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Appliances Design Dilemma Kitchens

Kitchenaid vs. Faber Downdraft

5 years ago

Any advice? We're putting in a downdraft with a Miele 30" induction cooktop.

I know about the disadvantages of having a downdraft, but we have no choice. We're replacing an old Jennair electric with a downdraft, which actually works fine for us. We have small kids, so we're mostly just steaming vegetables, boiling pasta and doing very light frying on the cooktop - I don't have much time for "real" cooking right now.

Looking at the Kitchenaid KXD4630YSS vs. the Faber SCIR3014SSNB-B (I'm in Canada). Price difference is roughly $1000. Is it worth the cost?

Featured Answer

zneret

5 years ago

Unless you've seen a Scirocco in action, I would not go so far to say it's useless. The fan is quite powerful (even with a ~26' duct run) So much that it sucks the gas flame away, which is why the newer one has the additional 5.5" rise. Of course it won't capture all cooking vapours as well as a good overhead but it does do a good job if you're not using gas.

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Comments (10)

zneret
5 years ago
The Scirocco has a powerful fan. That said, I'd go for which has the highest rise if fan speed is the same. I have a Scirocco - the original model with only 8.5" rise - the 14" rise of the current model ha to be an improvement.
User thanked zneret
opaone
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Neither will do much functionally so I don't think it matters. Get the least expensive.

If you cook much or think you will in the future then I'd look at options for a proper hood.
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PRO
Sina Sadeddin Architectural Design
5 years ago
I equate downdrafts as the same as you blowing so go for the cheaper one.
User
5 years ago
Equally useless.
opaone
5 years ago
Hot rising effluent is extremely difficult to overcome. You are trying to get hot moist air to not just stop rising but to travel horizontally and then down. It would take many thousands of CFM's (20,000 maybe?) in the downdraft plus thousands of CFM's of very direct make up air to get a downdraft to begin to overcome and collect hot rising effluent.

It is difficult to get rising effluent to even just bend a tiny bit in to a hood that is too small. This is why commercial hoods are so large.
zneret
5 years ago
Indisputably but if a downdraft is the only practical option.
User thanked zneret
User
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Downdrafts aren't 'useless', they do the poorest job of removing smoke and steam compared to other types of vent systems unfortunately. So beware of this. Consumer Reports says they did the worst job. If you do buy one, make sure it rises very tall.
User thanked User
User
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks for the input, all, and especially zneret. I bought the Scirocco. I'm sure it will be fine, since even our old Jennair downdraft has been fine. As I said, we're not doing much "real" cooking these days, just little-kid-friendly light cooking. We'll either upgrade our kitchen setup or move in a few years. For now, I'm sure the Scirocco will do the trick. :)
KRISTINE PASCUAL
2 years ago
In between a scirocco vs best retractable down draft. What do you recommend? I am an active cook. 36 Inch Downdraft Ventilation with 18 Inch Height, Multiple Blower Options, Four-Speed Glass Touch Control, VERTEX Complete Capture Design, Heat Sentry Automatic Adjustment, 2-Level LED Lighting and Delay Off

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