Experience with cabinet-depth hidden range hood inserts?
Stacey Collins
5 years ago
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weedmeister
5 years agoStacey Collins
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Range hood and insert questions
Comments (7)We're in the process of having cabinets installed this week and have a wood hood with an insert. We ended up going with a 42in Faber Inca insert for our 36in Bluestar rangetop. We had to select the insert first, and our cabinetmaker used the specs to build the wood hood. We have an arch similar to the one in the photo, and the cabinets above ours are somewhat useful, but the cabinetmaker had to put a false back inside to hide the ductwork for the hood blower. We chose to make it look like 3 small doors, 1 solid in the center and 2 on the sides with glass panels and cabinet lights, so they will be mostly decorative- for a nice plate or glassware, not sure yet. It all evolved from a need to hide the ductwork and still want a bit of glass on that wall to break up all the wood....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 MoreCabinet Insert Range Hood Help Needed
Comments (18)Mechanical Q: What makeup air requirements are associated with vented kitchen range hoods? (IRC M1503.4, M1501.2, G2447.6) Three code provisions can trigger the needful makeup air in this situation.The bottom line is that makeup air is always required for high-volume hoods (> 400 cfm) and may be required for lower volume hoods when natural-draft appliances are used. M1503.4 requires makeup air for kitchen hoods which exhaust more than 400 cfm. The makeup airflow rate must equal the exhaust flow rate and an intake damper on the makeup air duct must be interlocked with the control for the fan. M1501.2requires that“ducted exhaust systems”(such as kitchen hoods,bath fans, clothes dryers) not induce negative pressure in excess of negative 3 Pascals at the location of a natural- draft combustion appliance. This provision applies regardless of the rated airflow of the exhaust system. G2447.6 reinforces M1501.2, more explicitly for vented kitchen hoods. This provision is independent of the rated airflow through the hood. A pressure test is required to demonstrate that the depressurization level is within the 3Pascal limit. If the depressurization limit is exceeded, makeup air is one potential solution. There is no requirement to temper makeup air....See MoreVent hood insert: Wolf 40" (19" or 22" depth) or Zephyr Monsoon1 42"
Comments (2)The loudness of the hood is often more a function of the size of the duct that goes from the hood to the outside which you did not mention. For a 1200 cfm motor, the duct size must be 8" diameter minimum, or 10" diameter (you can check the specs of the Wolf and Zephyr to see). If the duct diameter is too small, you could have the quietest hood made in the universe, but it will still be noisy. The 19" depth you mentioned is a non-starter. Ranges are at least 24" front-to-back, and the "pro" styles are deeper than that. So the 19" insert won't cover the front burners. That's a lot of money to spend not to have the front burners covered enough to exhaust them....See MoreStacey Collins
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoDebbi Washburn
5 years agoSammy
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoFori
5 years agoBlueostrich
5 years agonosoccermom
5 years agomainenell
5 years agoFori
5 years agoBuehl
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoStacey Collins
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agonosoccermom
5 years agoDebbi Washburn
5 years ago
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