I have a 36" RNB and a 1200 cfm hood. Got a matching color one thru BS. You might not need 1200 but I'm glad I have it as I do some hi heat searing and wok cooking and it clears the air pretty well.

36" RNB with griddle, with a 36"x 27" Prizer 1000 cfm remote. Adequate, but just marginal when cooking super smokey meals. Starting to think you can't have too many cfms! Having 1400, and only using them when needed would be my choice if I did it again.

Also I would suggest a 42" hood for a 36" range, helps capture the effluent better.

Sonny_h,

I love that hood, what brand/model is it? Happy with it?

Having too many CFMs is definitely a bad thing. Ventilation is oversold all the time. There is no way you need 1200 CFM unless you are indoor grilling. Everyone talks about how they want a quiet hood all the time, and the best way to achieve that is to move less air. There is no whiz bang hood that will magically move all that air without making any sound. Also, the issue of makeup air comes into play. If your ventilation and makeup air (or lack thereof) is spec'd by a clueless person, you could end up filling your home with chimney soot and/or carbon monoxide. Capture area is key! Pro style cooking should have a hood 6 inches wider than the cooking surface at the very least. If you have 1000+ CFM on a 36" range and you find it's not effective enough, you have some serious installation problems.

This post was edited by hvtech42 on Wed, Jun 11, 14 at 16:48

bobelicious -

Thanks! The hood is from Proline (http://www.prolinerangehoods.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=32_46&products_id=174) -

I did a LOT of research both online and in one of the upscale appliance wholesalers locally. Proline hoods are much cheaper than most other hoods I found for equivalent performance. The reviews were mixed with lots of comments about mixed experience with customer service, etc. However, I have had a great experience with them so far. Hood arrived quickly, without any damage. All parts were delivered, no damage. It was easy to install, and does a great job of providing what I think is more than adequate ventilation for what I need to do. I am hoping that that there are no performance issues as time passes. Its a simple enough device and the warranty is fairly solid, so I am not overly concerned.

Will keep you posted how things evolve.

Sonny_h,

Thanks. Looks like it's on sale now for $699 - too bad I'm not quite ready to pull the trigger. I may look at the 42" model so I have that extra capture area for when I burn stuff :-)

-Bob

Bob:

Auto-flambe is a feature of most cooktops and the reason why excess CFM margin is desirable. 8-)

kas

Not to minimize, but I think the concerns over carbon monoxide relative to what the hood is doing should be pretty small.

The main thing that affects CO production is how the fuel is burning. If there's enough air, as indicated by a solid blue flame, you shouldn't have to worry. And that's set by the air shutters at the various burners.

For the hood to affect the amount of air for combustion, it would have to reduce the amount of air that can get into the shutters to mix with the fuel. That isn't going to happen since the air pressure at the burner is always going to be essentially the same as at the air shutter for that burner.

For there not to be enough O2 for the fuel (i.e. enough air, but O2 concentration reduced), there's also not going to be enough O2 for you as the cook. That hints at larger problems not related to the range.

I'm not saying there aren't houses where makeup air is needed. It's not just to prevent negatively pressurizing the house, it also lets you control where that air is coming from, as opposed to via infiltration (or an open door/window).

I vote to get as big a hood as you can- we have a 42" wide by 27" deep VAH over our 36" BS RNB. We also don't necessarily turn it on when cooking unless we need to. Still here despite all that combusted natural gas (i.e. 2H2O + CO2) we've let into the house.

Yes, we have a CO monitor, as should everyone.

I wasn't talking about carbon monoxide coming from the cooktop. I was talking about carbon monoxide coming from other gas appliances in the house such as the water heater that could be backdrafted by removing too much air and not replacing it. Obviously this doesn't apply to every house, but it's an important consideration.

Thanks so much to each of you. All very helpful information. Sounds like I should get a 42" inch hood. A local salesman tried to steer me to a 36" retractable with 500 CFMs. Sounds like that would not be a good idea!

Thanks to all for sharing this. I learned something today. We're looking to purchase a 36" range and the salesperson mentioned Makeup Air just yesterday. I'd never heard of it and was totally unaware of it. The posts here are terrific. Thanks to all once again.

I have the 36" BS Platinum with a 36" VAH exhaust. I suggest you get the larger 42" hood. While I was recycling mine and didn't want to buy a new one, it is just a barely sufficient. It's not the drawing power, rather it's the size of the aperture. Larger is preferable.

BTW, I love my BS!

How do you like your BS now that you have it ? Others on here too. I am liking the idea of their burners, not sure I will like the Gas oven though. Between this,Wolf and JennAir or Mielie. Really liking the Bluestar though appreciate feedback from people who actually own and se them. clean up on grills ?

Like lisaandmarcel I'm also wondering how the hood and range worked for you. Did you end up with the 42 hood?

I haven't had my BS 36" Platinum for long, but I can tell you this about the hood choice; go with the bigger more powerful or you may be unhappy. I bought the 42" hood that moves 750 CFM and I think it's not enough. I cooked two steaks and it doesn't capture all the smoke. High heat searing? Not enough. I may end up upgrading our hood to two fans (it's an option) so that I can cook without the smoke and also vent some of that heat.

As noted though, this much air movement is loud. The salesman said this would be adequate, I should have trusted my calculations based on the total BTU and the equation listed earlier in the thread. He also said this hood is a quieter one. It wasn't cheap. Zephyr Titan Proline if you're interested.

My kitchen just went commercial.