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andrewkuhn

Why Are Built-In Range Inserts All So Shallow?!?

Andrew K.
9 years ago

All,

First off, I have to start by saying thank you. I'm in the beginning stages of a very large renovation/addition to create "the dream home" for my wife to start and raise our family in (going from 1200sq. ft 2bed 1 bath bungalow to 3000sq. ft 4 bed/3.5bath) so to say we're excited/enjoying the process is an understatement.

We both love to cook and entertain/live in the kitchen area so this forum has been INVALUABLE in my research. (I've prob got 30+ hours in this forum in the past 2 weeks alone).

The last piece is the proper ventilation of our planned 48" BlueStar Platinum Range. We prefer the look of a built-in cabinet insert for our traditional style kitchen over a SS range hood.

Conclusions I've come to regarding proper setup:
-54" Width Hood
-1200-1500cfm
-27" Depth
-10" Duct
-Roof/external blower w/ in-line sound suppressor
-integrated MUA system

Problem: I've spent hours going through every brand possibly mentioned on this site and EVERY insert I've seen (including the 48"-54" widths) seem to be 22" deep AT MOST!

I can't find any research/data/consensus on whether this is OKAY or if this will cause issues? Range will not be on an external wall but close (Short leg of "L kitchen" with long leg on exterior wall).

Will this be a problem for proper ventilation of effluent and contribute to greasing up my beautiful white custom cabinets?

Any and all feedback/suggestions are welcome and appreciated in advance including brand recommendations, system setup advice, etc. (And hopefully this thread serves to help future researchers with this situation). Thanks again.

Andrew

Comments (12)

  • cookncarpenter
    9 years ago

    Try Modern-Aire and Prizer, both top quality, and should have something that meets your requirements...

  • xedos
    9 years ago

    Because they are inserts, not hoods !

    They are designed to go in cabinetry that will have depth also, and if the insert were deep enough to cover your range you'd bonk your head on the decorative hood or cabinet it was installed into.

    The insert is a carrier for filters and a switch, that's it. Your capture area is whatever you have built to put it in.

  • hvtech42
    9 years ago

    "integrated MUA system"

    What exactly is meant by "integrated?" If that just means interlocked so it will activate when the hood does, good. If it means the makeup air will be introduced directly into the hood area, I would rethink that design.

  • kaseki
    9 years ago

    Hmmm. It is best if the insert/liner provide all the capture area else the wood will collect grease. I would argue that the bottom of the liner flare outward to cover the bottom of the wood cabinetry. Even if this wood is high enough to have a very low probability of being flambed, heat will tend to dry it out causing other problems. At a minimum there should be minimal gap between the wood cabinet cover inside and the liner at the point where capture is taking place.

    The hood can be high enough to not bump one's head. If the cook is particularly tall, then the hood may have to become wider/deeper to retain good cooking plume capture area (angle from pans).

    This has to be worked out by sketching or other means to determine the dimensions actually necessary, and then contact the Modern-Aires of the world for suggestions and quotes.

    Schemes that put MUA into the hood just interfere with the upward rise and collection of effluent. MUA should be introduced to the kitchen area in a manner that is least disruptive to the rising cooking plumes. In hood testing, a perforated wall providing laminar flow across the test area is often used; in a residence other schemes are necessary, such as injecting it down a nearby hall, or from the kitchen ceiling so that it is directed away from the hood across the kitchen ceiling allowing it to spread out before returning to the cooktop area, or from under the stove (may cause cold feet), etc. There are many possible schemes. Integration with a furnace can be done, but the airflow is much higher than the furnace would normally move, at possibly higher pressure drop (so some care in design is needed).

    What flows out has to flow in. If the MUA is restricted, so will the actual cfm moved by the hood.

    Control is another issue; one that I don't have time to repeat here, but has been touched upon in several other threads in this forum.

    kas

  • Andrew K.
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Ctycdm, Xedos, HVTech42, Kas,

    Thanks for the initial feedback. Currently all brands that produce a 48"+ width insert are in play. I'm doing a bit more DD to get it down to my top 3-4 brands but I need the whole system set-up before I choose the insert. Most likely leaning toward a 1200-1500cfm roof-top / exterior wall blower w/ a fantech 10" in-line sound suppressor system. Remote control, etc.

    As far as the MUA "integrated" system I was referencing tieing the CCB Innovations RMAS system into my current HVAC. (www.CCBInnovations.com)

    Kas - In regards to the surround construction - I'm pondering the design myself as I have the same thoughts as you. If I build a standard wood surround with a capture area of 54" wide x 27" deep and a 30-32" height above the range top - there is still the possibility of it being exposed to extreme temperatures (Especially since I'm going with white cabinets) and so some type of interior metal lining will have to be constructed.

    Almost the entire house is new build (floorplans are attached). Feel fee to take a look guys and give your feedback on best mounting / vent run set-up for an exterior blower. As you can see, the kitchen is below another bedroom/bathroom and then part of a 3rd floor so I'm thinking of perhaps finding a way to shorten the run and send it out of the back of the house somewhere.

    Thoughts to total system setup-strategies are appreciated! This is turning into a great discussion!

    Andrew

    P.S. - Looks like I can only post 1 Image per post so excuse the next several posts but I want you guys to get the feel of the entire house build/renovation/addition. Thanks!

    P.P.S. - Also my apologies as the site is limiting the formatting size of the pictures making it a bit hard to see the layouts. Please post with questions if you have a hard time reading the architectural designs.

    This post was edited by AndrewDK on Sun, Aug 3, 14 at 23:20

  • Andrew K.
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Exterior Elevations - Please Note For Possible External Vent Locations

  • Andrew K.
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Cross-Section to give you an idea of the schematic/layout

  • Andrew K.
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    First Floor Kitchen & Mudroom layout. Please note the range on the short leg of the "L shaped kitchen. The difference between this design and my final layout is there will be an additional prep sink in the island, and the fridge on the interior wall will be a 36" CD, with a 3' Wine/Beverage/Coffee Bar beside it. The entire exterior wall will be cabinetry with a DW to the right of the main wash sink.

  • Andrew K.
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    2nd Floor Design - Please note kitchen sits over the 2nd floor Laundry/Bath/Bedroom #3 area (for possible venting stack design)

  • Andrew K.
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Third Floor Elevation - Again the kitchen stack would most likely be somewhere in that 4th Bedroom/Bath area if I attempted venting to the roof.

  • kaseki
    9 years ago

    As an exercise in integration design, you may wish to get a liner drawing and see how it might be adapted. Wolf, for one, provides drawings of their equipment in various of their publications. Find their biggest hood insert and see how it is intended to be adapted to the exterior cabinet.

    Never mind the Wolf search, my curiosity lead me to the link below.

    It appears from the photo on this page linked to from here that the idea is to allow exposed wood. If I were using such a configuration, I would probably use ipe or redwood (perhaps too porous for finishes) or other fire-resistant exotic wood at the bottom where there is potential for direct impingement. The rest of the wood could be that of the cabinets. Also, it looks like cleaning has been eased in the example on the linked page, where the wood may be oak, by using significant protective coating.

    As a caution, it is possible that Wolf is illustrating a configuration intended for a "poser kitchen" (wouldn't be an unheard-of use for Wolf products). The designer of a real kitchen may with to start from first principles for integration of a hood liner. And as noted above, I'm confident that the custom hood makers could build a flanged liner if suitably funded.

    Another alternative is to put a standard liner well up in a larger cabinet and have built an extension "skirt" that brings the liner bottom to the bottom of the cabinet at an extended depth. These need to be sloped so that rising effluent does not tend to reflect down. (In the Wolf image, effluent hitting the cook's side wood panel could easily curl out of the hood zone; or in other words, the capture area is that of the liner (or maybe just the baffles) and not the extended wood section (depending on whether excess cfm is available).

    If I were using this liner and wanted to keep the lamp function, I'd consider just moving it out from the wall and using straight extensions on three sides and a sloped one at the back. Another option discussed on these pages a bit is to mount the liner out but not farther up in the cabinet, and put a sloped backsplash on the rear wall (where the square tiles are in the image).

    If cost were no object, a Wolf Pro Island Hood could be integrated into a cabinet (eliminating the need to dust all that stainless steel) providing an excellent depth capability for extravagant cooking. My Pro Island hood has 26 inches of open air capture depth, and of the difference with its 34 inches of physical depth, at least half would also qualify if mounted next to a wall.

    kas

    Here is a link that might be useful: link to links for Wolf pdfs

  • PRO
    Trevor Lawson (Eurostoves Inc)
    9 years ago

    Inserts are available at 27" Deep.

    Also note that a flammable structure needs to be 36" above a Bluestar range not 30" - 32". I could be wrong but worth checking out.