I'm after a 90cm undermount ducted range hood and was wondering if anyone had recently gone through the process of buying one and can recommend a model?
As a side query, did anyone also go through process of deciding whether to duct through the roof or the wall?
We are currently building a new house and have decided to go with a Schweigen (UM1170-9S) with an external Isodrive SP.1600 Motor that will sit on the roof of my 2 storey house. While this is a silent rangehood with good reviews, I am yet to use it. In fact, it will still be some time before we can.
I think it's too far to sit on the 2nd storey roof.
I also have the external Isodrive SP.1600 motor.
If I had my time again, I'd duct it behind the rangehood via the brickwork.
Isodrive 1600 motor, recommended 5 to 6 metres of SteelFlex™ ducting and with at least two bends.
NOTE: Installations less than 5 to 6 metres will increase extraction power this will result in higher noise level.
Maximum duct length is 10 metres. Check with supplier if longer duct length is required. Do not reduce the duct
size at any time and avoid sharp bends.
Source: Isodrive SP.1600 motor manual
The professional installer who is installing this for us has also confirmed that this will work fine.
I too followed the instructions.
It will work but will extract more air if the runs are shorter.
I could have used the it at 80% and it wouldn't be too loud (or as loud at 100% with longer ducting) and then use it at 100% when really need it for a few minutes, e.g. deep frying.
Just my thoughts.
Keep an eye on the decibal level when researching. There are rangehoods that sound like a jet taking off.
Ours on max speed sounds like a jet engine. Its great for cooking things that have a strong smell. I can cook anything and end up with no residual cooking smells in the house lingering (eg. pan fry fish - no smell in the house).
I'd have it no other way. Normal cooking (steam/etc) is on low settings and can barely hear it.
This was my sole search criteria…
Most rangehoods are ridiculously loud even on low
We have a Whispair. It'd be 5 years old by now. I installed it myself in a new kitchen. Going through tiled roof made install much easier for DIY.
Highly recommend it. They're expensive, but worth it IMHO.
Even on the highest setting the sound level is lower than the regular fare on low, and the suction is significantly better to boot. We rarely use it above speed level 2 (of 4).
Probably the only downside is that it's so quiet, you can forget to turn it off.
My vegetarian sister in law commented how incredible it was that I was cooking bacon and she couldn't smell it!
That never happened with the older (internal fan) unit no matter the speed setting.
Model recommendations I don't really think matter. Get what works for your space. The technology is pretty basic really.
I upsized the motor, but next time I'd probably just go with the recommendation of the manufacturer.
I second that.. using it for last 2 years. All previous ones no matter what speed you run on, can smell food especially upstairs if living in double storey house. With Whispair no smell. Actually my neighbour do complain that I make them hungry with my Indian cooking.. ;)
Too hard to recommend, they all look like coming from same factory with minor modification and different badges.
Bit of discussion here from a while back that I had bookmarked https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/714783
Have Schweigen with external motor.
I'd probably go Whispair next time. The build quality of the Schweigen is good, but Whispair looks better.
Haha! Funny you say that, because missus also feels that Whispair looks better than Schweigen. Unfortunately, the product has been paid for and we will incur a penalty if we now change to something else. Also, Whispair equivalent motor is 2000, not 1600, so concerned that it might be a lot louder than the SP.1600.
You could always run the Whispair at 80% and get a similar performance to the Schweigen at 100%.
The German made Schweigen motor is excellent, but the build quality of the rangehood isn't as good as the Whispair.
Having said that the Schweigen is infinitely better than the average rangehood.
I didn't even see Whispair until I purchased the Schweigen. Still happy with the Schweigen .
Good to hear that you are happy with Schweigen. I now have increased confidence in the product :).
Miele DAS 4920/4930 has an 896mm canopy but fits into a 600mm overhead cabinet. Mine is ducted to an external wall.
Also just purchased a schweigen um1170 (60cm model) but yet to install in our new kitchen.
Pretty good pricing from good guys commercial.
Looked at qasair but they had solid ducting and the rest were all so similar i lost interest and stuck with the leader. I think user experience comes down to installation of the unit, bends and duct length more than anything.
Went for the Bosch Series 8 integrated rangehood in the end due to build and quietness. Couldn't justify the higher prices out there. Looked at a couple of Schweigens. Probably the same quietness but build quality looked cheap and reviews for the Bosch finally swayed me. Bargained down the price to beat the lowest out there. Cheers all.
We found these to be much louder than Schweigen and Whirpr .. anything with a motor inside the canopy rather than external to the house is naturally going to be noisier
Noisier than external or internal motor Schweigens? I only compared internal.
Schweigen have cheaper internal motor version but it's noisy. The external one is on a different league, the bosch series 8000 won't be even close to it 😉
@lgacb08: Would have loved an external motor but price and stock availability forced me to buy internal. The local store only had the internal schweigen and Bosch to choose from. Made the decision more simpler. 👍
We have had a simple exhaust fan for 40 years and never had to repaint the wall/ceiling around it. Not as sexy, but low cost and DOES work fine.
We have the schwiegen mentioned above in 90cm. It's currently mounted to the side of the house at gutter level of the first floor. It's very, very quiet. As in, surprise your friends when you tell them mid conversation this thing is on and at max. Pretty cool, but I would like it to be a tad more powerful. That's the real criticism of this model, after incorrect installation.
Duct through the wall. If going to roof, will it impede any opportunity for solar panel installation…
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Unless the motor sits on the part of the roof that will not have solar panels
It might impede on the opportunity to install a single panel (possibly 2 panels if you have shading concerns)
I simply installed mine to the north of my existing panels, no shading issues.
Qasair Made in Melbourne. I have the twin motor, two quiet motor on low is better than a single screaming motor. 13 years old, 2-3hr daily runtime 5 days a week.
Have a look at Sirius range hoods. At my old place I had a 60cm one, and it was build to handle induction - basically it had a timed fan that would run the fan for about 15 minutes and automatically shut it off. If you happen to have induction, steam will not be hot - no hot gasses blowing past the pots to help evaporate all that liquid.
I'll be watching too, mine died few weeks ago… sparky is going to 'recommend' something to replace it with.. wanna see if I'm gettin bent over or not