Wolf vs. Prestige Hood Liner w/ ext blower

15 years ago

After running in circles (don't we all?) I've finally decided on either the Wolf or Prestige baffle style hood liner with an external blower for my Wolf 6 burner rangetop. It will be housed in a custom wood hood made by the cabinet maker. Think we have the CFM's worked out and the basic ducting layout.

Here's my question---is there anything you know about either of these that would tilt the decision in favor of one or the other? Wolf set-up is $200 more (used to think that was a lot of money), both have infinitely variable speed controls and same CFM blowers available. DH thinks Wolf is the "easy" solution since we can get it from the appliance dealer, while the Prestige needs to come from another supplier.

Thoughts? Experience--good/bad?

Thanks!

Comments (4)

clinresga
15 years ago
I've never been a fan of getting the hood from a company that manufactures the range, oven, etc. Why not consider several other hood vendors? Others that get raves on GW include Independent and Metallo Arts. I will, as I always have, plug Modern Aire. They are a hood-only manufacturer. Construction is top notch. They are priced competitively with others.

What distinguishes them is the ability to totally customize the dimensions and layout of the hood liner for a very minimal custom charge. This allows you to get the exact size you want (ours for example will be 64'' wide to fit over our 55'' Lacanche range). You can specify exactly where you want the ductwork to attach, where you want the electrical connections to exit, and how you want controls mounted (we are mounting the continuously variable fan speed control and the light switch on the wall to the left of the range).

The staff there is incredibly helpful and responsive. The turnaround time is four weeks or less for a custom order. You can choose any type of blower you want (we looked initially at an Abbaka roof-mounted fan but eventually went with a Fantech FKD 10XL attic mounted blower plus the ever-popular LD10 silencer). I can't say enough about them. Since we live in Georgia, where they have no distributor, we were able to deal directly with the factory which has been a great experience.

Check them out here or better yet call or email them (and ask for Jeff Herman).

And no, I don't sell them or have any interest in the company!
breezy_2
15 years ago
I have had Wolf and have a Prestige now.

In the Wolf, I had the 36 inch Pro Wall hood with heat lamps (not the liner) (matched with the Wolf 36/6 open burner AG) and would not hesitate to use that hood again under similar circumstances. It was extremely well made to the point of just being d@mned impressive to just look at. Down side was the internal blower which was a limitation of my installation application and limitations and not a Wolf issue...IMO all internal blowers are loud. It was 900 CFM and just barely enough, but again, I was limited to an internal blower application and that was the largest internal blower available. Anyway, the Wolf product is very good. If using it again for the same range, I would match it (or its liner cousin) with a 1200 cfm remote blower and would have over sized the hood/capture area by at least 6 inches (3 each side).

I considered the Prestige high capacity hood for our current application at the recommendation of Trevor at Eurostoves so I compared the 2. The Prestige high capacity liner with its unique center vaulted baffle design was appealing due to the increased filter area. The baffles are about half the width of the Wolf so there are twice as many baffles to filter the exhaust. I find the Prestige baffles need cleaning much more often than the Wolf did which is a good thing b/c it means they are filtering better. Also, the high capacity liner offered a much higher CFM option than Wolf did. Prestige offered a 2500 CFM blower while Wolf's max was 1500. 2500 was more than I needed (my BTUs/set up was rated for 2,000) but I got the 2500 any way b/c it was only $200 more. It is mounted over a 60 inch Blue Star range w/ 8 burners and a grill. The 2500 CFM blower handles the highest of cooking smoke/output at less than full power.

The CFM max capacity is not an issue for you. Whatever you do, if possible, over size the capture area and round up on CFMs and you will be happiest (IMO). I highly recommend the Prestige high capacity liner.

The only other thing that comes to mind is that the Wolf had a plastic control panel and knobs. The heat took its toll on the knobs over time and had to be replaced. The Prestige is all metal everything.

I looked at the Modern Aire referenced above. It also looks like a very good unit too but I would not dismiss Wolf just b/c they make your range. Actually, if you were not going with a liner, the Wolf hood matches up with the Wolf range best IMO. With the liner option, you will never really know whose it is once installed in the cabinet enclosure.
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seaglass7
Original Author
15 years ago
breezy_2,

Thank you so much for all the input. I too had originally like the wolf because it matched well, but when the k/d created a beautiful hood surround, I decided to go the liner route. A few folks here had recommended prestige, and after pouring over their website, they looked great.

I'll have the 42" wide capture area over the 36" rangetop and we're planning 1200 CFM's, external blower. That's the plan.

Thanks for taking the time to provide all the details. I think I'll be going with the Prestige based on both your input and a few other very positive things I've read about them elsewhere.

Your Bluestar setup sounds like a dream. Hope you're really enjoying it! Once again, thanks for sharing all your experience--it really helped clarify things.
picholine506
9 years ago
Bump. Has anyone ever used a prestige proline hood with a fantech inline blower?

Wolf vs. Prestige Hood Liner w/ ext blower

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clinresga

breezy_2

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Wolf vs. Prestige Hood Liner w/ ext blower

Comments (4)

clinresga

breezy_2

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picholine506

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