Kobe vs XtremeAir Range Hood

11 years ago

Would appreciate anyone's insight on this range hood decision...

This hood will be over a 36" Bosch flexinduction range. Both hoods I am considering would be in 42" models. This is a single story house and venting will go straight up through attic and out roof.

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Option 1) XtremeAir DELUXE SERIES DL08 42" http://www.xtremeairusa.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=3&products_id=723

Positives:
A little bit cheaper
Looks a bit sharper

Negatives:
Not much information out there on the brand
Slightly reduced CFM at 900CFM
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Option 2) Kobe RA02 Series 42" http://www.koberangehoods.com/product/RA02-1.html

Positives:
1100 vs 900 max CFM
More reviews out there

Negatives:
Don't like the look as much
A little bit pricier
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Thanks again for any assistance in making this decision!

Featured Answer

gigelus2k13

11 years ago

These baffles seem to cover a larger percentage of the hood underside than what the Kobe ones do. OTOH, the Kobe depth is 24", while the Xtremeair is only 22", so that the baffles overall length may be the same.

rant>
I'm quite annoyed by my Kobe's design where the front underside is a wide solid piece of steel housing the rotary switches and the lights, wasting at least a third of the hood's aperture. This means that the effluent from the front burners is licking this surface before getting sucked through the baffles. Not much is being deposited on this surface, but in time it adds up and it's hard to clean.

Knowing now that the baffles should cover as much of the hood depth as possible, I can't help but noticing how so many manufacturers' hood pictures are taken at such an angle as to hide the baffles' skimpiness.
/rant>

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Comments (12)

kaseki
11 years ago
It is hard to be sure in the photos, but I found it difficult to determine whether the baffles shown in each example are true baffles. True baffles force the air to follow a serpentine path, and this requires the baffle pieces on one side to be mated with similar offset baffle pieces on the opposite side. There is no straight path up into the containment volume. Find a Wolf hood and look at a baffle panel from both sides to see what I mean.

The 18-gauge steel will be about 25% thicker than the 1mm steel.

Actual steel type is not specified. Inspection of exterior welds would be important if looks matter.

kirby
radaM66
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the reply Kirby. Good to know on the steel thickness. From what I am reading both should have real baffles, but I did shoot an email to the XtremeAir sales folks to see if they have a close-up image of a baffle to confirm.

As far as steel type, Xtremeair makes a big deal of being non-magnetic which, from what I am reading, means a 300 series steel. Seems that most folks consider these to be better steels vs something like 410.

Kobe I believe has real baffles and seems to be regarded as good performers in other threads here, but some negative stories on service side...

Decisions, decisions....
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radaM66
Original Author
11 years ago
Xtremeair got back with these baffle pictures. Curious for thoughts from any of the vent hood aficionados...
kaseki
11 years ago
Yes, those are what I meant by true baffles. Of course, one company's baffle design may be more effective or quieter or lower pressure loss or any combination of these than another company's design, but that cannot be determined from a photo (unless one is good at mental computational fluid dynamics). My Wolf hood baffles have a similar appearance.

kas
nadianyc
11 years ago
Bumping. Looking for recent Xtreme Air hood reviews.
KAREN
11 years ago
Also, bumping for more info on XtremeAir hoods.
feisty68
11 years ago
I'm also interested in hood reviews from anyone who can provide!
feisty68
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
radaM66, which hood did you choose? Care to post a quick review?
banana suit
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
We recently purchased an Xtreme Air UL-14-36 for our kitchen to go over a Samsung gas range (NX58H9500WS). It offered the best coverage for our budget and has led lighting. We're still a few weeks from having it installed but the build quality seems very good. Especially for the price. The reviews I did find recommend staying away from the models with the lcd screens and remotes as they did to develop problems with the buttons and you have to use to the remote to operate the hood. I'll post a review once we get in up and running.
feisty68
10 years ago
Thank you mike v!
HU-2586844402416357341382
7 years ago
If your Kobe product has a microprocessor/controller it will likely fail quickly, flash the lights, smoke and catch fire. Good luck. American made with mechanical buttons is