Wow, that Rangecraft is pretty --- perhaps too pretty to pass up. I can't believe I'm saying this (since I put 1200 CFM over a 30 inch Blue Star) but if it were me and these were the only two options I would get the RC.

That Rangecraft is seriously pretty. What model is it?

As for function, how many BTUs total does your range have? Also, have you checked with your local planning office to see if you need make-up air with a hood above X number of CFMs?

Sayde--I know! For my price range and optimal, quiet hood performance, the Kobe was my choice. It's not the prettiest thing out there, but it will perform well.

Ideagirl--it's The Viser. The CC rangetop is 138,000 total BTUs. Each burner is 23,000. The Appliance forum people will tell you i need mega cfms.

My city requires MUA at 400cfms or more. My former GC says he puts in 1200cfms all the rime and has never had to do MUA. I'm afraid that my high powered rangetop (not seen around these parts ever) will call extra attention to itself and I'll get caught. I don't want to nor do I have the money in the budget for MUA.

Is the brushed stainless a visual no-no with my other shiny stainless?

Could you add a remote (external) blower to the Rangecraft to beef things up? Like something from Prestige?

From someone whose smoke alarm still goes off from time to time, even when the range hood is on, I think you should consider whether it will bug you if the range hood is not performing well even if it is pretty.

Whallyden--I'm not sure. I don't really understand how hoods work despite having been looking for one for almost a year now. It has an internal blower already. Do I take that out and put in an external one? Is that what you're saying? Or is the external blower something you can add to a hood that already has an interior blower/fan?

Itsallaboutthefood--I got by with my old, worthless OTR MW vent with my old electric range. Yeah, things got smokey, but the alarm never went off. I was hoping to do without that this time, but the "form" of the Rangecraft is calling me. Maybe with the hood being 42" over a 36" rangetop the 600 cfms will seem like a bit more because I have that extra capture area? The hood is 24" deep too.

Lots of things bug me (poor lighting, side spray faucets, double-bowl sinks), but I'm not sure that a little too much smoke from time to time would.

Hi Breezygirl,

Your kitchen plan looks beautiful. I think either hood would work, but if it were my kitchen I would definitely go for the rangecraft. It will give you that extra bit of style you will see everytime you walk into your kitchen. I'm not an expert on cfm's, and your stove has a lot of power - but I would trade off the cfm's you need sometimes for looks you'll see all the time. (I'm planning to put a Kobe in my kitchen - but it will be encased in a wood mantle.)

that rangecraft is stunning. I'd go with that.. esp if you've been getting by with an OTR micro this whole time!! that hood is sexy!

I love the rangecraft look too and no, I don't think brushed stainless is an issue. But I would seriously look into Whalleyden's suggestion about appending an exterior blower. I'm not sure I fully understand this, but this is how I THINK they work. Basically you've got a large fan that sucks the air up from the cooking area and sends it shooting through a vent to the outside. The fan can be interior...meaning it is located just above the baffles or mesh grills in the hood itself. It can be exterior, meaning it's actually located OUTSIDE the house at the END of the vent run, pulling the air all the way through the vent run from the kitchen. Or it CAN be located halfway in between, in the middle of the vent run. There are advantages and disadvantages to each, notably that an exterior blower/fan tends to be quieter because it's further from the kitchen, but it also then may need to be more powerful. So, in theory, you could use the RC hood, with it's interior 600cfm motor with an auxilary exterior blower at the end of the vent run when you needed more CFMs.

What I don't know and you would need to find out (try the appliance forum) is if putting the auxilary exterior blower in would A) make the interior one much less effective because it would sort of "block" the vent opening. B) whether running the exterior one simultaneously would somehow damage the interior one. And of course you'd have to make sure that the vent sizing for the two is the same. What size vent does the RC take, btw?

I know you've been getting along with an OTR micro/hood this time, but you haven't had the btus the Culinarian is going to put out either, right? I have a Capital precision that puts out something over 100,000 btus with an Imperial hood insert that sucks up 1200 cfms and it works well. And if you intend to sear meat or stif fry on that baby, you're going to WANT a strong enough hood.

As for MUA...what kind of house do you have...new and well sealed or old and leaky like mine? If it's old and leaky, well, you'll probably get plenty of MUA without installing a special way to get it. If not you probably ought to double check, especially if you have the fireplace nearby.

Abbeys--Good way to look at it. Trading off the cfms that I'd need sometimes for the visual I'd see all the time sounds good to me.

HomeNoobie--Dh wanted a sexy hood! I actually haven't shown him the picture yet. My OTR MW was over an electric stove and the new top will be gas.

That Rangecraft model comes in a 1200CFM version, so I wonder if it might make more sense to either get that version, or get the one you can get a deal on and then separately buy the parts you need from Rangecraft to make it do 1200CFM.

As for the brushed vs. regular stainless, SO not a problem.

However, I do wonder how you would get through the inspection phase of the remodel without MUA. Has your GC explained that?? It doesn't make sense to me.

Yes, that model can be made with a 1200cfm blower. However, the one I'm considering withe the 600cfm is on clearance for more than 50% off. I could not afford to have them make me one. I checked with the woman at Rangecraft and she said it's not a good idea to add an external blower to this one.

I don't have a GC anymore. I'm running the whole house reno. My former GC spoke to the head inspector who said that the city has NEVER made anyone put in MUA even with a high cfm hood. Former GC said I should go about my business and pick out whatever I want. My house is 40 years old and not air tight at all.

I live in a smaller suburban area where I would bet 99.9999% of the people have never heard of a CC so I know the inspectors have never seen one. I don't want to raise a red flag with the rangetop and a powerful hood.

From what I can ferret out, MUA is code in most places in the country but not enforced in many. I'm going to play stupid homeowner/woman and pretend I've never heard of MUA. If I hadn't found the Appliance Forum, I wouldn't have any idea what it is.

Thanks for the confirmation of the brushed not being a problem!

breezy, I love the rangecraft look but .... I would want to know whether 600 cfms would be enough for my cooking style, so I recommend emailing Trevor at eurostoves --regardless of whether you bought it there - or asking on the appliance forum and he's likely to chime in, he's very helpful and there's lots of CC experience over there. If you really like to cook, I hate to say it, but I'd have to pick function over form.

Without doubt the Rangecraft is very sharp looking. I certainly would have considered it when we were looking. I do have a Kobe with 7 or 800 CFM's and I will say it is quieter than others I have heard. I haven't a rangecraft.

Bella--you started all of this for me! ;) Seeing your beautiful range hood made me look into Rangecraft! In my heart of hearts, I know that I need more cfms. But I sure think I could get by on less. I love to cook and most meals are home made.

Eandhl--I'm glad to hear that your Kobe is quiet. They are recommended on the Appliance forum for sure. There aren't any hoods hooked up anywhere near me to listen to. Only a few to actually see IRL too.

It's form versus function, but in this case, function equals safety. Normal charts show you need 1 CFM per 100 BTUs. A 600 CFM hood is good for 60,000 BTUs, which is roughly three of your burners. Do you intend to use more than three burners at a time?

As stated above, you cannot compare your electric range to this gas range.

I would deff go with the RC! but i almost always choose beauty over brains :o)
Im getting a Bluestar 6 burner and i think they are similar in output but my sales guys said a 600 CFM would be fine... although i did say i would only run 4 burners at once, 90% of the time.

And i think you can definitely mix the polished and brushed stainless.

Knowing how you notice fine details every day, I think the brushed stainless will be less inclined to show every little thing. Besides, saving 50% on it will help offset the cost of the bathroom tile you really want!

Dekeoboe--I know the conventional calculations. That's why I was planning the Kobe. I do plan on using more than 3 burners at once when necessary. It won't happen every day, but enough.

Celineike--Good to know. My appliance person (who doesn't sell Capital) said I'd be fine with about that also. And I'm probably like you with the burner usage too.

Kellied--Is that your nice way of saying that I'm picky?? You know me so well. And the 50% is still expensive. I could not afford the RC if it was full price.

Kobe makes a very nice hood -- we were going to go with them, but ended up with a Zephyr Typhoon instead. That being said, I would go for the style of the Rangecraft in your kitchen. The design of that hood would look amazing snuggled between the two windows!

As long as you're not running the everything on high, you should be ok ... my only caveat is that I have no idea how quiet the Rangecraft will be on high!

Is that the hood on the Rangecraft site that is $4,500 on clearance? That's the hood I wanted too, but IMHO, that is still way too much for a hood. I had NO IDEA the original price was $10,000 though - OUTRAGEOUS!

I don't understand the working of hoods either and I was going to post a question about it, but I guess I'll do that on the appliance forum instead!

BTW: You DO have a fireplace right smack in the middle of your house, therefore you MAY actually NEED that MUA! I have an old house too, but my fireplace (woodstove) is at the complete opposite side of the house from my kitchen (NW vs. SE) with a few 6" thick plaster walls in between.

Zacsdaddy--I looked at the Zephyrs too, but couldn't find the right one. The only person Ive ever seen comment on the RC noise level is Bellacucina in her new kitchen. I'm sure that I'd have to run it on high more often because it's only 600cfms. How is the noise level on your Zephyr?

Nat--The 42" in that finish is $4900 at regular price. Thats way out of my price range. The one I'm looking at is $2200, just slightly more than the Kobe.

Melissa--I didn't see your long post up there till just now. I checked with RC. They said it was not a good idea to add a remote blower. Yes, my OTR MW was over an electric range. I have no idea what it's like to REALLY cook on gas, but I know a good hood is important.

My house is older and leaky, but we're trying to fix some of those issues as we reno. The fireplace isn't our primary heat source.

I forgot to answer your question about the duct size. It's 8".

Can you do a 48 inch? there is a copper hood with 1200 cfm for $2300! on the RC site. I was looking at these myself but had to have a rear vent (rather than a top vent) so had a Prestige 1200 CFM put into a custom hood. The RC copper hood is an incredible deal if you can use the size.

I saw that one too. I don't have the room for that one between the two windows. I designed the windows to frame a 42" hood. The 48" is a deal though!

I do know you well. You are very particular. As nice and shiny as the Kobe is, I do think you would be happier with the Rangecraft in the long run.

I know I'd be happier with the look of the RC, but I'm not sure I'd be happier with the performance of it. That's my only hesitation. Particular = picky = perfectionist!

Besides, Wendy, if I found something that I liked that normally I would not be able to afford at a price I could handle, I'd go for it!

Too many cfm's suck the heat out of the house as well. Do you really want a wind tunnel?

I don't want a wind tunnel, just the ability to suck up the smoke I cause when I sear protein at a high heat!

One word. RANGECRAFT. Nuff said.

Regarding the Zephyr -- we were really impressed with the low noise and suction. We're lucky that Zephyr has a huge showroom locally and were able to test out the models.

A couple more weeks and we'll know if it was a good decision or not! The wiring for the hood is complete - just have to wait for the cabinets so we can get it mounted!

We have a 1000CFM hood (Thermador) and a Wolf range with grill. All I can say is 600CFM would not cut it.

And 42" seems perfect with a 36" range. A 36" hood makes the range + hood look too narrow. We have the same layout, windows flanking hood and range.

But the OP has a 6 burner, not a grill.

Zacsdaddy--you're getting close! There are only a few range hoods (and they're UC) to see around here and none of them are even hooked up so you can hear them. Thanks for the Zephyr report.

Sandn--do you think you could get by with 600 if you didn't have the grill? I'm also hoping that maybe the fact that the hood is 42" would help the suck/pull if I only had 600cfms.

Sayde's right. 6 burners, no grill.

Hi Breezygirl, Chiming in late on your post: go with the Rangecraft. It is stunning! Without a grill, I think that 600 cfms is going to be fine.

(We bought a Best K4236, 1000 cfm hood for our 30" Wolf range last year. I love it -- but it is truly overkill. We have never used it on the highest setting. In fact, I rarely use it, even when searing meat on anything but the lowest setting.)

Thanks Francoise for the comments on both the visual and the hood power. If I was getting a grill I wouldn't even consider 600 cfms.

The beauty is calling me!

R-A-N-G-E-C-R-A-F-T! What does that spell? A gorgeous hood that you will love forever!

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.

Oh, please, please, please don't give her a reason to keep looking! She's already on overload and I don't want to visit her in the mental ward any time soon!!

Go with your gut instincts and stop overthinking it.

Thanks Sandn. Yes, I'm confused again. I decide to buy the RC, then I dither again. I'm going to make a decision TODAY and be done with it. I've got too many other decisions left to make.

Update: I bought the Rangecraft.

Good!!!!! That's what you wanted all along! You will love it!!!! And you got an amazing deal. I was so hoping you would get the Rangecraft!!!!! Hooray!

Breezy,

I hope this isn't too nosey of a question. But how did you get such a good deal on that Rangecraft? I love that hood!

Sayde--thanks for the smile!

Babs--not nosey at all. I found it on Rangecraft's website on the clearance page. I saw Bellacucina's beautiful hood in her new kitchen and went to the RC site to check them out. They have quite a few of various sizes and styles that customers ordered and then changed their minds. All the hoods are made to order. I couldn't believe it when I saw one in just the size I planned in a style I loved. Maybe I subconsciously didn't say where I found the deal so no one here would buy it out from under me while I waffled!