In With The New

I saw this in my travels yesterday in a lunchroom...

This is the old JennAir C101. It is burners, which can be converted to a grill and an integral downdraft system. This is one neat little package, and a popular product in the 80's.

Yet you are not buying it or it's more streamlined version today.

Here is why:

1. Better looking hoods....They are actually really nice. Look for companies like XO, Zephyr and Best.

2. Better cooktops...more powerful gas and induction options from Electrolux, Bosch and even Frigidaire

3. Better Downdraft...The downdafts(or vents)are up to 4 times stronger than the current version of this product. Look for Broan, Thermador among others

4. Failure of this company to understand market trends and improve existing products. I used to love this company, and now its not even displayed at Yale.

Venting Part 9

So many vents...some of them can be up to 1500 CFM (CFM is cubic foot per minute or how many cubes of air are filtered in a minute), this does not guarantee proper venting.



Assuming the vent is specified correctly, the following is the best way to duct a hood.

Pardon the non industry terms...

1. Straight up...smoke is headed in that direction. This is the most efficient way to vent.

2. Straight back: Smoke is still going up, but is being redirected through the back of the hood.

3. Straight w/elbow: Right direction for the smoke, but adding an elbow decreases efficiency.

4. Downdraft: If you searched the blog for venting, you will find I am not a huge fan. Proper venting requires capture area, which is non existent in a downdraft...It is however better than nothing and can be useful in an island.

Avoid:

Too many turns/elbows: This decreases efficiency.

Long runs: same as above.

Lets Vent

I love selling stuff to my friends. You can be brutally honest without pretense. So they are looking at hood vents, and ask what I think about the new Electrolux and Wolf hoods (our manager Dennis Macdonald has a hood fetish, and we have probably 70-80 hoods on display).

Have a look:





My response: My job is to insure the blower and capture area are sufficient to vent your cooking surface. You pick the decoration.

Polite translation:

Ventilation is blower speed, capture area (depth) and venting...period. You do not need the most expensive hood to vent your kitchen.

How To Vent a Pro Properly

So many Vents...So many Choices



We show about 50 or so vents...Here is what you need to know about venting a professional or high output range so your house does not smell like the last thing you cooked

1. Capture area or depth is important, at least 24 inches

2. Vent straight...either straight up or back with as few elbows as possible

3. Use the appropriate duct...4 inch duct is for dryers not hoods

4.CFM should be:

1200 or higher for 48 inch
900 for a 36 inch with grill
600 for anything else

As I write this, the difference between a 600 and 1200 cfm blower is about $250. If you grill or wok, consider upgrading your blower cappacity accordingly.

Bad Ventilation

So we are having our Home Show this week. Yesterdays seminar was indoor grilling sponsored by Viking. The indoor grill always smokes out the store, and is a cautionary tail for people who stir fry, grill or griddle.

CFM or speed of the blower, duct size and duct run(length of duct from the motor to the outside) are key elements to venting properly. However without capture area or a depth of 24 inches, smoke can bypass the hood even if you oversize the blower.

Viking range...24 inches to the outside of the burner. Mantel hood improperly fabricated at 19 inches depth.





Add a professional chef and a ton of fatty meat...



And you have a room or kitchen filled with smoke.

The Trouble With Style

So I was talking to Ken and Dave yesterday. They were buying a professional range and wanted a triangular or chimney style hood. That should not be a problem in our store, we only display about 20 of them....



Unfortunately, chimney hoods are a European creation, and typically kitchens across the pond do not have professional ranges. Thus, they are only 19-21 inches deep, which is too shallow for properly venting a professional range.

Their only choice is a BEST K4236. Best is 24 inches deep and 1100 CFM.



Small tip for proper ventilation:

1. Decent motor. Measurement is CFM or cubic foot per minute (how many cubes of air are passed through the hood in 1 minute)

2. Capture area. In a pro application, minimum 24 inches depth.

3. Duct Run: Straight runs are measurably better as bending duct decreases efficiency.

4. Duct Size: Minimum 6 inch round...The larger vents require 8-10 inch round.

Great Lighting...Part 8

The YaleBlog is probably 70% appliance related. In this sequence, you will see a SubZero integrated refrigerator, Wolf cooktop, Bosch dishwasher, Franke farm sink, Best hood and Bosch dishwasher in an island setting.

Looks great.

Now look at the lighting. As I have posted previously, task lighting can be accomplished with recessed or track. In this slope ceiling application, we used bendable monorail track with cable supports and track heads with custom color accessories.



In an upscale environment, lighting sets the mood.

Small Spaces For Less

Meet Dave Kiley. Dave serves many purposes. He is (the best) part friend and part customer. Dave is also my next door neighbor and is a nut about home improvement, especially lighting and appliances.

He is also extraordinarily talented and perhaps the best contemporary renovator in Boston. Look what he does in a small space.



Samsung French door refrigerator, Miele dishwasher, Bosch cooktop, Thermador wall oven and Best hood.

Dave is a style conscious, upscale guy. In a $4500 per month rental, it is somewhat expected...but lets spend less and still have a great look.



By replacing the Thermador with a Bosch oven, Zephyr for Best, Bosch(or GE Monogram) for the Miele and LG for Samsung, we can save about $3500.

What Happened To This?

About 10 years ago, JennAir introduced their expressions lineup of downdraft cooktops. After initial success, Expressions has stopped selling. Without question, as a subsidiary of Maytag, JennAir was at a marketing, R&D and manufacturing disadvantage, there were, however, other contributing factors.



Better downdrafts: These units were better at venting with CFM ranges of 50-150% greater. Also, the component downdrafts are compatible with any cooktop.




Better Hoods: The Italian companies actually manufacture beautiful products...that vent.

Ge Monogram....Part 4

I have blogged about the new GE Monogram products over the last 2 weeks. Lets look at the range and hood. We also look at how to buy these products in general:


The Range:



The new Monogram has decent specs, but the desirable specs are:

1. BTU output: The average pro is 15-16,000 BTUs...GE is 18,000.
2. Simmer: A Good simmer is 500 BTU...GE measures by temperature at 140 degrees.
3. Surface has the ability to be purchased as 6 burner, 4 burners grill or griddle.
4. Oven is convection or double convection.


Ventilation:





1. CFM...Cubic foot per minute. For a 36 inch stove, the hood should be 600 cfm and 900 if purchased with grill or griddle
2. Capture Area: A Pro hood should be 24 inches deep in order to pool or capture the smoke

A few other tips:

1. Size the duct properly...Use at least 8 inch round for Pro installations.
2. Duct straight: Efficiency is lost with bends.

GE Monogram

I have always been ambivalent about GE Monogram. In a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, it is tough to focus on producing great appliances. For a company like SubZero, it is their livelihood and their passion.

Of course with multiple billions to spend on R&D, good products can happen on occasion. I actually like the line(right now). Monogram has decent features at a fairly attractive price.

Have a look:





We will look at the merits of the individual pieces in subsequent postings.

Ventilation Part 7

Lets look at two similar ventilation installations. One works, one doesn't.





The Wolf with the Best is the correct answer. The Viking installation does not have enough capture area.

How to vent properly:

1. A hood with capture depth of at least 24 inches.

2. A high CFM blower. I recommend at least 1200 for a 48 inch range or more.

3. Duct of 8-10 inch in diameter.

4. A short duct run....minimize the turns.

Ventilation is not expensive to accomplish properly. Beware, repairing issues after the fact truly becomes a big, expensive nightmare.

Islands....Hoods

Flash back to the 1980s(back when I was cool...sort of)

At that point of time, if you wanted to purchase an overhead hood, Broan and Nutone were the only manufacturers. The Nutone version was called a chuck wagon hood evoking the high styles of the early 50s. Broan wasn't much better.

Then in the 90s the Europeans exported beautiful hoods. They became functional focal points in the kitchen...Have a look(most of these are wall mounted, but there are similar products designed for island)





A couple of pointers:


1. Ventilation is CFM and capture. Size the hood properly for what you are cooking


2. Check ceiling heights...Duct extensions can be super expensive

Venting...Downdrafts

As we have said in previous posts, islands have become popular with the merging of kitchen and dining area into one room. People not only cook, but also live in the kitchen. This shift in lifestyle has changed ventilation considerably.

Most consumers want their cooking products in the island. They can face their guests while entertaining or keep a more watchful eye on the kids while playing. There are two ways to vent an island properly: downdraft or overhead hood. We will focus on the downdraft for today.





The advantage of a downdraft is simple. It disappears. There are a number of choices with my favorites being Best, Broan and Electrolux. The actual CFM(cubic feet per minute) can range from 500-1000.

Unfortunately, a downdraft can never handle alot of smoke, heat and/or grease. It simply doesn't have the capture area. Ventilation is after all capture and CFM.

A couple of tips:

1. Downdrafts are for basic, not professional cooking only

2. Consider an induction cooktop. It is faster than gas and emits much less heat.

3. For heavier cooking consider an overhead hood

Andy Warhol Hoods?

The Eco-Green post probably wasn't enough for the typical Yale blogger, so how about some interesting vents.

A Campbell's' soup can as a vent...Not sure the reason of why this constitutes art, but it is a fun piece.




Knives are less of a stretch, but again art seems to be in the eyes of the beholder.

Innovation 08 Part 3

It should be a good weekend to shop for appliances. We have chefs, workshops and 0% financing to name a few reasons. There are tons of new products, and most of them are affordable...But lets look at a few new products.

Bosch stainless dishwasher starting at $449.



$500 Rebates off select Electrolux packages.



$100 instant rebates on all KitchenAid and JennAir french door refrigerators(that is on top of some other package rebates from the factory.)



NXR professional ranges starting at $1999.





How about some cool hoods.

The True Cost of Appliances

The answer to that question is: I don't really know anymore. One of the minor benefits to any economic downturn is pricing becomes more flexible from manufacturers to consumers. In our industry, this is manifested in rebates. Even car companies are not as bold as appliance manufacturers in rebating products.

Even a brand like Bosch is not aloof anymore. Have a look at the pictures below.



You are looking at a double oven with convection, integrated dishwasher, over the range microwave hood and gas cooktop. What was $5,200 last year is now $3,999 after rebates.

The Best of Kitchen And Bath

I was looking at the pictures yesterday, and there was a ton of very interesting products....But there can only be one number one

These are all range hoods from the same company...

Proper venting is (see my earlier posts): Capture area, power of the blower(CFM), venting, duct run and size of the duct:


Here they are in order of interest


Move over Andy Warhol. This soup can is actually a vent



An American Flag...



A 57 Chevy(I like the country better than Chevy), but this is kind of awesome, isn't it

The Best of Kitchen and Bath 2008

I was pleasantly surprised by the level of innovation at this years show:


Here are the highlights:


6. Five burner 30 inch Thermador. The middle burner is 18,000 BTU



5.Bertazzoni Induction range...Great look, but it is 10,000 Euro, Thats 14,000 American



4.Viking slide ins: Induction and gas. Funny, they did not have a price listed





3.GE Single/double oven....Two ovens in a single foot print



2.Zephyr Range hoods...Looks like an Ipod. Then again, they share the same designer



Tomorrow is number 1 and rest of the best...

Dennis Macdonald And Range Hoods

Dennis Macdonald became the sales manager of the store effectively replacing me sometime 1 or 2 years ago. He is actually a great guy, good with staff and customers (which means I will have to fire him in a rage of jealousy)...

Dennis is motivated by the strangest things, refrigerator handles, coffee systems, and now range hoods. He has placed 16 new hoods on display from Miele, Monogram, Zephyr, Faber, Franke and whatever else he has decided to hang today.

The average stove burners are 20-30% more powerful than stoves manufactured 10 years ago. Hoods and ventilation in general need to reflect this change

Which one is best? Have a look...The answer is below



Hoods are based on capture area and CFM(blower speed). The cooking product really determines size of hood...There are some decent ventilation posts on the blog, but for the people who need info now:


How to vent:

Capture area: The deeper the capture, the better

CFM: Motor speed, the higher the CFM(cubic feet per minute or literally how many cubes of area are vented

Size of duct: A bigger motor needs a bigger size duct so the volume of smoke can travel efficiently

Duct run: Shorter is better without turning the duct..If you have more than one bend in the duct, you will have greatly diminished the efficiency