Which Vent-a-Hood under cabinet model for above 30' Bluestar

kymgreybeck

16 years ago

Hi All,

Wondering which Vent-a-Hood under cabinet hood model looks best above a Bluestar range?

Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Kym

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Comments (11)

kymgreybeck
Original Author
16 years ago
Heh heh--I meant a 30" Bluestar range. Duh.
Fori
16 years ago
It's not you--the forum does that to " in the subject line.

And I'm also interested in this subject.
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There are a few sources of noise in a hood ventilation system (and potentially also in a powered make-up air system). The dominant noise when a silencer isn't or can't be used is fan blade tip turbulence noise. Second will be either baffle turbulence noise (more like a hiss), or its counterpart if mesh filtering is used, or duct turbulence noise. Baffle noise domination assumes that the duct is damped on the outside and the air velocity in the duct is not too high. Otherwise duct turbulence noise may dominate baffle noise, and the duct may also rattle passing on blower unbalance vibration noises. External blower noise is usually lower with a long duct than with a short duct, but one should not expect a really big reduction in noise just because the blower is outside instead of in the hood (for equal volumetric flow rate). (The exception would be a commercial external blower, configured deliberately so that the fan is oversized and the belt drive sheaf ratio is set for a slower tip speed.) For residential operation, where room for a silencer is available, an external roof blower and inline silencer is the quieter approach, leaving baffle hiss below normal speaking levels at full power. That is my configuration. Part of the duct turbulence noise will also be removed -- that from the duct between the silencer and the external blower. Fantech silencers are larger than the ducts, e.g., 14 inches in diameter for a 10-inch duct. http://www.fantech.net/products/fans--accessories/accessories-ventilation/silencers/ld/ld-10-silencer/ They have the general appearance of a motorcycle muffler scaled to a dragline excavator engine. The silencers are also somewhat longish, so if the duct was going to go up into an attic and straight to the roof at the roof edge, it would be necessary to use an angle duct after entering the attic to extend the duct length in the attic to accommodate the silencer, thence use another angle to bring the duct to the roof. Avoid horizontal ducting if possible. Try to make the ducting accessible if possible.
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Clinresga once reported here a sound test comparison of his Vent-a-Hood he had at one location and a more conventional system at another location. The VAH was reportedly much louder. A Google search based on this web site's URL and his name may find the thread. As I recall it was a long thread. There are also threads about cleaning VAH that should be evaluated. In my view and that of others, the 18-inch VAH mentioned above is too short front-to-back (depth) for serious cooking. One wants an approximately 24-inch depth to have overlap in depth as well as in width. With the added aperture, more CFM are needed to keep the air velocity up at the baffles (or whatever VAH use in their aperture because they use the squirrel-cage fans to perform one of the functions of baffles -- grease collection. The problem with the CFM capability reported is that it is an apples to oranges comparison. Different things are being measured. It has been my presumption (giving VAH the benefit of the [great] doubt), that the CFM they report is measured for the hood and blower, while that for most fans and blowers is for the fan/blower alone without a hood. In both cases, when ducting is added and the make-up air (MUA) is restricted, the actual flow rate will be significantly less than the number associated with either the VAH or other blowers and fans. What I would recommend for a 3 ft by 2 ft aperture is 6 x 90 CFM actual, and a factor for losses. Maybe (!) this is only 1.2 for VAH (with windows open) and 1.5 for conventional roof-mounted or in-line blowers/fans. It depends on too many factors to just throw out a number that will be valid, but the 1.5 is probably at least reasonably conservative given a decent source of MUA. Under most cooking circumstances, you will be operating the fan at part power because this maximum flow rate won't be needed; the uprising effluent velocity will be lower than assumed for the "90" value. Sound level should be significantly lower. If you like quiet, then a roof fan and in-line sound suppressor with a baffle hood will be best, with most sound apparent to the cook being air turbulence at the baffles. kas
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kymgreybeck
Original Author
16 years ago
Fori: Thanks for the clarification--turns out I can type. FYI, I actually just ordered a Kobe 36" under-cabinet instead of vent-a-hood. People generally have good things to say about VAH on this forum, but I've heard that they are definitely harder to clean than a hood with baffles, so I went with the baffles.
abd1
16 years ago
My appliance guy suggested the PRH9-130, which is only a single blower. I ordered the 30" RCS model which has 1 18k burner, 2 15's and the simmer -- no 22k burner. I've seen the emerald style hood which looks really nice with the Bluestar but didn't want to spend any more. Its got a beveled front lip and matches the Bluestar's "chunkyness" (in a good way).If you're getting the RNB model with the 22k burners you may want to upgrade to the dual blower model.
heimert
16 years ago
In looking at the same question for a 36" bluestar, I concluded that what matters more is the look you want for your kitchen.

If you can, get a hood that is 36" wide and 24" deep, which rules out a couple of models. If you can't do 36" wide, then think about one with 27" depth.

After that, decide whether you want more blowers, which I would go for (I don't think you can get a double and a single in a 36" hood).

You should have choices of at least 4 or 5 styles at this point, and I'd choose on aesthetics, which is impossible for anyone here to do.
Fori
16 years ago
I'm looking at these now, and it seems the VAH undercabinet models are all 19" deep. Am I missing something?

Thanks!
heimert
16 years ago
Look at the wall mounted hoods as well. They can go under cabinets as well, although they need more "headroom".
sw1347
16 years ago
http://www.ventahood.com/images/docs/fxr9%20under%20cabinet%20range%20hood%20specifications.pdf

Both fori and heimert make a good point. Most people talking about VAH over Bluestars are interested in major smoke ejecting. The undercabinet ones are of a tamer depth 19-21 from my quick look.

I chimed in because I am about to buy a 30x27 inch deep hood (probably out of consumer-gotta-have-it paranoia) for a small bluestar--everyboody seems to say go for the coverage if one can afford the space for the extra canopy which actually does make functional sense especially if you are in an apt. space as I am. (I'm definitely not adding anything new here, but trying to save you having to pick through all the venting threads)
User
16 years ago
I've been considering the Kobe CH 196 model. It's only 22" deep. Sure, more capture area is nice, but I don't want to crack my head open.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kobe range hood
Fori
16 years ago
Thanks for the tips all. I can't go wider but I planned on going deeper. I guess *I* won't miss the cabinet space but the taller spouse seems to like it.
Fori
16 years ago
It looks like the "wall" mount is the way to go, and I might as well go 27" deep. Are these things ridiculously heavy? I need to bump it out about 5-6" to actually be over the range.

And just to be sure, is 600 CFM adequate for a 30"w x 27"d hood over a 30" BS rnb?

Thanks again. I need to send specs to the cabinet guy before I get a chance to look at the Kobes and other brands, so I'm going to pencil this in.

Which Vent-a-Hood under cabinet model for above 30' Bluestar

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kymgreybeck
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Which Vent-a-Hood under cabinet model for above 30' Bluestar

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kymgreybeckOriginal Author

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kymgreybeck
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