Do I Really Need a Stove Vent?
I just bought an apartment where the stove is in the middle of a counter that sits in the middle of the kitchen. It has no vent. We don’t particularly want to buy a downdraft Jenn-Air stove nor do we want to install a ceiling hood. However, we will if we have to. We could…
I just bought an apartment where the stove is in the middle of a counter that sits in the middle of the kitchen. It has no vent. We don’t particularly want to buy a downdraft Jenn-Air stove nor do we want to install a ceiling hood. However, we will if we have to. We could also completely redo the kitchen and move the stove to a wall and install an overhead hood. The question is–do we really need venting for our stove, and if so, what are our best options at this point so that we don’t have to spend a fortune?
We have a Jenn-Air with downdraft. Love the stove generally (and much cheaper than Viking etc) but the downdraft doesn’t really work. Then again, it hasn’t really mattered to us.
I also don’t think it’s absolutely necessary, and I agree they don’t do very much.
Over time cooking bacon and that kind of thing will leave a film of grease on your walls, ceiling, etc. A recirculating fan would help with this somewhat (they catch grease in the filter), but in my experience aren’t super helpful. Since this is open to your living area, my choice would be to look into exterior exhaust options. And that’s coming from someone who cooks a lot without exhaust in my own kitchen, but I have a window and an exterior door in the kitchen and I can close the kitchen off from the rest of the house. But as long as you have a CO detector and can open the living room windows if needed for smoke, it’s more of a cleaning issue than a requirement.
There isn’t a nearby window, but the kitchen is open and connects to the LR which has plenty of windows. Even if we put in a hood, it would be recirculating, not venting. I too never use my current recirculating hood when I cook because it has never prevented my smoke alarm from going off. Seems the tentative consensus is that I don’t really need one. At the very least, I should try out the kitchen to see if I need one. Thanks for the responses.
It really depends on how much you will be cooking and if there is a near by window. It the vent is not exhausting outside then it doesn’t make that much of a difference. If you are venting it outside then it will make a difference.
Levi
SohoAppliances,com
347.276.6528
That said, everyone should have a CO detector between their kitchen and living areas, especially if you have a big pro-style gas stove or don’t have an external exhaust.
Do you have a window in the kitchen? How do you feel about having a big fan going in the window whenever you cook? If that’s no big deal, then I’d say don’t bother. Even better if the kitchen has a door so food odors and smoke don’t travel through the house on the occasions when you do burn something or boil water on a hot day.
Live in it and see. I have a vent and never use it — mostly because it doesn’t really work. If you have a big commercial-style range and grill a lot of stuff stove-top, then you’ll need one. If you make dinner in the microwave, then you won’t.
In my opinion, only hoods that vent outside really work
And, my best friends have a new Jenn Air downdraft in their island and, in my opinion, it works not at all.