Product review (5 stars): A cool and functional pop-up vent for those who can't use a range hood
This was, again, part of a complete kitchen remodel and so far, we've been very happy with it. The unit is made by Dacor and is fairly pricy for what it is, but it was the only unit that fit exactly what we needed and it works!

We have a GE gas stove in an island in our new kitchen and didn't want to cut a big hole in our roof for an overhead vent which would have also dominated everything so I spent many hours searching for a downdraft solution and this was it.

Now the first thing you might say is that "Hey, don't these only work with cook tops and not conventional ranges?". Well, we heard plenty of that but I'm not one who says "I can't" but one who says "How can I?".

In general, most pop-up downdraft units do only work with a cook top but that is because the fan is located on the front of the unit making it impossible to place it close to the back of a range. This unit, however, can be used with a remote blower and has a relatively flat front so it can be placed close enough to the back of the range. Along with this I also bought Dacor's remote 1200cfm blower which works great. It really sucks and I mean that in a good way!

Also, unlike most other pop-up downdraft vents (including other Dacor models), this vent rises to a full 15" above the counter top. This is important for being able to pull in fumes/steam over pots and pans and to not interfere with the operation of the gas jets of the stove. This has been a problem for Jenn-Air units and has caused many people to dislike downdraft vents. I will say that it works better for pots/pans that are directly in front of the vent but will also work to and extent with pots/pans on the front burners too.

My favorite thing is watching it slowly rise up from the counter and then turn on the blower when it reaches full height. It makes it fun to show off.... haha.

With all of that said, this isn't an inexpensive solution to venting a stove on an island, but then again, neither is having a contractor cut a hole in the roof that may or may not get sealed properly. Also, I had the means to cut a strip of stainless steel to fill the gap between the back of the stove and the front of the vent (about 2 1/4" wide). We have a crawl space under the house that allowed me to run the ductwork there so if you don't have that available, this option would not work for you.

Dacor does sell a range that actually goes with this vent, but we preferred the features of the GE over the Dacor so it was good to know that we could make this work.

I was able to do a lot of the work myself which wasn't easy but possible so if anyone has questions on our installation, I would be happy to answer them.

I recommend this product.