--- title: "Choosing and comparing — Range Hood Guides" description: "Wall-mount, under-cabinet, island or an insert in a custom hood, ducted or recirculating, and when an aging range hood deserves a repair and when it is time to…" url: "https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/" --- Which hood, and fix or replace # Choosing and comparing guides. Wall-mount, under-cabinet, island or an insert in a custom hood, ducted or recirculating, and when an aging range hood deserves a repair and when it is time to buy another. ## Choosing and comparing, guide by guide. Read this section when a kitchen is on the drawing board, or when a hood has lost its pull and somebody has quoted a figure for fixing it. The guides set the shapes of range hood side by side instead of the brand names: the wall-mount chimney, the under-cabinet unit, the island canopy hanging from the ceiling, a liner or power pack set into a built wood or plaster hood, and the downdraft vent that pops up behind the burners. [All 18 guides](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/) 5-minute read ### [Ducted or Recirculating Hood: What Leaves the House and What Stays](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/ducted-or-recirculating-hood/) Where the air goes after the grease filter, what charcoal can and cannot remove, what converting a hood involves and the places a duct must never end. 4-minute read ### [Wall, Island or Insert: Picking a Range Hood Shape That Catches the Plume](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/wall-island-or-insert/) Chimney, under-cabinet, island canopy, custom-hood liner and the downdraft vent compared on airflow per foot, mounting height and how each is reached for service. 4-minute read ### [Repair or Replace a Range Hood: The Shell, the Part and the Woodwork Around It](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/repair-or-replace-a-range-hood/) Why a sound body usually means repair, which parts are routine and which bodies are not worth saving, and why an insert in a custom hood leans hardest toward fixing. ## Which hood, and fix or replace. The other comparison that shapes every kitchen is where the air goes. A hood that sends it outdoors through a metal duct and one that filters it through charcoal and returns it to the room behave very differently on a busy night, and the difference follows the building more often than the buyer's preference. Our angle is the service call. Showrooms talk about finishes and quoted airflow; we talk about how a plume is caught over an island, what a remote blower means on the afternoon its bearing starts to growl, how a liner is reached through its filter opening, and which duct size and mounting points a future hood will need to line up with. Where a figure matters to the decision, such as the Home Ventilating Institute's airflow per foot of cooking surface or the mounting-height window in a manual, its source is printed beneath the section that relies on it. If the right answer changes from one model to the next, we name that limit plainly and send you to the installation manual for your own unit. [Not sure where to start?](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/#start-here) ### The short answer Ducted or Recirculating Hood: What Leaves the House and What Stays A ducted or recirculating range hood differs in where the air ends up. ### The short answer Wall, Island or Insert: Picking a Range Hood Shape That Catches the Plume Choosing a wall or island range hood comes down to capture. ### The short answer Repair or Replace a Range Hood: The Shell, the Part and the Woodwork Around It Whether to repair or replace a range hood depends less on the failed part than on the shell around it. ## When reading is not enough. If the checks in these guides did not settle it, the visit picks up from there, stop by stop. [What repairs cost](https://rangehooderepair.center/cost/) 1. 01 Airflow, speed by speed 2. 02 A figure before any work 3. 03 Common parts in the van 4. 04 Pulling steam before we go ## The problems these answer. Each has a page of its own, with the causes in the order worth checking. [All 17 problems](https://rangehooderepair.center/problems/) Problem ### Range Hood Runs but Barely Pulls Smoke 7 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Cold Draft or a Flapping Damper Through the Range Hood 6 causes, cheapest first Problem ### Range Hood Too Loud: Roar, Whine or Grinding 6 causes, cheapest first Stop cooking under it ### Range Hood Pulling Away From the Wall or Ceiling 6 causes, cheapest first For the heart of your home. ## Questions about choosing and comparing. ### Which hood shape is simplest to keep running? An under-cabinet hood, because its filters, lights and usually its blower are reached from below without moving anything. Island canopies and inserts with remote blowers take longer to service. ### Is a more powerful hood always better? Only up to what the cooking needs and the duct can carry. A blower too big for a narrow or very long duct is noisy and pulls poorly, and a strong ducted hood can also call for make-up air. ### Do these guides favor one maker over another? No. They weigh designs across every make we service, and a brand appears only when its own manual publishes something useful, such as a mounting height or a filter interval. ### When does a new hood make more sense than a repair? Usually when the body is rusted, bent or fire-damaged, or when a discontinued board has no substitute. A sound shell with a worn motor or switch is normally worth repairing. ## The other sections. Split by what you are trying to find out rather than by which part of the appliance it concerns. [All guides](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/) What the hood is telling you ### [Common problems](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/common-problems/) - [Why the hood stopped pulling smoke: filters, the damper and the air around it](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/why-the-hood-stopped-pulling-smoke/) - [Why a range hood gets loud: buzzing filters, a chattering flap and worn bearings](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/why-a-range-hood-gets-loud/) - [Why the hood fan runs on its own: heat sensors, delay-off and a keypad in the sun](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/why-the-hood-fan-runs-on-its-own/) Checks you can make from the floor ### [Troubleshooting](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/troubleshooting/) - [Ten minutes of range hood checks from the breaker to a paper-towel draw test](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/range-hood-checks-before-booking/) - [Reading the hood indicator lights: filter timers, heat protection and blinking keys](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/reading-the-hood-indicator-lights/) - [Find the range hood model label behind the filters, inside the canopy or below the counter](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/find-the-range-hood-model-label/) Habits that keep it pulling for years ### [Maintenance and prevention](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/maintenance-and-prevention/) - [Cleaning Mesh and Baffle Filters Without Bending or Dulling Them](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/cleaning-mesh-and-baffle-filters/) - [When to Change Charcoal Filters in a Recirculating Hood](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/when-to-change-charcoal-filters/) - [A Yearly Range Hood Check: Mounting, Fan Speeds, Steam Test and the Outside Cap](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/a-yearly-range-hood-check/) Keeping people, the kitchen and the air safe ### [Grease, fire and air](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/safety-and-food/) - [A Grease Fire Under the Range Hood: Lid On, Burner Off, Never Water](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/a-grease-fire-under-the-hood/) - [A Range Hood Pulling Away From the Wall or Ceiling: Clear the Space Below](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/a-hood-pulling-away-from-the-wall/) - [Cooking Fumes and Indoor Air: What a Vent Hood Actually Removes](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/cooking-fumes-and-indoor-air/) Size, duct, damper and make-up air ### [Installation and setup](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/installation-and-setup/) - [Sizing a Range Hood: Width, Mounting Height and CFM for Wall and Island](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/sizing-a-hood-and-its-airflow/) - [Range Hood Duct Runs and the Backdraft Damper: Size, Elbows and the Cap Outside](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/duct-runs-and-the-backdraft-damper/) - [Make-Up Air for a Strong Range Hood: The 400 CFM Line and What It Protects](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/make-up-air-for-a-strong-hood/) Not sure which section? ### Start from your question The four questions most visits start with, each with the guide that answers it. 18 guides Where to start Where to start --- **[Read on the site: Choosing and comparing — Range Hood Guides](https://rangehooderepair.center/guides/choosing-and-comparing/)** **[Book a visit with RangeHoodeRepair.center](https://rangehooderepair.center/schedule/)**