Sunday, December 5, 2010

Modern Aire Professional Series Wooden Hood Insert

The PSL Wall Mount Ventilator Power Pack manufactured by Modern Aire and distributed in Canada by Custom Range Hoods , adds elegance to any kitchen with a brushed satin stainless steel finish. Made with 300 series stainless steel, the universal wood hood insert features a polished stainless steel professional baffle filter system, infinite variable speed motor control, dimmer-controlled halogen lighting and double wall construction. The interior motors are available in 600 and 1200 cfm internally or together with 1000cfm or 1400cfm increment external roof or wall mount blower systems. The baffle filters permit the air to pass through unrestricted, resulting in a smoother and quieter transition which of course results in a quieter range hood. The power packs are also available for custom hood openings from 30" to 60" wide in industry stock sizes or made to any size required.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Oil rubbed bronze custom range hood with blackened steel trim


Milton Ontario Canada November 2010

Oil rubbed bronze range hood with blackened steel bands, lip trim and crown molding - a great looking hood and excellent choice on the finishes



PS33 style with oil rubbed bronze body, blackened steel bands, crown and lip trim - turned out very nice


Friday, November 12, 2010

What is so special about our range hoods

We have been challenged in the past as to why our range hoods are so expensive. This blog explains why our range hoods are superior to most other kitchen hoods in the market:
1.     We use the highest grade of stainless steel and other metals such as copper for all of our range hoods
1.     Stainless steel comes in various grades - we use 304 which will not develop rust streaks over time - these are thin lines of rust that push through because there is a high percentage of iron in the stainless steel
2.     A simple test to check if your range hood is premium stainless or has a high iron content is to place a magnet on the hood - if it sticks then it is not 304
2.     Our copper range hoods for instance are made from solid copper - we do not use a thin sheet of copper applied over steel
3.     Most of our range hoods are supplied with 304 series dishwasher safe baffle filters - these unlike typical aluminum mesh filters are near indestructible and will never require replacing
1.     Baffle filters also do a far better job of capturing contaminants at higher speed
2.     These filters are typically quieter than mesh filters and will not choke under excessive smoke and steam conditions.
4.     We offer the option of mesh filters and even these are made from 304 stainless steel casing that covers the entire surface of the filter.
5.     During the construction of the hood we use whats called double wall construction  - this ensures that the hood body is rigid and will not flex or vibrate which contributes to a noisy hood fan
6.     The lighting systems on the range hoods are 120v halogen floods as distinct from low voltage lighting - the use of low voltage lighting introduces a transformer into the electrics which typical stay connected 24/7 resulting in a high failure rate of these transformers
7.     The blower and lighting controls are solid state rheostat which enables the user to have very precise control of the setting on both the blower and lights. This means that the lights and blower can be "dialed" up to the exact intensity required - there is no plastic or switching parts that can fail or become encrusted with grease. The knobs on these controls are also solid metal.
8.     Every hood is made by hand - we do not use a robotic production line as we focus our attention on the finished product and the desired look of the hood
9.     The blowers  are top of the line and considered one of the quietest and most reliable in the world
10.   We do not compromise quality - our focus is on making the best range hood from top of the line materials and we therefore do not attempt to compete on price
Hopefully the above provides a brief insight into why our hoods rank as one of the best manufactured range hoods in the world.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Questions and Answers

Here are some of the typical questions we get on kitchen range hoods and kitchen ventilation in general:
Q.
How often should i clean my filters
 
A.
We always recomend weekly or at least every two weeks. Why so often - well the purpose of the range hood filters is to collect the grease and solid contaminents in the vapor from the cook top. It therefore makes sense that regular cleaning will stop these contaminents from congealing on the filters. Most filters are dishwasher safe. Another tip is to ensure that the filters are "dried off" before re-installing them otherwise water will drip down onto the cooking surface or worse still if the fan is powered up before they are dry it could suck water up into the motor.
 
Q.
How wide should the hood fan or range hood be
 
A.
Ideally the hood should be 6" wider for a wall mount hood. For an island mount hood it is advisable to make the island deeper than the cook top as well - say 27" instead of 24". Earlier we discussed how vapor expands as it rises - thats why we recomend wider. Islands in particular are exposed to cross drafts and this further contributes to the challenge of capturing all those rising vapors.
 
Q.
Are baffle filters better than mesh filters
 
A.
In our opinion yes. Baffle filters are more effective, because of their unique design at capturing the smoke and steam than mesh filters and they are generally quieter than mesh filters. Quieter is really only an issue with high powered fans where we always try to minimize the noise of airflow. They are also more expensive!!!
 
Q.
Why do you need a range hood
 
A.
Cooking creates vapor that is laden with grease, moisture and of course some pretty powerful odors. Without an effective range hood those odors and grease laden vapor will drift through the home and attach to fabrics and surfaces. Allied to this is our homes have become extremely air tight - we dont have our windows and doors open anymore because of the AC or heating system - so all of these bad vapors get absorbed into the fabric, carpeting and onto the solid surfaces.
 
Q.
How Powerful should the exhaust blower be for my range hood?

A.
Typically the manufacturer of the cooking appliance specifies how powerful and how high the range hood should be above the stove. In the absence of this information call the stove supplier or you can use the industry rule of thumb as a guideline - 1cfm of range hood power for every 100btu of cook top output. This formula takes the maximum btu output of the cooktop - assuming the worst case scenario that all burners (gas) are on at the same time. So for example a 60 000btu gas stove top would need about 600cfm. Electric or induction cook tops are a little different - the rule of thumb here is 100cfm for every 10" of cook top - so a 30" electric cook top would need say 300cfm minimum. There are of course other factors involved not the least of which is the ducting. At Custom Range Hoods we offer hoods in 400cfm, 600cfm, 1000cfm and 1400cfm or multiples of these - yes sometimes 1400cfm is not enough - we recently completed a project with a 10' wide hood and 2400cfm external blowers.

Q.
How big should the ductwork be for the range hood

A.
Firstly one should size the duct as a minimum for the cfm that the blower is exhausting. Secondly one must factor in how many bends and how long is the duct run - it makes sense that a 200ft duct run of 6" will be less effective than a 20ft duct run of 6". Bends in ductwork seriously degrade the efficiency of the duct run - for example rather use two 45 degree bends slightly spaced than one 90 degree bend. Finally factor in whether an internal or external blower system is being used - external blowers are more efficient than internal blowers by about 20% - its easier to pull the heavy vapor laden air through the duct than to push it. Now there is as far as we know no scientific formulas or wizadry involved here. So you are now totally confused right - the answer is always oversize the ducting when in doubt - thats all we do - 600cfm = minimum 6" duct ideally 8"; 1000cfm = minimum 8" and 10" would be nice, over 1000cfm minimum 10" duct - or equivalents in rectangular ducting. If you have a really bad duct run and no other way to do it - go with and external blower.

Q.
How high should the range hood be above the cook top?

A.
The hood manufacturers specify this distance in their installation instructions.Code in most provinces or states specify a minimum of 30" distance to a combustible surface - we always advice our clients to set the hood at a minimum of 30" = if the filters get laden with grease because the filters haven't been cleaned for a year - that in our opinion constitutes a combustible surface. No jokes aside - 30" minimum is a convenient height and 34" maximum. Of interest to consider that for every 30" that vapor rises it expands outwards 3" - so if the hood is set at 60", which is totally ineffective, the vapors would have expanded outwards at least 6" in all directions - so the hood would in this case have to be 12" wider than the cooktop

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Make-Up Air Systems

Why do we need Make-Up Systems


1. Our homes have become extremely air tight with the result that fresh air replacement from outside via air seepage, can no longer be relied upon to bring in clean air. The result is that the air quality on our homes becomes very unhealthy. So in order to improve this air quality we need to find a way to bring in fresh clean air and evacuate or clean the stale air. This is achieved with make up air systems. You can liken the situation to living inside of a sealed plastic bag - without make up air - particularly in winter the air quality becomes very poor and unhealthy.

2. Now if you add a kitchen range hood that evacuates large amounts of air, the situation actually becomes far worse - we are exhausting the air from our sealed plastic bag example above and without any make up air bringing air back into the "plastic bag", the environment actually becomes depressurized - the pressure inside the bag rapidly becomes less than the pressure outside - the results can be catastrophic as our heating equipment such as fireplaces, hot water tanks and furnaces rely on balanced air pressure to exhaust the poisonous gases to the outside. When a home becomes depressurized these gases actually get drawn back into the environment with the lowest pressure - the "plastic bag" - our home.

So what do make-up air systems do. Very simply they are linked via pressure switches or electronic switching to suck air back into the home as it is exhausted and to constantly bring in a supply of fresh air. By way of example, when we use our range hood that is say exhausting 600cfm (cfm = cubic feet per minute - visualize a block of air that is 12"x12"x12" - that's 1cfm), now with a 600cfm range hood that is 600 of these blocks of air every minute leaving our "plastic bag" type home - under this situation the average home would attain a negative air pressure situation very very quickly and the dangerous gases from our appliances would invade the home and its occupants.

The make-up air system would be activated before this negative air situation has had chance to develop and would pull air back into the home to replace the exhausted air - make-up air system must of course also heat this air before bringing it back into the home in winter and cool it in summer.

So that very simply is how make-up air systems work and why we need them.

Below please find copy from the Uniongas website on make-up air:

http://www.uniongas.com/business/gastechnology/productsservices/iaq/iaqMakeupAir.asp

In most cases, the need for ventilation air is achieved by the addition of a make-up air unit(s). These units are essential to a building's mechanical operation and to the health and comfort of its occupants. By providing a controlled quantity of clean, conditioned ventilation air to common areas of the building, they:

•Reduce drafts, dust and dirt entering the building;

•Replace air exhausted by equipment such as kitchen or bathroom fans or process or industrial exhaust fans;

•Reduce odours.

A make-up air unit consists of a fan and a heat-exchanger component as well as filters and dampers. Gas-fired units are available in many sizes to meet building ventilation needs and are supplemented by a variety of control components (both temperature and air quality) and operating strategies. Control systems are important as they can be designed to handle 100% outdoor air or to mix outdoor air with re-circulated indoor air. Mixed air systems can be electronically controlled. Heating can be provided at fixed or variable heating rates and control strategies for these systems can also vary from simple manual systems to computerized options.

Depending on the application, make-up air units can be installed either on rooftops or indoors. High-rise buildings generally install their units on rooftops, where they are mounted on either a curb or metal roof frame, then connected with the building's electrical and duct work system. In walk-up apartments, units are often installed in utility or attic rooms and conventionally ducted to feed air to the corridors and common areas.

A variety of features are available that will enhance the performance of make-up air units, including:

•Heat reclaim coils or heat wheels, to recover waste heat;

•High efficiency filtration to maintain air quality and automated controls governing both temperature and air quality to minimize energy consumption - including capacity control utilizing two-stage or modulating gas valves that will match the unit's output with your building's needs.

Electric make-up air heaters can also be converted to natural gas by installing a heating coil in the duct, which is heated by hot water that is supplied by a gas-fired boiler.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Custom Range Hoods upgrades website

May 17th, 2010


http://www.customrangehoods.ca/ recently upgraded their website.

The update is significant and now enables the visitor to see all standard models, before customization, as well as detailed specifications on all range hood designs. The site also provides in depth information on finishes, range hood customization options as well as range hood blower performance and specifications. By following the link on each range hood design the visitor is now able to download detailed specifications in pdf format for each design and then work out how the standard design will work for their application - if the standard does not work they contact us and tell us what they need - we can pretty much do anything they need - check it out at http://www.customrangehoods.ca/

Custom Range Hoods are suppliers of high performance range hoods to the Canadian market - the range hoods are manufactured by Modern Aire Ventilating of North Hollywood who have been in the business of custom ventilation since 1956. Our range hoods can be customized in any way you wish - we have developed a reputation as the CANDO company in that we can do anything you want - we even offer choices as simple as the duct exhaust being positioned off center to avoid wall studs. We were recently commissioned to provide a 10' wide all copper range hood with amazing exhaust ducting challenges to enable the hood to be vented to dual external Abbaka blower systems - 8 hours of driving there and back for a site visit and we had it all ironed out.

Check out our web site - you will be amazed at what can be done for range hood ventilation.

The picture in this post shows one of our crown molding trim options - in this case an oil rubbed bronze island hoood.

Custom Range Hoods upgrades website

May 17th, 2010

http://www.customrangehoods.ca/ recently upgraded their website.

The update is significant and now enables the visitor to see all standard models, before customization, as well as detailed specifications on all range hood designs. The site also provides in depth information on finishes, range hood customization options as well as range hood blower performance and specifications. By following the link on each range hood design the visitor is now able to download detailed specifications in pdf format for each design and then work out how the standard design will work for their application - if the standard does not work they contact us and tell us what they need - we can pretty much do anything they need - check it out at

http://www.customrangehoods.ca/

Custom Range Hoods are suppliers of high performance range hoods to the Canadian market - the range hoods are manufactured by Modern Aire Ventilating of North Hollywood who have been in the business of custom ventilation since 1956. Our range hoods can be customized in any way you wish - we have developed a reputation as the CANDO company in that we can do anything you want - we even offer choices as simple as the duct exhaust being positioned off center to avoid wall studs. We were recently commissioned to provide a 10' wide all copper range hood with amazing exhaust ducting challenges to enable the hood to be vented two dual external Abbaka blower systems - 8 hours of driving there and back for a site visit and we had it all ironed out.

Check out our web site - you will be amazed at what can be done for range hood ventilation.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Inset Lips and Crown Moldings


Modern-Aire and Custom Range Hoods of Canada Inset lips are available on wall mount or island canopies. On wall mounted canopies the lip can stop at a specified distance on the side to join with cabinetry. Inset lips are available in any material we manufacture with and can be mixed and matched to your needs.

Upper molding is available in two shapes, rectangular, or 45 degree on top of rectangular. Upper crown molding can be applied to most of our hood designs. Materials can be mixed and or matched to the canopy depending on the look which is desired.

Available Materials for our range hoods: brushed stainless steel, jitterbug stainless steel, brushed brass, antique brass, brushed copper, antique copper and blackened steel, powder coated colors, polished stainless steel, copper, brass, copper.

Contact us:


Tel: 866 382 1776

email: info@customrangehoods.ca

http://www.customrangehoods.ca/

Custom Metal Countertops

Modern-Aire and Custom Range Hoods of Canada can provide beautiful custom countertops built to your specs. An Integrated backsplash is a option. Sink and faucet holes can be located and cut for precise fit. Counter top corners are available seamless or with decorative corner covers and rivets (shown).

Available Materials: brushed stainless steel, jitterbug stainless steel, brushed brass, antique brass, brushed copper, antique copper and blackened steel

 Contact us:

Tel: 866 382 1776

email: info@customrangehoods.ca

http://www.customrangehoods.ca/

Quilted Stainless Steel Backsplash

Custom Range Hoods also offers custom basksplashes. As with our range hoods we can make these to any size and dimension you require. The materials we use are stainless steel, copper or brass. The finishes that can be applied are hammered finish, brushed, polished, antique copper, oil rubbed bronze, jitterbug and quilting. For examples of these finishes look elsewhere on this blog for samples. In the image we show a quilted stainless steel back splash together with a polished chrome rail. For further information contact us:

Tel: 866 382 1776

email: info@customrangehoods.ca

http://www.customrangehoods.ca/

How much cfm do you need for your cooking equipment


What type of ventilation is required for your coking equipment? In order to determine the proper amount of air flow required for your cooking equipment, you must first know how many BTU’s (British thermal units) your gas range emits. Then, with a simple calculation you can determine the amount of CFM (cubic feet per minute) required to properly exhaust your cooktop. For example if your cooktop emits 90,000 BTU’s you would divide 90,000 BTU’s ÷ 100 = 900 CFM. This means that 900 CFM or more would efficiently exhaust your range. For electric and induction cooktops choose a blower with a minimum of 200 CFM per 12 inches of cooktop width. Remember, it’s always a good idea to round up versus down.

Friday, April 9, 2010

How much cfm do you need for your cooking equipment


What type of ventilation is required for your coking equipment? In order to determine the proper amount of air flow required for your cooking equipment, you must first know how many BTU’s (British thermal units) your gas range emits. Then, with a simple calculation you can determine the amount of CFM (cubic feet per minute) required to properly exhaust your cooktop. For example if your cooktop emits 90,000 BTU’s you would divide 90,000 BTU’s ÷ 100 = 900 CFM. This means that 900 CFM or more would efficiently exhaust your range. For electric and induction cooktops choose a blower with a minimum of 200 CFM per 12 inches of cooktop width. Remember, it’s always a good idea to round up versus down.

Metal Finishes for Range Hoods

Custom Range Hoods offers a choice of stainless steel, copper and bronze for their hoods. These metals can then be further processed with hammering, brushed finish, polishing, antiquing and the current market favourite oil rubbed bronze. Modern Aire and Custom Range Hoods uses the highest quality 14 gauge metal for their hoods versus most other hoods that are typiclally 18 gauge or thinner. We do not for instance stamp our hammered finish which can only be done with thinner metals but we actually hand beat the hammered finish. This thicker metal ensures a far more rigid structure which contributes to our hoods being quieter through less vibration and resonance. Please follow this link to see the respective metal finishes - Metal Finishes.

We are also able to offer an almost endless choice of powder coat colors as per the RAL color chart system.

On the left is an example of how Custom Range Hoods can match colors to other appliances or even cabinetry and also integrate a finished metal. Here the blue powder coated hood has a trim finish with #4 brushed 304 stainless steel lip and bands.

Quilted Stainless Steel Backsplash

Custom Range Hoods also offers custom basksplashes. As with our range hoods we can make these to any size and dimension you require. The materials we use are stainless steel, copper or brass. The finishes that can be applied are hammered finish, brushed, polished, antique copper, oil rubbed bronze, jitterbug and quilting. For examples of these finishes look elsewhere on this blog for samples. In the image we show a quilted stainless steel back splash together with a polished chrome rail. For further information contact us:
Tel: 866 382 1776
email: info@customrangehoods.ca
http://www.customrangehoods.ca/

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Baffle or Mesh Filters

The question is often asked what is the difference between baffle and mesh filters. Apart from the appearance baffle filters are more efficient than mesh filters because they permit the easier flow of air through the filter. When air passes through a baffle filter it must make 2 x180 degree turns and in so doing must speed up to make that turn - when the air speeds up it deposits the grease and moisture onto the bend in the filters. Baffle filters are also better at eliminating the posibility of a fire running up into the ductwork.













Baffle filter










Mesh filters on the other hand consist of anywhere from 3 to 6 layers of fine mesh laid one upon the other - so the air is forced to pass through tiny holes creating more noise and typically less efficient than baffle filters.





A Modern Aire Mesh Filter













Baffle and mesh filters are normally dishwasher safe and it is very important to wash them both on a regular basis to avoid not only a fire in the filter but also to ensure grease is not sucked through to the blower and inside of the hood.

Not all mesh filters are created equally - Modern Aire uses high quality stainless steel that has holes punched on the outside - this protects the finer mesh from damage. Most of the mesh filters on the market do not have this protective layer of stainlees steel and the finer aluminium mesh gets easily damaged when placing in the dishwasher.

Baffle or Mesh Range Hood filters

The question is often asked what the difference is between baffle and mesh filters. Apart from the appearance baffle filters are more efficient than mesh filters because they permit the easier flow of air through the filter. When air passes through a baffle filter it must make 2 x180 degree turns and in so doing must speed up to make that turn - when the air speeds up it deposits the grease and moisture onto the bend in the filters. Baffle filters are also better at eliminating the posibility of a fire running up into the ductwork.








A Baffle filter










Mesh filters on the other hand consist of anywhere from 3 to 6 layers of fine mesh laid one upon the other - so the air is forced to pass through tiny holes creating more noise and typically less efficient than baffle filters.











A Modern Aire Mesh Filter



 
 
 
 
Baffle and mesh filters are normally dishwasher safe and it is very important to wash them both on a regular basis to avoid not only a fire in the filter but also to ensure grease is not sucked through to the blower and inside of the hood.
 
Not all mesh filters are created equally - Modern Aire uses high quality stainless steel that has holes punched on the outside - this protects the finer mesh from damage. Most of the mesh filters on the market do not have this protective layer of stainlees steel and the finer aluminium mesh gets easily damaged when placing in the dishwasher.