We’re doing a high-end kitchen remodel (Viking or Wolf monster cooktop). I’m 6’7″ and I would really like to not bang my head on the exhaust hood. The dealer says that the hood has to be 30″ or so above a 36″ tall cooktop – not tall enough! I’m planning on 15,000 BTU burners, grill, and griddle. How high can I safely get from the cooktop and still have a 1500 CFM be effective? I’d like to get at least 44′ away from the cooktop. Anybody have any experience with this?
Thanks,
ff
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Replies
well the higher you go. the leass effective the hood is going to be, so you have two options
1. go to a downdraft type cook top, especially effective in islands and penninsulas
2.get top quality updraft rangehood and be prepared to pay lots and get a noisy unit
remember thease thing suck air and therfore will create noise
quite frankly with todays emphasise on health and wellbeing, frying etc has declined to the point that exterior venting of cooking is almost redundent a home anyway
get a good rangehood with a charcoal filter and dont worry about it
caulking is not a piece of trim
ff
the dealer says that the hood has to be 30" or so above this is about reducing the fire risk in the hood you can go higher just it wont be as efficient but you could always put a booster fan in the exhaust line
Ian
I saw in a magazine I think was FHB of a kitchen with no hood but exhaust fan in the ceiling, must of been 60 inches. It had high cfm fans
I found it FHB kitchens and bath annual issue p18
Thanks, Brownbag, was that in the current year for FHB Kitchen and Bath?
There's a great picture on Wolf's site (http://www.subzero.com/thelivingkitchen/default.asp) -> Kitchen Photo Gallery -> click to the 11'th picture in
with a shot of a guy about to gash his head open on the corner of a hood that's too low!
it's an evil plot..... :-)
ff... have you got any idea what 1500 CFM is like when it's on ?
have you thought it thru as to why you want a commercial type stove in a residential kitchen ?
what is it you want to cook that requires such an inappropriate appliance in your kitchen ?
..........still trying to figger the attraction of these gleaming showroom models ...
hey, it's your house... don't mind meMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Mike wrote,
' have you thought it thru as to why you want a commercial type stove in a residential kitchen ?
what is it you want to cook that requires such an inappropriate appliance in your kitchen ? '
Really, I just want to be able to do with the monster is boil a large pot of water!
Modern stoves won't boil a pot of water in a reasonable lifetime. My 25 year old electric Jenn Air will boil water faster than a new Viking monster burner (12% faster). Oh, also, a self-cleaning range would be nice but that requires "dual fuel" adding another $3000 to the price tag. Then of course 1500 CFM will suck the fire out of my fireplace across the room so I'll probably need a commerical air exchanger. Maybe an Ansul system, too. :-(
ff.. not to beat a dead horse... just mebbe kick it when it's down...
1500 cfm means 1500 cfm out.. so , as u intimated.. you need makeup air... if you don't have the make up air.. the ventilator will supply it's own.. in the form of sucking air into the house thru every crack & crevice it can find..
this CAN men water leaks.. and certain other mischeif...
i love gas cooktops... i love gas ovens.. as long as they are self-cleaning...
but these modern behemoth gas commercial ( modified for residential ) ranges are mostly overkill.. and the ventilation requirements are daunting.. if you do the one, you must do the other ( the ventilation )... and that in turn means make-up air...
the three things must all be balanced or nothing works right
just my opinion... meanwhile... enjoy your new kitchenMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
ff, I am in the same boat as you are: I'm 5'16" and am thinking the same thing. There is a standard "spec" it seems, but I'm going to bump that up a few inches, plus, I have nine-foot ceilings which has gotta help.
Regarding downdraft; this is not even an option for you--the equipment you are describing is not, at all, downdraft-friendly. I've already been down that option. I suppose, however, that one could incorporate both down and up-draft. For my project, I am just going to take whatever liberties I feel necessary to my living/cooking in that space. Also, there has to be an inverse relationship to the width of an exhaust fan and how you can raise the latter. The further you get up, the wider perhaps the fan should be.
Also look at your other ventilation in the house or kitchen i.e. windows near-by, ceiling height, etc.
We are installing a 48" Viking, with a 48" hood as we speak. Our owner is Spanish and not that tall, 5'- 3"so the hood is mounted 1 1/4" for the granite top and 24" additional for the granite backsplash. I'd say put it where you need it, a little inefficiency won't hurt. Next time be a little more careful about choosing your parents and you won't be having these height issues.
Two places to get more info would be the installation manual and a local sheetmetal shop.
The installation manual for my 36" DCS says min. 36" above range. I think it also suggests CFM minimums. Try a speed control so you can throttle it down when you don't need the highest setting.
A sheetmetal shop capable of making custom stainless steel hoods would probably have knowledge to share about the whole subject.
Anybody have any experience with this?
Yes. Ours is 3' x 4', 44" up with a remote fan. Works great. Don't know the cfm of the fan as it's recycled (as was the hood), but it moves a lot of air, quietly. I added more light inside the hood as it cast a large shadow. No complaints.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Not sure if this might help alleviate your situation in some small way, but I have an example in my kitchen that might help. The people who built my house must have been tall, because all of the counters are bumped up an extra 3 1/2" or so, even the range has been placed on a little platform. Uncomfortable for my 5'4", but my 6' mother thinks it is about the most comfortable kitchen she's ever worked in. If you did something similar, then you could have the fan up a commensurate amount, making you less likely to knock yourself out on it.
Our little old kitchen doesn't have any ventilation at all (unless you count the window), and we don't seem to miss it (but I'm not much of a cook either). I like having the area above the range free for that big pot of spaghetti or stew so I don't rack my hands up working in it. Since you are high end, maybe you can set up a single or double burner range that is not or minimally ventilated to be used for such things (next to your pot filler sink :>), then have your fancy stove with appropriate ventilation for frying and flambe.
When I built our house 12 years ago, high on my list of concerns was the noise of bath and kitchen exhaust fans. We solved the bath noise with an Aldes central unit that mounts high in the roof. You almost cannot hear anything except a bit of air movement in the baths.....just the way I wanted it.
The kitchen was more of a challenge. We ended up with a Broan unit that has a continually variable speed setting on two motors running two squirell-cage fans. Almost no fan or motor noise, but some from the air movement. Make sure the ducts out of the hood are at least as large as the manufacturer recommends, and bigger if there are any number of elbows or if the run is long. I went to considerable extra expense to shorten the run. My wife and I are very happy with the setup. Sometimes when generating lots of steam or ugly food smells, she really cranks up the fan for a short time, then down again after the peak load. It's pretty easy to look around the kitchen and figure out if the fan is doing it' job or not. As to make-up air....absolutley! As to one other post recommending a charcoal filter....works for the first three days then vents greasy air all over the kitchen. Our fan peaks out at about 1200 CFM, but remember, the noise comes mostly from the fans and the motors themselves, so if you have two of each doing the duty, it can be easy to live with.