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Review about: Proline Range Hoods
PLFI 75536
BUYER BEWARE!
Ever felt snickered? I have—by Proline. When shopping for a new exhaust hood I researched extensively multiple companies. After watching multiple Proline videos and reading dozens of reviews I was impressed with what I determined were innovations that were designed into the Proline hoods that were not incorporated in hoods by other manufacturers. Not only were Proline hoods effective, but they had features built in that would keep them effective and be easy to maintain for years.
Two features sold me on Proline: (1) the ability to remove and clean the squirrel cage blower and (2) removable grease collection trays adjacent to the baffles. It’s easy to design an exhaust hood, but to incorporate features that make cleaning all the grease that will inevitably collect with time and use would be a real advantage.
Long story short, the Proline hood that I ordered (Model PLFI 755.36) has neither of these. As much as all of their videos touted the importance of keeping the blower wheel clean to maintain efficiency, my model does not have this capability. The blower wheel cannot be removed! Having grease collection trays that can be removed and washed in the sink or dishwasher would be a terrific innovation which would ease the tedious, difficult task of removing accumulated grease. But this too is not available on my model!
The explanation by Proline is that the videos are model specific. What you see in one model does not mean that the features are available on all models. (Strange, since the Proline videos such as installation are generalized—to be referred to for all hoods).
I’ve learned this lesson the hard way. BUYER BEWARE. Do not assume that what is promoted in one video applies to all models of their hoods. There are NO signature features of all Proline Hoods. You really cannot know what you’re getting until you take physical delivery or after the hood is installed. And the most irritating omission is the absence of any detailed spec sheets on any model hood that would allow comparisons with other models. This is a real limitation. Are they lazy? Without detailed specs one can only assume what features each model has. Every other manufacturer always includes detailed specifications of each model they make. Not Proline.
Hope this cautionary tale will benefit other shoppers of exhaust hoods!