I recently purchased and installed the ZLINE 696-36 Wall Range Hood. The first unit that arrived did have an issue in which one of the rear inside "hip" corners of the unit was loose and out of position. A phone call and several photos and ZLINE customer Service shipped a new unit, and shipping bill for the original unit which was picked up and returned.
The installation was straightforward (I do have a few comments below) and the unit looks and works well. The first time I was sauteing something, I showed my wife that on the lowest fan speed, I watched the smokey vapors just rise up into the hood and disappear! I have not really tested the limits, but I expect that it will exhaust everything, including a total disaster on the cook top.
The unit looks stunning. It is an impressive statement of clean form and function in our kitchen. Aside from working well, the two LED lights in the unit (which can be "aimed") are great, and they have a lower-level setting that can be used as a night-light of sorts. I was initially concerned that the control buttons, which are located inside the hood (much to my wife's delight) are hidden and hard to read from standing in front of the unit. However, it's not really hard to remember their position and what they actually do.
I am more than a handyman DIY'er with respect to experience. That said, attaching the top chimney piece was difficult. My ceiling was not totally flat around the exhaust duct (the builders were not worried because the area was covered originally with a soffit). The stainless steel chimney piece was dead-flat and square. I had to mess with the bracket that holds the top piece so that I could get the two holes in the bracket to line up with the two holes in the top piece of the unit chimney. This was compounded by the fact that I had to align two VERY small screws to go through the chimney into the bracket. I was on top of a ladder, leaning over the unit trying to get a couple of screws into position, with cabinets on either side limiting my view and reach. I might suggest a slot, instead of a hole for the screws, to make that step a lot easier.
I would also have liked to know (in the instructions) "When are you supposed to remove the protective film from the unit?", before installation or after. I waited until after the unit was up, which did not make a lot of sense after having done that.
To summarize, the hood is stunningly beautiful, works like a champ, and I am just delighted with it. It took me a bit longer to install than I planned, but i could not be happier with ZLINE and their product.
