A decorative wood hood matching your cabinets can really dress up you kitchen and turn the cooking area into a real focal point in your kitchen. You certainly do not want to go smaller than 36", 42" would be preferable. I generally specify Vent-A-Hood products. They are well made, easy to clean and come in a variety of CFM models. Think in terms of 600 CFM or more if it is a long distance to the outside or if the duct has to make several turns.

I bought the Vent-a-Hood because it was recommended on this forum so often, but find it a real PIA to clean and wish I would have bought something easier to clean.

To avoid paying extra for name-brand, buy the three main components separately. Many companies will make the catchment thingie and put a filter in it. You specify the motor, and they order it. See fantech.net for 20 or 30 blowers. Where you place the motor is up to you. No need to have it bolted into the catchment thingie. It could be in the kitchen's ceiling, separated from the hood by a couple feet of duct.

Yes, an inset is the right term. It's good because it makes the thing more invisible. No reason why this is a bad idea.

A hood is designed to grab that fast-rising greasy smokey air and run it through a filter and suck it out of the house. Grease can be airborne for a very very long time. Microscopic grease specks. It's what carries food smells to your nose. HulaGalj, If you promise to make your french fries on one of the back burners, not on one of the front burners, then a hood that doesn't stick out over the front burners is "ok".

Smoke is another airborne thing to exhaust.

Steam is also good to exhaust.

The above post is easy to rebut.

HualGalj, the questions you've asked are good but not spot on. A motor, a catchment capture volume/shape, and a filter: these little components are easy to make, easy to assemble, and in fact all independent from each other. So no they don't come in "unreliable/reliable" packages, or from "unreliable/reliable" manufacturers. The real question is if you can get a custom package and spend less. Yes. The shape you choose to make will have its drawbacks, but nothing earthshattering. You know that there are thousands of "hoods" sold today that have NO catchment space; smoke greasy air rises and hits a flat surface (the filter), and a lot of air escapes !!!. Hundreds of downdraft exhaust systems are sold too, and you ought to see how much smoke steam and greasy air escapes that so-called exhaust!!!

It's the volume designed in the catchment space, that temporarily holds the smoke. This is the best design. Making it big enough to cover all your heating elements is A Good Thing To Do... but there are many that don't have this.

HTH

I meant the post from stuktu is easy to rebut.

For my tiled hood, I took a risk and ordered a discontinued no-name vent insert from an unknown online discounter, and it turned out extremely well. LOVE it. (It's the Sirius brand insert SU901, for what it's worth, if you can still find it on eBay or elsewhere.)

You'll need to decide how big a cabinet or wooden cover you'll have, then size the vent appropriately. If the cachement space (the wood surround) is large enough, the vent can be the same size as your cooktop.

My advice:

1. go for a model that has the lights towards the front of the stove for maximum light coverage, and

2. go for a model with stainless "pro style" baffles instead of a mesh filter -- much easier to clean, just throw in the dishwasher.

Search for "power pack" or "liner insert" in the online vent stores.

Thank you ALL so much for responding!

Davidro-I appreciate the time you took to provide an extensive explanation. I'm still a little confused, but I feel I understand it better. Maybe I should do some searches on GW.

I just finished my kitchen and we bought a Modern Aire hood. I LOVE it and I love the company...they are in So California and have given me amazing service. It is also beautiful.

I was told by my designer - have also read in many kitchen design guides - the hood should be 6 inches wider than the cooktop. Also, it depends on what kind of heat your cooktop puts out and if you have other elements (like we had a grill).

Make sure before you buy any hood that you know how big a duct they can put in - sometimes the size of duct is limited by the joists (mine was) - because every hood has a minimum size of ducting.

Jen, I am with davidpro on this one. Personal experience is vent a hood is easy to install, moderately priced but has its issues (noise and cleaning can be more of a challenge compared to others) Given a choice, an insert with an external or inline blower is preferable in my opinion -(I have both). That also may give you the option of installing a silencer. Several companies make great inserts: Abbaka, Prestige and Modern Aire among others. I personally chose the Abbaka with Modern Aire being 2nd choice but either one is a very well built unit. You can shop the blower from other companies depending on what size (cfm)you are looking for as well as price, efficiency, noise etc. When I looked into Modern Aire they were offering the Abbaka blower as their high end option. We ended up buying a Broan blower unit because of a deal we found and have not regretted it. Capture area is important and I would encourage you to stay with the wider hood given the option. CFM will be the next question and the answer will depend on many variables. I prefer to oversize as long as the house does not have a make up air issue. Over sizing costs very little and I have never heard a complaint of having too much capability. The insets have variable speed controls and you can adjust the fan speed as necessary. If you have a tight house - pay attention to make up air!