When it comes from China you get what you pay for and I'll leave it at that.

The quality of Chinese made hoods depends solely upon the company ordering them. There are some factories in China that do excellent and exacting work using the highest quality materials, if that's what is demanded of them if they're supplied with the materials. It may be difficult to ferret out those factories, but the cost of labor is still very low.

Well, actually the first hood we installed was a Chinese made hood which I purchased online based on a positive review by a GW poster. I used the same website she did.

The fan was noisy - far noisier than we were led to believe, the hood showed an amazing amount of dirt as in fingerprints and grease spots but amazingly the filters were never as dirty as the finish LOL. Between that and the noise we decided to send it back. (It took 8 months to get a refund but that was neither here or there on the quality - rather a function of the customer support) email me if you want the website info.

We ended up spending a lot more and are very happy with our Symbol hood from Futurofuturo and it's Italian made.

Since then a lot has happened to make me question buying anything made in China and not just for their poor quality control, lack of safety standards and use of lead in products marketed for children. They also have an absymal record in human rights and not to trivialize the human rights aspect which the more I learn about, the more determined I am not to supprot China with my $ but now they are talking of banning live coverage of the summer Olympics in Beijing.

But I digress into politics which is why my first answer was so brief - I do tend to jump on the soapbox and preach on the topic of buying Chinese made goods LOL and none of the preaching is positive based on my own experience .

Annav, IMHO, although the brand we purchased was not one you listed, I would be wary of purchasing a Chinese made fan. Others on this board have expressed the opinion that they are so cheap, it may be worth getting with the intent of replacing the hood in a few years when it breaks down. Hopefully faulty electrical wiring won't burn your house down. And for what it's worth UL listings are based on a sample sent to the lab by the company and is NOT indicative of a quality product. You should check with your insurance company on how they will handle claims for damage caused by non-UL rated electrical appliances installed in your kitchen. Some may refuse any claim resulting from damage from a non UL listed appliance.

Loves2cook...please post the web address of the chinese hood that you purchased.
I want to make sure I dont get that particular brand.
Thanks

I thought my post went through...

I owned one, but never got to install it.
My family (All Chinese) have them, because we need it w/ all of our stir-frying and VERY flavorful (strong aroma) cooking style.
The one we owned was very solid and looked just as good as another brand (?Zephyr?), but for 1/2 the price (got it in CA Chinatown).
It was over 600CFM 36" stainless steel by ?Sakura?.
No filters to clean; just 2 drip trays which makes cleaning so easy.

My only note is that if you do get one, I'd recommend getting a remote blower and a silencer, because it can be loud. But hey, if it's blowing away the smell of ginger and fish sauce flavor fried tilapia from my curtains and carpet, etc, then good for me.

good luck.
If we were planning of using less than 1200 cfm, we would definitely consider one of these Chinese ones.

I bought my 'Jasmine' ebay-chinese island range hood about two years ago. It works well and does the job. The finish is fine and so are the controls. I am pleased with it. I see them being sold for far cheaper now ... We will see how long it lasts.

Just because something is made in china, does not mean it is cheap. Depends on who is making them. In fact, I am surprised at how good certain goods are. eg. my danze faucet has developed rust spots but my chinese-ebay faucet looks as good a new... you do the math...

I emailed you off the boards.

we bought the San Yang Pai Stainless Chimney hood 5 1/2 years ago. it still works great. it is a bit loud but works very well in sucking out all the smoke. we stirfry and deepfry alot and it has done a good job ventilating it out of the kitchen. the cleaning is very easy. all you need to do is switch it on and spray 409 while it is spinning, turn it off, let it sit for 5 minutes, turn it back on and spray 409 again (this step is not necessary, but i'm a little anal about trying to get all the grease out), turn it off, let it sit another 5 minutes, turn it back on, this time spray with water. all the 409 and water will drip in the 2 cups in the back. wash in the cups in the dishwasher and it's all clean. very simple. i would recommend it for the quality and price (i paid about $700 5 years ago). i'm actually doing a huge kitchen remodel and that is one thing i am keeping and would not change, it's still in very good condition and looks sleek. i forget the CFM but it was the most expensive model at that time...i bought it in San Gabriel, CA

FYI about confusion of calling it Chinese range hoods. The brand names, San Yang Pai, is a 25 year old company that started in USA. They manufacture the range hoods right here in the USA: http://www.sanyangpai.com/AboutUs.asp

Pacific, http://www.2pacific.com/home2.html, is another company that have a good product base in the USA.

The power is near commercial grade with great residential look. Some models uses drip system that catches grease in a container instead of filters, they claimed it's easy to clean. I've seen it be used in high smoke cooking homes and it does a better job than any big box store brands.
The look is better too.

If you live near their stores, they will do installation to after services.

thanks no_name2008, when i bought the San Yang Pai, they didn't have a website so this was helpful. The model i purchased was the RA-1790, 700 CFM. on a daily basis, i use the low speed (which is still powerful). i use the high speed when i start the stirfry or deepfry. it does an excellent job. you can test it by getting a 12" glass pot lid and let it suck it. it will stay there. yeah, that was the selling point when they demonstrated that at the store.....i sometimes do it for fun to see how well it works.... by the way, the $700 included installation.

>>you can test it by getting a 12" glass pot lid and let it suck it.

WOW that is really powerful! I wonder if other brands like Futuro with 750 CFM can do that. Does anyone with other hoods care to try it out and let us know?

Thanks!

I bought a Zephyr Tornado II insert for a custom wood hood. My hood has 1,200 CFM! It has some serious power! My brother's home is about 500' away and can smell my cooking when I have my hood on and he's mowing his grass. THAT tells you "something" about either the power of the hood or my cooking, depending on whether you like what yuou smell or not! :]

www.zephyronline.com has many wonderful products. IMHO, Zephyr is the "Mercedes" of hoods at a fair price point if you compare to others. I bought my hood from a guy off eBay that sold me 90% of my appliances when we built. 'saving-u-money' or Buy Appliances is his business on eBay.

See my hood from another company below.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.universal-akb.com/12cfmzeptori.html

anyone have one of the "veneto" range hoods, like those on http://www.rangehoodsmall.com/ ?

Asian companies makes the best hood in the world and a competitive price. Most of the brands available in the states are good brands. Sakura, Sanyo works pretty well.

I bought a Pacifc range hood, 900 CFM under $500 10 years ago for my in-laws. Still works great. (now is about $600 to $700)
They cook a lot of Chinese food.
Easy to clean.
Great price and performance.
I am remodeling my kitchen now and plan to buy another Pacific hood.
--A happy customer

At this point, with the drywall in and the cabinets ordered, you don't have anything to lose by having them installed and going with your first plan to see how it feels. You might find it wonderful, or if you don't then you can always have them taken out later and go topless then without any more work/expense than you'd be facing now. If you try the other plan first, then you have the guaranteed costs of changing the lighting, plus the unused cabinets.

Here is a link that might be useful: range hoods

wow this post was from almost 10 years ago! I'm in search of a powerful range hood that accommodates lots of Chinese cooking. If possible, can you share which one you end up going with and how did it work out? Thank you!.

I have the equivalent of a zephyr typhoon (same hood but was re-branded). See my pics, that thing will hold up a full size corning-ware quiche dish!! Caveat is you must have enough air supply and duct size, so the hood isn't fighting against resistance. Mine's powder-coat, smooth, and has been a breeze to maintain, simple to operate, and I like the light supply.

First picture shows the guts, two huge turbine fans (that's a two liter bottle).

I'm a total geek, so took it apart to see what's inside and the quality of guts is excellent. However, the install process is hellish due to the location of the mounting holes and how hard they are to access way in the corners while trying to hold up this heavy beast.

Second picture shows the thing - with one fan not covered - holding up a glass corning-ware french white 10 1/2 inch diameter quiche dish!

We renovated our kitchen about 15 years ago and got sucked into a chimney style Miele Hood Fan because that is what our renovator recommended and carried. It looks great against the tumble marble backsplash. Over the years, the amount of grease that has accumulated next to the chimney and behind the range hood is unsightly and impossible to clean. We are also on to our 3rd motor and are not happy about the expense. A new motor with the cost of installation runs about $700, which is above the price of one of the range hoods designed for Chinese cooking.I believe my parents have a Sakura for many years and are very happy with it.

I love mine from San Yang Pai Co. Nothing escapes it!

Pacair, Pacific, Sakura

Honestly I only trust Asian made range hoods. Grew up with a Viking hood that was terribly hard to clean and still left oil droplets. I knew others who had other higher and lower end vents that had problems venting odor, sucking up oil, and keeps blowing air in your face.

If you cook a lot of Asian food, Asian range hoods are the only way to go. I currently own a Sakura in my apartment and it works great with pretty much anything except frying fish. I really only need to clean it 2x a year.

While there’s truth in being wary of things being made in China, range hoods are pretty essential in Chinese cooking. Wok cooking requires real venting power and its not like all vents in households in Asia are virtually collapsing at every use. Of course don’t buy a crapshoot sketchy brand. It’s will never be as complicated as servicing a range with tons of electronics (Samsung).

I had a Vent-a-hood before but now I am looking at Pacific and Fotile for my new kitchen. Might have to research Sakura and San Yang Pai as well