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home page » Stainless Steel Appliance chapter » Kobe hood tips ... you are here
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A WORD ABOUT STAINLESS STEEL There are several things to shop for in a hood - three main concerns are stainless steel quality, thickness and seamless construction. A single paragraph can not do the subject justice, but it boils down to the "series" of stainless steel and the "gauge" of the metal. The main grades (series) of stainless steel used for appliances are #304 and #430. Series 430 is commonly found in mid-range appliances since it is easier to bend, curve and mold. Series 304 stainless steel is an upgrade and generally considered the mark of quality. More difficult to work with, #304 has a higher carbon content and lower iron content, making the steel as rust proof as possible. A simple way to test stainless steel is to try to attach a magnet to it. Cheaper stainless steel hoods have such a high iron (ferrus) content that a magnet will easily stick to them. Series 304 has such a low iron content that magnets just slide right off. The "gauge" of the stainless steel is a relative measurement of its thickness. All Kobe hoods (except the CH181) use the thickest 18 gauge stainless steel. Cheaper brands of kitchen hood use as thin as 20, 22, 23, or even something as pathetic as 24 gauge steel. The best hoods are of seamless construction - all Kobe hoods (except the CH181) are seamless. Cheaper brands will bend the stainless and rivet panels together, allowing moisture, grease and grime to infiltrate and accumulate in the cracks. Do your research and you will soon see the quality, value and performance advantages of Kobe Range Hoods. PS - an excellent product to clean and protect stainless steel is WD-40® lubricant. The WD stands for 'water displacement' and was originally designed to protect jet engine parts from moisture damage. Always wipe with a soft, clean, lint-free terry cloth, never an abrasive pad, in the direction of the grain only. This is very important ... rubbing in a circular motion or across the grain of the stainless steel will blemish the surface. |
Kobe Range Hoods are designed and manufactured by Tosho & Company, Ltd., their Japanese parent company. Tosho & Company, Ltd. has been in the business of selling quality merchandise in Japan and globally since 1966 with such diverse products as machinery parts, luxury automobiles, cleaning supplies for the maintenance industry and, of course, stainless steel range hoods. Kobe has been importing into the United States and Canada for over ten years now and their goal has always been to design stainless steel range hoods that are not only functional, but stylish and economical. The result of their extensive research and development is a series of satin finish seamless stainless steel range hoods that are commercial quality, elegant, powerful and QUIET. Their products (CSA 221547) are certified to Class 3812-01 for Canada and Class 3821-81 for the U.S. This CSA standard meets the requirements of the ANSI/UL 507/705/710 UL507 - Standard for Electric Fans certification. Please note that while units meet the UL710 standard, Kobe markets (and we retail) only residential usage, not commercial oven hoods. Metric widths are rounded to inches for purpose of advertising clarity - consult diagrams for exact metric sizing.
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UNDERSTANDING QUALITY FILTER SYSTEMS As you shop around for a kitchen hood, you need to pay close attention to what happens with the grease. There is an excellent reason why we only retail Kobe hoods - they are engineered to WORK properly. Cheap hoods cut many corners, one of which is to install a flimsy set of aluminum mesh grease filters and call it a day. This just does not work ... simple aluminum mesh filters catch some of the grease, which heats up as you cook and drips back down onto the stove top. You will never see cheap aluminum mesh filters in a restaurant for a good reason - grease dripping back down onto the stove top can cause a fire. Kobe addresses the grease filtering/catching issue one of two ways: 1) centrifugal filter-less with grease catchment cups or 2) classic stainless steel baffle filters. Grease catchment cups are dishwasher safe cups mounted behind the cone shaped air intakes you see on some models. The vertical mounted, twin turbine fans create an upside-down tornado effect pulling air laden with grease and steam up into the hood where the centrifugal force hurls the air against the sides of the fan housing, causing it to condense and drip down into the grease catchment cups. This centrifugal filter-less style of hood is very effective, quiet, and easy to clean. Simply turn the hood on low power and spray degreaser up into fans. Baffle filters use a series of inverted cup shaped "baffle troughs", which cool the moist greasy air as it flows though, condensing/catching oil and then allowing the grease and moisture to flow down into the lower trough (where it is held until cleaning). Recent popularity of the commercial look in residential kitchens has created a very high demand for baffle filters. The extra expanse of stainless steel underneath does make for a more professional, industrial appearance. Performance wise, baffle filters allow slightly better air flow at the expense of trapping a bit less grease, but the difference is too slight to consider as a factor in your choice of hood model. |
The majority of people only use their hood for occasional excessive steam, odor, smoke or grease because their existing hood is too loud to run all the time while cooking. Kobe stainless steel range hoods, with their QuietMode™ feature, are quiet enough to operate continuously AND leave on for a while afterwards to remove residual cooktop heat. As their motto says: QuietMode™ is: "So Quiet, You Won't Believe It's On!" Kobe features multiple speed fan control on all models, so you can get the performance you want, when you need it. Beware of range manufacturer claims that you need a 1000+CFM (cubic feet per minute) hood for any stove - it's a marketing ploy to sell their "commercial" hood with the range. The key to this deception is that unscrupulous hood brands advertise the fan BLOWER rating, not the hood OUTPUT rating. What other manufacturers do not tell you is that the hood output is typically +/- 30 percent lower than the blower rating. Their 1000 CFM blower rating is closer to 700 CFM functional hood output once installed. Kobe laboratory tests their hoods to the most stringent HVI® standards to ensure they are rated for real-world CFM hood output. This involves installing the hood with two feet of vent pipe and an elbow to simulate true operating conditions - something most other manufacturers avoid doing. The industry standard for gas cooktops is 6 CFM of exhaust output per 1000btu of stovetop burner maximum. For instance, a huge six burner 15,000btu range equals 90,000btu total with 6 CFM x 90 equaling a recommended 540 CFM output rating. Local building code naturally has final say, but residential hoods are rarely required to run at higher rates of exhaust unless you are exhausting smoke. And the noise a poorly crafted commerical hood makes at 1000CFM (or even lower speeds) can be overpowering in a home.
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SIZING and PLACEMENT of a RESIDENTIAL KITCHEN VENT HOOD The majority of people purchase the same width hood as the range, but interior designers are increasingly pairing larger hoods with smaller ovens. The extra expanse of stainless steel lends a more "serious" commercial flare to any design. Plus, smoke and steam plume as they come off the cooktop, so installing a wider hood makes perfect functional sense, allowing lower fan speeds to be more effective. A good rule of thumb for any gas or electric range is bare minimum 50CFM per square foot of cooktop. Thus, a 3 foot wide by 2 foot deep range would require at least a 300CFM hood and all non-recirculating Kobe hoods are 600+CFM at top speed. Residential hoods are traditionally 19 to 22 inch depth (front to back) and placed +/- 30 inches off range top for best function. The only 24 inch depth Kobe is the CH100 designed for more commercial applications where full coverage is required (UL710). Please note that 24 inch depth hoods must be mounted 36 inches or more from the cooktop or the average person will bounce their forehead off the front every time they reach for a pan on the back burner. The end result of placing the hood farther from the range top is that you are forced to operate on a higher fan speed to get the same results. This is another reason why some range manufacturers specify a 1000CFM fan output for their product: their hoods are 24 inch depth and need to be installed farther from the cooktop. Otherwise, a 600CFM to 800CFM hood output would be more than ample to handle the job - and much, much quieter to operate. |
Dampers (back draft preventers) are generally not installed on Kobe hoods. Back draft preventers (when desired by client) are best installed at the vent cap where they can be easily cleaned and are more effective. The most common type is the "flapper" style used on dryer vents. It is considered an engineering weakness to install dampers above the fan where they are extremely inconvenient to replace and impossible to clean regularily. At best, dirty dampers restrict air flow ... at worst, corrosion and grease buildup eventually renders them inoperable. In practice, back draft preventers provide very little effectiveness - air is hard pressed to find its way through the vent cap/grate, down the pipe, around the fan, and out the filter screens. We do not sell vent pipe, caps, dampers, or related pipe fittings as they are commonly available at any local plumbing supply store.
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GENERAL NOTES ON VENTING EXHAUST HOODS All Kobe hoods include at least one fan motor - so they do not require any additional parts for installation. The client does provide their own vent pipe and terminus on roof or outer wall. Since building codes vary from one town to the next, we do not sell vent pipe or terminus parts - you can find these fittings at your local plumbing supply store. Unless local code requires otherwise, we normally install single wall galvanized Type B gas vent pipe, which is thinner than comparable wood stove vent pipe. While corrugated "flex" pipe may be cheaper and easier to bend, it tends to trap grease (harder to clean) and is not as reliable (easy to tear). All Kobe hoods utilize three sided adjustable duct covers (side facing wall is open), which allow you to install a 90 degree bend in the vent pipe and go straight out the wall the hood is mounted upon. Two Kobe models CH122 and CH179 are unique in that they feature a 3-1/4" by 10" vent knockout on the back. Note that rectangular venting is fine for short distances and often found in remodels, but round kitchen hood vent pipes are much easier to clean and generally have better aerodynamics. In homes where straight vertical (up through the roof) venting is not possible, it is best to install a series of 45 degree bends. When forced to install right angle bends, avoid placing the first 90 within two feet of fan, avoid using more than two 90s, and avoid horizontal runs greater than twenty five feet. To do otherwise, cuts down on the efficiency of any fan, from any kitchen hood manufacturer. Lowered efficiency (less cubic feet per minute CFM) is a function of aerodynamic drag in the pipe - backpressure from bends and horizontal runs force the fan work harder for the same CFM. And no, we do not have any estimate of the amount of CFM loss per bend or run, but we will add that information as soon as we can authenticate it. In the end, you make due with what you have to work with in the home ... any hood from any manufacturer is going to have the exact same aerodynamic limitations. |
Japanese engineering pride shines with twin squirrel cage fans for longevity: one squirrel cage on each side of shaft/axle maintains balance and prevents premature bearing failure. Cheap hoods have a single squirrel cage hanging off the end of the shaft and that stresses the bearings terribly. Other models feature vertically mounted twin turbine fans for centrifugal filtration - an advanced, low energy high efficiency approach. While some manufacturers have a single fan system for all of their hoods, Kobe engineers the fan system to match the needs of the hood body. Tight construction, quiet blowers, seamless stainless steel, and very functional, easy to clean grease filtration systems make the Kobe line unique. You won't see non-functional, cheap aluminum mesh filters or pathetic bladed fans on a Kobe. Kobe kitchen exhaust systems are very stylish too, with a wide selection of body styles to suit nearly any aesthetic design concern. We trust you will agree with us that Kobe stainless steel range hoods are of the finest quality, making them the most cost effective kitchen chimney hood on the market today. You can find a copy of the Kobe Range Hood TWO YEAR manufacturer warranty, return policy, service and shipping information at this page: Kobe Range Hood warranty. Kobe range hoods are typically always in stock and will normally ship within two to three business days unless otherwise notified (red letter announcement at shopping cart button). After your new hood is in transit, we alert you with tracking number via email so you can begin tracing.
Kobe stainless steel range hoods with QuietMode ™
We keep all Kobe hoods in stock for quick shipment (leave in 1-3 business days)
when hoods are out of stock, red lettered notice will appear above shopping cart button
Questions? Concerns? Price Matching? Email us at natural@colorado.net or call us at 800-563-9720
CONTRACTORS - DESIGNERS - ARCHITECTS are eligible for a professional discounted price
Email or fax us at 720-293-1705 with copy of your license, address, phone, and Kobe model for invoice
hoods are to be paid for by you, the professional, not the client, and we ship to you at your business address - no exceptions
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Installation manuals are provided in Adobe Acrobat Reader (.pdf) format
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Kobe specifies everything: noise level (low sone ratings), stainless steel composition/type (304 or 430 series) and metal thickness (18 or 20 gauge) for easy side-by-side comparison with more expensive name brands. Japanese engineering pride shines with tight construction, quiet blowers, seamless stainless steel and a very functional grease filtration system. Kobe kitchen exhaust systems are very stylish too, with a wide selection of body styles to suit nearly any aesthetic design concern. We trust you will agree with us that Kobe stainless steel range hoods are of the finest quality, making them the most cost effective kitchen chimney hood on the market today.
Kobe Range Hoods are designed and manufactured by Tosho & Company, Ltd., their Japanese parent company. Tosho & Company, Ltd. has been in the business of selling quality merchandise in Japan and globally since 1966 with such diverse products as machinery parts, luxury automobiles, cleaning supplies for the maintenance industry and, of course, stainless steel range hoods. Kobe has been importing into the United States and Canada for over ten years now and their goal has always been to design stainless steel range hoods that are not only functional, but stylish and economical. The result of their extensive research and development is a series of satin finish seamless stainless steel range hoods that are commercial quality, elegant, powerful and QUIET. Their products (CSA 221547) are certified to Class 3812-01 for Canada and Class 3821-81 for the U.S. This CSA standard meets the requirements of the ANSI/UL 507/705/710 UL507 - Standard for Electric Fans certification. Please note that while units meet the UL710 standard, Kobe markets (and we retail) only residential usage, not commercial oven hoods. Metric widths are rounded to inches for purpose of advertising clarity - consult diagrams for exact metric sizing.
We keep all Kobe hoods in stock for quick shipment (leave in 1-3 business days)
when hoods are out of stock, red lettered notice will appear above shopping cart button
Questions? Concerns? Price Matching? Email us at natural@colorado.net or call us at 800-563-9720
CONTRACTORS - DESIGNERS - ARCHITECTS are eligible for a professional discounted price
Email or fax us at 720-293-1705 with copy of your license, address, phone, and Kobe model for invoice
hoods are to be paid for by you, the professional, not the client, and we ship to you at your business address - no exceptions
click here for the main chapter with Kobe Range Hood models
Ceiling Mount Island Hoods - FREE shipping! Sorry, no APO/FPO, HI, AK, PR, or Canada
Left click on any picture for pricing and details on that particular model click here for Kobe hood installation and operation manuals Questions? Email natural@colorado.net or call 800-563-9720
Wall Mount Chimney Hoods - FREE shipping! Sorry, no APO/FPO, HI, AK, PR, or Canada
Left click on any picture for pricing and details on that particular model click here for Kobe hood installation and operation manuals Questions? Email natural@colorado.net or call 800-563-9720
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click here for the main chapter with Kobe Range Hood models
Warranty and Shipment of Kobe Range Hoods
You will find a copy of the Kobe Range Hood TWO YEAR manufacturer warranty, return policy, service and shipping information at this page: Kobe Range Hood warranty. As a manufacturer, they have always been exceptionally professional, keeping parts in stock and reacting quickly to customer needs. Kobe range hoods typically ship within two business days. If a model is out of stock, notice is posted in bold red text near shopping cart button for that unit. After your new hood is in transit, we automatically email tracking number with estimated delivery date and contact information for the trucking company so you can anticipate arrival. As with any shipment from any distributor, please be certain to carefully examine all of the merchandise (not just the outside of shipping box) before signing and accepting any insured delivery. If a unit is damaged and unacceptable, simply refuse shipment of that particular box and the freight carrier will foot the cost to return and replace. Signing the freight bill of lading is your personal confirmation that the shipment arrived without any physical damage. UPS (unlike a motor freight carrier) will allow us to file a hidden damage claim, if done so within a week. Damage in transit to a Kobe is rare (they pack well), but always inspect everything before signing for anything. We have always managed to resolve timely hidden damage claims in the client's favor, but the insurance process requires patience with inspections, repackaging, and paperwork. Inspect first, refusing shipment of damaged merchandise and the replacement process is much more efficient and speedy for you. Here's our full Terms of Service Agreement. We have always enjoyed working with Kobe and trust you will also find their customer service very helpful, should you ever need it.
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