Downdraft vent in island or Vent hood in front of window?

4 years ago

I know neither of these is optimal, but it looks like I have two choices as to how to vent my cooktop: I can put the cooktop on my island and use a downdraft vent like Best Cattura or Wolf. Or, I can move the cooktop so that the stove is directly in front of a window and use an island vent above it. Which would you choose? I cook all the time, though I rarely fry and I rarely cook meat or chicken or fish on the stove. I will go with either a Wolf cooktop or if it is in front of the window, a 48 inch Wolf rangetop. My initial plan was to have the cooktop on the island, but then I started reading how deeply Houzzers hate downdrafts....

Featured Answer

chiflipper

4 years ago

Personal experience; natural gas cooktop with non-operable window behind it, tempered glass, pop-up downdraft vent. Weekly window cleaning was easy, the downdraft unit was virtually useless. After one year removed the downdraft and installed "chimney-style" hood. Up and out venting is SO much better...even if installing same looks odd. Function over form.

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Comments (10)

chiflipper
4 years ago
Photos please.
bessiegranddaughter thanked chiflipper
delray33483
4 years ago
I don't think a downdraft would have the power for a 30 inch let alone a 48. who is redesigning your kitchen?
bessiegranddaughter thanked delray33483
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I'll step up and recommend one. I just replied on another post today about my Dacor downdraft. My gas cooktop is also on the island and I did not want a hood. I've had this model for three years and it works great. You can also install it with a remote blower which is mounted outside the house. That allows for more storage under the cooktop and helps make the unit quieter. They have 2 models, one is 1000CFM and the other is 600 CFM. I've had the 600 CFM for three years and it works great. Several other posters have recommended the Thermador because it's vent rises higher than most. I hope that helps.
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Forget flush-mounted Jenn-Airs and telescoping backsplashes. This is the only downdraft exhaust vent that matters: Normally it nestles between your cooktops (or grill or other countertop appliances) smooth and flush with the countertop. But turn on the fan and it raises to well above your cookware, after which you can rotate the head so it's almost directly above the pot or pan you're working with. As such, it doesn't force your cooking fumes to make a U-turn into a Jenn-Air grille, or a rear telescopic downdraft to reach your tall front pots (both will fail at these respective endevours). When you're done using it, turn the knob to the off position and the exhaust head will automatically straighten out and then lower itself until it's flush with the countertop again. It's the Gaggenau VL 051. It has, you'll soon find out, been recently discontinued. Fortunately, there are still several new ones in the pipeline if you look around. It's worth the effort, unless you're ok with a large permanent hood over the island that vents downward, or make a new plenum that runs overhead below the ceiling and outwards and do your best to disguise it (this solution, whilst often not attractive, still works the best. Steam wants to go up, and nothing catches it like a big overhead hood with a strong fan.
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These threads about how to turn a sow's ear into a purse always make me wish Dante were available to narrate. Beyond his experience navigating Hades -- not that dissimilar from navigating a kitchen renovation -- I believe we could depend on him to describe the appropriate afterlife rewards deserved by bad kitchen configurators. The moral to be derived is that to be fully functional, kitchens must be planned accounting for all requirements that bear on the various kitchen functions. In particular, the cooktop has to be placed where it is feasible to provide sufficient air flow for good ventilation. This tends to force one of two configurations: (a) the cooking surface is on the inside of an outside wall that can accommodate an external blower, external duct cap, or external chase; (b) the cooking surface is on an internal wall or on a peninsula/island above which is an attic or other path capable of providing sufficient sectional duct area to the outside. Choosing interior locations with bedrooms above and similar restrictive boundary conditions should be excluded ab initio.
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susan49417
4 years ago
Wow, tough call. I absolutely hate cook tops in the island but in front of a window....what a mess!
bessiegranddaughter thanked susan49417
PRO
Sabrina Alfin Interiors
4 years ago
You can only put a cooktop in front of a window if that window is not operable. It's a fire hazard and will not meet code in most places. I've done pop-up downdraft vents in an island before. It works fine as long as you're not doing a ton of frying. Wolf and Thermador both make good options.
bessiegranddaughter thanked Sabrina Alfin Interiors
calidesign
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I had a gas stovetop with a downdraft on as island, and I thought it was great. My island was large enough to still have a wide area behind the stove for countertop use. I liked that the vent was unnoticeable most of the time with a clear view outdoors. I cooked dinner almost daily, and it worked perfectly fine for the infrequent times I needed the vent. I also had a large window and French doors that were often open nearby. I think a a lot has to do with your particular space, and what types of things you cook. Mine was a downdraft for 4 large burners plus a center griddle.
suezbell
4 years ago
No stove or vent by the window. A sink should be by the window.
bessiegranddaughter thanked suezbell
suezbell
4 years ago
Photos and floor plan (to scale on graph paper) would get you more help.
bessiegranddaughter thanked suezbell
User
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Get a better Kitchen Designer. If you can afford the too large for a normal suburban kitchen 48” range, you can afford the better kitchen that surrounds it. Don’t shove something like that into an awkward bad layout. Which any layout like you’ve proposed IS. It’s bad. Do better. Hire a real Kitchen Designer to start.
bessiegranddaughter thanked User
eandhl2
4 years ago
Years ago I had a JenAir range. The downdraft didn't do much. They we did a tall telescope downdraft, big improvement. Now I have an over the range hood bigger improvement.
bessiegranddaughter thanked eandhl2

Downdraft vent in island or Vent hood in front of window?

chiflipper

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