I can't help you, but if it helps, I empathize with what you're going through. :-) I need a chimney hood, and I'm ordering an induction cooktop as well, but I've had a dickens of a time determining what I need. But sales people just can't help, though they mean well. :-) I'm afraid we're left to find these things out on our own.

Even though our circumstances are different, you still might glean something from the answers I've received from some knowledgeable people. I'll copy the link to it below.

Good luck! It sounds like you're on the right track logically in trying to figure it out. Oh, and have you checked out Zephyr hoods? They're supposed to be good, and they have some nice OTR hoods.

Here is a link that might be useful: More range hood info

I share both of your pain. I am leaning towards induction in our remodel as we have ruled out a pro-style range due to make-up air requirements. I am hardly an expert on hoods but have read the exhaust hood should be 6 inches wider than your cooktop. I don't know if this is an option or would improve your situation but wish you good hunting.

Better would be the Kobe Hood, you will have over 700 cfm and the duct size will remain at 6", also the noise level will reduce 1 sone or 40db, plus baffle filters you hace a 7" high #CH2730 or 36SQB or 10"high CH7730 or 36SQB both are 800 cfm with 6 or 7" duct can function with either KobeRangeHoods.com

Thanks all.

[Not sure what happened here; I began writing a response, but as I was typing saw a message that my message had been posted; then when I looked it wasn't visible. Trying again now.]

Guadalupe, thanks for suggesting Kobe. I'll try to find a local store that carries these, so I can see (and hear) one in person. Online, they look good.

Cindylood: As I understand it, you need a 36" hood over a 30" range/cooktop if its in an island, but since my 30" range is against a wall then a 30" hood is OK.

Fiddleddd, I'll try to find some Zephyr hoods locally as well. I'm familiar with the thread you cited, and contributed to it.

I appreciate all your thoughts and ideas.

Chac,

I had a Broan Allure and it was worthless. I replaced it with a Broan Elite E661, which is the next step down from the one you're considering with mesh filters and 550 CFM. I also have the E'lux slide-in induction range.

On medium, my hood vents steam, some heat, and most odors. On high, it vents smoke and most but not all grease, and it's moderately noisy. Its catchment area is good, and I don't have to worry about putting things on the back burners. I've been pretty happy with it as it's a HUGE step above the Allure. I would guess that the hood you're considering would eliminate >95% of the products of cooking but not all.

Even with my hood, makeup air is needed. I just open a nearby window.

I'm also interested in anyone who has the above mentioned Broan (E6430SS), or either the NPH9 or SLH9 Vent A Hood-anyone have them? Likes, dislikes?
TIA

The only comment I've seen online about the Broan E6430SS was a review on Amazon; that said it sounded like a helicopter in the kitchen (and was returning it).

Now I'm leaning more toward the Kobe ones, since they're so quiet (supposedly), but I'm still sorting out various questions about them.

I suspect the Vent-a-Hood ones are more quiet than Broan, but have seen not so great comments re: VaH's here on GW in the past.

A little more about the Kobe hoods, which guadalupe mentioned:

I see different specs on the two online vendor's sites, sometimes contradicting other information on the same page. Information on Kobe' site should be accurate; vendor sites not so much, apparently.

When I spoke to someone at Kobe, she said the maximum cfm for Kobe's CH9730SQB model (an under-cabinet wall hood) is 720 cfm when it is connected to a vent pipe, or 800 cfm without any pressure (i.e., vent pipe disconnected).

The hood is made of 18 gauge stainless steel #430 (not #304).

I am struck by the much lower sone values for these hoods, especially compared to the otherwise similar Broan model -- 4.5 vs. 13.5 sones on highest speed. But I also understand there are no standards specifying exactly how to measure sound. I don't see any explanation on Kobe's site clarifying why their hoods are quieter, if they are. So, are Kobe hoods really quieter, or were their sound measurements taken differently so they seem quieter -- or is it some of both?

Unfortunately, no retailer sells Kobe hoods in Oregon, or even in Seattle. Apparently people in San Francisco get to see and hear them. Has anyone heard Kobe and Broan hoods running in the same store?

I heard both Kobe and Broan in the store. Unfortunately, the Kobe was not mounted under a cabinet and the Broan was. So the Broan was much quieter. To make a good comparison, I think both would have to be mounted under a cabinet or neither. Otherwise, it's hard to tell.

Thanks, time4tea. I was nervous the large difference in reported sones (between Broan & Kobe) might reflect differences in how these companies measure sound.

In the end, I cheaped-out and got the Broan -- it should be installed next Monday (22 Nov.). It was cheaper, from a local independent dealer I like, and I'm leery of getting something online sight unseen. Still nervous, though.

I'll report back about how this works out with my Electrolux induction range, once I've played with it for a bit. The Broan is shallower than the Kobe I liked (22" vs. ~25"), potentially a bad sign. But Warmfridge's estimate gives me hope; I can live with ~95%, I guess.

Still, hoods / ventilation as an area seems ripe for strong improvements, in the realm of kitchen renovations. Hard to assess what to get in advance, and they just seem really primitive to me. Why can't Dyson put some thought into this, and make a decent (quiet; non-turbulent) hood?

chac mool: did you end up getting the Broan's Elite E6430SS hood? I am looking at that myself and am concerned about how loud it might be.

I have the larger version of this hood, the E6030SS, and it's working well in far less than ideal circumstances - since I live in an apartment, I use it with a recirculating kit. It captures grease very well. (Haven't had a chance to try its heat dissipating properties, since my oven isn't functioning yet. ) As for noise, it's fairly quiet until you turn it up to 3/4 power. From there to full power it's quite loud.

Kellyja58: Yes, I have the Broan Elite E6430SS hood. While it is definitely an improvement over the inadequate Broan Allure III it replaced, I would say its just "adequate" overall.

It works -- that's the good news. But when I'm grilling a steak on the right front hob of my Elux induction range, it must be turned up close to the highest speed in order to vent most of that smoke. At the highest speed, and close to that, this hood is quite loud, as zfrankle notes.

Some of this may be my impatience with the state of the art (if that is what it can be called) in hood design. First, this hood uses ridiculous lights that don't even screw in -- as if it were designed by neanderthals. How much could they possibly have saved using this worthless design?

The loudness is annoying as well. I am hoping the folks at Dyson will tackle kitchen hoods soon and come out with a less turbulent design that is more efficient and quieter. But the hood does work, even when I produce considerable smoke, and that is an improvement...

Unfortunately, it is difficult to compare the loudness of different hood models until they are installed in your kitchen -- which becomes an expensive proposition. Perhaps the Kobe models are quieter. I'm leery of trusting manufacturers' sone numbers. Even in a store, you might hear a hood that isn't connected to any vent tubing.

If you do come across something better, please post it here.

chac mool -Am considering getting this, despite the noise, because like you, am afraid to order sight unseen. It looked like the controls were under the edge near a light bulb. Doesn't that light get pretty hot? Have you ever reached up there and almost burned yourself? Is that an odd design?

The halogen lamps are not so close to the three controls as to be a problem. As I recall, the two lamps are toward the rear, and definitely more off to the sides (I'm not home right now, to check) -- not that close. I imagine these lights do get pretty hot, and I burn myself on lots of things, but not this.

From L to R, the three controls are: A knob to turn on the lights (dim & hi settings, plus off); a knob to vary fan speed (continuously variable); and a rocker switch that turns the fan on or off (at whatever speed setting the knob was left at).

Sometimes I have to feel around for the rocker switch, which is not easily noticeable -- though it is directly behind a tiny blue light, on the front. Sometimes I've turned the lights on high when I wanted them off. Minor issues, these. And I'm getting marginally better at navigating the eccentricities as time wears on...

Thsnks - the way the picture looks on their website (I couldn't see one in person) the bulbs are to the left and right in front, in line with the controls. Now that you mention the rocker, I can see it in front of one of the knobs.

I also would prefer one that is "like an upside down sink" as I read on a thread here somewhere. Does this have a flat underside or is it hollowed? The very similar Bertazzoni that I did see had a flat underside.

I think the Kobe does sound like a better bet, but I'm chicken.

The salesman-who was not really for one or another- did point out that VentaHood seemed to him to be more difficult to clean. He said they used to sell them, but only do special orders now because of the cleaning issues. He said that Broan is trying to have established an industry standard for measuring CFM and sones.

Sorry to beat a dead horse. Just looked at the product specs. Did you put in a 10" duct?
thanks

We have the Broan E6430SS over our Capital Culinarian. It is hooked up to a 3.25" x 10" duct and run straight out the back wall.

The sound on higher speeds is due to the air rushing past the baffles which all high powered hoods do to some degree. The motor hum is louder than some much more expensive hoods on lower speeds, but not unbearable.

For the price, it is an excellent hood. It exhausts everything the CC's 23k burners can throw at it and is easy to clean. We just toss the baffles in the dishwasher once a week.

I have touched the halogen bulbs a couple of times while reaching for the switches. I considwer their placement a design flaw.

... I forgot to mention...

Ours is set 3" forward due to the 15" deep upper cabinet and we have a SS filler strip behind it. That probably helps with the capture from the front burners.

Now that I'm back home, I think its a miracle I've never burned myself on that lamp -- but so far, I haven't.

The rocker switch is directly in front of the knob that varies fan speed. The right side lamp is about 2" to the right of them. Somehow, just far enough away to miss.

As you can see from robj's second photo, there is a small concave capture area underneath the hood where the baffles are canted at an angle. Its adequate. Sure helps to turn the hood on before smoke appears. Depending on your cooktop burner layout (and cook's height), it could help to set this hood forward a couple inches.

We have 7" diameter round ducts (I'm sure there's a good reason for this, but no idea what that was). A gradual 90 degree bend to the right, then a straight shot 6 ft. out the wall.

Tried running on highest speed with the baffles in and out -- perhaps a tad quieter with baffles removed, but not enough of a difference to notice, I'd say.

To whine once more about those lamps: Its a trivial thing, but they symbolize how little pressure Broan must have felt from competing products, to not upgrade those ridiculous lamps to a more usable screw-in style (like a PAR20). This is not so much Broan's fault as a sign of scant incentive to improve products in a backwater industry.

Robj: Thankyou so much for posting your pic of the underside of the hood. I am also using a 15" deep cab over the hood, spent quite a few hours looking for hood with a 15" top to attach to. Of course,didn't find one. I actually printed out the pic you posted somewhere else showing the deeper cab over hood and have it in my file!
Question: where did you get stainless filler strip?

Thanks robj and chac mool! That's what I wanted to know! Forewarned is forearmed about those lightbulbs. I know the ones you mean, chac mool. Some of the fixtures at my art gallery use them. They get really hot.

robj-love your kitchen

One more question if you can stand it. I thought "hood 30" up" meant the bottom of the hood was 30" from the cooktop. The guy at the appliance store said it meant 30 - 36" to the top of the hood, that 30" from the cooktop is too far to operate. Is that right? How high up did you install the hood?

I find the fan extremely loud - both from the air flow (partly due to the install) and the hum. I tried but couldn't install the light bulbs in the unit. A repair person on a service call for my oven ended up putting them in for me -- with some difficulty. Fortunately, my under cabinet LED's provide enough light for most cooking so I don't use the hood light much. I really don't want to have to replace those bulbs.

On the positive side, it does look nice and I really appreciated the rounded front when I bumped my head on it last week.

Robj - a bit off topic here, but I plan to do a limestone backsplash with a pencil molding area over the cooktop as well. While I plan to seal it, I was wondering if you have had any problems with staining in that area? Your backsplash is beautiful.

Question: where did you get stainless filler strip?
I couldn't find a local shop to make one for a reasonable price so I had stormcopper.com make one out of 22 gauge stainless with hemmed edges and two 90 degree bends. It is shaped like a squared off "U" when viewed from the side. My price was $46.22, shipped. I dealt with an Eva Frye efrye@stormcopper.com 423-334-7262. They did a good job.

How high up did you install the hood?
Ours is 26" from the counter to the bottom of the hood. Broan says a minimum of 24". If we had it to do over again, I'd get 3" shorter upper cabinet and raise it another 3" as its a little low for me (I'm 6'). It is fine for my 5'7" wife who does most of the cooking.

Thanks for the kind words about the kitchen - I did all the work myself. We sealed the tumbled travertine and marble backsplash with several coats of DuPont Stonetech Bulletproof sealer. It would be really hard to stain it through that.

I have this hood, but with the 1100 CFM in-line blower. This does require a bigger duct though (8" if I remember correctly). But not only do you get a lot more flow, it's quieter. I really love the hood itself. The baffles are really easy to clean and it really does a great job of ventilation. I agree though that the controls and lights are not optimally designed. Still, I would recommend this model to anyone who wants a high flow hood. By the way robj, I really love your backsplash!

Ginny20: My hood is 27" above the induction range (then its another 10" to the hood-top / cabinet door bottom above). The 27" height works well for me; 30" might be stretching the distance a bit. But its a trade-off vs. banging your head.

Useful hood height depends partly on the height of the cook. To be sure, make a mock-up (just a cardboard strip) and place it at various heights to see where you avoid banging your head into it while cooking. Moving the hood forward -- which could be a great idea, depending on burner location -- increases the optimum height. [I think, if I'd gotten the Kobe model (which comes forward another inch or so) I might have hit my head on it.]

Thanks - this really helped

I had a chance to hear my friends' Futurofuturo hood. It was very quiet, beautifully built, and they were happy with it. Unfortunately, they don't make a undercabinet model. I mention it in case anyone else finds this thread when looking for a hood.

I think I may end up with the Kobe CH9136SQB. It's a little more money and I have to get it from somewhere like vent direct, but the controls look better positioned, it's quieter, I won't need to expand the size of the duct, and most people on GW seem to like kobe. I'll just need to unpack it before the UPS guy leaves.

I'm only 5'3", so I have more leeway with hood placement.

If every decision takes this much effort, how in the world do people build whole houses?

Kelly -

I received your email with questions about the hood but thought I would respond here so my answer could benefit the entire community.

We had the filler made so that looking from the side, it looks like a squared off "U" with one leg longer than the other. The back is about 3" then there is a 90 degree bend, the bottom is 3" with another 90 degree bend and the front is about 2". We drilled two holes in the back leg and screwed it to the wall so that the bottom was just a little higher than the bottom of the hood.

We had the edges hemmed so that the cut ends are folded over, out of sight.

We ran the backsplash tile up to it, not behind it, and used a sanded caulk color matched to our grout to seal between it and the tile.

I love this hood! I don't find it too loud at all. You usually don't need to run it at the higher level but when you do, it works great so I really could care less about the noise. I just like how well it works. I can easily turn on the fan switch because there is a tiny light facing me at the exact spot where the switch is. It is easy to me. Here is my problem ... we have the hood grounded and the range is grounded; however if you are touching the range and you touch the fan switch or speed control, you get a huge shock!!! The meter read that it is 120 volts. What is the problem? Can anyone help me find out? Thanks.