Question regarding Kitchen Vent Hood

16 years ago

First off I would like to say that although we just joined, this site has been quite helpful to both my wife and myself over the last few weeks. We have just taken possession of our new house which we are renovating over the next few months before moving in.

Thanks to the discussions here, we have decided to go with a BlueStar 60" rangetop with 6 burners, griddle and grill. We are a large family (5 children) and the kitchen is always being used. We will be going with a double wall oven but not yet decided (she wants the thermador, but I am convinced we can find better. I personally would want to go with a gas oven based on what I have learned here).

My question would be what those of you with experience would consider as a good vent. So far we were told to only consider the ventahood, a 60" model, 27" deep, with an outdoor 1500CFM motor. I have spoken with the distributor here in Montreal and also with one across the border in NY state. When we visited the BlueStar showroom here in Montreal we saw the Wind Crest model the same distributor sells. I must admit that it was very quiet, but the motor was a significant distance away. This unit is about 25% more expensive. Both these brands are quite expensive, but given we will be using the grill quite often I want to make sure we get a good unit that will be well matched to the rangetop. Any input is much appreciated.

We are also changing all windows, redoing floors, adding 2 full bathrooms (1 being a new master) redoing the outside brick, and a small extension in the backÂso you will be seeing us on other forums here.

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Comments (4)

User
16 years ago
I can't comment on the hood other than to say I have the 600 cfm VAH and it does a great job with my grill. It is quiet enough that I use it all the time. Yours will be even quieter since the blower will be exterior mounted. There is a formula that will determine how much power you need depending on the distance from the range, duct diameter and number of turns the duct will make. It is in the specs available on the ventahood website. That should tell you if you are in the ballpark for ventilation.

I did want to say however, don't forget about make up air if you are going to use a 1500 cfm hood. If your house is pretty airtight, you need to provide a source of air to replace what you are pulling out.
Good luck with the remodel. I am sure you will be on the forums regularly with all the remodeling you are doing.
charlesa
Original Author
16 years ago
Thank you cleo.

I did go to their site and the chart shows 1200CFM. This is the max that chart shows. For some reason there is no info on exterior mounted motors.

I am skeptical about it as the range will be on an exterior wall so I don't think it will make a big difference sound wise, and I also believe that 1500CFM is too much.
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Francy - I am linking below to a Gardenweb FAQ on vent hoods, which should help you. Regarding the width of the hood, a 42" hood would be ideal for your 36" range, because it is most ideal to have 3" on each side of the range for capture area, to capture all the smoke/grease. I did not have the space for those extra inches, so I have a 30" wide hood over a 30" wide range, and it's OK, but I do wish I had the space for a 36" wide hood. Please make sure you check your duct diameter. Ventahood has specific requirements for duct diameter depending on the cfm's you get. If your duct is smaller than what's specified, you will get more noise, as you are constraining the air flow out of the blower. I chose the VAH Excalibur, and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! However, the Excalibur was a special order, and took about 10 weeks to arrive, but I was not in a hurry, so it was OK. Unlike you, I was not going for a vintage look; I just loved that curved design. I chose it in a stainless steel finish, with the bands in stainless steel also, which was an upcharge (the bands come standard in black). Also, I chose rivets on the bands, another upcharge, but so worth it IMHO. The rivets are small, but they are the cherry on the sundae! From a functional point of view, I have found the VAH Excalibur to be efficient, quiet (but I have only a 6' run which helps keep it quiet), and a cinch to clean (don't believe any threads you might see that the VAH is trouble to take apart and clean--if you can open the latches on a briefcase, you can open the VAH's latches and take it apart to clean.) Here is a link that might be useful: Gardenweb's Vent Hood FAQ
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"Why not consult with the permits department or engineering department of your municipality and see what conforms to their norms." For the most part hoods and vent fans are not required for residential use. The AHJ is also not there to tell you how to design things. Who said your gas range needs a hood with an exhaust of 1200CFM? I am not expert, but this seems like a lot of air flow to me. This sounds like to type of air flow required for a commercial stove in a restaurant. " It depends a great deal on the style of cooking that will be used. Indoor grilling take a lot of exhaust capacity (and make up air) to avoid filling the kitchen with smoke. Even a cast iron griddle across two burners can make plenty of smoke. If all you do is boil things, a smaller exhaust hood might be fine. Since most people cook a variety of items in varying styles a variable speed hod is worth having. When making a lot of smoke you can crank it up, but leave it on lower for smaller less smoky tasks. And an 85,000 BTU/hr cooktop is much larger than a typical residential top. It is at the bottom of pro type equipment for a 4 burner.
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400 CFM will be fine if you are only boiling water. Spend the extra money and get a Fantech or a Modern-aire. The highway robbery is buying something that sounds like a jet taking off and costs two thirds what a great system does. Have you ever heard of anyone complaining about there system being too quiet or too efficient?
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fandlil
16 years ago
Your cooktop at an exterior wall is an advantage, because you can vent to the outside more easily. But one word of caution, which you probably know already: make sure your vent duct makes as few turns as possible (preferably no more than one) and the turn should be gradual. Otherwise you'll lose a lot of exhaust power. Integrating some kind of make-up air into your exhaust system is probably a good idea; with so may cfm going out, you don't want to have to open a window, esp in the dead of winter. For comparison purposes, you might want to check out the Broan product line. They too have vent hoods with remotely located fan motors. I couldn't say which is better for you.
jamesk
16 years ago
In my previous home I also had a very large range with a grill. I ended up going with a commercial venting system with remote blowers and make-up air -- and that house was in California. Having lived some years ago in Montreal, I can categorically state that you will need heated make-up air with a 1500cfm ventilation system. There's no way you can operate a high cfm vent system during the winter without heated make-up air coming from somewhere.

I installed a CaptiveAire system. I'm not sure if that brand is available in Canada, but you'll probably want to look into something similar. Your best bet would be a company supplying restaurant kitchens. A good dealer will design a system appropriate to a residential kitchen, and while not inexpensive, the cost shouldn't be prohibative. I can tell you, remote blowers are the way you want to go if noise level is important. My CaptiveAire system wasn't totally silent, but it provided very good (and comfortable) ventilation without drowning out conversation in the kitchen, or the television.

Here is a link that might be useful: CaptiveAire Commercial Ventilation

Question regarding Kitchen Vent Hood

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charlesa
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Question regarding Kitchen Vent Hood

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charlesaOriginal Author

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charlesa
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