A2 is strictly enforcing the 400 CFM before needing a make-up air handling system. I am considering the Zephyr Genova (It is so cute and discreet, but am concerned that to get it under the 400 CFM, they use only one fan on the left. Zephyr is verifying some information for me. The other two companies that I am considering are VentaHood which uses a true HEPA filter and the Broan Evolution. Right now, the Broan is in the lead - 350 CFM and 4 theater style halogen lights.
I am going induction - I know blasphemy for true cooks but I like the quick response, safety, and "green" of the induction and then when I found out about the make up air systems costing $5000, I decided it was cheaper to replace a few pans(I have a combo of Caphalon and All Clad, so will only need 1-2 pans)
Others?

I have the Zephyr Milano 42" over my gas cooktop in the island. It really moves the air and it looks very nice. My personal opinion is that the quality is very good. The stainless cleans up well too by the way. I got the glass canopy version and while I like it better than the stainless-canopy version, it sure is a dust collector. Thank goodness for Swiffer dusters and "Perfect Glass".

Dean

We have the Zephyr Typhoon - I think it's AK2100 but don't have my paperwork handy so can't be sure. Installed March 2011. Very pleased with it. Works well, easy to clean.

We have a Zephyr Anzio that we just had installed over our 36" range as part of our remodel. I really like the look especially for an 8" ceiling. It works well, has a decent capture area and is 600cfm although if we had a grill I am not sure it would handle it well.

I have a Zephyr Anzio also. I have a 30" range and it works very well over it. I have nearly 9' ceilings and it looks great. Love style of it for my Craftsman kitchen - it doesn't conflict and feels right for it, however, it also collects dust terribly. If you keep after it weekly it's not so bad.

BTW, I just found out that it was installed too low by several inches. I don't know how I didn't notice this sooner. I already had a panel board replaced once due to it crapping out from overheating. It gets WAY too hot when cooking and the grease collects on it too much especially around the lights - which really heat up more than I expected. I'm sure it's because of it's height. Not sure what I'm going to do about this yet because the hood is wedged between 2 cabinets. I have a feeling it's going to be a problem to rectify and may wind up having to get a whole new hood this time around.

funfarm : I am looking at purchasing a zephyr milano 42" island hood. Wanted to get more feedback from you on your experience with the hood, now that you have used it for more than 6 months. We have a 6 burner thermador stove. Want a sleek looking island vent that pulls air.

Zephyr Milano wall (or the under-cabinet Tamburo, which is running second place here as a possible choice):

Anyone with experience with the Milano's fancy DCBL system for reducing noise?
How about that glass? Is it too hard to keep clean?

Has anyone found a Modern Aire that comes close to the look of the Zephyr models? The local retail folks recommend Modern Aire for some reason.

I have searched and read previous posts, but any update by experienced users would be very helpful to this newbie at kitchen appliance choices and the remodeling challenges!

thanks in advance for any help.

We are considering the Zephyr Modena 36" Island to go over our 5 burner Thermador Induction Cooktop. We have an 8 foot ceiling and the recommended installation height is 26" - 32". We are considering installing it at 36" so my husband doesn't hit his head.

Does anyone have experience going above what the manufacturer recommends? What problems could that cause?

Follow-on to above question....would going over the recomended distance void our warrenty?

I'm afraid installing too high will reduce your ability to efficiently capture. My zephyr is well rounded and has not been a problem. I'm 6.2 and cook every day. I installed mine at 28" and have been ok so far. A good idea...start running the hood when you begin cooking. This seems to really help getting air flowing before you need fast action. Even a mid speed start will help. Enjoy and hope your DH remains a happy cook without need of stitches!

I am also looking at a Zepyhr, either the Arc Layers (pricey but gorgeous, older technology though), or the Modena wall. Anyone have the Modena? I haven't been able to locate anyone who does.
I like that it has the new DCBL suppression technology, and goes up to 715 CFM, and is quiet. I visited the Zephyr showroom in SF and they have some really nice hoods!

Hi JAM_SF,

I have the 36" Modena Island. We ended up with it by process of elimination. Our criterion were:

1. LED Lighting
2. Thin profile
3. Not glass which is a cleaning nightmare.

I am very happy with it. It really sucks! :-) The lighting is great, it is fairly quiet except on the higher speeds. It does have a little glass so you get the lightness that you get with glass, but the only one who can see if it is dirty is the cook. My only complaint is that we get cold air blowing back into the house and they don't recommend a second baffle, but we are going to add one this summer. In the meantime, we have fitted some insulation into the filter with a ribbon on it so that I remember it is in there and can remove it before I turn it on.

I use it over a 5 burner induction cooktop. Two or three nights a week we grill something in our grill pan and as long as I remember to turn it on in advance and turn it up when the pan starts smoking it managest the fumes well.

Robin

That is great to hear! Thanks for the info.

robinecmd: Just saw your questions from months ago were never answered directly. I'm just responding in case somebody comes late to this party and does not realize this is an updated thread.

>>>"would going over the recomended distance void our warranty?"No. As you've already discovered. Glad the unit is working for you.

>>>"Does anyone have experience going above what the manufacturer recommends? What problems could that cause? The only problem from raising the vent units are that they are not as effective in in capturing steam, etc. Going with a flat bottomed unit like the Zephyr Modena means the loss in effectiveness will be more noticeable than with a hood with a canopy.

Isn't the Modena model 27" deep? I think that at least will likely helpa mitigate some of the effect of raising it higher above the stove.

Beyond that, it is hard to say how significant this change will be for others. Too many variables. Partly, it will depend on what and how you cook on that induction cooktop. Will you be running four or five woks at a time? Simultaneously searing lots of steaks on very high heat in four pans and creating a lot of smoke and spatter? You may wish you had a 27" deep 42" wide hooded canopy at a lower height.

What are the air currents in your kitchen? Lots more opportunity for stray air currents in a open kitchen with an island cooktop. The higher your hood, the more chance that drafts will blow vapor away from the air-flow to the vent.

OTOH, it might be fine. Flat bottomed units are sleek and trim and can work reasonably well even when placed higher than recommended. I say this having had had a wall mount/cabinet-hung 600 cfm 36" Zephyr Cyclone for the last 11 years. Before last year's kitchen reno, my unit was about 5 or 6 inches higher than recommended. There there were ways to overwhelm its capacity --- four pans with of blackened fish or steaks, for example. But mostly no particular problem other than the noise of running the fans on the high setting.

Thanks for reporting back that your set-up worked out well for you.

This post was edited by JWVideo on Fri, Mar 22, 13 at 21:18

I have a 42" Zephyr Napoli island hood over a 36" BlueStar rangetop, both of which were installed in our newly remodeled kitchen about 2 months ago. The Zephyr hood arrived with one of the lights out. The dealer we purchased it from called Zephyr, who called the local warranty repair service and sent a new light harness from the West Coast to the repair service here on the East Coast. The repair service made an appointment and came out and repaired the light issue. The whole process took a week or so.

Fast forward to this July 13th. When I turned on the hood that morning, it came on in "burst" mode, which I nearly never use. It should've come on in the lowest speed, which is the speed I had last used. I turned it down a couple of notches and suddenly the motor started making noises as if it had a length of coat hanger wire wrapped around it. So I repeated the process for getting service. I called the dealer, who called Zephyr in California, who created a work order with Hadco locally for the repair.

Zephyr couldn't be reached on the weekend so the service request went in on Monday. After more than a week of radio silence from Zephyr and Hadco, I got a contact number from the dealer and called Zephyr myself only to learn they had shipped parts and that Hadco would call me when the parts arrived. Remember, nobody had contacted me yet or checked the product to know what the problem actually is.

I got the UPS tracking # from Zephyr and saw that the parts were delivered to Hadco today. I called them to set up an appointment and it will be another week before they can come out. By then, 2-1/2 weeks will have gone by.

I'm sure they will fix it and it will be fine until the next time something happens. Zephyr products get great reviews so maybe I just got a lemon, but is this a portent of things to come? A brand new vent hood (especially one that cost well over $2000), shouldn't be having these issues. BTW, the installation was done professionally by an installer recommended by the dealer. The other thing is the lack of communication from Zephyr and when I called them, they were very unconcerned that I was having this problem with my NEW hood.

I can't recommend Zephyr to anyone, and especially not anyone east of the Mississippi. It takes too long to get anything done and they don't have a customer service mindset.

This post was edited by vlunceford on Tue, Jul 23, 13 at 19:32

Hi,

I purchased a brand new zephyr Anzio island hood fan. I have two issues. First it is brand new, installed by a licensed installer. It doesn't work. Dead as a door knob. I called Corbeil, they sent out a repair specialist and he could not fix it either. He sent a report to Corbeil and Distinctive, who says yay or nay about replacing the Zephyr hood. Zephyr is not willing to replace it! They are saying it can be fixed....we paid 2 extra hours of labour from our installer trying to get this machine working, which included my husbands time trying to help him. Then my time spent waiting for the repair man, now over week later, Corbeil finally gets back to me and says ...sorry, they won't replace it. I am so frustrated with the horrible customer service from zephyr and Corbeil .

Another issue,when looking to purchase an island hood fan I went to two companies. Both suggested the Zephyr Anzio Island. I had been clear that I had a GE gas stove. I've now found out that the Anzio will only go to a max height of 28.5 inches from the top of the stove. Building code is 30", the gas range is 30" recommendation too. I have a standard 8" ceiling. I am so disappointed that, one it isn't working and 2) it is too low according to proper code.

Bought a range hood from Zephyr. After 2 years the LED bulbs started burning out..of all things. The designed it so a mere mortal can not remove them and replace them. We've been waiting a month now for repair. Everything else is working as expected.

I have had an undercounter Zephyr for 18 years now. I think the Typhoon model. 36" hood over a 36" cooktop. I think I installed it a little high, but we still really like the looks and the performance. It is quite loud at the highest settings, but if you have enough smoke that you need the highest setting, then you will be happy with how fast it pulls the air through. And the volume is of course a function of both the motor and the air itself moving, so that depends on how yours is installed.

I received a banged up unit (36" Tempest) when I ordered through Appliances Connection, and when Appliances Connection wouldn't make good, I reached out to Zephyr on a hope and a prayer. Someone responded within an hour of my late night inquiry. Within a couple of days, they delivered a new unit free of any additional charges or hassle. I was *very* surprised they stepped up.

I've since installed the unit and haven't had any problems, but mostly I'm just impressed with the helpful customer service. Very glad I ended up purchasing from a local company.

I was happy with this hood, at first . . .

Here's my original Amazon review:

I've been happy with this hood. It's not wimpy, so your kitchen won't smell like bacon for hours and the grease/steam will be sucked up before it ends up on your kitchen cabinet. The filters are easy to take out for cleaning, but it is rather noisy. Houzz has a good article on how to select an extractor hood, which I'd suggest reading before you order one.

Here's my sadder, but wiser review:

The fan went out in late 2019 and was recently repaired (after numerous calls to Zephyr Tech Support). Here are the problems, according to our repair people:

1. Microfuse is of an inadequate capacity to handle the hood.

2. Motherboard failed. Unclear what happened, but best guess is that this was because of a power surge. However, you can't install surge protection for this hood.

3. Switch was also replaced. The switch has to PRECISELY line up with the windows on the outside of the hood or nothing works (this came from Tech Support; it's not in the manual). Unfortunately, there is a plate riveted behind the switch, which makes it extremely difficult to line up the switch (the plate should have been screwed in) because it's a space that's too small for fingers. This task took two experienced guys a couple of hours of contorting themselves, adding shims, taking the Lord's name in vain, etc.

4. Wires are too close to the motherboard, which we were informed might lead to more trouble in the future.

5. The duct cover had to be basically dismantled to do the repair work; there should have been an access panel.

6. This hood had been installed and then the drywaller/plasterer had done his work where the duct cover met the ceiling. This was unavoidably damaged repairing the hood. There should be a metal trim piece that could go around the duct cover at the ceiling, but Zephyr doesn't make one and this duct cover is a weird size, so you can't just buy one from another manufacturer (most of whom seem to make this part). We will have to have one fabricated.