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Velocity? There's no "velocity"- it's about cfm's. More importantly, it's about creating a low pressure area and "make-up" air.
But, a more feasible answer would be- too many variables to say one way or the other. However, if you need a good read (I've had this PDF ever since it was first published because I would always be asked the question when related to warranty), try it on for size:
Velocity at the opening = volume flow rate (cfm) divided by area.
But what's going to entrain hot air/steam/grease particles, is the air velocity at the point where you want to entrain them. If you have suction at a distance from the thing you're trying to suck in, and especially if the thing you're trying to suck in is already headed away from the point of suction, your equipment is going to have to set up a velocity field at a distance from the opening of the extractor, and that is a difficult thing to do. If, on the other hand, you put your extractor right in the path of the stuff you're trying to capture, right there in front of the way it's headed already, then the job of the equipment is much simplified.
I am willing to bet that in commercial kitchens, where they don't give a damn about style but they care about capturing steam and grease efficiently, the ratio of overhead hoods to anything else is 100 to 1 or greater.
"Across designs, the units with actual collection hoods generally performed better than the flat bottom and downdraft systems..."
"Performance generally varied with the burner used. The rear downdraft units were effective for combustion exhaust from back burners and ineffective for front burners.."
Again, if you really want effective extraction, buy a real vent hood located above the stove, so the laws of physics are working for you and not against you.
Amazingly the kitchen does not have a duct to the outside. The house is 20 years old and we bought it a year ago.
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We are going to remodel and at first thought that just replacing the vent hood which is 20 years old, would naturally improve things. I now realize that we need to get it to the outside. The issue is also that the stove is quite away from the exterior. I am going to see how major a job this will be. I guess they could also go up to the roof(2 story) but anyway this will be an education. Still planning to just have a microwave above range which is what we had in our previous house -----but that was vented to the outside.
Dreading how involved and $$$$$$$$ it will be.
I will let you know what i find out.
Since you are going to remodel, this may be your only reasonable opportunity to determine your needs and absorb the cost of doing it effectively.
Since we are big foodies and do lots of cooking at home, our needs would be beyond the normal moderate/lower price hood vented to the exterior. You need to identify your individual requirements and plan accordingly. The problem with having a really high cfm hood is that once you get to a certain level, like in a commercial kitchen, make up air needs to be considered.
Today there are many options, so do your research and consult with a few contractors prior to making a decision.
No. We have the circulating kind. It's useless. I spend a lot of time cleaning the cabinets because of it. We just bought a new microhood that can vent outside. It's also a regular oven to 425 degrees. I cannot wait for this project to be done and finally start venting outside.
We lived in a house with no vent of any sort over the range for years and years. Not only was the underside of the cabinet over the range 'clean', it showed no damage from moisture (which surprised me, honestly). Lived in a house for several years with an OTR microwave vented to the indoors... no issues. Current house has venting to the outside, but when I replaced the OTR microwave I'm almost certain I forgot to change it to vent outside. This one (Samsung) does show show some greasy buildup at the exhaust, but the cabinets are clean. Never noticed any undue 'odors' from cooking.
Personally, it could be totally safe from a health perspective, however I would not prefer to eat food that has been cooked in a plastic bag, but that’s just me!
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