I have a 30" induction range and put a Kobe CH2730SQB hood over it.

In my last house I had a Wolf 36" cooktop on an island and put a VAH hood over that.

Neither one of these is "quiet" like a good dishwasher but the VAH was definitely worse (which, considering its larger size, is probably expected). What I didn't expect was the vibration experienced in the bedroom floor (on the second floor directly over the kitchen) when the VAH was on high. My current house is a ranch and so that issue doesn't exist here.

The Kobe is pretty noisy on its highest speed but not what I'd classify as cover-your-ears level. The default (middle) speed is acceptable or better, IMHO. The two lowest speeds are quiet but of course do not move as much air.

The Kobe has five speeds; I normally use it on #3 which is adequate for what I do. That said, I never fry. I did crank it up a couple of times to #5 when I accidentally let a pan of cookies burn (darn email, LOL) and filled the kitchen with smoke. I was impressed with the job it did clearing out the resulting fog and scorched smell very quickly.

I am less impressed with the Kobe's lighting. There are two halogen bulbs and three light settings. The brightest setting is the only one I'd consider adequate and I have a well-lit kitchen. The VAH had four halogen bulbs with two light settings, low and high; the bulbs themselves were larger but again, so was the hood.

The only quibble I have about the Kobe is that while it works great for items on the two back burners, it really does not come out far enough to effectively pull stuff up from the front-burner pans. And we are talking about just steam here, folks. My range does have the controls at the back, which means the front burners are more "forward" than a front-panel range's would be. I suspect that if I had one of those, the hood would be in a better operating position re: the burners. But I was determined on this induction range and so we gotta work with what we've got, LOL

I paid $699 plus tax for the Kobe last year from a local appliance store. I see that Amazon has it now for $657.

As for a microwave hood, the prior owners had one and the first thing I did was get rid of it. All they do is recirculate the same air through a not-very-efficient metal filter/screen. If I have a fan, I want it to REMOVE the odor/grease/etc-laden air from my house... not simply move it around and deposit it back into the same living space it was originally in.

This post was edited by Helena2013 on Thu, Nov 27, 14 at 13:27

I am not a fan of OTR microwaves. In my opinion, they are cheaply built safety hazards. In some situations they really are the best option, but I would try to avoid whenever possible. Don't bother with a fancy expensive range hood, no point if you just have a basic 30" range. I would lean towards Broan. In your case I would avoid high CFM hoods as well. Keep it simple.

Quiet would never be on my priority list shopping for a range hood. They move large volumes of air out of your house, they will be noisy on the higher speeds. If they aren't something is wrong. Usually the lower speeds, the ones you use the most, are a reasonable noise level.

>As for a microwave hood, the prior owners had one and the first thing I did was get rid of it. All they do is recirculate the same air through a not-very-efficient filter/screen. If I have a fan, I want it to REMOVE the odor/grease/etc-laden air from my house... not simply move it around and deposit it back into the same living space it was originally in.

Not necessarily. OTR microwaves can vent outside too, and the ones that do are far better than the recirculating ones. Still not a fan though.

This post was edited by hvtech42 on Thu, Nov 27, 14 at 13:23

hvtech42, yes you're right, some do vent outside but the one that was in this house was one of the recirculating ones. :-)

By the way, I notice that the Amazon listing says that the Kobe has 6 speeds. Technically that is true, because it has an additional speed called "Eco" which operates on its own button control. This is an ultra-low speed called QuietMode which turns on automatically for 10 minutes every hour to 'improve air quality' (if you want to set it to do that). However, mfg says that with this mode activated there should be some makeup air, such as from a door or window, available. I myself do not use this mode.

We did the same thing during our remodel. Took out the microwave and gained some open space between the cooking surface and the vent. We bought the vent at Home Depot. It's nothing special, but it does the job fine.