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oldbiker650

Which hood vent to get ?

OldBiker650
10 years ago

I need a good pro-style vent for my new kitchen... will have a remote (on the roof) blower. I will be getting a 48" or 54" to go over (I think) a Capital Cul. 48" rangetop.

Wolf, Modernaire, and Prestige all seem to make nice ones with comparable prices. Any reason to prefer one over the others--i.e. baffle efficiency, better lights, better fit/finish?

For the blower, I discovered the Wolf blower has exactly the same specs as the Broan 336/NuTone EB-15--are these really all the same?. There is also the Abbaka, which is slightly weaker and more expensive.

Any problems with any of these?

Comments (10)

  • OldBiker650
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    OOh, I left out BEST by Broan. Any other ones?

  • kaseki
    10 years ago

    "pulls/handles budget" Nice one!

    As far as I know, Wolf obtains their blowers from Broan/NuTone. Wolf may specify particular parameters, or choose from the range available.

    The Wolf hoods by Independent and the Wolf hoods by Wolf did not look different to my eye in their brochures at the time of transition. But I haven't looked at their hoods lately.

    kas

  • OldBiker650
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks deeageaux... I am currently trying to decide between Prestige and Modernaire! I spoke to the Prestige guys today, and they are significantly cheaper.... but the marketing guy I spoke with was rather confused about his amps (volts did not come up and I would not dare mention Ohms, Farads or Henrys to him).

    The published Wolf specs for the remote blowers match those of Broan/NuTone to the letter.

    The remaining question is whether the variable speed control for the two brands is essentially identical and can handle the Broan/NuTone blower. Do you guys know what they use for speed control??

    Cheers, Shawn

  • TonySak
    10 years ago

    I have a broan 36" over my 36" CC. I wish i went with a 42" vent. My blower is on the outside.

    Its a sharp unit, it matches all the other SS stuff. It doesn't say broan on it which is nice too. its 1200 CFM sucks everything out and the only thing I really hear is wind noise. I think the hood and the blower were also around $1200 delivered, which i thought was a great value. the hood lights are also very bright which is perfect for cooking. Also, if it matters, all the baffles fit into my Bosch dishwasher too, i clean them maybe every 6 months or when i see oil starting to pool.

  • cookncarpenter
    10 years ago

    One more brand you might consider is Prizer. I recently put a remote blower hood over my new Bluestar, and I was pretty much set on a Modern Aire, until I discovered Prizer, which I ended up choosing on a fit /finish looks basis. I am very pleased with the hood, although I'm sure I would have been happy with the Modern Aire as well....

    Here is a link that might be useful: Prizer Hoods

  • kaseki
    10 years ago

    My Wolf (Independent) hood, interfaced with a Wolf (Broan) 1500 cfm roof blower, uses a triac/diac continuous control circuit (like many variable light switches and continuous motor controls). This simple circuit that was developed by GE in the early 1970s (as I recall) will operate with a range of induction motors up to the current limit of the triac or the heat sinking capability of the triac, depending on which is limiting. The diac trigger voltage as a function of phase angle is established by the potentiometer exposed on the hood. In addition to the GE Semiconductor Handbook, perhaps out of print, I would expect circuits of this type to be widely documented on the Internet.

    Other than hard-line inspectors complaining about mixing devices that haven't been "approved" to work together by the CSA or UL, fan motors similar in power up to the power for which the control is designed should work without issues. Exceptions are possible.

    kas

  • SparklingWater
    10 years ago

    As kas, my new Wolf blower and Wolf Vent Hood (182436 900 cfm) uses a triac/diac continuous control circuit. This system replaced a 1973 Thermador vent hood and still going 1000 cfm Trade Wind blower infinite switch set up.

    Additionally I added in an 8" Broan Make Up Air set up which opens with turning on the vent hood.

    Comment: when I called Wolf Technical regarding the vent hood baffles and roof blower fan to review their design in early 2013 (has anything changed over the years?) they re-iterated the consistency of their engineers whole system integrating design.

    I'm very pleased with my new Wolf R366 gas range, vent hood, variable speed blower, Broan MUA, and lights (even if halogen, which soon may allow replacement with LED without base modification).

    This post was edited by SparklingWater on Wed, Aug 21, 13 at 11:24

  • OldBiker650
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Prizer!! I believe that is the new name for Independent, and they use to make the Wolf hoods. Thanks for the pointer. I will check into Broan/Best as well--even though I don't have a "pull/knob" budget :-)

    Thanks for the pointer on the triac/diac circuit. I am guessing all the var-speed hoods use a similar circuit, although the Prestige guy (who didn't understand amps) kept telling me they ONLY have a rheostat... perhaps he did not see the rest of the circuit.

    Thanks for all the info.

  • kaseki
    10 years ago

    Rheostat is an old name for power potentiometer, that is a variable power resistor. No one would use one today to control motor power directly in applications where size, efficiency, and cost were factors.

    kas