I use mine. I turn it on whenever I cook anything greasy etc. I don't usually turn it on if I am boiling water or cooking pasta.

I had a hood microwave in my last kitchen, and I don't remember how much I used it. And in this house, I had no hood for the three years before I did this kitchen. I didn't notice anything bad, but I'm sure that there was grease everywhere.

I think you need one.

I use mine when I cook anything, even boiling water. We live in South Texas - hot and humid. So even just steam going out into the kitchen is not appreciated. A good range hood makes a big difference. When anything is cooking I have it turned on to at least its lowest setting (mine is variable speed). For browning, full rolling boil, etc., it's on high. At the ranch where the range hood is not very good, I can really tell the difference in smells throughout the house.

I use mine nearly every time I use the range, not only for grease and moisture but to prevent cooking smells from traveling all over my house. In my previous home I had a really cheap recirculating vent that was useless. The surrounding uppers always got moist when I boiled water and you could smell dinner in the bedrooms all night. Onions and garlic smell delicious when cooking, not so yummy at bedtime! With a pro-style range like Bluestar I'd definitely have a good vent.

I use mine all the time, even when boiling water. A good hood will remove heat and steam, and also helps control the grease flying around. If you cook, get a good hood.

How is your climate? That makes a big difference in answering your question. The winter climate here is mild, so I still prefer to cook everything I can outside. Just because you use a vent, you are not exempt from cleaning.
Eventually, you have to clean the hood.
However, I use my hood a lot for the first time now. I finally have a strong one. Mine is a VentAHood. You can search the forums and read lots of debates on which hood is the better brand. One thing they will all agree upon: the strong ones are no comparison to the little inexpensive ones. I had never bothered to use mine before because they made no difference, just a lot of noise. If you get a nice one, you will find yourself using the hood.

We have a 36" RNB, and we turn the hood on every time we use the stove. Besides smell and grease, the range generates considerable heat and it is nice to get rid of that. You'll find a lot of info on vent hoods on GW. We spent more than we originally planned, mostly because we were completely ignorant about vent hoods. Given how much we use it, I'm happy with the purchase.

In our new kitchen I kept forgetting to turn on the hood because I rarely used the noisy ineffective microwave hood in the old kitchen. Now I use the hood every time I cook even if it's just to boil water. We have a 1200 cfm Modern Aire, and it does a wonderful job of removing steam, smoke and every bit of cooking smell. It was raining last night so instead of using the grill on the deck, I fired up the cast iron grill pan to sear a ribeye. I watched with delight as the swirls of grease-filled smoke were sucked straight up into the hood.

We use ours every time a burner or the oven is turned on (the exception would be when we forget!). All the salespeople told us to do so, and it seemed a good way to remember to use it when it's really necessary (if we always turn it on anytime we use the range).

We did trade a bit of function for looks and noise level, which we realized after the fact (and we might swap it out for a "better" one someday down the road), but it still helps a lot in removing moisture, cooking odors, and gases.

Thanks for all the great insights! My next question .... are there any brands you would recommend... that are quiet and effective (keeping in mind we are planning on that 36" 4 burner Bluestar). Maybe suggest what size CFM would we need. Thanks a lot!

What kind of cooking do you do or plan to do? Will you be grilling? High-smoke/high-heat/high-odor cooking? Frying? Stir Frying? Or Just boiling water?

If not "just boiling water" and you do any of the others above, then I would probably go w/a 900 or 1200cfm Vent-A-Hood or 1200cfm other brand. If the cooktop is on an island or peninsula, go with higher cfms.

If possible, get a 42" hood (6" wider than the cooktop). While this is not "required", it does increase the hood's effectiveness...especially if you do any grilling/high-heat/high-smoke/high-odor cooking. I also think it looks better! :-)

People here like their Vent-A-Hoods & Modern Aires. I think there are also some GE Monogram fans...

The most effective hoods are those vented to the outside. The least effective are downdraft and recirculating.

BTW...noise & effectiveness are affected by installation. The longer the duct run, the more turns, and the smaller the ducting, the louder & less effective a hood will be. So, try to meet or exceed all manufacturer's suggestions and try to minimize the turns. If you need more than one or two turns, consider larger ducting. Another big impact on noise is the location of the fan....if it's external (outside) or remote, it will be much quieter than one that has the fan at the start of the run (I hope I explained this correctly...others, correct me if I didn't explain it correctly!)

We have a Vent-A-Hood 600 cfm hood but we don't do a lot of frying/stir-frying/etc. Mostly it's for making potatoes, tea, hot chocolate, pancakes, and things like that. So, 600 is fine for us (we have an electric cooktop, so no grilling.) Oh, and we use our range hood all the time as well...even when just boiling water...it vents the excessive moisture out & keeps if off my cabinets.

Check out the Appliances Forum for more suggestions!

Good luck!

Sorry to sound abrasive, but how else do you cook? (without turning out the exhaust).

Everytime i cook, the hood is turned on. To exhaust moisture, grease, smells etc.

I use it when I cook, especially my last one because to turn on the lights you had to turn on the hood--that kind of forced it! I haven't always used it all the time, but I do think it keeps things cleaner and less stinky to use it.

I also use it when chopping onions. That doesn't work with a gas cooktop or range because it's not a good surface for a cutting board, but my last cooktop was induction and a great prep area. Venting out onion fumes is nice if you're an onion wimp (but cook with a lot of onions).

I always use my hood and LOVE it! I never used the ones at my old homes, they were just too noisy and didn't work worth a darn anyway. but this one....Broan with a remote 900 cfm blower...is just wonderful.

OP here.... we don't do a lot of frying, maybe some greasy hamburgers now and then or chicken.... and no grilling inside..... so I can see a hood would help. The hood would be mounted on a wall perpendicular to the outside wall where it would vent to the outside.... that outside wall being about 6 feet from the stove. So there would be one bend...but I can use a larger duct, if that minimizes the sound. thanks again for the help.

Yes, yes, and yes. I couldn't even imagine cooking on a professional range without the appropriate ventilation. First off, you might not be able to pass the inspection if you don't have the proper ventilation requirements met, second, it is dangerous and could start a fire if you use several burners at once, particularly with the high-BTUs. If you have wooden cabinets next to the range, wood is highly combustible.

I just got a new vent hood installed over a 36-inch pro range. It's the much maligned Vent-a-Hood, which I am absolutely loving and I don't find it too noisy at all. It's one of the better decisions I've made in this whole kitchen remodel.

We purchased a Prestige for use with our Blue Star RNB 36. We have a one-story ranch, so the motor is in the roof crawl space -- I couldn't believe how big that thing is! But we use it every time we turn on the stove -- and it works great!

I forget to use my hood sometimes as previously I had an old JennAir that didn't work well at all. If you think you don't need a hood, think again because even if you don't ever turn it on, you will need it for resale. Not to mention, if you get a good hood and use it, you will be shocked at how dirty the filter gets in a very short time!

Your one-bend route out sounds good. We didn't have one for decades in old homes, either, but yes, I use it now. We live in hot steamy Georgia. My hood is a bottom-price liner insert special ordered at Home Depot, but the low setting lets me simmer for hours if I want, drawing the moisture out and away. Medium and heavy are used for heavy aromas and greasy cooking and are fairly noisy but not out of norm. (I think you have to mount the motor in another part of the house for genuinely quiet operation.)

BTW, the first time I used it I was cooking something on the stovetop, forget what, when my husband called me outside for an emergency. I forgot all about the stove until I smelled smoke as we were climbing back up the hill. We ran then, smelling smoke all the way--until we entered the house. Nothing. My cheapie fan, on low setting, was evacuating all the smoke before it escaped beyond the stovetop. I was so happy with it I didn't even mind the cost of the demonstration.

' If you cook, get a good hood.'

what's meant by this? if buehl is an overachiever in the cooking dept to me, am i considered to be 'cooking'?

if you use a burner once a week maybe... make a hamburger once a month and maybe a grilled cheese. boil potatoes every other month or 2... are you 'cooking'?

my new place has what looks like a hood. one of those old style flatter ones. I was just gonna get a new one in bisque. not sure if it goes outside or not yet.