We haven't installed ours yet either, and are still contemplating how to install it. I want to have the space under my cooktop to store pots, pans, and utensils. I'm hoping this is doable. I would love to put the blower under the floor as I feel it would make it quieter, however my husband wants it above the floor in case we need to get to it for maintenance reasons. Thoughts?

I would definitely want it somewhere accessible. So think it depend on your house set-up. We are planning to place the blower below, but since our kitchen is right above the basement, it will be easy to access.

Mine is in an island with seating on the other side. I ordered a cabinet frame and doors to match where the bar stools go. It’s accessiblr if we need to service it, and I still have the large pot drawers under the rangetop. I have the Wolf version, but it’s the same unit with a different trim piece.

What is the width of your island? And do you have any pictures of how it looks installed.

I don’t have any pics. I’m actually on vacation. My island is huge. It’s 9ft ish long and double cabinets back to back. That would make it 48” wide or so? I actually have 2 islands that size, but the downdraft isn’t that big - there’s still plenty of room for seating on the other side.

We plan on having an island a couple inches longer than 9ft and 48" wide so that sounds great! Enjoy your vacay! And perhaps when you return I could get you to take some pictures of the set up.

Thanks. Yes, I think Your island is roughly the size of ours (ours is over 9’, But I cant recall how much). When it finally went in and I could see it, I think it’s plenty of room. It’s more room than my old kitchen had if I had splattering grease on the stove (the argument against island stoves). I’m quite happy with the downdraft. It replaced a not very old GE downdraft that really just made noise. I wish I could’ve put a stove against a wall, but I ran into really big beams that couldn’t be moved. Yes, I’ll definitely post pics. I went with Gray cabinets (Sherwin Williams Amazing Gray). Ash flooring with some character in a light golden oak stain, and white countertops. I haven’t yet picked the slabs yet, I’ve got plywood still. It’s coming together.

Good luck on your new kitchen and thanks for your information. It is very much appreciated.

HI All, I have owned a Best Cattura downdraft, 30 inch model behind by induction cooktop on my island. The performance itself is good - relatively quiet and on full power it does suck pretty much everything out of the air.

That being said, we received a defective unit from Best (bought custom order through TheBrick in Canada). We did not know at the time so it was installed at the time of our new home construction. Come to find out, there is a bow in the downdraft that causes the downdraft to catch on the lip of my cooktop and try to lift it up when the unit raises. For it to not catch, my cooktop has to be moved away from the downdraft and that creates an unsightly gap between cooktop and downdraft. That is not how it is meant to be.

Customer support from Best (which is owned by Broan Nutone Venmar) has been pretty useless. This has been an ongoing issue for 3 months with still no resolution. I believe they may eventually offer a 1 for 1 exchange for a new downdraft, but I have to uninstall the downdraft myself (which is a lot of work), bring it to a parts center and exchange for a new one and reinstall myself. They refuse to be responsible for install or uninstall, even if the unit was defective from the factory. I find that pretty unacceptable for such an expensive product marketed as high end. Don't mind the product performance but the quality control was not there for my particular unit and the support has been very lacking. Not very happy, would not buy again because of the support and lack of standing by their products.

Oh my! That’s terrible. Mine is rebranded Wolf and my husband is installing all of my appliances (he’s an electrician). He’s been very careful to dry fit everything before we order the expensive countertops. I totally get it - I would be as mad as you are if my until was defective.

I haven't installed mine yet, and I'm hoping that installation will go alright. Sorry to hear that you had to deal with all that.

Install in progress - so added a few pictures of what it looks like so far .


We are installing behind an induction range in island , with blower in basement.

Thank you for sharing the pictures! It changed my husbands opinion about putting the blower under the floor in our house:) Did the installers build a frame around the downdraft unit? Instead of it being attached to the interior of a cabinet?

Oh good! Glad the pics helped. I'm glad we went with blower in basement. On the higher speeds, I can definitely can hear the air blowing, but really don't hear the motor noise at all.

Yes, the installer (my dad) built a frame for downdraft since we weren't planning back-to-back cabinets.

I don’t have a real “cabinet” - I ordered just the door frames and doors and it hides the access on the other side. But I may put the blower in the crawl space (which is cavernous because we’re on a slope). That’s a great idea.

We are contemplating getting the Beat downdraft too. Our wolf induction cooktop will be in an island too. After installation you still could get drawers below the cooktop? The 10” vent doesn’t come in the way?

Be sure to comply with the cooktop installation requirements with respect to air availability below the induction unit. An open space with wire drawers inside the cabinet doors may help keep the induction unit operating at a lower temperature. Keep in mind that roughly 10% of the power being supplied to the pans above has to be removed from the electronics below.

If you want usable space under the cooktop, thst forces the large unit into a location in a whole cabinet behind the cooktop, or a whole cabinet next to the cooktop. It takes 18” of depth no matter where you put it. There is no free lunch of something that doesn’t rob you of significant cabinet storage space. Except the far more effective overhead vents.

I do not want to force anything. I have plenty other storage in the kitchen and space under the island (13'x5') - but don't want to force or compromise anything - just to get two drawers under the cook top.

. @kaseki - I didn't realize that the induction cook top needs empty space under it! Maybe I should just leave the space under with just two doors and the 10' vent in that cabinet.

Thanks

As I wrote -- check the instructions. Requirements vary with unit. I prefer minimizing heat stress, one of the major reliability factors.

Downdrafts take up a huge amount of space no matter where they are housed. And they work lousy. An overhead vent is the much better choice.

I have drawers under my cooktop and false doors on the other side of the island for the downdraft. You can put the blower under the floor as well, although I had plenty of space.

@Heather Do you mind sharing pictures of the drawers under the cook top and the inside of the false doors on the other side?

Our builder said that we have to have the vent in the front due to some other structural reasons. so will talk to him again to understand the issues better.

@live-wite-oak - I understand but we are having our induction cooktop on the island and the ceiling is too high and we do not want it blocking. its a second home so we are more looking at it as entertaining/slight cooking around the island!

The installation instruction for a 36" Frigidaire here shows 12" of clearance. The unit is $893.

Miele here requires a minimum of 9/16" or 15mm. clearance to an oven installed under the cooktop. Same clearance to a protective base shelf. They want a 3' gap at the rear and suggest a 2" gap at the front for ventilation if one is installed. A protective base isn't required. 3" clearance to a drawer bottom is required if you put a drawer under a unit. A wire drawer sounds like a good consideration. Safety clearances on page 56 and following. $3300. Miele has an upgraded 7000 series of full surface units(6 pan recognition) at the same price points for sale in Europe. US versions aren't yet available.

Bosch has 36 and 37" units from $1800-3000. They want airflow cutouts with 4" from the top of the unit to the top of a drawer in addition.Here.