Best 600 CFM Range Hoods and Buyer’s Guide

If you’re looking for a 600 CFM range hood, you’re in the right place. We’ve got all the resources you need to decide on the perfect 600 CFM range hood for you. It’s a great fit for cooks who want to keep their kitchen air fresh and their kitchen area grease-free.

In this article, we’ll answer some common questions about 600 CFM hoods and then review six of our best 600 CFM range hoods from Proline.

What does 600 CFM mean?

600 CFM measures the rate of airflow of your kitchen exhaust fan or range hood. Every minute, your hood pulls 600 cubic feet of air outside your home.

What size duct do I need for a 600 CFM range hood?

For a 600 CFM range hood, a 6” or larger duct is wide enough to allow your greasy kitchen air to flow efficiently outside the home.

How can a range hood remove 600 CFM with a 6" duct?

The most important thing to consider when installing ductwork is the size. If your ductwork is too small, your range hood will be much less efficient and your duct may become greasy quickly.

With a smaller range hood duct, the air doesn’t have enough room to move outside your home. It will encounter more resistance from the walls of your ductwork, decreasing its efficiency.

Think of this analogy: have you ever put too many clothes inside your washer? It’s easy to forget to do laundry, but if you pack all your clothes tightly inside the washer, you won’t allow it to spin and clean your clothing thoroughly.

Similarly, if you use small ductwork, your hood will try to send too much air into the small duct, which will slow it down due to friction. As a result, it won’t be able to move the dirty air from your home, which will create backflow.

Is 600 CFM enough for a range hood?

600 CFM is enough for a range hood if you:

• Only cook once a few times a week
• Don’t cook greasy or fried foods frequently
• Don’t cook Asian, Indian, or other foods with strong odors frequently

600 CFM hoods are also ideal if you live in an apartment or a small kitchen. You can duct these hoods to the outside or install a recirculating kit or charcoal filters for ductless conversion.

If you cook more frequently or enjoy occasional Asian cuisine, consider at least a 900 CFM range hood.

When determining the CFM of your hood, it’s also important to consider the BTU output and/or of your range. You can learn more about how those calculations factor into your CFM needs here.

600 CFM Range Hood Makeup Air

In most cases, you won’t require makeup air for your 600 CFM range hood. Some building codes require makeup air, though. You can install it using what’s called a makeup air damper.

Just like ductwork, makeup air dampers come in different sizes. You’ll often find dampers for 6”, 8”, and 10” ductwork; these are the most common.

A 600 CFM range hood will most likely have 6” ductwork, so you’ll need a 6” make up air damper.

It’s not a bad idea to go with ductwork wider than 6”, but it’s not necessary. Just be sure to avoid a 4” duct because that won’t give the air enough room to move efficiently outside your home.

Check out this makeup air damper from Amazon if you need one for your hood.

Hopefully our buyer’s guide on 600 CFM vent hoods was helpful for you. Now that you know a wealth of information about 600 CFM hoods, take a look at some of Proline’s best below.

Our Best 600 CFM Range Hoods

Our 600 CFM hoods are incredibly versatile. We have many ducted options and also a wide selection of convertible hoods that can convert to ductless.

Most of our 600 CFM hoods will be either wall hoods or under cabinet hoods, not islands or outdoor hoods – a properly equipped island or outdoor hood requires more power.

You may also find some inserts at 600 CFM; we’ll add one of our popular inserts at the end for those who are looking for a vent to fit inside your custom hood.

PLJW 185

The PLJW 185 is one of our highest-selling under cabinet range hoods. It is a professional quality hood that pulls a significant amount of air given its 5-inch height. In fact, at 600 CFM and only 5 inches tall it is the most powerful low profile hood on the market today!

PLFW 544

The PLFW 544 is an innovative glass range hood that is a sleek addition to your kitchen. It’s our only model with the tapered glass design. Do you like the unique look?

PLFW 520

The PLFW 520 trails close behind our 185 model for the highest-selling hood here at Proline. Like the 544, it’s equipped with stainless steel mesh filters to capture grease and dirt from your kitchen air with ease.

Our 520 wall vent hood also comes in a sleek matte black finish, if you are aiming for a darker kitchen style.

PLFW Vector

The PLFW Vector features a sleek rounded design. Most of our hoods are square at the bottom, like the 185 and 520 above, but you can enjoy a unique style with our Vector range hood. The control panel is also hidden on the underside of the hood, in the front for easy accessibility.

Another unique feature of the Vector is that it features four bright LED lights at 30” and 36” wide. The other hoods on this list have just 2 lights at the same width.

Whether you need a 30 or 36-inch width, we have the Vector in both sizes with a beautiful black finish, which you can purchase here.

Hurricane Insert

If you’re looking for a stainless steel insert for your custom hood, our Hurricane insert is the perfect option. It is available with a 600 CFM single blower or a 1200 CFM dual blower if you need the extra power.

The Hurricane insert will fit inside virtually any custom hood, available in 28”, 34”, 40”, 46”, 52”, and 58” widths.

Were you able to find a hood that you liked? If not, we’d be happy to assist you. Call us at (877) 901 - 5530 and we can find a hood that you’ll love for years to come.

We hope you found our 600 CFM buyer’s guide useful. Thanks for reading and be sure to check out our other comprehensive CFM articles below.

Related Articles

• What is CFM?
• Is 400 CFM enough for my range hood?
• Is 300 CFM enough for my range hood?
• Best 900 CFM Range Hoods and Buyer’s Guide
• Best 1200 CFM Range Hoods and Buyer’s Guide