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Pro wall-mounted range hoods with controls in front?

waldstein
16 years ago

We are remodeling and enlarging our kitchen. Instead of our current 30-inch non-pro range and modest but trusty Broan under-cabinet range hood, we are planning to have a 36-inch pro-style range with 6 burners and a 36-inch professional wall-mounted range hood venting to the outside (the wall is an exterior wall). We do a lot of Chinese cooking, so we need a powerful range hood, preferably with an internal blower pulling at least 760 CFM and preferably 900 CFM. I have read the FAQ about vent hoods on this Web site, visited appliance stores, and gone through the descriptions of many range hoods on the www.universal-akb.com Web site and elsewhere-- and I am unexpectedly stunned and shocked!

Nearly all of the powerful pro wall-mounted non-chimney range hoods have controls INSIDE the hood rather than outside in front. Placing the switches/knobs inside the hood means that they will be continually exposed to, coated with, and possibly damaged by, grease and smoke. Furthermore the switches/knobs will be sticky to the touch and will require the cook to stoop down to see them. My feeling is, "how can range hood manufacturers be so dumb?"

I did find that Thermador, Jenn-Air, and GE Monogram make professional range hoods with front-mounted controls. However, the GE Monogram 36-inch hood pulls only 640 CFM in vertical exhaust, and Thermador hoods have been reported on this site to be relatively noisy. Does anyone recommend other brands of range hoods with what I want? If not, which range hoods have the most convenient and user-friendly controls, regardless of their location?

Thanks for your input!

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