Customer Reviews

Broan QS336SS QS3 Series 36-Inch Range Hood, Stainless Steel

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

We have installed the hood 3 weeks ago by ourselves. The vent duct we installed is vertical, goes via kitchen cabinet, attic and roof (We got the hood at Lowes, but vent duct, roof cap, flash were from Homedepot). The instruction is clear, easily to follow. I and my wife are very happy. All odors after cooking now are gone.

Pros: This is a great product. Looks very sleek with 4 fan speeds: three first speed (up to 300cfm) was quiet, the Boost speed - 430cfm is a bit noisy, but that is ok. The halogen light range (3 levels) is great.

The cons are: The inner case is not sealed well so not 100% air escapes outside. We put a a duct tape in the top to prevent air get back to the kitchen. Some air still gets back via two holes in the left and right edges.

I first bought this range hood four years ago during a remodel. Its quiet and perfectly effective. The lighting range is excellent and it really draws steam and odors well. Now it's a new remodel and I'm buying this same range hood again.

Looked at the QS1, QS2, and QS3 models. Picked the QS3 for all the extras - 3 light levels, squirrel cage fan, and auto speed up in case of excess heat. Controls are all touch switches. Extremely quiet in low speed. Installed straight through the wall - tail piece is provided but needed extra 3" section of duct pipe ($3.00 at Menards) for 6" wood wall structure. Bought outside vent opening at Menards for $15.00. Went with halogen bulbs (daylight) for great glow in low light setting. Looked at LED bulbs - decided against because would have stuck out below recessed light opening. Easy directions for someone mechanically inclined. Have a buddy help hold it up when you mount it under cabinet. Amazon got it here on time as usual - Bravo!

I give the unit 5 stars for looks, but when it's turned on the racket sounds like buck-shot rattling around in a metal can. Position 1) is fairly quiet, 2) and 3) sounds like someone trying to wrinkle up plastic packing.

The installer told me that the noise is the two halves of the damper? /flapper banging around inside the 7 inch pipe. I suspect that the air flow at level 1) is only sufficient to move lightweight aluminum, a heaver material wouldn't open. The higher air flows causes the two halves to flutter / rattle in the pipe.

The range surface is 21 inches from the filter screens. I tried a smoke test with a punk stick on the right front burner.

Setting 1) the smoke stream was hardly disturbed. 2) smoke started to move towards the screens but seemed to be effected by the return air from the outer top surface slits. 3) the smoke was definitely whisping towards the filter screens. My speaking voice was the same volume as the fan. At level 4) the noise and rattling was louder than normal speech, but the smoke was being sucked out. Guess I'll have to find a decibel meter to check the actual noise level.

I did ask the salesman about a fan that had the motor in the attic, but the cost was excessive, so I bought the more economical Broan Allure.

My final thoughts;

If you don't like something change it, If you can't change it, change the way you think about it!

Would I buy this model had I known about the sound, probably not.

I like the very quiet fan, the convertability, and the placement and type of lamp it uses. It will automatically speed up the fan if the hood temperature rises - a nice touch.

We purchased this to replace the very basic unit that our builder installed. What a difference! This is a very well-engineered, well-built unit. The fan is extremely quiet at low speeds, and even at boost power is quieter than our old fan. Air movement is excellent, and the ability to control the light intensity is a big plus.

The unit could easily be installed by someone relatively handy, but since we had an electrician coming for another project, we elected to have him install it for us. It took him less than an hour, and he commented about the high quality of the unit.

One reminder-don't forget to order light bulbs for it when placing the order, so that you can have light as soon as it's installed.

As with just about any stainless appliances, this will take a bit more maintenance to keep fingerprints off, etc, but the appearance is definitely worth it.

Highly recommend this product!!

Add a set of halogen lights to this and you have everything necessary for a pleasurable cooking experience. Love the variable fan speed and light settings. With the 7" exhaust duct this will exhaust everything any stove can produce. Excellent product.