Need Help Choosing a Range Hood Brand/Style (Zephyr, XO, Elica, ZLine)

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Now that my part of Pennsylvania will be moving to the green phase next week, I anticipate our kitchen renovation that started in January will resume and be finished pretty quickly. I need to order a range hood for my Bosch 36" induction cooktop.

I plan on ordering a 42" stainless steel model as wood is out of our price range right now. And I am looking for a lower profile model.

Here are the brands and models am I considering:

Zephyr Siena Pro (600cfm, $1200)

XO XOV42S (700, $1250)

XO XOJ425 (700 cfm, $1250)

Elica Leone (1200 cfm, $1200)

Zephyr Arc Layers (600cfm, $2500)

Wolf VI42B (600 cfm, about $2100, also 45" wide)

Zephyr Venezia

ZLine: I haven't read many positive comments about them.

Vent-a-Hood: good reviews but out of our budget

Elica: know little about this brand

XO: know little about this brand

Zephyr: reading some good reviews but there is limited information

What experience do you have with these brands? I am not finding the amount of information I would like to be comfortable choosing a brand.

Would a 45" hood be too wide?

Also, here are a few photos of the wall where the hood will go, What are your thoughts?

Featured Answer

M Miller

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Out of the choices you linked, I like the Elica Leone best. That is because it appears to be the only one out of your list that has baffle filters. Zephyr Siena has “hybrid baffles” which I am not a fan of, and the rest have mesh filters. Mesh filters tend to get clogged quickly with grease, impeding air flow until you wash them, so they are higher maintenance, or if you don’t wash them, your hood will have reduced exhausting ability. Baffle filters need to be cleaned too of course, but if you don’t, it won’t stop air flow.

I also don’t like the Zephyr Arc and the Wolf not only because of their mesh filters but also their flat design which does not capture effluent as well as a canopy shape. While you said you want a low-profile look, your kitchen will look great with the more pro look of a canopy shape. Why spend all that money on a hood, and have it be less effective cause of its flat profile? Also, that black glass sounds like it’s always going to look smudged and greasy.

Note that the Elica needs an 8” diameter duct from the hood to the outside. Is that the size duct you have?

Comments (28)

lucky998877
3 years ago
I have a Zephyr Siena Pro 48" waiting for installation. The price you listed for a 42" should be about half...on build . com . Make up air required.
athleticannie
Original Author
3 years ago
lucky998877, you are right. That was a typo on my part and has been corrected.
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I have purchased several hoods from Proline for a few kitchens I designed, starting in early 2011 and the most recent was in june 2012. They have really nice and beautiful hoods and I love that they are logo-less. In my experience, there can be issues with the customer service on certain models or things that go on back order if you get unlucky, which it seems Kathleen1945 did. This happened to me when I ordered one that was shipping from a different warehouse and it was backed up. But I just talked to them and changed to a model they had in stock and there wasn't any problem. The thing you do when dealing with them is simply call them first and make sure they have it in stock and that they don't have any issues with the one you want. you really won;t have any problems. One of my hoods I found out had a a problem with the fan in it that was making it really noisy, I guess they said one of the propellers got reversed or something. I didn't have any trouble getting them to immediately replace it. All of the other ones were fine when they arrived. If you are on a budget, this is the best place to get a vent hood. It is kind of a bummer they don;t sell other kitchen appliances. Proline's hoods are great if you want something that is good quality but are ok with it not having a Viking logo on it. I think it is odd that somebody would buy one of these hoods and then pay somebody $600 to install it, the hole point of these hoods is that they are inexpensive and if you are even mildly handy you can install it yourself and save tons of money. Buying a proline instead of a Viking and installing it myself instead of paying a contractor saves me about $2000. Just like buying ANYTHING online, you can get really good deals on great stuff, but you have to be smarter about it than you would if you walked into a store. I personally would go with this model I linked instead of that one at the beginning of this thread. It's cheaper and it's prettier. Here is a link that might be useful: This Hood
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to trixieinthegarden - if I use an undercounter hood, don't I have to revent the whole thing? Or do all the under mounted models use recirculating vents? Right now, I have a nice arrangement that vents to the outside (I'm in a freestanding house, not an apartment) and I was hoping to keep this configuration (trying to save what remains of my budget!) Most are configured to vent through the top or through the back, sometimes offering both options. If you use a top-vented one you should be able to re-use your existing venting, depending on your vent size. Most take a 6 or 8 inch duct. The only thing that would be an issue for you is that undercabinet vent hoods usually have keyhole hangers for the back wall, so you would have to mount a strip just under your soffit at the back to mount the screws for the keyholes to hang. The vents are also attached through the bottom of the cabinet above so that takes much of the hanging weight.
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I installed a Zephyr Typhoon when I re-did the kitchen in the old house. When we built the new house, I again had a Zephyr Typhoon installed. It is quiet and does an excellent job of venting odors out of the house. I cannot say enough about the excellent customer service Zephyr provides. In the first house, the guys installing the countertop beat the h*!! out of the front of my vent hood. Zephyr promptly sent the parts that were needed and helped me find an authorized repairman to install them. In the new house, the installers threw away about half of the parts (grease cups, cages that fit over the fans, and probably a couple more things that I've suppressed). Zephyr promptly sent replacement parts. One of the cages came in warped. They promptly sent another replacement. When you call Zephyr, you talk to a real person (I think in California). There are no language barriers. Can you tell I love Zephyr? You could not give me a GE product. I have a GE Cafe stove that is a nightmare. Customer Service has also been a nightmare. I won't recount it all here. It has been posted in other threads. I know you asked about particular models and I didn't address your question. But good customer service is important to me. Hopefully others will be able to address the models you inquired about.
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athleticannie
Original Author
3 years ago
lucky998877, how did you come to choose the Zephyr?
lucky998877
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
At the time, I found good reviews...and I wanted high cfm, baffles and LED lights. It had everything I needed.
athleticannie thanked lucky998877
lucky998877
3 years ago
I also have a Zephyr wine fridge and it has been just wonderful!
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
3 years ago
I have always used vent-a-hood and always loved them .
athleticannie thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
athleticannie
Original Author
3 years ago
Patricia Colwell Consulting, I would love to use them but they are out of my budget so I can't even consider using the company.
athleticannie
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
M Miller, this is great information. We don't have the duct installed yet so have some flexibility there. I do like the Elica, Zephyr Siena Pro and Zephyr Venezia. What are the hybrid baffles? The Venezia appears to be very similar to the Siena Pro but has the baffles.

Do you know anything about Elica?
lucky998877
3 years ago
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/3450248/does-anyone-have-any-advice-experience-with-zephyr-range-hoods Here are some positive experiences for you to read :)
opaone
3 years ago
The couple of your hoods that I looked at had zero containment area so will not perform as well as those that do. Depending on your style of cooking this may not be a problem but if you frequently cook things with strong odors or that produce a lot of effluent then you may want to consider something else.

More: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5161173/hood-faq

Don't fret over not being able to get a VAH. They are quite loud and expensive for their level of performance.
athleticannie
Original Author
3 years ago
We have reduced our list to:

XO XOV42S (700, $1250)

Zephyr Siena Pro (600cfm, $1200)

XO XOJ425 (700 cfm, $1250)

Zephyr Venezia (715 cfm, $1500)

Elica Leone (1200 cfm, $1200)

Our local appliance store really likes both Zephy and XO but stated that XO is better after the sale if there are issues.

Now check my new thread for my next venting question/problem here.
Alex Air
3 years ago
I have recently purchased Zephyr Venezia 36".
athleticannie
Original Author
3 years ago
Alex Air, do you like it?
Alex Air
3 years ago

It came with this shat at the front and the customer service was perfunctory. No, I am not happy.
athleticannie
Original Author
3 years ago
What are they doing for you?
Alex Air
3 years ago
they told me to try stainless steel cleaner but it is not coming off. If you do buy, go to a store and don't buy online.
lucky998877
3 years ago
I bought online, the finish is perfect.
E S
3 years ago
which 42" hood did you go with? I'm also deciding betwen the Elica (leone) and Zephyr (essentials europa). Both 1200CFM, range is a 6 burner gas range.
athleticannie thanked E S
athleticannie
Original Author
3 years ago
E S, I am just getting around to purchasing a hood. Did you buy one yet?
E S
3 years ago
Yup, we got the elica Leone. It’s only been installed for one month at this point, but no complaints! works as expected so we’re satisfied.
YCZ
2 years ago
@athleticannie What did you get eventually? Mind to share your experience so far? Thanks.
athleticannie
Original Author
2 years ago
We have not yet chosen our hood. In a legal battle with the kitchen contractor so everything is stalled. 🙁
YCZ
2 years ago
Oh no...bummer.. Hope you can get through it soon, good luck!
Jennifer Priest
2 years ago
@E S do you mind me asking what your ceiling height is? I like the Elica Leone but we have 91" ceilings to contend with.
Gwen C.
2 years ago
@wentzylvania can you please update us with which hood you ended up installing? And how do you like it? And what duct size was installed?
Gwen C.
2 years ago
@Jennifer Priest hi, which range hood did you select and how did you install it? I too have a high ceiling and now looking at ideas.
Gwen C.
2 years ago
E S, how can you please share how you like the Elica Leone?

Need Help Choosing a Range Hood Brand/Style (Zephyr, XO, Elica, ZLine)

M Miller

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