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Wolf Range question regarding charbroiler option

Steph Morris
10 years ago

Hi there,

We just came from a lovely showroom that had the Wolf appliances well displayed. One thing the seemingly knowledgable salesman said is that for the charbroiler option on the range, we would need a larger hood that extends almost out to where one stands to cook because apparently charbroiling on the range is "a very SMOKY process". I don't have a grill option on my current range so I am not sure if this is the case or if he was exadurating.

Can anyone confirm if we put some burgers or chicken breasts on the charbroiler to cook we would have a smoky kitchen? We plan on getting the standard Wolf hood that is sized for the 60" range?

Thank you! Katherine

Comments (6)

  • _sophiewheeler
    10 years ago

    He's not exaggerating. You will need an extra large, extra deep, and extra CFM to deal with the smoke. And probably makeup air to make up for all of the air that will need to be sucked out by the extra strong hood. You're better off doing hamburgers outside on the grill.

  • Steph Morris
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks. (I never can spell exaggerate right). Can we grill veggies and such indoors or is that similar in the smoke generating? How do people use the charbroiler? Does everyone get the giant hoods?

    We are wondering if one can even use the charbroil inside or if it's sort of an impractical choice for a range top. We may just choose the double griddle instead if the charbroil function is this much trouble.

  • taggie
    10 years ago

    We have a grill and I LOVE it. Grilling veggies or non-greasy fish like shrimp or scallops generate no or almost-no smoke. Greasy meats like a ribeye or burgers do generate smoke but not super-crazy amounts like you might think.

    We have a 1200 CFM hood, not extra deep. I thought about having our cabinet maker build the hood out for extra depth but ultimately decided against it. Our liner would have been the same size anyway so building out the hood would just have moved the capture area up. So we kept the capture area to the rear of the range where I thought it would be most useful and it's been the right decision for us. If we have something super-greasy we just do put it to the back of the grill and not the front.

    I believe there are some manufacturers like Modernaire that will custom-make an extra depth hood. In my experience it's unnecessary though. Perhaps if you are doing a ton of front-burner wok cooking ... but not for day-to-day grilling.

    Where I actually use the hood most is for cleaning the grill, not even for cooking on it. I don't take the grill apart to clean it, rather I just turn it on high and scrape it with a wire bbq brush. If it's got lots of burnt-on gunk then I hit it with a wet brush and that's when it really gives of the smoke and when I finally get my money's worth from the 1200 cfm grill. :)

    Bottom line, and speaking from my experience only: go for the grill, get the standard Wolf 1200 cfm hood, and enjoy!

  • Steph Morris
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Taggie,

    Thank you so much! I appreciate your input! Excited to hear that it can be done without too much fuss. I guess it's a matter of experimenting too. If the burgers are crazy smoky, I suppose we could just use our outside grill to make those. But I want to be sure there are some basic things we can make without worrying about setting the house on fire (or at least filling it with smoke).

  • angie_diy
    10 years ago

    Note that with 1200CFM, you WILL need make-up air (MUA).

  • Steph Morris
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Oh boy! I just read this article. I thought it was very well written and talked about MUA and the lack of info on it from manufacturers of powerful hoods (and units).

    This sounds like a nightmare!!

    http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/makeup-air-range-hoods

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