Distance between range hood and gas stove? 18", 24" or 30"?

4 years ago

I'm working on a kitchen remodel of my very small turn of the century condo. I prefer the sleek look of a European style kitchen with the upper cabinets hung at a higher height and in a single straight line, so no shorter cabinets over the sink and stove.

To get the look I want, I'll have to use either a slide out, the Broan Slide-Out Range Hood Insert, or a basic insert, like the Broan power pack.

My range's spec sheet, a 30" 5 gas burner frigidaire model, calls for 24" if there's fire retardant board and sheet metal or 30" without that between the range top and the vent.

Now here's where I'm confused, the slide out specs say there must be 18" between the vent and the range, which is a whole 6" less than the stove's spec sheet.

So which is it? I'd ideally like to mount all cabinets at 24", but not if it's a fire hazard. Which option would you go with if you were in my shoes?

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csummersall
Original Author

4 years ago

@M Miller I'd like the upper cabinets to be higher, ideally about 24" between the counter and the uppers. We have very tall, lofted ceilings and will be stacking 30" and 20" uppers for extra vertical storage, so we already have a slim pull out step ladder planned. We're also both tall, so that 6" difference won't be a huge deal for us functionally.

From what I can tell the higher mounting of uppers is pretty common in Europe, and is becoming more common in the US as well. Especially in smaller kitchens as often found in condos/apartments.

Here's a few examples of uppers mounted well above 18" with hidden range hoods:

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Comments (10)

User
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
The most restrictive spec rules the code inspection. You need to pick a less powerful range that allows the vent to be closer than 30”. Or change your vent to a chimney hood or different under cabinet hood.
calidesign
4 years ago
I would want at least 36" between the top of the range and the bottom of the vent to have room to maneuver when cooking without the hood in your face. 18" is usually the minimum between the top of the cooktop and the bottom of cabinets on either side. Go with the higher number, and realize that is a minimum.
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What kind of hood is it? Does it have a capture area underneath or is it a flat panel? Is the hood sized slightly larger than the range? Finally, is this an island or peninsula location or against the wall with cabinets on the sides? It also depends on the kind of cooking you plan to do. If you plan to deep fry or stir fry a lot, then it might be worth it but in general, 3" is not a whole lot to worry about. If it's against the wall with cabinets, then don't worry about it. The cabinets and wall actually help contain the fumes so 3" is not a big deal. If it's on an island, then I'd say make sure it's over sized a bit (extra 3" on each of the 4 sides if possible). In my previous house, we had a cooktop on a peninsula and needed it mounted a bit higher than recommended to maintain acceptable sight line through the room. We had oversized the hood to start so that was possible. Even then we had a bit of smoke escape when I got really going with a wok but it worked fine normally. Not sure how big your range is but if it's under 36" than 750cfm should give you enough headroom to forget about the 3". Just my opinion. Good luck.
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Since no one has answered this, I'll take a stab at it... We have a 24" deep hood over a standard cooktop. It's 30" off the cooking surface. Our counters are the standard 25-1/2" deep (24" cabinet + 1-1/2" counter overhang). We are a tall family (ranging from 5'10" to 6'5" and still growing) and we do not bump our heads on the hood (well, my DH did once when he was peering up into it and didn't lower his head enough to get it out!). If your range is 30" deep, that's 4-1/2" deeper than our counter so I think 27" deep will be fine (that's only 3" deeper than ours). If you grill or do high-heat cooking, a deeper hood is often recommended anyway! This is what a 24" deep hood looks like over a standard 25-1/2" counter (36" wide cooktop). Vent-A-Hood: SEPH18-242 You might consider pulling the range out...do you have room to make all your counters 3" or so deeper? Those extra 3" make a huge difference in work space...so if you could pull the counters out, pulling the range out would be natural and look "planned".
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Ideally the hood should be 6" wider than the range. I think the recommendation above to go 12" wider than a 30" range is overkill. "reasoning was something along the lines that with a bigger hood, you can install it a little taller (looks better) than the recommended distance between stove top and base of hood." Either you misinterpreted what you read, or the person who said that is misinformed. I think what you are referring to is that a taller canopy-style hood will gather and contain, i.e., capture, the smoke and grease better than a more sleek-looking flat glass hood for example, or the smaller undercabinet hoods that are 3-6" tall. In addition, a taller hood has more of a wow factor and presence in a kitchen. I would not equate a taller hood to being able to install the hood a greater distance above the range. Also if you install a hood too high above the range, the proportion can begin to look odd. Most of all, installing the hood too high above the range gives the smoke and grease more opportunity to escape. You wouldn't want to spend all that money on a hood and then curtail its efficiency by installing it too high. The ideal height is a 30-36" distance between the top of the cooktop and the bottom of the hood. I didn't see any mention in the OP of exhaust duct size. Duct size is important. You could buy the best hood in the universe, but if the duct is not sized appropriately, the hood will have decreased efficiency and increased noise through no fault of its own. The most common required duct diameters are 8" and 10". The hood's specs will say which. For a 30" range, the 36" hood will most likely require an 8" diameter duct. Hoods that require a 10" duct typically are for 48" ranges or larger. Do NOT give in to your builder if he says "I am sure a 6" duct will be fine". That might be an easier installation for him, but you have to live with it.
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Without knowing anything about you and your family's needs, it's difficult to say whether you should get a 30" or a 36" range. How many burners do you regularly use? How many do you need when you entertain (if you do) and for holiday dinners? If 4 won't cut it, get a 36" range. Your kitchen is large enough to accommodate a 30" wall oven, too. Personally, I'd prefer to use the smaller oven most of the time so that I'm not working over a hot oven while cooking on the range. Another option would be to do a 36" cook top, a 30" wall oven and a 30" speed oven (MW combo, multi-function). Separate appliances cost more but, as DrB477 pointed out, 36" ranges are spendy. You didn't ask for lay-out advice but your lay-out doesn't make the best use of your kitchen's footprint. Your fridge and range are crowded together and your island's angled shape puts the sink farther away from perimeter counters than recommended, plus it provides limited counter space. Given the opportunity to take advantage of your misfortune (my sympathies), it seems a shame not to consider addressing these issues at the same time. Are you on a slab? Even if you are, can you move plumbing at all? If so, here's one possibility that relieves appliance crowding and gives you a larger island with more counter on each side of the sink plus a lot more room to work on each side of the range, and better work aisle widths. Do you have pantry space somewhere? Or are you doing pantry cabinets? There's room to add them to the above plan, either between wall oven/MW and fridge, creating a "wall of tall" or at one end or the other of the range run. Good luck with your rebuild! PS. If your fridge is a standard depth fridge, you may want to allow a wider aisle between fridge run and island. Or you could investigate recessing the fridge into the stud space a few inches.
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M Miller
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
The standard distance is 30-36” between the top of the cooktop and the bottom of the hood. Anything higher and the cooking effluents have too much opportunity to escape the hood. Anything lower, and it’s too cramped to cook under and looks cramped too. What if you have a taller pot you want to stir and look into - how to do that comfortably if your hood is mounted too low?

The 18” is referring to the distance to the bottom of the adjacent upper cabinets as Calidesign mentioned. When you said “I'd ideally like to mount all cabinets at 24””, I don’t know what you mean. Please explain. The standard distance from the countertop to the bottom of the upper cabinets is 18”. Some people may go an inch or two higher than that, no more. You wouldn’t be able to reach the shelves if the uppers are installed much higher than that 18” distance.
PRO
The Kitchen Abode Ltd.
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
You must follow the clearance from combustibles as stated by the stove or cook top manufacturer, they perform the tests to determine this not the ventilation hood manufacturers.
User
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
And those pictures have INDUCTION cooktops. Not gas. Because gas done how you want would be a Fire Hazard. One shown is, in fact, a Fire Hazard.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
4 years ago
Why not do a regular hood no cabinet above there is nothing wrong with that look in a “European” kitchen I do like my cabinets hung higgher than the standard 18 “ too I usuallty do 22” as most of my clients find 24” just a bit high.
csummersall
Original Author
4 years ago
@Patricia Colwell Consulting The layout doesn't suit a full hood, and we're trying to minimize the amount of stainless visible. We'll likely just raise the cabinet to the necessary height and conceal the hood. It's not my aesthetic ideal, but safety is obviously more important.

I'm glad to hear someone else likes their cabinets higher. 18" just feels very low to me.
salex
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
My uppers are about 21" above the counters - which I love. My hood is 30" above my range - which I also love. I would not want my hood much lower as I like ample space for stirring big pots.
N B
last year
What did you end up doing? Do you have a picture of the finished kitchen you could share? We are having the exact same question and I’m curious how high you went for the cabinets and also how deep your cabinets/hood ended up being. Thank you!

Distance between range hood and gas stove? 18", 24" or 30"?

csummersall
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calidesign

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M Miller

The Kitchen Abode Ltd.

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Distance between range hood and gas stove? 18", 24" or 30"?

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