At a Glance
Choosing a wood hood blower is easy as many are similar except for the price. The hard part is for the cabinet company to worry about the custom wooden cabinets around it.
In this article, you will see the five best wood hood blowers including the definition of what a wood hood is. You will also learn the best filters and CFMs. There is also a free hood option as well.
The Best Wood Hood Blowers
5. Vent-A-Hood BH452PSLDSS - $3,106 (blower included)
Features:
- 1,200 CFM
- Magic Lung
- 4 Lights
Vent-a-Hood is an independent manufacturer based in Dallas, Texas. The filterless "Magic Lung" blower is their claim to fame.
The oblong design of the blower pushes the flames down, so they do not enter the duct. It is way more expensive and can be harder to plan to vent on the larger models.
4. Best CP47I422SB - $1,568 (blower included)
Features:
- 1,200 CFM
- 2 Lights
- Baffle Filters
The large Nortek company owns best. They were original style-driven products back in the 1980s.
3. Thermador VCIN48JP $1,449 (blower separate) $729 for the blower
Features:
- 1000 CFM
- 4 Lights
- Baffle Filters
2. Yale RH00538S - $1,179 (blower included)
Features:
- 1,000 CFM
- 4 Lights
- Baffle Filters
Yale is our private label brand. You are not paying for a brand, so it is a decent value. However, it is available only as 1000 CFM so that it will be underpowered for 48 and 60-inch ranges with grills.
1. Wolf PL461912 $1,219 (blower separate) $799 for the blower
Features:
- 1200 CFM
- 3 Lights
- Baffle Filters
Promotions and Deals
Yes, Thermador will offer a free hood with their one, two, free programs, but you need to buy qualifying refrigerators and cooking products
Wolf has their $1,000 rebate with other Sub-Zero/Wolf cooking products.
Are Hoods Reliable?
| Service Qty | Shipped Qty | Service Ratio | |
| Best Range Hoods | 10 | 292 | 3.42 % |
| Yale Appliance Rangehoods | 46 | 1300 | 3.54 % |
| Zephyr | 19 | 500 | 3.80 % |
| KitchenAid | 1 | 21 | 4.76 % |
| Miele | 4 | 83 | 4.82 % |
| Gaggenau | 1 | 16 | 6.25 % |
| Bosch Appliances | 16 | 239 | 6.69 % |
| Broan-Nutone | 3 | 43 | 6.98 % |
| Wolf | 22 | 241 | 9.13 % |
| Faber | 2 | 19 | 10.53 % |
| Thermador | 26 | 241 | 10.79 % |
| Jenn-Air | 19 | 172 | 11.05 % |
| XO Hoods | 4 | 32 | 12.50 % |
| La Cornue | 1 | 8 | 12.50 % |
| Grand Total | 175 | 3344 | 5.23 % |
Because they move air, hoods are the most reliable appliance sold. The average for appliances is 13.4%. For hoods it's only 5.23%.
What is the Best Wood Hood Vent?
In terms of price, Yale is the best value, but it is limited to a 1000 CFM internal blower only. Most of the others offer multiple fans and CFMs.
Wolf is interesting. It has the Heat Sentry activating with higher temperatures automatically. It also has baffle filters like our hood.
However, your choice in a hood is tied to the stove underneath and how you cook. For the stove underneath, a professional gas range would need a much higher CFM with baffle filters. An electric or induction cooking product would not require as powerful of a blower.
Depending on how you cook, the more “heavier” cooking would determine a higher CFM blower.
How Do I Choose?
The Thermador and Wolf models are very similar. Both offer different blower options, baffle filter system and lighting system.
The Yale model has baffle filters and an internal blower. This would be the best value option at half the price compared to the others.
The Vent-A-Hood is the unique one of the bunch featuring the "Magic Lung." It foregoes filters to get better air movement and slightly lower noise levels. However, the installation requires a more complicated ducting system.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Wood Hood Vent?
Also known as an insert or power pack, these ventilation units are available from almost every manufacturer that produces a regular canopy hood. The only significant factors you would have to decide would be size, CFM (cubic foot per minute) and filter type.
How do I size a wood hood vent?
The overall width of the ventilation system is at least the same as the cooking surface or more. For example, a 36" wide gas range should have at least a 36-inch wide ventilation system above to provide enough capture area for rising smoke.
Oversizing is a common design to help make the cooking area the main focus of the kitchen design.
How do I know which CFM power I need?
The wood hood blower would need to have enough power to accommodate the BTU output of the cooking product below.
The general rule is you need would 100 CFM (cubic feet per minute) of ventilation for every 10,000 BTU’s. Nevertheless, you should consider more for wok cooking, grilling or frying.
There are three different types of blowers.
Internal blowers are installed within the wood hood. They are the easiest to service, yet are a little noisier than an outside option.
You can also place the blower on the outside of your house making it quieter.
In line, blowers are a combination of the first two. It is inside of your house but in the duct line. It will be quiet, but still tough to service.
What kind of filter should I use for my hood?
|
Mesh Filter |
Baffle Filter |
There are three types of filters that manufacturers use to trap grease. The first and most common is the mesh filter.
Second is the baffle filter which is more durable and efficient at capturing grease while still maintaining excellent airflow.
The third is a filterless system.
These forego the filters for better airflow and slightly lower noise levels. In addition to the mechanical system, noise in ventilation systems usually comes from the air hitting any hard surfaces.
It's essential to note noise is relatively subjective and different in each application as it depends on duct size, blower power and ducting.
Additional Resources
Get our free Ventilation Buying Guide to learn how to properly vent and see reviews of all the major brands. Over 410,000 people have already found answers in a Yale guide.
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A Note About Pricing
Pricing on this blog is for reference only and may include time sensitive rebates. We make every attempt to provide accurate pricing at time of publishing. Please call the stores for most accurate price.
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