High CFM Asian-style Kitchen Range Hood

February 10, 2017 1:58 PM

I think I want one. Suggestions?

I have a small apartment and sensitivity to particulates in the air. Since I started monitoring the air quality in my apartment, I noticed that after cooking on the stove-top the air particulates sky-rocket. Part of the reason is that the fan that's venting above the range is really kinda crummy. I just don't think it moves a lot of air.

When I was visiting my girlfriend's place, I saw the one she had in her kitchen. I think it was a Chinese model. Instead of the typical western design, it had two round inlets. It looked like this one.

I'm looking to get one. Not too expensive, not too loud, but effective! Does anyone have any advice of what brands to look for? Where to shop? I've heard to look in Chinatown, and I will, but are there some places online? Is there anything else I should know?

Also, it seems to me that these don't filter the air. Am I mistaken? Is there some danger of the oil building up inside the vents and causing an issue?

posted by cman to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

Quick clarification: Does your current one actually vent to the outside or does it return into the kitchen, ostensibly after charcoal-filtering or something? How about hers? In general, that's the biggest gain by far, more than the CFMs of the fan.
posted by supercres at 2:24 PM on February 10, 2017

I think that kind of fan is designed to be vented outside. If your current one doesn't, it might be hard to do if you're renting or the kitchen isn't on an outside wall.

If you have a window in or near your kitchen you could get a window fan that you run when cooking. Not elegant but it will get the particulates out.
posted by cabingirl at 2:36 PM on February 10, 2017

If you have a small apartment you might not need fan with particularly high CFM. We installed one for our new stove and it literally lowers the temp in our house if we have it on too long or too high.
posted by Max Power at 2:56 PM on February 10, 2017

Response by poster: The current hood exhausts to the outside, though it uses a 4" pipe. The high CFM hoods I've looked at recommend 6".
posted by cman at 3:38 PM on February 10, 2017

I don't think you need a special range hood. There's dozens on HomeDepot.com and you can filter the choices to look at the high CFM models and choose one with the appropriate 4" ducting.
posted by humboldt32 at 4:05 PM on February 10, 2017

This is the model you linked to or similar. 680CFM Cyclone appears to be a Canadian company.
posted by humboldt32 at 4:10 PM on February 10, 2017

My parents (Chinese immigrants who do lots of home cooking) have the same complaint about standard western range hoods and have retrofitted their kitchen. They did their shopping at Forum appliances (brick-and-mortar in the Vancouver area, but they also do online sales, though I'm sure there must be similar US companies catering to the Asian immigrant market) - it looks like the Sakura brand of range hoods is quite popular there.
posted by btfreek at 5:14 PM on February 10, 2017

Keep in mind the limitations of a 4" pipe. A 4" pipe has a bit less than half the area of a 6" pipe. So if you get a fan that is designed for a 6" pipe, you'll exhaust less air than the rated CFM and put additional strain on the motor.

Also, you might want to look up the code requirements for make-up air. The air you move outside will need to be replaced from somewhere. You wouldn't want the fan pulling fumes back into your house from a furnace or water heater vent in a house, or a shared bathroom vent in an apartment.
posted by reeddavid at 8:02 PM on February 10, 2017 [2 favorites]