It helps to actually ask a question doesn't it? I couldn't find the edit link though. So I am posting again.

1. Will 40" be acceptable or should I go with 42"?
2. What cfm did you choose? Does it work well for you?
3. What width stainless steel should I choose?

I still haven't chosen a backsplash material yet other than the stainless steel panel. I would hate to clean the grout on a tile backsplash, but I love the look of subway tiles or glass tiles. Granite is out. We just found out we have to rip up the marble floor, level the kitchen floor, and put a new floor down...probably oak hardwood...so there went our money for granite counters.

4. So any backsplash suggestion between granite and laminate?

Thank you for any suggestions! Peke

Re make-up air... If your furnace is isolated from the living space in your house, you won't have to worry about back-drafting. But if your house has a tight energy efficient skin around it, your hood vent will not function well without extra air. You might want to do some further investigation - opening a window during heating season is seldom a comfortable experience.

You're splitting hairs between 40" and 42", obviously the greater capture area the better, but since you have 6 burners, and no grill or griddle, I would think 40" is adequate. As for the stainless backsplash, (I would not use laminate) I think the width of the rangetop 36" would look the most contiguous, and take on the look of a freestanding range with built in back guard.

Cooksnsews, Our house is an old lake cabin that had been added on to many times. So it is not air tight. We are thinking about putting a tilt and turn window over the sink which is close to the rangetop.

ctycdm, I found a 40" on a clearance with everything I need, but I hesitated to buy it due to the 40" size. Just wanted to make sure the 2" wasn't that big of a deal. Obviously if I found them both at the same price I'd go with 42". All of the pictures of rangetops that I have seen have the same width vent hood. I have searched the internet and no one has a picture of a 42" hood with SS backsplash with a smaller rangetop. I am hoping someone will post a picture.

Thanks for you help. Peke

FWIW, I've got the 36" 6 burner BS and we've been pretty happy with our 36" wide hood -- deep enough, baffles, 1100 cfm -- absolutely do not have fumes filling the house, not for normal use, not for stir fry in a hot wok, not when I had multiple pans doing latkes for 96 guests a few weeks ago. YMMV, but we've had no regrets about size of the hood or the power of the system.

96 guests? Wow! It is much cheaper for a 36". Will have to think about that seriously.

Thanks,
Peke

While I don't have a BS rangetop, my 36" 6 burner CC is close enough for comparison purpose. I have a 42" Rangecraft hood, which only has 600 cfms. I had planned on a 1100 (IIRC) 42" Kobe hood until I found this stunner on the Rangeraft clearance page. I couldn't resist the focal point it created for my kitchen. I struggled with the decision to use less cfms than is optimum so I posted and received feedback from a well-respected forum member Mojavean (who was kicked off for a bogus reason) who told me I'd appreciate the look the hood gave me more often than I'd wish for more cfms. True.

Part of whether a 42" hood is better than a 40" hood is determined by your cabinet layout. In my case, I don't have cabs flanking the hood to help funnel the HOGS (heat, oil, grease, steam) into the hood. I NEED that extra hood width to capture the escaping HOGS, especially since I only have a 600 cfm blower.

I do sometimes wish I had a larger blower, and sometimes only from a noise standpoint. I'm very noise sensitive and don't like to run my blower on high for the noise. Heck, even the low setting is sometimes too loud for me. A bigger blower is quieter at 600 cfms than a 600 cfm blower is at full blast. Only a couple of times in over a year have I wished for more cfms for better HOGS capture, mainly it's a noise factor for me.

As far as which size SS backguard to choose, I can say that the subject comes up occasionally here and on the Kitchen forum next door. I'll try to find the thread where someone posted pics of the various options: 36" guard not as wide as 42" hood, 42" guard as wide as 42" hood, and angling the guard so it begins at 36" at the rangetop and angles out to meet the hood at 42". Most kitchens I've seen on the Kitchen forum with the wider hood end up doing a 42" guard. Personally, I think the wider guard looks better and that the extra guard width at the rangetop and counter area looks fine.

I'm toying a smidge with the SS backguard idea myself. Aesthetically, I don't think it looks right for my kitchen. I still don't have tile up yet, but do plan to tile the entire rangehood wall, side to side and ceiling to counter. Functionally by looking at the grease build-up on the existing drywall behind the rangetop now after 14 months of cooking on my CC, I know SS would be easier to clean than tile with grout. Not sure what I'll do.

Anyway, I'll see if I can find a thread or two to help with the backguard.

breezy girl, your kitchen is beautiful. I love your hood, but I worry about missing my upper cabinets. Plus the uppers help with the lowered cfm. I have about 21" to the left of hood and about 27" to the right for upper cabinets.

I imagine it would be the same with me....only wish for higher cfms a few times a year. When I entertain and cook, it is all out, but I do it maybe 3-4 times a year.

The older I get the lazier I get...I don't want to climb a chair to clean the chimney. It sure is a statement piece though!

I need a back venting hood ASAP. Cabinet guy is begging! I would like to have LED lights, but could deal with halogen. Problem is just when I think I have found one, it doesn't come with the blower. So I start all over again looking. Thanks for your help, Peke

I have a 36" BS range in an island with a 42" x 27" modernaire
island hood. I installed an Abbakka 1200cfm remote blower. The range has 4 burners and a griddle. Most of the time the blower is used on low, but when really needed the high setting is great to have. It is monted about 35" above the burner grates so the larger capture area really contains any smell or smoke. It is in an old house with plenty of windows in the kitchen so makeup air is not an issue especially on low. A large capture area and more than powerful fan cannot be fixed later, but you can turn a fan down and only use the power later if needed. You have to decide as what makes more sense for your situation. I have no regrets as to what I installed.

djg1, what brand is your hood? I have a 36 inch BS with 6 burners and need to order hood ASAP! it's not in an island. we do have make up air planned. do i really need 1200cfms? can i get away with just a 36inch hood?

what brand should i get? the recs seem all over the place here on gw. From BS brand itself, to best, to zephyr, to ventahood.

thanks!

I have a BS 6 burner and installed the Vent-A-Hood PRH9-236 under cabinet hood with 600cfm but rated at 900 "equivalent cfm". While we have never used more than 4 burners at once, the system has not been overwhelmed as of yet.

I have a 30" BS with a 36" wide, 24" deep 600 VAH above. I have never overwhelmed the hood in spite of major and frequent high heat searing and stir-frying. I can't imagine needing more power. If I did it again I would get the same size and same power but I would absolutely get a hood with stainless, removable baffles.

Original poster here....I really think I want a 42", but I think I can get by with an 800 cfm. It's just us two at home so I don't use many burners except a few times a year.

I need a vent hood that vents straight out the back. Easy clean baffles, LED lights, and cabinet style. I would like to spend around $800. Any suggestions with a rear vent?

kitchenconfused: we have a Zephyr Tempest II hood with 1100 cfm blowers and a fairly straight run of ductwork up from the ceiling, attic, and roof. It's been a good solid performer thus far -- not silent certainly, but quieter than some setups I've seen (on mid setting, much quieter than some) and basically it's been a dependable system -- does what it's supposed to do, easy to clean, and no issues.

Sorry I didn't cover all your questions. We were given conflicting reports on cfm. In the end, we decided we'd rather have the extra power -- it just wasn't much of a cost difference (really, really small when you consider the cost of the range, the hood, and the installation of the hood and ductwork). Also, my wife is really sensitive to odors in the house.

As for size, a larger hood would have meant moving more things, and giving up an existing cabinet. Both the dealer and somebody we knew with the same range suggested we'd be fine with a (good) 36" hood and we've had no regrets at all.

As for brands, I'm not sure what to tell you. We looked at various products and talked to various people, but we were looking to get something we liked that would do the job, and represented good value for money, and we considered it a plus to have one of the hoods carried by the range dealer and to know that everything would arrive at the same time. I can only tell you that I felt comfortable placing the order for the Zephyr and that it has been trouble free (although we've only had it since spring 2011, so that's just not that long). When I ordered it, I had confidence that it would be a good product and a good value, but I had no opinion that I was buying the ne plus ultra of range hoods and I don't know that there's anything in particular I know enough to steer you away from.

djg1, thank you!

Dig - I'm looking at the exact same set up as you - 36" 6-burner BS with a Tempest 2. Not sure if we will put cabinets on top of the Tempest or run the stainless to the ceiling.

Do you have any pics you can share? Obviously, I am curious as to how this set up looks although I have a picture in my mind. You can post here or email pics to me at swimman1 at gmail dot com

Thanks.