Janet wrote:
The exhaust fan in my kitchen died recently.

Unfortunately, everything in our kitchen has to fit into custom cabinetry
installed by the previous owners, so that when something goes it is a
nightmare to replace. The hood over the cooktop is one of those decorative
wooden things with tiles around the edge. After extensive research, and
talking to a lot of appliance salespeople whose general response was a
shrug, I seem to have located a unit that I can have installed without
tearing out the hood or the existing ductwork, which runs up to and then
through the ceiling to the outside.

Now, I do a lot of cooking that produces heavy-duty steam, smoke, and smell.
(The cooktop has a grill in the middle, I do a lot of things in a wok, I
cook Indian food, I make giant pots of stock that simmer for a day, and so
forth.) The old unit--a Thermador squirrel cage thing, circa 1980--was
grossly inadequate, and led to the accumulation of greasy dust on various
surfaces in the kitchen. In addition, the ceiling in my kitchen is high, and
the kitchen is not closed off from the rest of the house, which is a big old
house with high ceilings. My dream fan was always one of things that is
mounted outside the house, but I discovered that it would require larger
ductwork, which would be a big job involving going into the ceiling, so
that's out.

The unit I've found moves about 400+ cubic feet per minute. This seems to be
the most powerful unit that can use 3 1/2x10 ductwork, which has a capacity
equal to 6" round, according to the appliance people. I'm wondering if
anyone here can offer an opinion, based on their experience, as to whether
this fan is going to be adequate to my needs. (It is over a 36" electric
cooktop--unfortunately, I would SO love to have gas--so BTUs are not a big
concern.)


You didn't mention this but the first thing to do is see if it can be
repaired. Especially if it is a installation like you described where it
is difficult to remove the unit.

Either the motor or switch has failed or it could even be a wiring
problem. Our range hood quit a few weeks ago and when I disassembled it
I found that a wire had been nicked when it was stripped at the factory
and it broke off from the switch terminal. I repaired the wire and the
hood is working.

If you absolutely can't get exact replacement parts or ones that can be
modified to fit then you start looking for a replacement unit.

I think 400 CFM is undersized for the sort of cooking you describe.

On Fri, 16 May 2008 10:46:23 -0400, George
wrote:

I think 400 CFM is undersized for the sort of cooking you describe.

Absolutely! She needs twice as much.

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sf wrote:
George wrote:

I think 400 CFM is undersized for the sort of cooking you describe.

Absolutely! �She needs twice as much.

400 CFM is already over kill... 800 CFM is a tremendously powerful
exhaust fan for cooking, most commercial installations are not nearly
so powerful. My little Echo leaf blower is rated at 365 CFM and would
literally blow you away.

My range hood is plenty powerful at 250 CFM, I have it exhausted to
the outdoors, I never run it on High and rarely run it on Medium, Low
is plenty for most cooking. If I ran this on High I'd suck all the
heat/AC out of my house before I could fry a burger.
http://products.howstuffworks.com/ke...013-review.htm

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On Sat, 17 May 2008 11:29:25 -0700 (PDT), Sheldon
wrote:

sf wrote:
George wrote:

I think 400 CFM is undersized for the sort of cooking you describe.

Absolutely! ?She needs twice as much.

400 CFM is already over kill... 800 CFM is a tremendously powerful
exhaust fan for cooking, most commercial installations are not nearly
so powerful. My little Echo leaf blower is rated at 365 CFM and would
literally blow you away.

My range hood is plenty powerful at 250 CFM, I have it exhausted to
the outdoors, I never run it on High and rarely run it on Medium, Low
is plenty for most cooking. If I ran this on High I'd suck all the
heat/AC out of my house before I could fry a burger.
http://products.howstuffworks.com/ke...013-review.htm


Mine is a vent-a-hood, and their cfm is lower than actual performance
level: Equivalent CFM*: A 600 CFM Magic Lung® blower is capable of
handling professional style cooking equipment with 900 CFM
requirements (as specified by the range manufacturer.)

I have a 48 inch cooktop. My unit has two exhaust fans (with an
option of a third one), one is only one speed (low), the other is two
speeds (high, low). I have an indoor bbq, so this exhaust works well
for that purpose. It is also a godsend when hubby cooks steaks in the
cast iron pan (better for searing, less heat up time).

As far as changing the temperature in the entire house, or even the
kitchen... I've never noticed that. It does a good job of clearing
odor and moisture from the kitchen air though.

BTW to Janet: The only duct work we needed to do when converting over
from the older than dirt Newtone to the new Vent-a-Hood was to install
a coupling that converts a rectangular duct to round.

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