This week one of designers met with a client who had purchased a 30” wide Wolf gas range for her kitchen. It’s a beautiful appliance with plenty of power cook up whatever she wants. But as Spiderman was once told, “with great power comes great responsibility.” An appliance like this requires sufficient ventilation to remove not only the cooking smells but carbon monoxide and other gases as well.
We had specified a 36” wide hood fan to go over top of this range. Since cooking fumes don’t simply go straight up from the cooking surface, having a wider hood ensures you capture as much as possible. The same goes for the depth of the hood … think about that the next time you’re considering an over the range microwave. If there’s nothing over what you’re cooking, odds are it’s not being properly ventilated.
Unfortunately, the client purchased a 30” wide fan. The reason? Cost. 30” is a pretty common width for ranges and range hoods, so manufacturer’s make a lot of them resulting in a less expensive appliance. Will the 30” fan work? Of course, just not as well as a 36” fan.
As your kitchen designer, we just thought you should know.
