Agreed.

I'm sure you don't want a cantilevered hood, though they can be done. Also, I've seen great hoods with decorative ducts that rise right up through glass ceilings (not sure how huge your huge skylight is. That's for multipaned ones).

Given your setup, however, popups are reputed to work better than direct downdrafts. The concensus is that downdrafts don't work well because it takes a lot of sucking power to pull the effluent the opposite direction than physics tells it to go. With the popup, you're at least pulling to the side more than down and to the side. For it to really work well, it would have to be pulling really hard and creating quite a breeze. The breeze, in turn, is pulling at the flames of your cooktop. This screws up your cooking and can be dangerous. If it's gentler, it's not really helping with the rising effluent.

That's why the recommendation of induction. If you look at all the induction vs. gas threads here, you'll find that the main reasons people stick to gas is that they just like open flames or that they don't have sufficient electrical service. Induction does require the correct pans, and among those that work on induction (steel or iron), some perform better, and more quietly, than others, but induction also gives you the immediate control of gas without the dirt, and often more speed and power. It's very easy to clean up because the cooktop itself only gets hot from being in contact with the hot pans. (It can also get warm, though not hot, from the electronics if run hard and long. You do need some air space underneath for the cooling fan, too.) Almost everyone who isn't enchanted by flames, doesn't want to go back to gas after giving induction a chance.

With the downdraft/pop up dilemma and induction, you'd still have the same problem with steam, smoke, and grease as you do with now with the gas, but you won't be fighting the flames with your suckage.

Reason I do not want to go induction is because I have invest in a whole new set of cookware.

@hollysprings - tried putting it somewhere else kitchen, but didn't work as well. Any other placement I have to place the oven under counter which means I have to bend and I rather have a wall oven with no bending! I like my island (8'x5) to be a clean slate but since the cooktop does not work anywhere else I had to compromise. All my life I've cooked on electric cooktops and I'm fine with that (I'm not a gourmet cook). This house we bought (which are remodeling extensively) has a gas cooktop already and everyone said that I was crazy not to get gas. So I thought I'll get gas and loved the Bosch 36" NEM8654SS. Thanks for pointing out that the "downdraft" will pull the gas flame too along with the steam - that can't be good.

@plllog The kitchen is open to the family room and I do not want any hood blocking anything. Want it a wide open area. So I am stuck with a downdraft hood. Don't want to spend the extra $$ to replace my whole cookware set that I'll need for an induction cooktop. So I was looking at the gas cooktop and a popup hood. Never thought of the fact that the downdraft will be pulling the gas flame too - thank you for pointing that out. So I'm back in the market for a cooktop, just when I thought I found what I wanted.

I do realize that the downdraft is not the ideal situation for cooking, since it goes against the physics of warm air rising. Any suggestions on a "quiet" downdraft hood. If I can't go gas then my only option would be to go for a smooth electric cooktop - any recommendations? My friends will kill me when I tell them I'm not getting gas (it cost a lot to get a gas line put in and so they said I was crazy not to use what I have already)

I've had a gas cooktop with pop up ventilation for 28 years. We installed a Thermador in 1986 and when we redid the kitchen in 2006 we installed a Dacor 36" gas cooktop with a pop up vent and remote blower. My kitchen is fairly large (30 x 20) and when we remodeled we could have easily placed the cooktop on an outside wall but we liked the existing arrangement.

We've been extremely happy with this set up. Yes an overhead hood is more efficient but I have 2 huge bay windows in my kitchen and I didn't want a ceiling mounted hood blocking the view. Utilizing a remote blower will reduce the noise in the kitchen. We also haven't had any issues with the vent pulling the flame away from the pan.

We have never had a problem with lingering smells or steam. We do cook a lot - we often sear steaks in a really hot cast iron skillet, we also pan fry fish, stir fry vegetables etc. My Dacor has six 18,000 BTU burners and we often have 3 or 4 of them going at once. We recently built a vacation home and we went with the same system.

My parents have in their kitchen a 36" Wolf gas cooktop with a pop up ventilation system. My mom loves the way it works. She says it is a very powerful fan, and the Wolf cooktop has some pretty high output burners.

All is not lost!!! - Can't tell you how happy I'm to hear from you guys (was depressed for a bit about not being able to go with a gas cooktop with a downdraft)

@marie_cate - is it possible to get the model numbers for the gas cooktop and the pop-up vent and the remote blower (if not included with the pop-up) - how loud is the hood? fairly quiet i would assume if it is a remote blower. Although not a gourmet cook I kinda do the same type of cooking and currently with my electric cook-top, I don't use the hood overhead because its loud!! Hopefully with the new house that we are remodeling I can do things right.

@epressler I will go tomorrow to the store and look at Wolf and Dacor gas cooktops. Is it possible to get the model numbers from your mom, if it not too much of a hassle for her. thx.

I just pulled out my owner's manual, they were installed in July 2005 so I'm sure Dacor has updated them since. The model number for the gas cooktop is ESG 366sch, the downdraft is ERV 36 and the remote blower is REMP 3.

Dacor offers 2 remote blowers- one is 600 CFM and the other is 1000CFM. In the majority of installs the 600 CFM is all that you need. My pop up is vented down through the cabinet, the duct makes one 90 degree turn and then runs about 15' and exits the house. The remote blower motor is mounted on the exterior of the house at foundation level and is near a casement window in the kitchen. When the weather is nice we often open the window and although you hear the motor it isn't very noisy. You could stand next to the window and easily carry on a conversation. The pop up vent has a control knob to adjust the air flow. On low it's barely noticeable, on high it is louder but I can still hear the TV set which is about 8' behind the island and we can still have a conversation will standing next to the cooktop.

They now offer 2 different popups - mine rises 10" but they now have one that rises 15" inches. AS I mentioned in my first post - we are very happy with this set up. Both my husband and I cook and sometimes my adult children join in. This appliance has received heavy use in 6 years.

There are some posters here who have installed the Dacor ventilation with a different brand cooktop. So you might want to check into that too. Good luck with your kitchen.

I put the link to the 15" raised vent below, however that's not the rangetop that I have. I think the current model is now EG366sch.

Here is a link that might be useful: 15

Great! thank you SO much. Thanks for the link. Went to the website and explored a bit. Looks like you have six burners with the knobs on the front. I have small kids who visit, so I may not get the knobs on the front (although they are pretty well-behaved kids and safe when it comes to the kitchen).

I'm not a gourmet cook, so I think with me using a couple of burners at a time 600 CFM is plenty. But I read somewhere on GW that you add up all the BTU's and divide by 100 and then that is the CFM you need. However I don't want to take any chances will just go with what you have so it is not any louder than what you have!

Now I can go to the store equipped with all the knowledge! Yeah!

Buying new cookware as a reason to discount induction is a bogus one. You can buy a whole new induction ready 10 pc set for $300 or $3K. There's something for everyone's price point. You already have some induction ready pots, I'm sure. Everyone has a cast iron skillet or two. If a magnet sticks to it, it'll work with induction.

Induction will give you the quick control of gas, and potentially higher high and lower lows than gas. It's easier to clean by a HUGE factor than gas. Unless you are someone just fascinated by the actual flame, there is no logical reason to choose gas over induction. And the ventilation being easier and better is only a part of the reason induction would be a better choice for most people.

"there is no logical reason to choose gas over induction"

1. In order to go to induction, we would have to upgrade our electric service at a cost of $5,000. We already have a gas line. Seems logical to stick with gas.

2. We like cooking in a wok with a round bottom. Yes, you can get specialized induction units for woks, but we don't have space for one, nor do we want to spend the considerable extra $$.

3. You can't char stuff like peppers on induction. (Waiting several minutes for a pan to heat up and then still not get the right result doesn't cut it.)

4. I could be wrong about this one, but I have doubts whether you can do a really great sear on an induction surface, because the pan should be way above 500F for that, and I suspect that induction units will shut off before the pan gets that hot.

Don't get me wrong: I think induction is a truly wonderful thing. In my ideal kitchen I would have induction as the primary cooking surface. I just get irritated when people suggest that those of us who choose gas are irrational/luddites.

pk66 - I haven't heard of that formula for determining CFM. However what is probably more important is the diameter of your ventilation duct, the length of your duct run and how many angles or turns it makes.

I agree with PeterH2 - gas is still a very viable option. I haven't cooked on induction but I've talked to professional chefs who have tried it and still prefer gas for various reasons.

I have the 30" Dacor Renaissance with four burners and the side mounted knobs. It also comes in a six burner model. Like the poster above we have the same Dacor pop up vent, but out blower is located under the counter below the cooktop. Everything works fine and you can see pictures of it by clcking on the Appliance link below. It does make some noise while in use, but no more than the former downdraft unit it replaced. I a remote blower mounted outside would be quieter but was not an option in our case. I also think the remote blower might be more expensive but I am not sure about that. We really like our Dacor. The bead blasted surface is a snap to keep clean.

Here is a link that might be useful: Appliances

pk66-
Sorry I just checked your post, I can visit my mom tomorrow and see if I can get the product and style numbers for you.

Why don't you folks who love your downdrafts with gas cooktops make a video and put it on YouTube and let everyone see and hear for themselves. Different people have different standards as to what is acceptable.

PK66-

I am including a link to the gas cooktop that my mom has. I believe it has the style number on the webpage. The pop up vent fan is also a wolf.

Here is a link that might be useful: 36

@epressler, tarheel72 - thanks for the links

@marie_cate - we have kinda exact setting like yours where the vent can go down the island into the crawl space and turn 90 degrees to go along the crawl space and out the kitchen sink window which is right behind the cooktop. So I will plan to get a remote blower and vent it out the wall, which will be audible if and when I open the sink window. The diameter of the duct if I read it correctly and understood it, it says 8" for the 10" Dacor hood and 10" duct for the 15" hood.

@PeterH2 - thanks for the heads up on the induction issues. Haven't cooked on either induction or gas - so we'll see will go with gas because I have the line in place and all the friends who are gourmet cooks love it and will kill me if I don't go gas! :)

Just didn't get a chance to go to the store yet! to check wolf and dacor out and will still keep in mind the Bosch cooktop (NEM8654SS) that I originally saw - just didn't know how good or bad their downdraft hoods were. Anyone with any experience with that let me know. Always good to have someone with hands on experience than any reviews by Consumer Reports and such.