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zephyr typhoon versus vent-a-hood prh9/pr9

16 years ago

We are trying to choose an undercabinet hood for our kitchen for a 36" gas range. I like the look of the zephyr tycoon and from the store model it seems easier to clean than the vent a hood. Does anyone have any thoughts on picking between these two brands? Is the vent a hood really that much quieter? Thank you for your time.

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Comments (7)

rhome410
16 years ago
We had a Zephyr Whirlwind in our last house and were very pleased with the ease of cleaning and the noise level, and it's rated at 5.5 sones, while the Typhoon is supposed to be quieter at 5.0 sones and way more power. I was all set to get the Typhoon for our new house until we decided to go with the Wolf 48" rangetop and our appliance salesman said we needed more hood for the range size and output. I have never had a Vent-a-hood, so can't compare the two, but I would be happy to have a Zephyr after our experience with the last one.

Best wishes on your decision.
sherilynn
16 years ago
I have the Zephyr Tornado II power pack for a custom hood for a 48" range. It has 1,200 cfm and max 6.0 sones.

I'll tell you, if I had a 36" range and my hood was 18" or higher from the range top I would make sure that I had at least 1,000+ cfm hood. I don't find the noise from my hood too loud at all. (I do find the fan on my range too loud, but it has nothing to do with the hood.)

There's nothing worse than cleaning grease on a hood or a hood that does not have enough power. Everything's enclosed well on my hood, so I only have to worry about the under-carriage. Light bulbs are easy to change and give wonderful light.

All in all, I LOVE my hood.
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I realize that OP (breezygirl) doesn't have a grill, but we have often turned the hood on high without the grill on, that's because we quite often pan fry and occasionally create a fair amount of smoke (sear roasted steak, blackened fish). I think there are a number of factors in how effective your hood is. The #1 factor is what and how you cook. If you fry foods and create a lot of smoke you will want more CFMs. If you saute/poach/boil I think you could get away with fewer CFMs. If you plan on having all 6 burners on and the oven you will need more CFMs just to keep from turning your kitchen into a sauna. Height of hood above the range is also a factor. The lower the better but obviously aesthetics and comfort standing in front the range are factors that need to be balanced. Our 42" hood ended up 36" above the range. From watching our hood in action I think the volume of the hood is also extremely important. Sometimes I see a burst of smoke curl up and just about breach the confines of the hood before getting sucked away, I have to believe that some of the very flat, low volume hoods may have trouble handling the load. Our hood also has a 10" duct which may be a factor in controlling the noise. Good luck with your decision.
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I did end up purchasing the Kitchenaid Low Profile microwave. I originally wanted the Zephyr Typhoon 30" Stainless Steel Quiet Under-Cabinet Range Wall Hood AK2100BS. I could have done without a microwave (I never use it) but another family member uses one daily and we have limited counter space to accommodate a microwave on the counter. I like the KitchenAid Low Profile microwave very much. It is very stylish and streamlined, creating a much less bulky appearance than our former standard size OTR microwave. There is a two setting option for the lights and they are very bright. There is a four speed fan and it is somewhat noisy on the highest speed, which I expected. The fan does a fairly good job at removing smoke / odors and I can actually see the cooking smoke / fumes going upwards into the exhaust fan but I still do smell some small residual cooking odors in the home. We have outside venting. I don't do wok cooking or anything extreme so it works for my needs at this time. If I can answer any further questions regarding this item, please let me know.
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sherilynn
16 years ago
Hi Again...If your hood is higher than 26", I would use at least 1,000 cfm. I wrote the wrong height above. So sorry.

And I do like the Typhoon. It's a classy looking hood.
Looking for your hood, I found a good looking Zephyr hood that is a great price that is overstock and has more features that the Typhoon. Link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tempest overstock hood...good price
akshars_mom
16 years ago
We just bought the Typhoon recently. It looks great and we got a good price for it. When I went to the show room I did not find any difference in the sound level between Zephyr and vent a hood. we have not yet installed ours so cant give you feed back on how it works.
nancy_east
16 years ago
akshars mom,

Have you had good success with your Typhoon? I'm considering purchasing this hood for my new kitchen and would love to know if you think it's a good buy or not, based on your usage so far.

Thanks so much!
springbaysf
16 years ago
We just inatalled a typhoon and love it. I like the looks, the lighting, the quietness and how effective it is.
nancy_east
16 years ago
springbaysf,
Thanks for posting about yours. That's great to hear. I'm fairly certain it's what we'll go with so it's good to hear someone is pleased with theirs.

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