In general--Bad idea.

Recirculating hoods at best trap some of the grease but do nothing for odor, smoke, carbon monoxide, etc etc. There is no filter anywhere that is going to come close to trapping any appreciable percentage of the effluent from a pro style range.

I guess if you really want the look of the range and don't plan on cooking much, that would work. Or, if you do plan on cooking and don't mind 1) your entire house smelling like food 2) grease depositing all over your cabinets, counters, etc 3) inhaling all that potentially carcinogenic effluent, then you can do it. Plenty of folks cook without adequate ventilation, but once you've cooked with it you'll never go back.

Are you sure there are no ventilation options? Are you in a condo or apartment?

this is what i feared. yes, in an apartment with strict rules - no venting allowed. pardon my ignorance, but how am i not going to have the same 3 problems you mentioned with any old range - forget the pro. if i go with the GE cafe w/o venting hood (a contender) then aren't i still going to have 1)stink 2) grease 3)carcinogens?

Electric range will lessen these problems.

You can always open a window.

go with Induction. You have ,(at the very least), as much control over the heat as any gas range, It will boil water faster than any gas range/cootop made, yet at the same time, you can melt chocolate on it without a double boiler.
Went into kitchen, just before I posted this, wife cooking some beans--(had to pay for the cooktop somehow LOL) under the pot are paper towels----so cleanup is remove paper towels ----- hard to beat. Cooking with a wok,on induction , still not a "Lotta info" but several posts on GW said it works fine and have see no negatives (so far).
Induction generates very little heat , other than directly in the pan, course if ya "Smoke Something" ---forget it;'s on the burner or whatever, You will still have a house fulla smoke.
Just bout everyday, my wife tells me how much She loves the kitchen and especially the induction cooktop.

Good luck on your final choice!!!!

Gary

clinsrega, even if you own, in many places you can't do anything external. No window fans, no cutting holes in the fabric of the building. I live in a townhouse and it's the same way here. No external venting, period.

writersblock is right. we own our apartment, it's a co-op, and no venting is allowed. we have been living here already for years with a $500 frigidare range - no vent - and occasionally have had smoke issues, but it hasn't been that bad. now that we're renovating and upgrading, we want to put in a nicer range, but have run into these issues with the hood.

I am having the same problem since I live in a townhouse and can not have external venting. I need a circulating fan type of hood that is stainless steel, attractive, 30" wide, and quiet.

So far I narrowed my search down to the Broan Allure Hood QS230SS (very quiet on the normal setting and has touch buttons but they are on the outside in black and I was wishing the outside would be just all stainless... but it is modern looking and maybe in person it would look nice), GE 30" Deluxe Range (will match the GE Cafe Gas Range I am thinking of getting but has tiny knobs to turn on the right side showing and I can't find a picture of it in a room or one in a store), Broan 88304 that can be converted to a Non-Ducted Operation, and the Broan AP1 Series AP130SS (but not as quiet as their QS230SS model at 7 Sones just like the GE Range). I feel disappointed that I can not have high CFM's in my range hood and can't have more of the look I wanted but at least from my research for 2 days I found these units that would work out. I can also open my sliding glass door to ventilate the room if it ever needs it and put my two air cleaners on.

You might want to give Prestige a call. Their conventionally-vented hoods are very good, and I noted, last I looked, that they had a "vent-free" option. I can't comment on the performance of that style of hood, but their build quality is excellent and their conventionally-vented hoods are much, much quieter than similar Broan and Best by Broan units.

Thank you sfjeff for this information for me and the others on this site. You are always so helpful. I will call Prestige after their lunch hour today.

My suggestion would be an OTR microwave. The ventilation would still be just as useless, but at least you get a microwave out of it.

Kobe makes 3 styles of recirculating ventless hoods at 400cfm.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kobe recirculating ventless hoods

A while back on a similar discussion here, a NY'er posted they used a ductless hood but also bought a good quality air cleaner. S/he said between using both and opening the window a bit, they were able to get smoke/grease trapped fairly well. I would imagine it takes a LOT of frequent filter cleaning, though!

We own a condo with no venting -- not even in the bathroom that has no windows!

We have OTR microwave. When I cook bacon, I spray Oust and open a window.

Another Broan Professional Hood at a reasonable price that has recirculating kit.

I wish I was taller since then I would buy the over the range microwave that is so beautiful and will be recirculating and have lights.

Here is a link that might be useful: Another Broan Professional Hood at a reasonable price that has recirculating kit

stir_fryi, we are in a similar situation with our beautiful, architect-designed Mediterranean-style home. Lots of attention to dramatic lighting, but woefully little attention to proper ventilation. The master bath (more like a spa, really) has two windows that give the bathtub a (very private) view of the garden and the woods beyond. Neither window opens. We shall be redressing that oversight with casement windows, our next step in bringing this house around to our personal specifications.