I was skeptical of the true functionality of said exhaust. Thanks for proving right all my believes. Man... one would thing. Ages ago, zero tech, not that much education. And still people knew that having the pot on the chimney was the smartest way. lol
I can’t tell you how many multimillion dollar homes I’ve been to that have very expensive kitchens but their kitchen exhausts just don’t perform and almost all have flex ducting doing all sorts of origami through the house. Range hood is the most overlooked equipment by general contractors but it’s the most important piece of equipment in any functioning kitchen.
I have an old Thermador cooktop with downdraft (the back rise about 8 inches to coolect air at that height). The back vent is designed to be the full lenght of the cooktop surface. It work perfectly and I love it. The connection to the outside is indeed rigid duct and goes outside after only 1x 90°. I guess installation and quality of design has a udge impact. This video has a good visual impact but is not an extensive review of all down draft systems.
Excellent! Honest 'review'! My first thought was 'This man is going to sell it. He is going to say it is technologically advanced' just because he looks smart with that attire, and the video and sound are professionally made. Some books cannot be judged! Hahahahahaha!
Another downside: The downdraft pulls the flame towards it and you can't get an even burn, and must turn up the heat much higher than you would otherwise.
OMG yes!! I just moved into a house that has this hideous cooktop in the island with downdraft. I noticed it pulls the flame towards it which is also problematic while cooking.
Hi, just moved into a new home with high ceilings. Current vent does not work with Indian cooking...in the market for a new gas cooktop and vent. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated pls
On the flip side, downdraft is unsurpassed for baking/broiling/oven cleaning. The heat and fumes will go out of the house rather than into your living space. You can avoid 78° indoor temps during Thanksgiving dinner or summertime baking. The best setup is a combination of a downdraft for oven use, and a direct-vent hood for range cooking. Just be sure to always crack the kitchen window about 3" while venting, you'll need the "make up air" from a nearby location in order to get the proper functionality.
I have an electric downdraft. Wishing I could buy a cover for the vent that raises it a little higher up, couldnt find anything. Anyone have a good solution?
just what i needed to know. my down draft fan switch is on high and still lacking. any chance to increase motor speed on a properly installed downdraft system at the mot or the system is still lacking power.
Great video showing basic tests that any body can do to make sure they're venting properly! I like the point you make about moving towards a common language to discuss proper performance in a home. It's often rather confusing how many different measurements we have between ACH natural and ACH50 as well as other units like sones and decibels. You mentioned sones are rather complicated and I've found this to be true. I work in a WAP agency and like to test and make sure everything installed is code compliant as well as best practice as opposed to just meeting standards. On that note, I was wondering if you knew of any way to test sones in the field? I've done some digging and saw HVI's testing procedure, but like you said it's done in a controlled lab. Most people say to only get HVI certified equipment but obviously manufacture defects or shipping damages happen every now and then so it helps to be able to test myself. I appreciate any input you have on the subject and keep up the great content!
Thanks Austen! If you’re looking for before/after comparison, then I just use a sound level meter app downloaded on my phone, held at head height on the toilet. Trying to recreate Sones in a room is pretty wonky- vid forthcoming.
Exactly what I came here for. I purchased this specific one based on a . . .wait for it. . . budget. Video was a waste of time if he’s not willing to show us what to do to at least improve performance. My installers were LITERALLY NO help.
Guys, my point here, backed up by researchers at the National Laboratories who study kitchen ventilation, is that down draft doesn’t work. Like the title of this video says. The solution is: get an overhead hood.
@@HomePerformance, sorry I missed the point. Maybe it was implied. At any rate, it’s too late for me for all of that. The kitchen is on the lowest level of my very old home, and not on an exterior wall. Hubby and I will take the blame, as we didn’t do the research for this. Thanks anyway. Lesson learned.
Do you need to use the fan every time you cook? I have a downdraft now, been in house for 14 years, and have only used the downdraft about 10 times or less.
Yes, every time. Cooking creates tons of fine particles and chemical reactions that are very bad to breathe, no matter how delicious the food is in the end.
Grease is the main reason. I've lived in many apartments with no ventilation and everything eventually is covered in a fine film grease, even in the bedrooms.
Few things You say this isn’t an optimal exhaust pipe setup and call the venting subpar - I think this video would be much better if you fixed the venting and then did the tests again. Also the 2 burners on the far left are the lowest btu of this unit, which will generally be used for more simmering and lower heat cooking applications (hence the placement of the downdraft). It is 100% obvious that a range hood is a more efficient venting system, but I think you’re being too harsh on the downdraft setup. Being able to put the cooktop in an island or a peninsula and have clear sight lines may be worth it to some. Ive also never met a single home cook who uses the vent every single time they cook. To each their own I guess.
Paul, according to the research from Lawrence Berkeley Nat’l Lab, these do not work in the lab either, no matter how perfect the ducting is. Warm air rises.
Seems better to have a hood installed at a substantial investment (Cut hole in ceiling/roof, install ducting, vent stack on roof, etc. $$$?) and just have a nice NON-downdraft range or cooktop, than to deal with that situation........maybe have the hood raised up a little to minimize any obstruction of view.
@@HomePerformance Thanks so much! Unfortunately an overhead range hood is impossible for our island cooktop due to beams. We are trying to find a good alternative solution. Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)
I wonder what the results would be with a proper installation. Why haven’t the people in this home had the problem corrected? Kind of an unfair test/comparison.
I would actually challenge anyone to test the performance of any downdraft system like this and find a single one that performs as well as a similar quality installation of overhead exhaust.
I had a house with a downdraft exhaust. It was loud and ineffective. My current house has a stove set against an outside wall. The vent has about 14" of sheet metal ductwork with only one 90 degree bend. Even this setup doesn't exhaust gasses as well as I would like. The first problem is the hood is too high over the stove and does not extend far enough from wall to cover the front burners. The second problem is I don't have a makeup vent anywhere near the stove. I hope someone comes up with a stove that has makeup vents built in to the cook top.
See the mechanically-dampered hole in my wall in Ventilation Testing the Best Performing Tiny House on Wheels in the World th-cam.com/video/Xy4OvjEd3IE/w-d-xo.html
for every turn (90 degree) add 10 feet to the entire run...so if the manufacturer recommends no more than 30 feet from the appliance to the outside vent....if you have 3 turns...you have exceeded the manufacturer's warranty and requirements.
You need to upgrade the blower to ~900 CFM if you expect performance in this application. These silly 300-500 CFM blowers are a complete waste of time for anything other than steam
at the very least the vent should be in the middle, not off to the side where it's mostly pulling in clean air from the rest of the room. absolute garbage design that never should have made it past even the first rough draft.
The burners are not producing carbon monoxide, hence the flames are blue and are open to the air providing plenty of combustion air. Carbon Monoxide is the result of incomplete combustion. This video sucks. Maybe you should have started by showing the bad duct install, repairing and then showing cooking drafts. Most folks complain about too much fan power causing the flames to lift towards to fan, not what you have going on here
You don’t know if there’s CO from just looking, Rich, I’m here to tell you. Testing is the only thing you should bet on. Thanks for stopping by to be old school stubborn and insulting- your attitude is what drives me to do this.
If the air doesn’t move toward the vent, does it really matter what the label says? Just trying to show that you don’t need a $500-4000 test tool to see that something isn’t doing what it should.
Rick is absoutely right! I have this KitchenAid stove (only with 4 burners) and I installed exhaust vent myself (the proper way). I hate how powerful my vent is (even on low), because it makes me keep my pots half-way towards the vent to distribute heat evenly. I'm looking for ways to adjust the suction of the vent - can you recommend where I should look? There must be a way to fix this, right?
I didn't think these things worked very well and you've confirmed it. Thanks
Glad to help
Depends on the brand really. Bora (the ones who invented it) makes downdrafts that work really well. This one is trash.
He only confirmed that top didn't work. We have had one for years. JenAir. They work "fantastic". They invented down draft.
@@donhuffer4637which one do you have? This poor suction actually helps the heat and flame from getting sucked down
Thank you for your video. I was about to install a new stove top with this down draft system, however not anymore!
Glad to hear, glad to help
This has been THE most helpful video Ive ever seen!
Wow, thanks a lot, Prem! Glad you found us.
I was skeptical of the true functionality of said exhaust. Thanks for proving right all my believes. Man... one would thing. Ages ago, zero tech, not that much education. And still people knew that having the pot on the chimney was the smartest way. lol
I love mine! One 90% and straight outside. Works great.
Bravo on your video! This has to be the best demonstration video I have ever seen on TH-cam. Thank you sir!
Hey, thanks Jake- I hope you’ll subscribe, if you think that vid is great the newer stuff will def get you high.
I can’t tell you how many multimillion dollar homes I’ve been to that have very expensive kitchens but their kitchen exhausts just don’t perform and almost all have flex ducting doing all sorts of origami through the house. Range hood is the most overlooked equipment by general contractors but it’s the most important piece of equipment in any functioning kitchen.
Amen
I have an old Thermador cooktop with downdraft (the back rise about 8 inches to coolect air at that height). The back vent is designed to be the full lenght of the cooktop surface. It work perfectly and I love it. The connection to the outside is indeed rigid duct and goes outside after only 1x 90°. I guess installation and quality of design has a udge impact. This video has a good visual impact but is not an extensive review of all down draft systems.
Good to hear, thanks for letting us know this can actually be done
Great video with very clear explanations!
Thanks for watching, Karla!
Excellent! Honest 'review'! My first thought was 'This man is going to sell it. He is going to say it is technologically advanced' just because he looks smart with that attire, and the video and sound are professionally made.
Some books cannot be judged! Hahahahahaha!
Really great demonstration! Very well presented!
Glad you liked it!
Why didn’t he run the test with the gas on?
Why didn’t you run the stove with the gas on so you can see all the gas and heat getting sucked down into the downdraft
Really good demonstration!
Another downside: The downdraft pulls the flame towards it and you can't get an even burn, and must turn up the heat much higher than you would otherwise.
OMG yes!! I just moved into a house that has this hideous cooktop in the island with downdraft. I noticed it pulls the flame towards it which is also problematic while cooking.
@@Krazie.Tamikawe should contact a consumer product attorney & sue them. They are aware of the problem but will not even refund.
Hi, just moved into a new home with high ceilings. Current vent does not work with Indian cooking...in the market for a new gas cooktop and vent. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated pls
Congrats on your new home! Here’s what you need:
Kitchen Exhaust: Guide to Buying a Range Hood
th-cam.com/video/y08HOnzafM8/w-d-xo.html
On the flip side, downdraft is unsurpassed for baking/broiling/oven cleaning. The heat and fumes will go out of the house rather than into your living space. You can avoid 78° indoor temps during Thanksgiving dinner or summertime baking. The best setup is a combination of a downdraft for oven use, and a direct-vent hood for range cooking. Just be sure to always crack the kitchen window about 3" while venting, you'll need the "make up air" from a nearby location in order to get the proper functionality.
Thank you so much for your explanation. I just made up my mind not buying a downgraft stove.
Excellent
I have an electric downdraft. Wishing I could buy a cover for the vent that raises it a little higher up, couldnt find anything. Anyone have a good solution?
just what i needed to know. my down draft fan switch is on high and still lacking. any chance to increase motor speed on a properly installed downdraft system at the mot
or the system is still lacking power.
Great video showing basic tests that any body can do to make sure they're venting properly! I like the point you make about moving towards a common language to discuss proper performance in a home. It's often rather confusing how many different measurements we have between ACH natural and ACH50 as well as other units like sones and decibels.
You mentioned sones are rather complicated and I've found this to be true. I work in a WAP agency and like to test and make sure everything installed is code compliant as well as best practice as opposed to just meeting standards. On that note, I was wondering if you knew of any way to test sones in the field? I've done some digging and saw HVI's testing procedure, but like you said it's done in a controlled lab. Most people say to only get HVI certified equipment but obviously manufacture defects or shipping damages happen every now and then so it helps to be able to test myself.
I appreciate any input you have on the subject and keep up the great content!
Thanks Austen! If you’re looking for before/after comparison, then I just use a sound level meter app downloaded on my phone, held at head height on the toilet. Trying to recreate Sones in a room is pretty wonky- vid forthcoming.
Do we get to See the after??
+Stephen Rardon (HVAC with Stephen Rardon) sadly, no. But you can see my kitchen exhaust in my ventilation vid for the #TinyLab!
Another good tip is to check the exterior wall exhaust cap make sure its blowing air out. Mine sucks and blows like a champ.
Nice
This is great. Good tips.
Thx Scott
So FIX the duct and show us the improvement!
Exactly what I came here for. I purchased this specific one based on a . . .wait for it. . . budget. Video was a waste of time if he’s not willing to show us what to do to at least improve performance. My installers were LITERALLY NO help.
Guys, my point here, backed up by researchers at the National Laboratories who study kitchen ventilation, is that down draft doesn’t work. Like the title of this video says. The solution is: get an overhead hood.
@@HomePerformance, sorry I missed the point. Maybe it was implied. At any rate, it’s too late for me for all of that. The kitchen is on the lowest level of my very old home, and not on an exterior wall. Hubby and I will take the blame, as we didn’t do the research for this. Thanks anyway. Lesson learned.
Never too late, Amy! But I hear you- anyway, it’s one of the minor mistakes to make, as home performance mistakes go. Sorry you had trouble.
My cooktop is adjacent to a wall with a big hood above it, this is the ideal layout.
Yep
Do you need to use the fan every time you cook? I have a downdraft now, been in house for 14 years, and have only used the downdraft about 10 times or less.
Yes, every time. Cooking creates tons of fine particles and chemical reactions that are very bad to breathe, no matter how delicious the food is in the end.
Home Performance ok, got it. Thanks
Grease is the main reason. I've lived in many apartments with no ventilation and everything eventually is covered in a fine film grease, even in the bedrooms.
An island hood vent could be a much-needed upgrade and remediation to the limitation of downdraft ventilation.
super helpful, thank you; you're amazing!
Hey, thanks so much Lawrence!
Few things
You say this isn’t an optimal exhaust pipe setup and call the venting subpar - I think this video would be much better if you fixed the venting and then did the tests again. Also the 2 burners on the far left are the lowest btu of this unit, which will generally be used for more simmering and lower heat cooking applications (hence the placement of the downdraft). It is 100% obvious that a range hood is a more efficient venting system, but I think you’re being too harsh on the downdraft setup. Being able to put the cooktop in an island or a peninsula and have clear sight lines may be worth it to some. Ive also never met a single home cook who uses the vent every single time they cook. To each their own I guess.
Paul, according to the research from Lawrence Berkeley Nat’l Lab, these do not work in the lab either, no matter how perfect the ducting is. Warm air rises.
This guy is serious about his exhaust flow
Did you make a fart joke
Seems better to have a hood installed at a substantial investment (Cut hole in ceiling/roof, install ducting, vent stack on roof, etc. $$$?) and just have a nice NON-downdraft range or cooktop, than to deal with that situation........maybe have the hood raised up a little to minimize any obstruction of view.
Agreed
Ouch, the truth hurts. I was looking into switching to a down-draft system... =(
So glad we stopped you before it was too late!
Awesome demonstration. Probably this is for folks who prefer cooking once a week. Not for me
High five buddy
That's why placing the cooking stove next to a window has been the norm for any sane person who doesn't have a special exhaust system.
Yeah that works well when it's -10 degrees outside. NOT
@@PanamaSticks why wouldn't it work well? The higher the temperature difference between room and outside, the faster the draft.
@@soupflood Who opens their kitchen window when it's 10 degrees out? I already have a $250 a month heating bill.
Good point
@@PanamaSticks it's up to you to change a filter monthly or pay more for heating.
What about cleaning tube from time to time? Mine reeks and sometimes the odor comes up through the downdraft.
Yuck. I’d say so.
Can you test a pop up downdraft vent?
Of course! Mostly same issues, depending on installer.
@@HomePerformance Thanks so much! Unfortunately an overhead range hood is impossible for our island cooktop due to beams. We are trying to find a good alternative solution. Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)
I had one in my house and it was closed to worthless.
Oh good Lord! Not a true down draft top! Not vented out! Not a JenAir! Ours works beautifully.
and thats why most down draft cooktops are 4 stoves
Would probably be even less effective if you were actually using the burners and had a lot of heat rising
+Joe Shearer you may be right! Only one way to know.
Joe Shearer I found out nobody is satisfied with it.
Stove top exhaust ventilation with filter, easy cleaning.
Haha
woow excellent video thanks a lot
Great, glad you found us!
I wonder what the results would be with a proper installation. Why haven’t the people in this home had the problem corrected? Kind of an unfair test/comparison.
I would actually challenge anyone to test the performance of any downdraft system like this and find a single one that performs as well as a similar quality installation of overhead exhaust.
I had a house with a downdraft exhaust. It was loud and ineffective. My current house has a stove set against an outside wall. The vent has about 14" of sheet metal ductwork with only one 90 degree bend. Even this setup doesn't exhaust gasses as well as I would like. The first problem is the hood is too high over the stove and does not extend far enough from wall to cover the front burners. The second problem is I don't have a makeup vent anywhere near the stove. I hope someone comes up with a stove that has makeup vents built in to the cook top.
59seank what is a makeup vent?
See the mechanically-dampered hole in my wall in Ventilation Testing the Best Performing Tiny House on Wheels in the World
th-cam.com/video/Xy4OvjEd3IE/w-d-xo.html
love this video
Thank you
the installation manual indicate size of Duct and maximum length. that spaghetti installation is a joke. I am surprised the home owner signed off.
+Ron White right?
for every turn (90 degree) add 10 feet to the entire run...so if the manufacturer recommends no more than 30 feet from the appliance to the outside vent....if you have 3 turns...you have exceeded the manufacturer's warranty and requirements.
You need to upgrade the blower to ~900 CFM if you expect performance in this application. These silly 300-500 CFM blowers are a complete waste of time for anything other than steam
Yes, but then you deform the shape of the flames over the burners so much that actual cooking becomes pretty freaky.
Would it be ok with an electric induction cooktop?
Bravo
Useless video, stove does not have the optimal hose hookup underneath... duh.
Useless comment, 99% of installations of any kind are not optimal. Duh.
at the very least the vent should be in the middle, not off to the side where it's mostly pulling in clean air from the rest of the room. absolute garbage design that never should have made it past even the first rough draft.
Downdraft cooktops suck.
down draft is one of the most super stupid design exhaust system I ever see.
The burners are not producing carbon monoxide, hence the flames are blue and are open to the air providing plenty of combustion air. Carbon Monoxide is the result of incomplete combustion. This video sucks. Maybe you should have started by showing the bad duct install, repairing and then showing cooking drafts. Most folks complain about too much fan power causing the flames to lift towards to fan, not what you have going on here
You don’t know if there’s CO from just looking, Rich, I’m here to tell you. Testing is the only thing you should bet on. Thanks for stopping by to be old school stubborn and insulting- your attitude is what drives me to do this.
Make sure to read the appliance manual as to the correct size of duct to use....Very important. some use 10 or 12"ducts.
The installation was horrible, but he never stated how many cfm this unit is supposed to pull. That's no way to conduct a test.
If the air doesn’t move toward the vent, does it really matter what the label says? Just trying to show that you don’t need a $500-4000 test tool to see that something isn’t doing what it should.
Rick is absoutely right! I have this KitchenAid stove (only with 4 burners) and I installed exhaust vent myself (the proper way). I hate how powerful my vent is (even on low), because it makes me keep my pots half-way towards the vent to distribute heat evenly. I'm looking for ways to adjust the suction of the vent - can you recommend where I should look? There must be a way to fix this, right?