All about range hoods - How to find the right range hood

You already know the importance of the kitchen in your family’s life. Some indoor pollutants can be measured at concentrations 50 times higher indoors than outdoors.  Range hoods help keep a kitchen looking nice help prevent walls from becoming greasy, paint from peeling, carpeting from becoming discolored and musty smelling and more – it is necessary to keeping the kitchen environment healthy by removing the heat, grease, smoke, steam, odors and other cooking pollutants.  In addition, other pollutants in the average kitchen include: toxic chemicals from household cleaners, paint, carbon dioxide, radon, animal dander, dust mites, pollen, bacteria, mold and mildew. The build-up of all of these materials in the air presents a risk to adults and children.

The solution to this problem is a range hood that vents to the outside.  Range hoods should be vented to the outside for optimum performance. While having a ducted range hood is preferable and far superior to a re-circulating hood some might not have the capabilities for ducting to the outdoors.  In which case a re-circulating range hood is better than nothing at all, which would draw pollutants up through a charcoal filter to be re-circulated in the kitchen.

Make sure that the range hood you select for your kitchen has enough power to filter out the volume of pollutants circulating in the kitchen.  Range hood power is measured in CFMs (cubic feet per minute).  Generally, for every 10,000 BTU your gas stove generates you would need 100 CFM.  Ex:  60,000 BTU divided by 100 = 600 CFM needed.  If you have an electric stove the CFM is estimated according to the size of the stove.  You would need 100 CFM per ever 10" width.  So if your stove is 36" wide, you would need 360CFM and so on.  We carry range hoods with exterior blowers such as the Broan 60,000 & 64,000 Series, or range hoods with Interior blowers with CFM ranging between 340CFM up to 1300CFM in the Imperial brand to inline blowers by Fantech.

Another critical factor to consider when purchasing your hood is the Sone rating.  The sone is the unit or measurement of loudness of the hood.  The lower the Sone rating the quieter the range hood will be.   Some of the quieter hoods we carry would be Airking, Broan Allure series, Imperial and Sirius.  Other questions you might have can be answered below.

How often should the non-ducted range hood filters be replaced?

It depends on the frequency and type of cooking that is performed. Normally, every three (3) to six (6) months is recommended for replacing the charcoal filters.

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Which is better, ducted or ductless?

Range hoods should be ducted to the outside of the home. While duct-free filters trap some of the grease and odors from normal cooking, the humidity, smoke and heat will all be re-circulated back into the home. If the duct-free filters are not regularly replaced, eventually the grease and odor catching effect will no longer protect your home from impurities.  To view ductless hoods go to our Ductless Hoods section. 

High BTU gas cooking equipment should always be ducted to the outside of the home. If this is impossible, high performance convertible hoods and filters are available in some models.

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What do the CFM and Sone ratings mean?

CFM stands for Cubic Feet per Minute of exhausting airflow. The higher the number, the greater the amount of air that is exhausted using the Range Hood.

A Sone is an internationally recognized unit of loudness. Sones are a linear measure like inches. Doubling the sone value is equivalent to doubling the loudness. To get a sense of what one sone represents, one Sone is equivalent to the sound of a quiet refrigerator in a quiet kitchen. Typically, the Sone level is measured at maximum CFM (speed).

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How much CFM do I need for my Range or Cook Top?

For conventional electric and gas ranges or cook tops, we offer a complete line of hoods that can fit your needs such as Broan, and Fujioh . For high output gas ranges or cook tops, the minimum rate of 100 CFM of ventilation per 10,000 BTU is recommended.  Higher CFM can be found in Air King, Sirius, Imperial, Broan Elite and Rangecraft.

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How far can I run my ductwork to exhaust my hood?

For maximum performance keep the duct straight and short. Use the shortest route with the fewest turns possible. 45° turns are better than 90° turns. Be sure to use an external roof or wall cap.

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Can I exhaust my hood into my attic instead of out the roof or wall?

No. You should never exhaust air into spaces within walls, ceilings, attics, crawl spaces or garages. The humidity and grease collect in the space.

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What range hood styles do you carry?

There are various types of hoods.  Depending on the location you will need to determine if you will need a wall mount, undercabinet mount, chimney style hood, Island mount and built in for custom applications.  You can use the guide below to find what you need.

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Can I install an external vent fan or in-line fan to boost the performance of my hood ventilation equipment?

Do not install in-line or external fans to boost a hood that has it's own power unit. In general, attempting that type of "boost" will not be effective. Also, most cooking ventilation products are designed with fan switches matched to the original motor amp ratings and would not support the increased amp draw from additional motor installations. This type of tampering voids the original manufacturer's warranty. If you want a remote/extended fan, you might want to look at the Broan Elite 60,000 and Broan Elite 64,000 Seriesrange hoods, the Broan Elite Ballista wall mount hood, the Broan Elite Provisa Island hood, the Broan Elite Pro-Style Insert or if you are looking to only use an Inline or roof mounted fan you might want to look into Fantech fans instead.

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How high should I mount my hood above my stove?

Most common installations require a range of 18" - 24" between the bottom of the hood and the top of the cook top. This will provide the best capture area for cooking impurities.  For high capacity ventilators, the distance from the cooking surface to the bottom of the hood should be 24" - 30" unless otherwise noted for a specific hood or range.  We have made an attempt to note on all our range hood pages to note what the installation height requirement is above the cook top for each particular hood.

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My ceiling height is much taller than most kitchens and I want my stove on an island. What do I do about ventilation?

• Kitchen Accessories has select ventilators such as the Imperial C2000 Ventilator, Rangecraft Universal Inserts, Broan Elite Customer Power Pack and the Broan Elite Pro-Style Insert.
• Drop-in cooking equipment can be vented with Downdraft systems such as the Broan Eclipse or Broan Elite Downdraft System
• Custom chimney extensions are available for Island hoods for up to 10' ceilings on Airking, Broan Elite and Sirius hoods
• Chimneys are made custom sized by Imperial when requested and all Rangecraft brands.

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May I remove the hood controls and mount them remote from the hood?

Altering the product voids manufacturer's warranty. Check for models that already offer remote switch options such as the Broan Elite 60,000 Series, Broan Elite 64,000 Series, Broan Elite Pro-Style Insert or the Imperial range hoods which can be special ordered with remote switching.

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If I have a custom hood built for my kitchen, do you provide protective liners for hood inserts?

National Products has T-Shaped liners made to fit their particular blowers which come in 30" or 36" widths.  
Fujioh has a variety of blowers with CFM ranging between 270 CFM-370 CFM with T-Shaped or Rectangular liners in 30" and 36" widths.
Broan Elite Pro Style Insert has a 33" or 45" insert available with an optional 36", 42", 48" or 60" Stainless Steel liner

Imperial brand takes away the need for a liner as the ventilator comes in standard range hood sizes between 30"-60" with CFM ranging between 350CFM - 1330CFM as does the Rangecraft Universal Insert.

With most other brands you would need to find a metal fabricator in your area to design a liner for your hood, especially if local building codes require one.

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Do you build custom design hoods?

Rangecraft provides a number of blower inserts and custom hoods in mirrored or antique copper, mirrored or antique brass and stainless steel designed to accommodate the ventilation needs of most cooking equipment. Every made-to-order Rangecraft Hood comes standard with Lights, Filters, Switches and interior or exterior blowers ranging between 600-1400 CFM.  See our Rangecraft Custom Hood Section.

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Do you build custom design hoods?

Range hoods must be vented using metal duct. Given a choice between flexible metal duct and smooth metal duct, go with the smooth. The ridges found in flexible metal duct create turbulence and will diminish airflow.

• NEVER use 4" dryer duct or any plastic duct on a range hood installation. The minimum size duct allowed on most range hoods is 3 ¼" by 10" which is equivalent to 6" round. More powerful hoods require even larger duct sizes up to 10" round. Consult the specifications for the model you have chosen.
• When remodeling and changing hood and cooking equipment types, do not reduce the ductwork size to less than the size specified for the range hood. Decreasing the duct size restricts the performance of the range hood ventilator.

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