Kitchen Range Hood

YCZ

5 years ago

Hi,
We’re working on kitchen remodel and looking for 42” wall-mount range hood.

stainless steel
1200 CFM +
relatively lower noise so leaning towards external blower option

Any good suggestion for external blower option?
Our local sale recommends Zephyr Titan (inner blower). Anyone has used that and can comment on the noise level?
Saw Zline 687 model from internet, but cannot find any in showroom. Anyone has tried that?

Thanks!

Featured Answer

kaseki

5 years ago

Best to plan MUA in parallel. Various schemes have different demands on their ducting and heating etc. Once the actual CFM is known, then the actual & required MUA CFM is known, and the rated MUA CFM can be determined.

Exterior blower will not be the same as the internal blower, but for equal CFM from a similar design with equal blade tip radii, the exterior blower noise level will be only slightly less than internal blower with a short duct. For significant noise suppression, duct to the roof via a path having room for a silencer. An exterior chase is a possibility, although a significant cost.

Duct diameter should not be so large that the internal velocity is much less than 1000 ft/min, although with such a short duct the rules for minimizing grease condensation vs. grease impingement are barely operative.

Duct diameter should also be compatible with the blower interface and the hood interface.

Required CFM needs to be determined from some process such as given in this forum many times. How did 1200 CFM arise? 3.5 ft x 2 ft x 90 CFM/sq. ft. x 1.5 for fan curve = 900 - 1000 rated (zero static pressure) CFM.

As far as I know, all Wolf hoods allowing for an external blower have controls suitable for Wolf blowers, which in the past have been Broan/NuTone blowers using phase-controllable induction motors. (The possibility that the item delivered to Wolf has some modified specs can't be ignored.)

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Comments (8)

kaseki
5 years ago
The only thing tying an external blower to a range hood is that the blower control in the hood be compatible with the type of fan motor used in the external blower.

Look for hoods that overlap the cooking zone front-to-back as well as side-to-side.

What is your make-up air system plan?
YCZ thanked kaseki
lucky998877
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I have a Zephyr with that cfm, but my model is their Siena Pro, 48" chimney, stainless. The noise level isn't bad at all, I can talk with my kids at level 2, but of course not at the highest power level #5, but I use that only briefly. I love my hood :) I was looking for great lighting (the LEDs are awesome), great performance (yes, it is great), and I use the 5min delay feature all the time (auto shut off after 5 min, clears any lingering smells well). The baffles are easy to clean, and there is a reminder light after a certain # of hours of use. I would buy this hood again in a heart beat. Mine required a 10" duct, and I paired the hood with a 48" dual fuel Hallman range. Happy cooking!
YCZ thanked lucky998877
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Robin S
5 years ago
We installed the Zline 687 in November with our kitchen reno so have had it about 6 months. It’s wonderful. It’s fairly loud but not sure how much quieter any other hood would be at 1200 cfm full power. We have been very pleased with it.
YCZ thanked Robin S
YCZ
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks kaseki. You have a good point on blower + hood compatibility. It seems there aren’t much external blower options (1200CFM+). Here are what I found:

- Broan 335/336 [https://www.build.com/product/s170859?uid=417904]

- Best EB12/15 [https://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/EB12.html]

- Thermador [https://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/VTR1330W.html]

- Vent-a-hood [https://www.build.com/product/s1219176?uid=2914858]

To avoid compatibility issue, probably would not consider Thermador/Vent-a-hood since [Blower + Hood] combo will be over budget.

Additional setup info:

- 2 story house, kitchen on first floor @ corner next to backyard

- 36” Gas Rangetop

- Floor-to-celing height 9.5'

- I plan to put the External Blower on the same wall as the Range Hood (but blower on the outside) to reduce ducting.

- Plan to use 12” duct size too.

Wonder anyone has similar setup/experience if the external blower being too close, and defect the purpose of reducing noise? If so we rather just go with internal blower - save the extra bucks. Thanks.
YCZ
Original Author
5 years ago
To add, we haven’t explored MUA design yet, been focusing on picking the hood for now. We have flexibility on different MUA design ideas since kitchen is a complete reno.
kaseki
5 years ago
P.S. An oversized blower that is run below maximum can also be a means of noise reduction. However, strict code enforcement will require similarly oversized MUA.
YCZ thanked kaseki
YCZ
Original Author
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Thanks. Nothing scientific on CFM, just want to get something on the high side & leave some buffer per your calculation. MUA will need to be designed accordingly to be code compliance.

[Edited]

Anyone wants to share your experience for Wolf or Broan range hood with external blower option?

If end up going for internal blower, Zephyr 42" Titan Wall will be our top choice. Zline 687 looks nice, but its 8" ducting for 1200CFM concerns me.