My old downdraft was a Thermador and I think the vent rose to 14, and it replaced a previous Thermador that was 8 or 10".

We honestly could not see a difference between the two. However we remodeled the kitchen 5 years ago and replaced the Thermador cooktop and downdraft with a Dacor cooktop and downdraft. This one is still only 10" but it does a much better job. I don't remember what the CFM was of the older units. The Dacor is 600CFM and they also make a 1000CFM - but your actual CRM will depend on many variabltes (length of the run, turns etc).

Other posters here have negated downdrafts saying they pull the flame away from the burner. We never had that problem with any of the downdrafts.

kashmi - your dealer is an idiot, plain and simple.

steam doesn't matter ???? ask him the worst possible thing that can be trapped in today's tightly built homes? He won't know cause he's an idiot but it's warm, moist air. You wouldn't consider not having a fan in your shower/bath - why? Warm moist air.

Now, cooking steam doesn't present near the amount or problems a shower does but to say steam (from cooking) doesn't matter is ridiculous.

What about odors? Grease is not the only thing that smells!

Now, as to the height of the downdraft extension- sure taller is better all other things being equal (which often they are not). It gives a broader capture area for that steam and grease because the filter area is generally larger on a taller vent. On some you can vary the height of the extension so you'd have the best of all worlds: catch the grease that your sales weasel is soooooooo concerned about AND catch the steam ABOVE that skyscraper lobster pot.

Be wary of this fella.

We have had a DACOR popup vent for many years. It has broken so many times, we have given up fixing it. It worked ok, but very noisy (depsite remote blower) and allows a ton of cold air to come into the kitchen through the ducts which go down from our island through our basement and out to the outside. Just something for you to think about.

I had a telescopic downdraft vent. It did suck the flame away when you had it cranked up to any effective level.

Not worth the powder you'd need to blow it to hell.

-Stooxie

In order to do an accurate comparison, different height dd would have to be installed with the same ducting and blower.

I have a Dacor downdraft and it very much pulls the flame. The dd is scorched to prove it. If also blows out a low simmer on any burner, not just the back burners. I would get one at tall as they come - which I heard was the new Thermador.

Although it is not as good as a hood, it is much better than nothing.

Thanks again for all the helpful responses.

antss: Much appreciate the candor + sensible approach. Last night I put our pasta pot on the front burner, the current 8" downdraft on high and watched all the steam rise to the ceiling. "How can that not matter?" was the rhetorical question DH asked.

As to "all things being equal," if we put in a taller downdraft, still 600 CFM, still the same 7' run to the outside, should we be better off? Or is that an unanswerable question?

grnbyct: We do get some cold air, too; fortunately not in the "ton" range!

stooxie and judeny: Since we are considering induction, sucking in the flames is not a worry for us -- though it certainly could be otherwise. judeny: you are the second person to mention liking your Dacor. Sounds like you would still go for a different brand for the extra height, though, if replacing it. Did I read that correctly?

Sorry, no I do not like Dacor. I like the concept of a downdraft for certain situations but Dacor was a terrible company to deal with and I would not purchase another Dacor product. They sold a product that did not work as specified, changed the specs after the order was placed without notifying the purchasers, generating de-installation and re-installation costs and generally leaving customers in the dark about a known problem.

I would buy Thermador.

You may not have any flames to "suck out" with induction but the height of the intake won't change and you still won't be sucking out any of the cooking effluents (steam, grease, etc).

Thank you for the feedback on your experience with Dacor, judeny. Much appreciated.

cooksnews: Quite right. There are cooking effluents to be expelled regardless of power source. We are just trying to determine whether replacing our 8" downdraft with a 14" one would improve performance--acknowledging all the while the inherent disadvantage of a DDraft. My earlier comment just meant that we would not face the disadvantages of using a DDraft w/ gas: no flames to be pulled out.

You mention that you can't use an updraft vent. I was wondering why. So many have posted that the only effective vent is updraft, and very few of those at that. We have a downdraft glass top and it is only marginally effective. Our kitchen has nowhere near enough cabinets so giving up one is out of the question. Still, there are some designs that I have considered. One has a very flat rectangular vent pipe that is very wide and would fit flush on the back side of our cabinet because it is over an island. Could possibly fit inside of a wall between the studs, I guess. We can't justify the expense of such custom venting, but you seem to be installing a much higher cost range.

Nerdyshopper: Good question! The "why" is primarily aesthetics. The kitchen and dining area are essentially one and hanging a hood/vent over the peninsula--that houses the cooktop--between them is something we'd rather avoid.

We've seen some pretty sexy island hoods (like the Elica offerings). They are not only pricey, but also don't seem like they would be much better at capturing steam and grease than the downdraft. (I've read several posts here about hoods needing to be wide and deep enough and having the right upside-down umbrella shape in order to work well. Thus, we've assumed that these cool looking ones are better as kitchen sculptures than air movers.)

So, you are right. If we had an available wall, we'd have more options. Unfortunately, we're working with a peninsula. BUT, we are also open to options we've not considered.

Here is a link that might be useful: Elica website