They have a series of hoods K210 & K260 that come with mesh filters, but you can buy for an upcharge a baffle filter set that fits the hood, you will not receive credit for the mesh.
Baffle filter should last for the life of the hood and can withstand regular clean ups in the dishwasher, mesh do not clean up well and have a limited life span and also increase static pressure (noise)

Both mesh and baffles work by running grease-laden air into the filter, where it collects.

Mesh is better for hoods with lower air flows-it has more surface area, but as guadalupe says, tends to be louder with equal flow rates and to not last as long.

Baffles require the air to be moving faster to work well, but they are quieter at higher air flows, so this is why they are standard in more powerful hoods.

I have a Best by Broan that came with mesh filters and we ordered the baffles with the hood. The baffles came in a separate box. We removed the mesh and installed the baffles -- so yes, we have both, but only can use one at a time. Is that what they were talking about?

DH didn't want to put in a serious cooktop and hood and have what he felt ws the look of builder cheap mesh filters. It was the same issue with flat drawer fronts -- had to be 5 piece for us, and the KD and I knew there was no use trying to convince him otherwise. He would always feel flat drawer fronts and mesh filters looked "cheap."

We tested both sets of filters when the hood was first installed. There is no difference in the sound we get from the blower (external, but in a short straight run without room for a silencer), but I do think the mesh give you a bit more of the air woosh sound as the air passes over a lot of little wirey elements instead of a few larger pieces, especially at higher speeds. I have read that mesh is supposed to operate better at lower speeds and the baffles at higher. I haven't tested that, but this seems to work pretty well for us. Even at 1200cfm fully cranked, it is not as loud as the minimal downdraft we had before.

At full speed (1200 cfm), we can still talk across the kitchen and into the family room, but it may require the person in the family room to speak up a bit. I can't say that I can hear everything on the TV when I am standing right under it though. On the low speed through about mid range, all you notice is a motor hum, and on the lowest speed, we've walked out of the kitchen and left it on. Only after the kids have gone to bed and everything quiets down for a while have I noticed that we forgot to turn it off.

I'm pleased overall -- did you see my post about popping and filling 90 bags of popcorn, delivering them and coming home to no popcorn smell? I loved that! Every now and then I wonder what it would be like with a silencer. I wish you could see, and hear, vent hoods installed. It's the one thing I felt almost completely blind in buying.

lascatx, I feel exactly the same way about buying "blind". Ventilation is the last issue I need to resolve for my new kitchen and since I've only had a totally useless microhood up to this point I'm at a loss as to what is necessary. Last night I seared a flank steak on the cooktop and woke up this morning to the stale smell. The steak was great the first time around but not at all pleasant to have that lingering smell.

We will be installing a 36" GE Monogram induction cooktop so it seems I'll have the ability to generate some serious grease and cooking vapors. It's going to be in an island so this is a complicating factor. One dealer has recommended a 900 cfm remote blower but other have told me 600 cfm should be sufficient. The run of duct has to go to the 10' ceiling and then approximately 20' to the outside wall.

This is a long way around to get to my actual question but when you say mesh is better at "lower" speeds would 600 cfm or 900 cfm be considered lower? As I've mentioned in another post I have a hearing loss and background noise makes this even worse. I've been assuming that the higher the cfm the louder the noise and I'd like to do everything possible to minimize this.

Thanks for any insight you can give.

Lascatx, Thanks for the detailed response. Yeah, I remember the popcorn. Now that's a great recommendation!

And thank you all for the feedback. Trust GW'ers to know the real story. The rep said baffles and mesh, but I bet she meant baffles or mesh. That makes so much more sense!!!

My current (custom) hood has baffles. I don't know the cfm rating, but it has a continuous speed control from barely on to high. That's a feature that I love, but that puts it through the better range of both kinds of filters. It's not an ideal installation because of location problems (but a hell of a lot better than the nothing which came with the house). It seems to do fine, but I know that the necessary height means there is some escape. (No such problems in the plan for the new kitchen.)

Some of the hoods I've seen in my pre-search have mesh filters that they say are meant to be popped out and put in the dishwasher. Is this not accurate?

Broan says the Evolution baffle filters included with its Best WP29 hood "combine the benefits of baffle with mesh filter; removable grease rail makes cleaning easy". I like Best's Heat Sentry and imagine other brands have something similar.

Here is a link that might be useful: Best by Broan WP29 Hood

The Evolution filter sounds like something new since I was looking. I don't remember it in my book. The model we got has the variable speed fan, but only an on or off for the lights. DH would have preferred a variable lighting capability.

Aas for how low is low, I don't know either. I wondered the same thing. I don't turn mine up very high very often, but I just checked them, and they could use a cleaning. We don't fry a lot. Bacon once or twice a month is about as messy as we get.

cpovey,

When you say mesh works better at "low airflows", what kind of cfm are you talking about? Ours (kobe, with baffles) will have a max of 700, but will probably not be used that high most of the time. I'm guessing this is considered low. I wonder if it's a mistake to have ordered a hood with baffles for these cfms?

We installed a Best By Broan k260 with a 1200 cfm inline blower in our kitchen renovation (over a 48" Electrolux Icon Range)... it came with mesh, but the dealer recommended baffles due to noise.

We should be in next week, so I'll report back on the difference (we have both the mesh and baffles).

egganddart49 - with a 700 CFM hood you're much better off with baffles even if you don't run it on high all the time - most of us don't - they work well and they're easy to clean

thanks, weissman

So does a squirrel cage do away with the need for baffle or mesh filter?

Mls99 - yes, the squirrel cage or "Magic Lung" that VAH uses is an alternative to both mesh or baffle. I have the VAH, and really like it. It just makes logical sense to me. There should be less noise due to less air turbulence that occurs when air goes in and out of baffles and mesh. In any case, Cfm's are all relative to your ducting - the manufacturer can cite, e.g., 900 cfm's till the cows come home, but if your ducts have a long run, a lot of turns, or are too narrow, the spec'd 900 will definitely NOT be there. Setting aside VAH, and just deciding between mesh and baffles, I'd choose baffles over mesh any day. I used to have a hood with mesh filters and it was a poor performer. The mesh got clogged easily, often with just one meal, and was just kinda gross. Also, you would never find a mesh filter hood in a restaurant kitchen due to its inefficiency.

In case you haven't seen it, I am linking below the Appliances Forum FAQ on Vent Hoods.

Here is a link that might be useful: Appliances Forum FAQ on Vent Hoods

Actually, I've bought (but not yet installed!) the Kobe CX1830GS-8 and it says it has a squirrel cage. The only maintenance that it seems to have is to empty out the plastic oil cup. I'm hoping it's quiet: the specs say so.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kobe spec