thanks for the input.. I found the deal through kitchen foundry. I don't believe it is a floor model. from what I am told it is just new old stock. from the link weissman posted, people weren't complaining about the quality nor the performance. that was my main concern. people state the finish comes off the baffle boxes over time. after talking to Erik from kitchen foundry he stated that is mainly due to harsh cleaners people are using..... and worst case they can be replaced for 170 bucks. the other complaints were noise, but most seemed to state it was due to improper install or unbalanced fan wheels. My only real reservation now is the fluorescent lighting. I plan to look into an LED tube replacement. This post was edited by Zivman on Mon, Jan 20, 14 at 21:22

So I'll update this, as we still haven't made a decision. Induction: I bought an induction burner and like it, although it isn't as life-changing as I sort of expected. (I realize the power is much lower than a range or cooktop would be.) We also had an electrician examine our house, and he thinks we can put one in. My dad (also an electrician) and husband agree we should do a max load test before we put 40 or more amps on the panel, though. (Long story short: we have a 200 amp breaker but 100 amps coming into the house, so we need to put in a smaller breaker.) So it's still a bit up in the air. Gas/dual-fuel: I went to look at the Aga Legacy today and really liked it. I'm also going to look at a Lacanche soon, at a Lacanche ambassador's house. Both of those are, frankly, more than I wanted to pay, but I really love the looks and some of the features a lot (ovens on the Aga, simmer plate and large burner on the Lacanche). I've also considered a BlueStar or Big Chill Pro Style (rebadged BlueStar), but there isn't one local to me. The price, features, and availability of the color finish are good, but I'm a little nervous about all the issues people have had. I think I've looked at nearly every option out there, but I'd love to hear more if anyone has ideas!

>>> would a recirculating hood such as a Broan cbd330 make much of a difference in grease and odors vs no hood at all?<<< >>>I also know what CO is and why I should care about it.<<< >>>Our house is old and far from airtight.Is my hunch that this recirculating hood won't do much good right? Would it mitigate eau de cabbage stew any better than cracking a few windows?<<< My initial reactions to using that Broan without venting to the outside are these: that your Broan may help a bit with some aerosolized cooking grease (although the hood design means that a lot will not be captured); that the Broan may serve as a surface for condensing vapor but will be otherwise ineffective in dealing with vaporous combustion byproducts and steam, much less the odor/stench of boiled cabbage; and that it will do nothing about CO which you should not need to worry about, anyway. For removing odors when boiling cabbage etc., you might have better luck with the windows, particularly if you can toss-in a box fan or window fan for those occasions. CO emissions from modern gas ranges should be barely detectable with sophisticated equipment -- far below hazard levels --- unless somebody has really screwed with your burner adjustments The combustion byproducts from the burners are rather more smoglike with the principal components being CO2 and NO2. The Dept. of Energy in conjunction with the EPA published a study on air quality in kitchens with "unvented" gas ranges and the effectiveness of realtively affordable venting a couple of years ago. The result was some overblown media attention. It also got some interesting commentary here which you can find at this link if you are interested: http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2304651/ny-times-the-kitchen-as-a-pollution-hazard The idea of getting a convertible hood and later installing outside venting is not a bad one. I'm guessing that you are not currently venting because your stove currently sits on an interior wall and you all have been stumped on how to get outside venting without a full kitchen remodel to relocate the stove. Is that correct? That's a problem I had with my old-house kitchen and I discovered numbers of relatively easy ways to go up from a vent and run ducting over to the nearest exterior wall through a cabinet. This was easy for me because the interior wall behind my stove butted into an exterior wall and because I didn't mind the somewhat industrial look of the ducting. Might or might not be that easy for your old house-kitchen and the look might or might not work for you. Having said that, the 30" Broan cbd330 may not be the best choice. It seems to be a low-rise hood which does not project very far out from the wall, and it has a flat base rather than a canopy. As kas has often pointed out, an actual canopy gives better coverage and capture and can be a significant part of the effectiveness of a range hood. Even better when the hood extends a bit wider than the stove. (Better still when the hood also has enough depth to extend as far out as the front of the stove, too.) Basically, the flat base on the Broan means that the unit depends entirely on fan-power to collect vapors, grease, and etc., The Broan has relatively low fan capacity. (250 CFM?) You might want to consider taking that unit back and swapping it for something with a canopy and, if it will fit, something 36" wide. Again, that may or may not work in your kitchen. My old-house kitchen was such that I also had to resort to a low-rise hood with a flat bottom rather than a canopy. We work with the kitchens we have.

Seems to me that either the Broan or the Zephyr could work okay for your application. There won't be any code requirements for hood power -- the "needing more CFM" is simply a rule of thumb for a worst case scenario that assumes you have all five burners running on the maximum possible heat. Are you figuring on running five woks at a time or five pasta pots on full boil at once? Where regulations may apply is with make-up air (MUA). For places that have . codes requiring MUA, the requirement generally kicks in at around 400 cfm. Even without regulations, it is a very good idea to check out your house to be sure that when you "really suck up the air out of the kitchen" you are not backdrafting fire places, gas furnaces or gas water heaters. I do not have any first hand experience with Broan QP430 but I note that it is a couple of inches less deep than the Zephyr, so it won't extend quite as far over the front burners. (Actually, if you can swing the space, the recommendation here would be to get a 36" hood for better capture over a 30" range.) I have had a 36" 650 CFM Zephyr Cylcone for about 13 years without issues. I used it over a GE dual-fuel range for the first 10 of those years and then over pro-style NXR since then and it has been pretty much good for my needs. Curries are about the only thing that seems to have lingering aromas, but that is pretty hard to control no matter how good your hood. The old Zephyr is similar to the current Hurricane except that the Hurricane is a couple of inches taller and has a bit of a canopy form that will help a little with collection of vapors. My Zephyr uses the same of grease capture system that bobbykauaiboy describes for the current Hurricane, and I can testify to its effectiveness. About three years ago, when I had to relocate the ducting run (long story, don't ask) and the ducting had been in daily use for decade, I found no real grease build-up. There was barely even a thin grease film in the ducting upstream from the hood. So, I agree with bobbykauaiboy on the effectiveness of Zephyr's grease capture design. My older Zephyr also fits in the category of "not the quietest" so I'm not sure how meaningful that 2 sones rating is for the Hurricane. Not sure what to make of the Spagna Vetro manufacturer blurb above. Apparently Houszz is encouraging this kind of thing. (Oh-oh, there goes the chronic-old-fart warning alarm.) Been years since I recall seeing any gw posts about the brand. Try a search using "gardenweb + spagna vetro" and see what turns up. If you are not Canadian, note the "ca" web address. The only other thing I can recall about the brand is that, like many Euro-style designs, they only project about 18" out from the wall, barely more than an OTR. With a 900 CFM fan, you will definitely want to look into MUA.