Range help! Is the center downdraft absolutely needed with no hood?
We're about to start a kitchen remodel where we are going to have a range in an open area with no hood above. Our contractor has told us we need to get one of the ranges with the big center downdraft, but I've seen so many pictures of slide in ranges where they only have the vent running along the back side of the range and no hood. We'd much rather get one of those because the prices are better and there's just much more to chose from, but I don't want my ceilings getting greasy or the fire alarm going off all the time.
Does anyone have any insight into the ventilation of the ranges with the downdraft along the back side with no hood? Ready to purchase, but feeling stuck!
Comments (15)
HKO HKO
5 years agoThey don’t work well. There are tons of threads on here about them, search and read those and you’ll see lots of prior discussion.
dan1888
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoThe Best Cattura is a downdraft installed behind your slide-in range. It'll work the best with induction. Like a Bosch Benchmark or 800 or Frigidaire.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnX4sFlYoxw . . . .Installation options for your contractor.
M Miller
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoThe question is, if you are “about to start your remodel”, so you have the freedom to re-arrange at this point, why are you making things so difficult by having the “range in an open area”? Where will the downdraft exhaust to? Are you going to run a duct from where the range is, down to below the floors, and out of the house? Grease and smoke rise up, not flow down.
Your range should go along a wall that you can install a hood exhaust to the outside easily. Your island can be for prepping and sitting with your family. Plan this now, while you have the opportunity.
Heather
5 years agoI have a range in the island with a downdraft. You absolutely need cooking ventilation. However, the posters are correct, downdrafts don’t work well. If at all possible relocate the stove to a wall where you can have a hood. If that’s not possible like my kitchen where the only wall had a big beam, then purchase the Best Cottura downdraft. It’s the only one on the market that works.
Fori
5 years agoYou are correct--there are popup downdrafts that work in conjunction with normal ranges that don't have a built in center downdraft.
Downdrafts are somewhat better than nothing. A real hood is much better than they are.
M
5 years agoDo you use your stove more than once or twice a week? Do you cook at high heat? Do you stir fry? Do you sear meat? Do you like to eat bacon? Do you plan on getting a gas stove? Is this your main house where you spend more than 90% of your time?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then you should make sure you get a venting solution that actually works and that minimizes smells and pollution. This almost always means you need a properly sized overhead hood and possibly a make up air system. A hood that vents outside is preferred, if at all possible. But if that isn't doable, then Vent-A-Hood is the only manufacturer that makes a recirculating (filtering) hood that hasn't gotten horribly poor reviews.A downdraft is rarely if ever a good solution in this situation. It does make some sense in challenging architectural situations, and if you don't normally cook any smelly foods (see above), or if this is a vacation home that you don't use frequently.
remodeling1840
5 years agoI had a Thermador downdraft with my Thermador gas cooktop. We both cook and entertained frequently for the 18 years we lived there. I only repainted the ceiling as part of a whole house repaint after 16 years. If we were still in that house, I would get the redesigned, taller downdraft. This hatred of downdraft is akin to to Chicken Little insisting , “ the sky is falling, the sky is falling!”. The downdraft is an elegant solution.
An ne
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoRange hood or downdraft is a convenience, not a necessity. Think about generations of cooks who didn’t have any hoods (most people around the world still don’t). As long as your kitchen has ventilation (doors/windows).
Jane
5 years agoYes Anna many generatiosn did not have a hood or place to capture cooking oils/grease... they also did not have central ac, blown in insulation, double pain windows etc.. they did have more time to clean and less stuff to clean... today’s houses are tighter and generally people have better things to do than clean all day...
eandhl2
5 years agoI had & loved an island range. First I had a jenn air with the center downdraft, didn't work very well & was loud. When we redid the kitchen I had a thermdor with the telescope. It worked perfectly on the back burners. For the front if I had something steaming I would use a wooden spoon across the pan to tilt a lid directing the steam to the telescope. This was a substantial improvement over the jenn air.
M
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoRange hood or downdraft is a convenience, not a necessity. Think about generations of cooks who didn’t have any hoods
Where do you draw the line though? Generations have cooked over open wood fires and didn't have any running water. And there still are people around the world cooking like that. Does that mean, we should eschew niceties such as induction cooktops and go back to wood burning stoves? I think very few people on this site would argue for that.
Yes, ultimately, all of our amenities are conveniences. But there certainly are conveniences that I don't want to miss. No cooking smells and good indoor air quality is one of them, especially as these days we favor open floor plans, whereas historically kitchens used to be small and fully enclosed.
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