thebiglebowski
Lowland Gorilla
This is really interesting. I would have posted sooner, but my schedule doesn't permit me a lot of time (other than lurking and throwing out the occasional comment) and the workplace usually blocks me from this site. And I really wanted to get this one right, as I don't believe I've seen any comment on this subject...
Not allowed to smoke in the house, nor would I want to, but here in the mid-south, it can definately get cold and on Friday nights, our ritual (my wife and I) are martinis and a cigar. Most times it's acceptable to bundle up, drag out the space heaters and head to the screened in porch to drink and smoke. Up until the past week or so, it's been absolutely frigid in Nashville and, well, one can only take so much...
But, let me give you some back-history.
I come from up north, Chicago, and have been enjoying cigars off and on since early nineties. Since I gave up cigarettes a few years ago, my cigar consumption has become a regular thing (5 per week, on avg). Back home, a cigar-smoking-friend of a cigar-smoking-friend always bragged/joked how he would sneak cigars in the house while his wife was out and if he sat at the stove and puffed away under the Jenn-Air Hood vent, she was none the wiser! I didn't really believe him nor had I ever had the opportunity to go to his house and test it. So, no big deal.
Anyway. We built our house a little over three years ago and part of our builder's upgrades we went for were a Jenn-Air cooktop with a downdraft vent (not a hood, but one at the counter level). Let me tell you, even on the low setting, this thing sucks - pun intended. It does such a good job, that we can't use it! It diverts the flame from the burners, it draws so hard! Kind've annoying, actually... But, a month ago, it was really cold on Martini night and my wife - MY WIFE - recalled the Jenn-Air story and suggested we give it a try. So, we set up some counter stools at the stove, light a few candles, pour the martinis and fire up a BBF...
Unbelievably, it worked.
The vent has two settings - high and low. I started initially at high, but it's pretty loud. Went to low. You could, quite literally, see the smoke being sucked into the vent. Of course, I would make the physical effort to lean close and exhale into the vent as well. You couldn't smell the cigar beyond the very close proximity of the stove. 5 feet away, couldn't smell a thing. The next day - same thing, no smell! One more thing to note, the vent does run to the outside (ductwork taking exhaust outside the house) and there is a cleanable filter inside as well.
I'm telling you - if I didn't actually do it myself, I wouldn't have believed it. I've probably smoked 6 or 7 cigars inside since. And believe me - my wife does not allow smoking in the house and she says this is acceptable!
I'd love to know if any others have tried this and have had the same level of success that I have?
Cheers!
Not allowed to smoke in the house, nor would I want to, but here in the mid-south, it can definately get cold and on Friday nights, our ritual (my wife and I) are martinis and a cigar. Most times it's acceptable to bundle up, drag out the space heaters and head to the screened in porch to drink and smoke. Up until the past week or so, it's been absolutely frigid in Nashville and, well, one can only take so much...
But, let me give you some back-history.
I come from up north, Chicago, and have been enjoying cigars off and on since early nineties. Since I gave up cigarettes a few years ago, my cigar consumption has become a regular thing (5 per week, on avg). Back home, a cigar-smoking-friend of a cigar-smoking-friend always bragged/joked how he would sneak cigars in the house while his wife was out and if he sat at the stove and puffed away under the Jenn-Air Hood vent, she was none the wiser! I didn't really believe him nor had I ever had the opportunity to go to his house and test it. So, no big deal.
Anyway. We built our house a little over three years ago and part of our builder's upgrades we went for were a Jenn-Air cooktop with a downdraft vent (not a hood, but one at the counter level). Let me tell you, even on the low setting, this thing sucks - pun intended. It does such a good job, that we can't use it! It diverts the flame from the burners, it draws so hard! Kind've annoying, actually... But, a month ago, it was really cold on Martini night and my wife - MY WIFE - recalled the Jenn-Air story and suggested we give it a try. So, we set up some counter stools at the stove, light a few candles, pour the martinis and fire up a BBF...
Unbelievably, it worked.
The vent has two settings - high and low. I started initially at high, but it's pretty loud. Went to low. You could, quite literally, see the smoke being sucked into the vent. Of course, I would make the physical effort to lean close and exhale into the vent as well. You couldn't smell the cigar beyond the very close proximity of the stove. 5 feet away, couldn't smell a thing. The next day - same thing, no smell! One more thing to note, the vent does run to the outside (ductwork taking exhaust outside the house) and there is a cleanable filter inside as well.
I'm telling you - if I didn't actually do it myself, I wouldn't have believed it. I've probably smoked 6 or 7 cigars inside since. And believe me - my wife does not allow smoking in the house and she says this is acceptable!
I'd love to know if any others have tried this and have had the same level of success that I have?
Cheers!
