we have one of those ebay glass+stainless island hood. it works well and looks great. i dont like the look of imposing hoods. this one doesnt look as imposing.

just windex it once a week or after a book cooking session. very easy to maintain.

pharaoh... I think I asked you this before but can't remember... (an increasing frequent problem!). Which vendor/brand did you go with? I like the curved glass stainless ones and certainly like the under $600 ebay pricing. Any grilling we do is outdoors year round so I really really think I can manage not going high end here.

remodelfla,

here is the link. It is cheaper than when i bought it almost three years ago. it is still working so that is good. I use it everyday.
you may be able to get them even cheaper online or negotiate with the seller :)

Here is a link that might be useful: ebay hood

Thanks pharaoh! I just saved them to favorite sellers. I didn't see any 42" hoods... I have a 36" cooktop, but I'll worry about that when the time comes.

Thanks for the info. BTW, I'm talking about a wall mount, not island. Don't know if that makes a difference. also, our contractor talked us out of having it vent outside. He said a recirculating kit works just as well. He said nobody's venting outside anymore unless they already have the vent going outside. I don't know if I believe that! (they would have to cut through our roof)

Squigs - your contractor is wrong. It is far FAR superior to vent to the outside. And he is egregiously wrong about "nobody's venting outside, etc." I'd be worried about him if I were you. He's either lying, or ignorant. Many regions have implemented changes to Codes to require external venting. As people in general have become more sophisticated about kitchens, about internal air quality, the trend is strongly toward choosing to install an external kitchen exhaust. There is just no comparison between venting externally versus recirculating.

There are some people who simply can't install external exhaust, like many New York City apartments we hear about on this Forum. But if you can, you should.

So, please insist he install the duct for the exhaust. You could also post on the Appliances Forum about your venting situation with more detail--there are exhaust experts there who may have an alternative to venting through the roof if you don't want that. Although, many people like venting through the roof cause it's a straight shot, and your exhaust will be quieter and more efficient as a result (i.e. with fewer bends to the ductwork). We don't have enough info here--what would be the distance of the duct to the roof? Would it be better to cut a hole in the side of your home? It's hard to know without more info.

I had a friend who installed kitchen ductwork in her home after-the-fact. She thought it was going to be really hard and expensive, and to her surprise, it wasn't a big deal. She is happy she did it.

While you're at it, make sure when the ductwork is installed, that the duct is 8" or 10" diameter. Don't let the contractor install 6" duct (either by telling you "oh, 6" is fine", or simply by not telling you the size of the duct he is installing). Get it in writing, and look at the duct before installing. If you get smaller than an 8" duct, your choices of hood will be more limited, since most require 8" duct or larger, your noise will be increased by the air being forced through a smaller path, and the efficiency of the duct will be less.

I am very glad you posted your message about your contractor talking you out of external venting. Not only cause we can help you, but also in case someone else is reading this thread, and hearing the same line from their contractor.

akchicago - thanks for the input. I think the idea was that the new filters do such a good job. but I think I'll post questions to the appliance board too.

Squigs - I am glad you plan to post on the Appliances Forum. Now, as to the "new filters" you mentioned, hmmm, what advances in filters have been made? I have not heard that filters have changed any. They're pretty simple and straightforward. If your contractor is telling you that there are "new" filters which are therefore better, thereby trumping the benefits of external venting, that's just more nonsense.