The FOTILE Pixie Air UQS3001 is a 30-inch under-cabinet hood with push-button controls and two pull-out plates that double as grease trays. In a video review, Dare to Repair, who installed one in their own kitchen, reported no cooking smell in the house even a couple of hours after cooking, lower noise than other hoods they have had, and very easy cleaning. Their complaints were about the controls: it takes two presses to start, it forgets the last speed, the finish marks easily and the light has no dim level.
Full review
Odor control in a lived-in kitchen
In a video review, Dare to Repair said that since they installed the UQS3001 they have had no cooking smell in the house at all, even a couple of hours after cooking. They describe it as an 800 CFM hood and say that, without calling it silent, it is definitely less noisy than other range hoods.
Controls that take getting used to
The complaint that bothered Dare to Repair most is starting it. There is no single press that makes it run: the power button comes first, then a speed. Switch it off and on again and it does not recall the last speed, so the sequence starts over. Left in standby, it shuts itself off after a couple of minutes.
The light works the same way, power first and then the light button, and it is either on or off with no medium or low level. They called that a dislike but not a significant one.
Finish and cleaning
The stainless surface is, in their words, so sensitive that it marks with fingers very easily, and they end up wiping it every day.
Routine cleaning is the strong point. Under the hood there are only two plates. They pull out, a pocket in each collects the grease, and they can be washed under the faucet or put in the dishwasher before snapping back on two tabs.
Fit under deep cabinets
Dare to Repair's upper cabinet is 16 inches deep where most are 12. They chose the Pixie Air partly because its front profile sits cleanly under a cabinet of any depth, where a flat-topped under-cabinet hood would have left a visible gap. Their closing verdict was that they are happy with it overall.
Strengths
- +No cooking smell in the house since installation, even a couple of hours after cooking, per Dare to Repair
- +Less noisy than other range hoods, per Dare to Repair
- +Only two plates to pull out, which can be rinsed or put in the dishwasher, per Dare to Repair
- +Front shape fits under cabinets of any depth, including a 16-inch-deep one, per Dare to Repair
Watch-outs
- −Cannot be started with one press: power first, then a speed, per Dare to Repair
- −Does not remember the last fan setting after being switched off, per Dare to Repair
- −Surface marks with fingerprints so easily that it needs wiping daily, per Dare to Repair
- −Light is on or off only, with no lower level, per Dare to Repair
How it compares
The FOTILE Pixie Air UQS3001 and the Hauslane UC-PS18 are both 30-inch under-cabinet hoods; the FOTILE's listing price is about twice the Hauslane's and is the highest on this page. Its light is on or off only, the same limit Jay Rules noted on the Hauslane. The ZLINE BSKBN-36 and IKTCH IKP02-30 are wall-mount chimney hoods. FOTILE lists 800 maximum equivalent CFM, between the ZLINE's 400 CFM and the IKTCH's 900 CFM.
Rating sources
Our 4.0 score is the average of these published ratings. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
