Zephyr vs Bluestar insert range hood over Bluestar RNB rangetop
Matt Leveille
5 years ago
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Range Hood Insert for 48" BlueStar Gas Platinum Rangetop
Comments (9)What one wants is to have the hood aperture size overlap the rising and expanding effluent plume. Aperture in this case refers to the area at the bottom of the hood that can be expected to actually capture effluent. Generally this is the empty space within the interior sides, but in some cases might include some of the edge (with enough flow rate and/or steep enough angle). So, given an area at the cooktop that represents the contour of the bases of all pans that might be employed on the burners/hobs, draw an imaginary line upward from the contour edge expanding out at, say, 10 degrees, to the height of the hood aperture. (This is equivalent to multiplying the hood height by 0.176 or thereabouts, to find the edge of the preferred minimum overhang of the aperture.) Very high hoods need additional overlap beyond this to resist cross drafts from helping the effluent escape. If wood is exposed at the bottom of the insert enclosure, its distance from the cooking surface must comply with the range manufacturer's minimum allowable distance to combustible surfaces. If Rustic-R-Us is intended (cabinet-wise and flame-wise), then maybe cabinets made of woods that smoulder instead of burn might be considered, such as ipe or redwood. kas...See MoreInsert hood for size (and recommendation) for Bluestar Range
Comments (4)Front to back depth should achieve the same capture goal as described for side to side. Sometimes a hood can be mounted farther from the wall and a spacer applied at the back, thereby achieving a somewhat deeper effective hood. Effluent will curl off of a flat back spacer. If flow rate is high enough this effluent will still be captured as it can't escape into the wall. Alternatively, the back spacer can be angled between the back wall and hood entry to reflect upward. Keep in mind as you think about this that the plumes have velocity (more than a meter per second in some cases) and momentum. Momentum is conserved on reflection (accounting for angle of reflection equals angle of incidence relative to the normal, just like light), but overall momentum is degraded by friction with the air and enhanced when entrained in the hood flow. Cooktops and ranges placed against walls with counters on both sides and cabinets above them that drop down below the hood provide a certain degree of flow support as the air is somewhat channeled to the hood and the plumes are somewhat restrained at the sides. Along with an excess of air flow (relative to my suggestion above), you may find that most of the plume is still captured. I have an island configuration so I can only surmise the flow patterns that will likely occur, as informed by various schlieren photographs of commercial hoods that have been published. Hoods can be at any height, but given the plume expansion, have to grow in size the higher they are placed. Commercial hoods often have their apertures at 7 feet above the floor (four feet above the cooking surface), and are built commensurately larger and have appropriately greater air flow (and MUA to replace it). You want the hood to be high enough to avoid head interception, as well as high enough to provide clear sight-lines to the interior of pots. I recommend drawing a side view sketch to scale of the cooking configuration, and add a stick figure cook. Observe sight lines and head vs. hood as the figure bends at the waist. This lends itself to experiments with hood mounting, both in height and offset from the wall. My Wolf pro island hood base is at 34.5 inches above the cooktop for a variety of reasons, and it just clears my head. Hoods that don't extend so far out may still miss one's head due to bending effects. At worst, head interceptions will train the cook to avoid the hood. :) At max power, the zero static pressure flow rate is 1200 CFM. Mounted In the hood, duct, or roof with pressure losses from baffle restrictions, hood transitions, duct losses, and in particular imperfect MUA, the actual flow would likely be closer to 800 CFM. This is higher than the 560 or so nominal flow rate needed for your newly described aperture, so you should have some margin unless the MUA is inadequate, in which case the house pressure will drop some and the flow rate from the blower will match the MUA that results from the MUA design and the pressure the house drops down to. Carbon monoxide sensors become desirable in such cases if there are combustion appliances in use. kas...See MoreBluestar RNB Range - How is the griddle?
Comments (25)OpaOne. From one Opa to another, I'd like to thank you. Reading your posts on Houzz/GardenWeb here and your link posted above (WordPoint/Disqus), I've decided to do a BlueStar RNB 48" rangetop with a 24" griddle in our kitchen remodel. It makes so much sense to me to do the same set-up that you have with the griddle as a faux French Top, using the portable inductions (which I have two of) for other items such as the Fisler pressure cooker, etc... Also, the idea of being able to place my "giant" de Buyer carbon steel Paella pan entirely on the griddle is a "no-brainer" for me. Also was thinking of doing crepes on the griddle once it is well seasoned. Basically, a large thermostatically controlled griddle is the way to go and could be a very Jack of All Trades cooking unit. I was wrestling with doing the 60" RNB rangetop (for the 2 extra burners) or a set up using the BS 36-inch Platinum with a 24-inch BS RNB all griddle butted up against it. The costs of double gas lines/electrical, ventilation, and cabinetry and the ridiculous price mark-up made that point moot. Early on I definitely decided against the range, due to my age and bending over, plus I prefer electric ovens over gas. I'm going with the 30-inch Thermador Professional double wall oven with bottom dual convection and rotisserie oven and their steam oven above. Their steam oven has the largest capacity available on the market. I wish that Miele or Bosch offered the same capacity. I am also thinking (planning stage) of matching a 30-inch (Thermador) Speed Oven under the coffee bar counter (all appliances on the same wall), instead of a plain microwave or microwave drawer. On the ventilation above the BS 48-inch rangetop, I'm leaning towards a 54-inch wide by 27-inch deep Z-Line 1200 CFM stainless hood. Any thoughts would be appreciated....See MoreHelp! Range hood w/ remote blower for 8" duct over 36" Bluestar
Comments (5)All of the above may be true, but are not in themselves totally limiting. In general, there is always a blower that will move a desired air flow volumetric rate through a given duct, but one might not want to operate it, listen to it, or pay for it. But in this case we are on the margin, and feasibility is not prohibited using conventional devices. For example, I have a Wolf/Broan 1500 CFM rated roof-mounted blower operating with a 10-inch duct, and given various estimated pressure losses, expect that it moves 900 - 1000 CFM. A 1000 CFM rated typical hood blower, no matter how large the duct, at a minimum will be significantly restricted by the hood baffles, and at a maximum by any added MUA pressure losses, and would be unlikely to move more than 700 CFM in use with a hood. An 8-inch duct has a sectional area of 64% of that of a 10-inch duct, so the pressure losses operating at 67% through an 8-inch duct of the air flow rate through a 10-inch duct will be similar. In general, one wants to select a blower having a fan curve that supports the desired flow rate at the pressure loss that one estimates is present. Without my looking up the specified hood, let us assume that its entrance aperture is 42 x 27 inches or just under 8 sq. ft. This calls for 8 x 90 CFM/sq. ft. or 720 actual CFM. A typical 1000 CFM blower may achieve this with a 8-inch duct, and one certainly can check the assumptions against blower fan curves (where available) to either ensure adequacy, or at least force the MUA system to be active and not cause significant pressure loss. Note that this doesn't violate your appliance guy's opinion about duct flow rates, although I am sure that his view is based on typical in-hood blowers. If you have the room in some part of the duct path, then including a silencer will help reduce noise back at the hood for only a small added pressure loss. In any case, numerous commercial kitchen ventilation blowers can be found that will pull 720 CFM against any pressure loss likely from a well designed hood/MUA setup. It is quieter to move a given flow rate when the fan blades are large and moving slowly than small and moving quickly, as the latter generates more high frequency noise from turbulence. Induction motors can be controlled by rheostat adjusted phase circuits, and these can be put into hoods. My Wolf hood has such a control, and now the technology allows for it to be performed with better techniques at low cost. These comments are meant to touch on most of your questions, but feel free to delve deeper as needed. kas...See More
Matt Leveille
5 years agopauls234
5 years agoMatt Leveille
5 years agopauls234
5 years agoifoco
5 years agoAvatarWalt
5 years ago
TwoBelles
5 years ago
Sam Goh
5 years agowahlstrand
5 years ago
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