Some of the Vent-a-hoods are 24" or 27" deep. I have a 27", 600 CFM, chimney style in a 'stand alone' situation & it does a great job. Quiet is a relative term, but IMO the efficiency more than compensates for any minor noise irritation.

Look for a minimum 24" deep hood. Going 42" will be better, but 36" will work. Look into Independent Hoods. They make some of Wolfs and are priced around VAH. VAH are terrible for cleaning, they have too much surface area to collect grease. My wife could not reach up into ours for cleaning and I had to do it. Its gone!! What a poor design, no wonder no one else has tried to copy it.

Thank you for the replies. This is just what I am after. I have found a Zephyr that is 24" deep, and will continue to look. I guess this leaves the futurofuturo out as they are all less than 20" deep (???!!!) At first I was thinking about VAH but the number of comments about cleaning has me looking elsewhere (plus price). I will look into Independent - if I can get away with 36" I have tons more choices in general. Anything will be better than my current OTR microhood, and probably quieter also.

Has anyone turned an under-cabinet hood into a chimney-style with added ducting, or is that a real no-no?

Thanks again,

Nica

Hi
I have the 36 inch VAH 600 cfm 22.5 inch deep over my 36 inch DF with Grill GE Monogram. I have absolutely no problem cooking or grilling (lots of smoke) with the 22.5 inch standard depth. If you want, VAH makes a 24 inch deep one but you can definitely get away without it. I can't even smell my food cooking even when the grill is going all out.

I think you can go either way although bigger is always better when it comes to ventilation. One of my issues was that I am tall and was afraid of braining myself on the stone mantle if it came out any farther. I also wasn't worried about damage to the hood if smoke did escape since it is stone. If I had wood above, I may have gone deeper. Just wanted to let you know how it works for me if that will expand your options.

Hi, Nica.

From your situation, I can see that you're using a Caldera stove. Have you considered using a Caldera range hood? I came across (a few times) the Caldera range hood, which could be controlled from your stove control panel. I have never installed them, but it sounds like a good idea.

THanks, Robert - I haven't realized that Caldera does range hoods. I'll check it out.

I was at the Futuro Futuro showroom in NYC last week and took a measuring tape to see just where the capture area is. I was pretty surprised to see how much of the "depth" is not capture area. I will keep that in mind as I ask questions. I did like the noise levels of those hoods, for sure.

THanks for the input. We are replacing an OTR micro vent and are thinking that anything will look better!

Nica

I was looking for a range hood for my professional Thermador 36-inch stove, and I was concerned about the capture area also. But no matter which manufacturer I looked at - they all had filters that don't come up to the edge. I guess it's an industrywide thing. Eventually, I gave up and I bought a range hood based on my style preferences. My Futuro Moon does not have much of a capture area, but I have to admit that it does what it should do, and I have no complaints. It's very quiet too.

The filters don't have to be to the edge. In commercial hoods, the filters are only a small part of the overall internal area of the hood. What is important is that the hood be wide enough to capture the expanding effluent plume, and have enough air flow to keep the captured stuff from getting back out of the hood.

kas

i'd like to clarify this. when we looked at range hoods, the salesman talked about trim pieces around the hood's edges. does this mean that if a hood is 30", using a trim piece of 3" on each side (bringing it to 36") will turn it into a 36" hood, able to capture the air around a 36" cooktop? this is what i think the above posts mean. i wasn't sure whether to trust the salesman on this.

thanks