Worth the wait

I did a careful investigation of the qualities and features I wanted in a range hood (quiet, reasonably powerful, vented, and with lights) and settled on the Allure III. However, local sources of the unit did not provide installation, nor did appliance stores. I ordered it (from Lowes) anyway- where there's a will there's a way. That was July. Then I had to find friends, family, contractors (carpenter, mason, electrician, duct fabricator) individually to deal with the various steps of installation, as well as special order a nice Broan enameled steel wall cap for the outside venting because the ones locally were cheesy. (I should point out that Lowes has a wonderful animated do-it-yourself piece on their website that gives explicit instructions on how to install such a unit, if you are so inclined.) I ran into a problem (a stud in the way of the air exit on the back of the hood) but was able to work around it because the unit allows about an inch either way for the venting. In the end, I didn't get to "fire it up" until February!

I love it- it's nice, quiet, and works as described. I can now fry onions without having it hang in the house for days. I use the lower fan speeds for boiling water to avoid humidifying the air or steaming up the windows, and the higher ones (2 and 3) for regular cooking and frying. The highest turbo speed may come in handy when I get my new stove with the 17K BTU burner.

The delay-off feature is especially nice so don't have worry about remembering to turn off the fan. The lowest setting is so quiet that is easy to do! I love the lights, they were badly needed for my stove work area. The heat-sensor works well (if you use too low of a fan setting for the BTU of your cooking, it automatically speeds up). It is easy to clean, the filters go in the dishwasher and an internal Teflon pan does too.

One thing about these types of hoods, they only work for items directly under the hood; even an inch away doesn't work. You have to buy the correct size for the area of your stove. It does not clear out odors and smoke from elsewhere in the kitchen even though it's vented to the outside. That's the way it's designed to optimize what it's supposed to do.