36" or 42" hood with 36" Bluestar range?

11 years ago

I keep reading 42" hood on here. But every appliance seller is telling me I only need a 36" hood (600cfm) for a 36" bluestar. The range would have 6 burners, no griddle or grill.

If i get a smaller hood I can make the windows on the side of the hood slightly wider. I was going to get 21" windows flanking the range, but maybe I could go 24".

The place I think I am going to buy the range from said that 600cfms will be fine, but that a 1200 cfm would certainly cover it if I was running all 6 burners at once. For what its worth I would very rarely be running all 6 burners at once.

Featured Answer

deeageaux

11 years ago

All you "need" is 36" with 600 cfm. That would be the minimum most on here say you should go with. Then again there are some Bluestar owners that choose to go with the maximum CFM their local regulations allow without makeup air,350-400cfm. There is at least one Bluestar owner on here that claims to run a Bluestar without a hood just opens windows for ventilation and swears everything is hunky dory.

But a 42" hood with 1200 cfm would work much better and be quieter running at 300-400cfm.

It is partially how many burners you burners you are running but more so what you are cooking.

Are you woking beef or have 6 steaks on burner top griddle?

It depends on you tolerance for heat in the kitchen, what you cook, and your tolerance for grease on the walls, cabinets, and ceiling. Some people who do low fat/grease cooking claim they don't need a hood and their kitchen works fine without one.

Different strokes for different folks.

I have a 1400cfm remote blower venting through a 42" hood over a 36" Capital Culinarian. I wok at least once a week but have never run 6 burners and only run 5 once in the last 6 months.

Comments (10)

pbx2_gw
11 years ago
Conventional physics say smoke expands 360 degrees & 36 to 36 won't stop the smoke from going past the hurdle ratio.

So unless you plan to cook on the center grill right smack in the middle of the range, you'll be smelling that smoke.
Related Professionals
Haslett Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Mount Prospect Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Pleasanton Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Southampton Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · South Farmingdale Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Olympia Heights Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · University City Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Allouez Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Rolling Hills Estates Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Upper Saint Clair Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · South Jordan Kitchen & Bathroom Remodelers · Ham Lake Cabinets & Cabinetry · Prospect Heights Cabinets & Cabinetry · Tacoma Cabinets & Cabinetry · Milford Mill Cabinets & Cabinetry
Kristen Hallock
Original Author
11 years ago
so a 1200 cfm fan would be quieter than a 600 cfm fan? Would 1200 cfms be OK in a 36" hood or would I really need to go to 42"?

Thanks!

No center grilling. Mostly boiling, steaming, using a wok once in a great while, a little pan frying and searing stuff in a cast iron pan.
weedmeister
11 years ago
personal opinion. If you are not going to have cabinets flanking the hood, just open space, then the wider hood would be better.

And a 1200cfm fan running at half speed will be quieter than a 600cfm unit running at top speed. Doesn't mean that you need the 1200cfm unit necessarily, maybe 900-1000 would be fine for you.

And don't forget MakeUpAir (MUA).
Kristen Hallock
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks weedmeister.

I've been reading about MUA. How do you accomplish that exactly? This entire remodel is a DIY job. Do you have to buy something extra to get MUA? Is it something installed within the hood? I find it all a little confusing and my husband will be installing the hood himself. He wont know what I mean when I say MUA.

Thanks!
shorts
11 years ago
Adding another opinion - I have a 36"BS with a 36" hood at 1200CFM. IMO, 1200 was too much - Im sure I could have gotten away with 900 or 600.

Most nights I am only on 2 burners, but have 3 or 4 on occasion. With the fan on low,2 burners are easily sucked up.

If I were to do it again I would try to figure out the quietest config between 600 & 1200.
deeageaux
11 years ago
MUA is complicated. Best has a simple unit. Other than that I think you need HVAC specialist . At least to give you an estimate and give you an idea of what you need.

Best thing is to find out local laws. I went to City Hall to find out. Turns out in my Los Angeles suburb there were no MUA requirements.

BTW I would not exchange my 1400 cfm blower for a lower powered unit. Usually quiet for most things but has the power to ventilate most smoky wok or burning food smoke quickly.
mpasquar
11 years ago
Hi khallock, what did you decide for your vent? I'm in the exact same boat... looking to do a 36" blue star, but want to pick a vent that makes sense - whether 36" or 42" (I do have the space to do 42"). I doubt I will ever really have 6 burners going as once. So I am ok with the 600 or 1200 cfm. My only goal is to make it as quiet as possible, because we have a big open floor plan and don't want noise to be bothersome while entertaining, etc.

FWIW, I did call AJ Madison today and they offered me the Blue Star 42" and a Faber 42". Both 600 CFM and interior mounted blowers. Faber being about $500 less expensive. I mentioned Broan and they said Broan is very noisy. Anyone know if that is true?
cookncarpenter
11 years ago
I have a 36" island hood over my 36RNB with griddle. 1000 cfm remote on 8" duct. I couldn't go larger due to constraints. It works fine for 99% of cooking.
Kristen Hallock
Original Author
11 years ago
We are still undecided! Although my husband wanted me to order it today. Yesterday I read thru the range manual that I downloaded online and they recommended 6" wider than your range, which I said to my husband. now he wants to get the 42" hood. But going from 600cfm to 1200 CFM is about double the price. I am not sure he will go for that. I don't think we need 1200, but I like that the 1200 will be quieter to run at lower speeds, and our kitchen is open to our living/family room. We can't hear very well before with our old Jenn Air downdraft. If it were up to me I would get the 1200 but hubby already accuses me of going way over budget, so it's to my decision. We are going with the Bluestar Pyramid hood. It seems like the blowers are bluestar too? I am kind of not sure about that too?...another company quoted me Broan blowers.