GE - 36" Telescopic Downdraft System - Black

We purchased this Venting system when we remodeled our kitchen because we previously had a ceiling vent above the cook top in our island. The ceiling vent was an eyesore in the middle of our kitchen. This vent is sleek and works great. Our contractors read reviews for us and found the draw back was with the template for cutting the counters. The template it is too large and leaves a gap on the ends. They were able to make it fit perfectly and it is so seamless now. The venting works great too, I didn't use our other one much because it was so loud and didn't work because it was so high. This one seems to work great because it is very close to the cooktop.

This is a replacement for an older model. The telescoping downdrafts are notorious for breaking down. It is such a poor design. This replacement model works great, and if this review was just for the functionality of this downdraft, I'd give it 5 stars. But the problem is this is a brand new model. The old models have been discontinued, so there really is no option. If you have a GE cooktop, you need a GE venting system when it is a downdraft location. GE has a "guarantee" that replacements will fit the existing location. That was apparently forgotten by GE when they did this revamp of the telescoping downdraft. They added some brackets on the side, because they changed how the product turns on and off as well as how it is triggered to rise up and retract. Those brackets make it wider by 2" than the prior model. They also made it deeper. IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE TIME I DID MY RESEARCH, THE SPECS ON THIS PRODUCT WERE INCORRECT. The entire downdraft is not 7" deep. I knew that had to be a mistake, but I did not expect the downdraft to be yet another 4" deeper than the old model. That means if it is difficult to plug in your older version of the downdraft, it will be virtually impossible to plug this one in because it basically blocks all access behind the item. At least with the old model, you could reach your hand underneath the bottom of the downdraft in order to reach behind it and plug it in. Now, because it is deeper, it is impossible. That is why I'm giving it 3 stars. The functionality is great. The specs are way off and the ease of replacement is awful. It will be fabulous for a new build, but to replace an existing location without a contractor modifying your cabinets and access to what I have, which is a center island cooktop with cabinets and drawers making the space very tight (built in 2005), the installation instruction are worthless. They now require that there be additional access to the side of the downdraft casing, not behind it. Great if you are designing something. Worthless as a replacement.

Works exactly how I hoped! Installation was easy and it looks great.