Three Asian range hood brands come up again and again when Boston homeowners ask us about kitchen ventilation: Fotile (方太), Robam (老板) and Sakura (樱花). This guide shows what each brand publishes about its own hoods, how to read those numbers, and what we need to know before any hood goes on your wall.

Full disclosure: we are an authorized Fotile dealer and installer in the Boston area (5 years, 500+ hoods installed), an authorized Sakura range hood dealer for the Boston area, and listed on ROBAM’s official dealer map. We supply and install all three brands, so read this as a dealer’s guide, not a neutral review. We have no pricing here on purpose: a hood is quoted after we see your kitchen.

Step 1 — Decide how the hood will vent

This choice narrows the field more than any brand name does.

• Ducted to the outdoors removes smoke, grease and moisture from the house. It needs a path through a wall or roof.
• Recirculating (ductless) filters the air and returns it to the kitchen. It is the fallback when no duct path exists. Fotile notes on its own page that there is no standard test method for recirculation performance, so treat recirculating numbers with caution (Fotile UQS3001).

Every model in the table below can be installed ducted, according to its manufacturer’s page.

Step 2 — Read the airflow number carefully

Airflow is where brands are hardest to compare, because they do not all publish the same kind of number.

• Fotile lists two. One is a tested airflow (“CFM (HVI)” or “AHAM verified”). The other is a higher “Max EQUIV. CFM”, which Fotile says reflects its filter-less Capture Shield design (JQG7501 page). Compare the tested figure with another brand’s tested figure, not the “equivalent” one.
• Sakura lists a “Max” CFM and a range per model. Its pages do not say which test standard the figures come from (M-3000 page).
• Robam runs two sites. Its international site lists models rated at 220–240 V, with airflow in cubic metres per hour (77H2S page). Its US site, which says it is “an official website owned and managed by ROBAM” (About us), lists 120 V models. For the R-Max3 30″ it gives “Max CFM (Unrestricted Airflow)” of 1200 and does not name a test standard (R-Max3 page).

Noise has the same problem. Fotile and Sakura give sones (Fotile also gives dB); Robam’s US page gives dB (38 dB minimum). Do not compare a sone figure with a dB figure.

What each manufacturer publishes (30-inch class, 120 V)

	Fotile JQG7501	Fotile JQG7515	Sakura R-727II	Sakura M-3000	Robam R-Max3 30″ (53H1S)
Tested airflow (CFM)	230 / 400 / 520 (HVI) [1]	244 / 403 / 564 / 669 (AHAM) [2]	Not stated; “380~580” [3]	Not stated; “250~1000” [4]	Not stated; page lists “Max CFM (Unrestricted Airflow)” 1200 [5]
Max “equivalent” CFM	850 [1]	1,250 [2]	n/a	n/a	Not listed on the page
Noise (sones)	1.2 / 4 / 6 [1]	1.1 / 3 / 5.5 / 7 [2]	2.5~6 [3]	2~5.5 [4]	Not stated in sones; page lists 38 dB (min) [5]
Duct size	6″ round, top vented [1]	6″ round, top vented [2]	6″ [3]	6″ [4]	Not stated on the page
Power supply	120 V / 60 Hz [1]	120 V / 60 Hz [2]	120 V / 60 Hz [3]	120 V / 60 Hz [4]	120 V / 60 Hz [5]
Motor	Dual AC [1]	Brushless DC [2]	Twin AC [3]	Single AC [4]	Brushless [5]
Controls	Touchscreen [1]	Touch, motion, voice and app [2]	Rocker switch, 2 speeds [3]	Touch screen, 3 speeds [4]	Touch panel and touchless gesture; 9 speeds [5]
Manufacturer warranty	5-year limited: 2-year labor, 5-year parts, lifetime motor [1]	Same structure [2]	Not stated on the product page	Not stated on the product page	Page states a 5-year limited warranty on the entire unit and a lifetime motor warranty (labor/parts split not stated) [5]
Certification listed	ETL, HVI, CEC [1]	ETL, FCC, AHAM, CEC [2]	CSA [3]	CSA [4]	Not stated on the page

Sources: [1] Fotile JQG7501 · [2] Fotile JQG7515 · [3] Sakura R-727II · [4] Sakura M-3000 · [5] Robam R-Max3. Checked on 2026-10-19 on each manufacturer’s own pages; models and specs change, so we confirm against the current page before ordering. Sakura’s North American pages describe the company as founded in Taiwan in 1978 (About Sakura).

Our own overview pages for each brand: Fotile range hoods, ROBAM range hoods and Sakura range hoods.

If a different Robam model matters to you, tell us the model and we will check what the manufacturer’s US page publishes for it.

Step 3 — Match the hood to the cooktop and the room

• Width. The usual match is a hood as wide as the cooktop or wider. Sakura publishes 30″ and 36″ sizes for several models, as does Robam’s R-Max3; Fotile’s range hood collection lists 24″, 30″, 36″ and 42″ models (Fotile range hoods).
• Mounting height. Each model has its own required distance from the cooktop. For example, Sakura lists 32″ above a gas stove and 30″ above an electric one for the R-727II (source). This is why we ask for the measurement below.
• Heavy cooking. If you wok-cook or sear often, more tested airflow and a hood that sits close to the cooking surface matter more than appearance. A larger hood can also raise make-up air questions in a tight modern house. We check this at the estimate rather than guess.
• Noise. Look at the sone figure at the speed you will actually use, not only the lowest speed.

Five things we ask before recommending or installing a hood

Send us the answers and we can usually narrow the choice quickly.

1. Will the hood vent to the outside, or recirculate?
2. Is this a single-family house?
3. Can the wall behind the hood be routed to the outdoors?
4. A photo of the upper cabinets above the cooktop.
5. The distance from the bottom of the upper cabinet to the cooktop.

Next step

Tell us which of the three brands you are leaning toward, or send us the kitchen photos and let us suggest what fits. We supply and install all three brands.

Book a free on-site estimate.