Wow, what a helpful bunch ya'll are... :-P

I think the problem is your price range - I'm not aware of any 36" hoods in the $200-300 range.

"Wow, what a helpful bunch ya'll are... :-P"

Rather than being unhelpful, is it possible that no one has any recommendations? I don't know anything about vents in that price range. But apparently you think I should have responded. What would you like me to say?

Here's a link, sorted by price from low to high.

Here is a link that might be useful: hood at ajmadison

I couldn't be the only person on the internet who is cheap! I am apparently the only person on Garden Web's home forum who is cheap. There are hoods in that price range and even lower--I've seen them as low as $40. I'm building a whole stinking house, I don't have money to burn--I set myself a budget of $5000 for appliances, which actually leaves me with about $150 for a hood...I realize I will probably have to go over that a bit to get something I'll be happy with, but $300 is my limit.

Thank you, attofarad, for trying to help.

I probably should have known better than to post here after reading about all the Wolf, Subzero, Viking, blah blah blah that folks on this forum are buying. Meanwhile, I was haunting Metro Builder's Supply to try to catch the items I wanted on "red tag" sale. LOL

V

A big issue with cheap hoods is how many CFMs they have and do they vent out or are they only recirculating. Generally, 600 CFMs is the minimum recommended for a 30" range and I think the cheap ones have a lot less. I understand your budget issues but if you're going to get one of these cheap hoods you should read the reviews carefully or you may end up wasting your money.

While it's true a lot of people on this forum buy high end appliances, there are also people asking for low to mid end reccommendations and they get responses. My experience tells me that range hoods generally run ~$1000 so I didn't initially respond to your post. I'm glad you're able to find something in your price range but just remember - you usually get what you pay for. I don't think people were being rude - I think they just didn't have an answer for you.

oops, my link while ago didn't work. If you go to ajmadison.com, hoods, select the width, then sort by price, you will find quite a few below $300. weissman is correct about being concerned with CFM, but I haven't ever had a problem with low CFM hoods over electric burners. With higher power gas burner, or if you do frying (I don't), a higher performance hood will be needed.

well, i saw your funny "tongue out" face and casual use of y'all and knew you were joking around! posts get lost over the weekend here, and i thought your second post was actually a funny little nudge. it made me smile. (but since i had no info for you, i just smiled, and moved on.)

i'm sorry someone grumped at you. it feels bad when someone grumps at you and there seldom seems a need for grumpiness. at least in this tiny little GW universe, can't we be friendly to each other? please?

Thank you, bayareafrancy, for understanding. I don't get along with grumpy people well...my mouth or my fingers one are going to go off without checking with my brain first. haha

I just thought I might be able to get a little guidance and I did, eventually. Not what I wanted to hear, but beggars can't be choosers. ;-)

BTW, I have a 36" gas cooktop (GE Profile) and a hole in the wall of my house with a vent kit installed and no hood attached. EEK! I was going to put an OTR microwave in there, but realized that my tile mural wouldn't fit, so had to back up and punt. And then the first hood I bought was dented and hung crooked, so I returned it. I found a Broan Allure II yesterday for under $300 (over the phone), so I may check that out.

V

I was just looking at the same Broan, and it looked pretty (I admittedly know nothing about it's function though).

I saw an akdy hood at Amazon for 249.

http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Az668a90-Mount-Range/dp/B002NOFGI2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1282706209&sr=8-3

I loved it but I cannot say if it is a good hood or not. Esthetically, it is great looking. You might find a decent hood on ebay or craigslist. You might find a kitchen store display hood or an outlet salvage store. Best of luck.

I ended up with a Broan AP1. I didn't want a hood that was "kicked up" in the front where I could see the underside of it from across the room. Blech. I don't understand the reason for that design. Anyway, this one hangs nice and straight front-to-back. I got it for $353, so a little over my budget but not too bad.

Thanks for the help.
Vonda

Just have to add that I am in the exact same boat as arkansasfarmchick was and I understood her frustration and comments. My mother NEVER had a range hood. She was a great cook. I have a friend that is picky, picky and has a high end Dakor stove and that fancy speed cooking oven in a high end kitchen. She has no range hood. I think the need for range hoods has gotten a little crazy. The prices are crazy too. I have a range hood over the stove in the house I just bought and I never even think to turn it on.

Y'all must never burn stuff, or fry up green chilies, or sear meat, or do much frying of any kind. Or need to cook on a hot day.

did you try ebay ?

Here is a link that might be useful: range hoods