing the width of 6" wider, to more emphasis on the depth of the hood front-to-back. Many hoods sold these days are only 20" front-to-back, leaving the front burners uncovered. That is more of an issue than ensuring extra width on the hood. Find a hood that is close to 24" front-to-back if you can. The height of the hood is ideally 30-36" between the top of the cooktop and the bottom of the hood. If you install higher than that, you are allowing too much space for smoke and grease to escape and float around the kitchen. Go lower than that and your cooking area will feel cramped. I want to reiterate what Stan Z said about the correct ducting. You can have the best hood in the universe, but if your duct diameter is too small, your hood performance will be constrained. Most hoods require 8" or 10" diameter - the specs will say which. You can find hoods with specs for 6" diameter, but those hoods will be noisy, as air is pulled through a more narrow space. 600 cfms is usually enough for most people with a 36" width cooktop. Underpowering the hood is a mistake - you will have spent all that money on the hood, and it will be inadequate from the get-go. If you are thinking about going with more than 600 cfms, the advantage would be that you can run the hood on a lower speed setting most of the time, which will be quieter. The disadvantage of more than 600 cfms is that may require make-up air depending on your locality, building code, and how tight your house is.
...See More
guadalupe
14 years ago
you can buy a broan 41 series ductless hood for 50 bucks and that will satisfy your requirements for a co
0
jakkom
14 years ago
Having lived without a hood for some 30 yrs of cooking in apartment kitchens, I can tell you that on an average stove, no you don't really NEED to have a hood, even if you're going to stir-fry.

But note that my apt kitchens were closed-off plans. I also put a regular window fan up to help get rid of the worst odors and steam, and pretty much had to replace it every 3 yrs or so, because the grease gunked it up to the disgusting point.

I live now in a small cottage with an open-floor plan. A hood proved essential, because in an open plan smells really do go everywhere.

The ductless hood is better than nothing, but be prepared to clean it out regularly. Good luck and I sincerely hope there is a true ducted hood someday in your future!
0
morton5
14 years ago
You can adapt your style of cooking as well. For years, I lived with a Jennair downdraft that had totally inadequate venting capabilities. Also, it had wimpy burners, particularly so because we are on LP. My method of cooking was often to place a cast iron skillet in the oven and heat it to 450 degrees. Then I would lob pieces of meat into the oven to sear them. It worked fine, athough I'd have to avert my face from the blast of heat as I opened the oven door. Most of the grease spatters were contained in the oven. I had to clean the oven every couple of weeks, though (fortunately had self clean).

Personally, I think airborne grease is a worse villain than steam.
0

When do I NEED a range hood?

Comments (5)

weissman

User

Related Discussions

guadalupe

jakkom

morton5

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US