Zephyr 36 inch Built In/Insert Range Hood Essentials Power Monsoon I 600CFM

I like this fan! It's nice and quiet, at least on the first setting. The second and third settings are a little loud, but more powerful. The lights are very bright and make it easy to see what you're doing. The fan has 3 settings (low, medium, and high) and the lights have 2 settings (low and high). Coming from our old range hood which had only 2 fan settings and one light setting, this is much nicer. Plus the silver is quite shiny! The buttons are very easy to see and use. I can't speak to the ease of installation because we had professionals come and install it.

Even the lowest setting is very loud. But it does suck out all the smoke/smells. Can’t imagine using it in the highest setting - would need those earmuffs they use on the airport tarmac.

We installed this as part of a full kitchen remodel, paired above a 36-inch Thermador induction cooktop, and the combination is exactly what a high-end kitchen should look like. Up close the Zephyr hood is immediately impressive - the stainless steel finish is tight and consistent, the fit within the cabinet is precise, and the overall quality reads on the same level as the Wolf and Sub-Zero equipment we compared it against. The difference is the price, which is dramatically more reasonable for what you're actually getting. There's a reason appliance showrooms that carry Wolf and Monogram often stock Zephyr alongside them. The 600 CFM output is right-sized for serious cooking over induction. Six speed levels give you real control depending on what's on the cooktop, and the auto delay-off feature means you're not babysitting the fan after you're done cooking. The Dual-Level LumiLight LED lighting is clean and bright - more than enough to actually see what you're doing on the cooktop surface. The stainless steel filters clean up easily and the wireless remote is a genuinely useful addition that means you don't have to reach up into the cabinet every time you want to adjust the airflow. For anyone doing a serious kitchen remodel and wanting hood performance and aesthetics that belong in the same room as premium appliances, this is the insert to get. It looks the part, performs at the level you need, and holds its own against options that cost significantly more.

Very nice hood with three speeds for fan and a couple of settings for light. They have a little grease trap which is very innovative, that slides out for simple cleaning. This moves enough air to get all the smoke out when searing that ribeye on a steel pan. The install was easy and the quality is obvious.

Very sleek and stylish. I like the curved front edge compared to the square styles I checked out. Light, LED, perfect. Vent sound, very good on four levels. Five, louder, but not so bad compared to other models I've heard. Very happy with this purchase. Installing, took some time as we did ourselves. If you're not handy, I'd have professionally installed.

Let me start by pointing out that this is a special size item. That's important to keep in mind, because you are paying more for that special size. It's a standard width and depth, the special size part is the height. Most hood inserts are much taller, because they use one big blower inside the housing. The bigger the fan, the more air it can move at any given sound level. The Monsoon Mini II uses 2 smaller, short fans. This is what allows the entire unit to be under 7" tall. And if your install requires that shorter height, for example if you have a vertical vent run to outside is only 42" over the range, then you don't have many options. This model is a good fit if you are replacing a rear vented over-the-range microwave. The smaller fans make more noise than you'd expect from a bigger, single fan unit. The manufacturer claims 290cfm @ 1.5 Sones on low, and 600cfm @ 6 Sones on high. (medium is 390 cfm, I couldn't find a Sones rating for it) I think sound measurements must have been taken from quite a distance. Even on low, blowing completely unrestricted with no vent attached, it's louder than the 2.5 Sones bathroom fan I just installed. And because there are two of them, you get a bit of a stereo effect. On high, you can't talk over it if you are in the kitchen. The LED lights are ok. A little yellow for my taste, and I would prefer they used a standard, replaceable LED bulb so I could change them out with a better color. My biggest gripe is just this one really stupid design mistake. There is a screw on the electrical junction box that is nearly impossible to reach. It's tucked right up against the edge of the unit, under the flange. There isn't enough width to get a stubby screwdriver in there, and not enough height to get most standard screwdrivers under the flange. Hopefully the pictures will explain it better. Every other manufacturer would have used a flat metal tongue on that side that slips into a groove, with a screw on the other, easily accessible side to secure it. It has ACT (jumper limited airflow for code compliance). You can limit it to 290cfm (low only) or 390cfm (low/medium). Important to note, the jumper doesn't slow all 3 speeds down, it just disables the high and medium speeds. If you limit the airflow to 290cfm, the unit only functions on Low. The manual says once the ACT jumper is activated, the setting is permanent. Mine is staying at full speed, so I didn't test that. All in all, it's an ok unit. But just ok. If not for the specialty size, it wouldn't be worth $800. And unless you absolutely have to have that short height, I suggest looking elsewhere.

A perfect fan for our install. We’d found a custom hood on sale at a salvage place and this fan was the only one that fit into it well. Nice quality great options. Love it.

The range hood works really well, but be aware: 1) It's designed to be hard wired so you will need to separately purchase a power cord if you want to plug it into an outlet. 2) The measurements in the manual are WRONG for the AK6500CS. Make the measurements yourself, or create a template yourself. The product should have come with a template, it would have been so much easier to install 3) I bought this because it had mechanical controls. But they don't feel good to use at all. There are notches for each setting, but also what feels like smaller notches in between, which just makes it sloppy and easy to miss the setting you want.