Good mid-level range hood brands?

16 years ago

We're planning to upgrade our kitchen and one of the things I'm really looking forward to is installing a vented hood.

We are the top floor unit in a condo building, but for precaution, we're planning to vent out a side wall instead of through the roof. This would require about 10' routing w/ one 90 deg turn.

I've seen a lot of people mention Zephyr, Kobe, Modern-Aire, Prestige, and Independent. However, I'm finding that their hoods tend to be in the $800+ range, and I was hoping to budget more in the $500-600 range. Are there any good brands in this price range?

For some reason I had in mind that Broan was a good brand and they do have some lower priced models, but surprisingly I haven't come across many posts from people who actually own one (at least not in comparison to the other brands mentioned above).

Our range is just a standard 30-in Kenmore that the previous owners installed w/ a total 36K BTU. Haven't decided yet if we plan to upgrade that before we sell a few yrs down the road.

Here are the ideal specs for the hood we're looking for:

- 30" width

- 24" depth

- Undercab mount (preferably at least 9" tall)

- Min 400 CFM; Max 800 CFM

Can anyone recommend a good brand/model under $800? (Or is it worth it for us to just splurge for something in the $800-900 range?)

Some of the higher priced models I like are Zephyr Tempest I and Kobe CH-79, CH-191- and CH-179.

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Comments (9)

ccoombs1
16 years ago
I have a broan with a remote blower and am very happy with it. It's the Broan Elite E64000 series. I think blower and fan are each under $400, so the total comes in at less than $800. I got the 900 cfm model so a lower cfm would cost even less. I know they make a 600 cfm as well.
meg_ma
16 years ago
We purchased the Broan Elite E64000 series also. Ours has the in-line blower with 600 cfm. We got a 42" hood to go over a 36" cooktop and paid $700. I love the variable speed blower and usually can keep it on the low speed so it's not too loud.
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pinch_me
16 years ago
I have the white Broan e661 36 inch to go over a 30 inch range. I don't have it installed yet. I got it on line for $431.81 delivered.

Here is a link that might be useful: Broan E66136wh
warmfridge
16 years ago
I had a Broan E661 installed last month and I'm very impressed with it. It's only about 5'' tall though, so it may not meet your requirements. Also note that Lowe's and Home Depot can special order it for $700-850, but I was able to get it for $549 at a local dealer, so it pays to shop around. The Broan Elite series is way better than the Broan bottom feeders they sell ad nauseum at the big box stores.
jcc813
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the responses! Can someone explain what the difference is b/t a remote blower and an in-line blower?

And how do I figure out which is best for our situation (being that we're in a condo vs a house)?
ccoombs1
16 years ago
Remote blower just means it is mounted away from the hood. So an in-line blower is a remote blower. Broan also makes a blower that can be mounted on the roof or outside of the building, which is the one I have (mine is on the roof)
jcc813
Original Author
16 years ago
pinch_me/warmfridge - I just came across your previous thread from back in Oct where you guys were going back and forth on which hood to purchase. Glad you bothwere finally able to find a model to fit your needs!

I wish the Broan E661 were just a little taller since esthetically that's what I'd prefer!

pinch_me, did you buy your unit through Appliance Best Buys? I saw they had good prices on some of the models I was looking at but they also seemed to have a lot of inconsistent customer reviews, so I was hesitant about buying from there.
festusbodine
16 years ago
Why aim for a mid priced brand when you can target a high end brand and buy it on ebay or Craigslist? We got a new in box, fantastic Kitchenaid 36" wall mounted chimney style hood for $368 on ebay, including shipping. It took some patience along with reading the manufacturer specs carefully online beforehand to be sure it would work in our application. But for the price, it was well worth it. The model was in their "Pro Line" which was discontinued. Since the range hood is SS and has (obviously) no handle, I didn't need to worry about matching appliance pulls.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our bungalow and kitchen remodel blog
jcc813
Original Author
16 years ago
ccoombs1 and megma, Thanks for pointing out the Elite 6400 series. I looked up the specs last night and it seems to be a good fit for everything I'm looking for and I saw it online for about $200 less than the Kobe CH-91.

However, I noticed that at highest CFM it's a whopping 13.5 sones (compared to the Kobe's high of 4.5 sones and that one goes up to 720 CFM). Do you find this to be a big issue? I know megma, you said you usually are able to keep it on the low, but I'm assuming every now and then you'd need to crank it up to high...just wondering exactly how loud that is? It seems that most reviews for the Broans the one main complaint is fan noise.

festusbodine, thanks for the eBay tip. I have started to search the listings to see if any of the models I'm interested in come up. I don't know a whole lot about the Kitchenaid models, though.