Not a cover at all: the Galaxy Pistachio Green “duct cover” is a recirculating kit, and who should buy it
Reviewed September 2026 · Captivating Cabinets
The listing on this page is called Galaxy Pistachio Green Duct Cover, SKU GPG RHBB DCT, at $263.25. The name suggests a painted sleeve that hides a pipe. It is not. Fabuwood’s RHBB DCT is the kit that converts one of the Broan-NuTone internal blowers to recirculating use, so the hood cleans the air and returns it to the room instead of sending it outside. If you came here looking for trim to enclose a duct above your hood, the last section tells you what to use instead. If you have no way to vent outside, this is the part you need, and the rest of the page explains how it works and what it cannot do.
What is in the box, and the route the air takes
The kit is five parts. Each one tells you something about how a recirculating hood works.
- A charcoal filter, which strips cooking odours from air the insert has already passed through its own grease filter.
- A 6-to-7-inch transition, which steps the insert’s outlet up to the kit’s duct size.
- A length of 7-inch round duct, which carries the air upward inside the hood enclosure.
- A 90° stack boot, which turns the air sideways at the top of that run.
- A soffit grille, which is where the cleaned air comes back into the kitchen.
Read in order, that is the path: out of the blower, up a short duct, through the charcoal, around a bend, and out through a grille. The practical consequence is that the grille has to sit somewhere — typically in a soffit, a chimney or an enclosure above the hood — and it has to be able to breathe. Decide with your installer where the grille goes before the cabinets or drywall around the hood are finalised; a grille blocked by a cabinet above is a hood that recirculates into a closed box.
Two things to confirm before ordering: which of the three inserts the kit is specified for with your shell, and the grille’s dimensions and finish, since those are not published in our listing. Its colour in the title is only the collection it sits in; a kit is a kit.
Who needs a ductless setup, and who is better off without one
Recirculating is the right answer when venting outside is genuinely impossible, and only then. The cases are familiar:
- A condo or apartment with no exterior wall near the range, or where the building will not allow a new penetration through a wall or roof.
- A range on an interior wall with no workable ceiling route to the outside — joists running the wrong way, a finished floor above, or a structural beam in the path.
- A rental where the landlord has said no to ductwork.
If none of those applies, vent outside. Fabuwood’s own sheet recommends that all its hoods be vented to the exterior, and a ducted hood does everything a recirculating one does and more. Before settling for this kit, it is worth a look at whether the range can move: our kitchen layouts guide is the place to test whether an outside wall is available.
What recirculation removes, and what it leaves in the room
A recirculating hood catches grease in the insert’s filter and odour in the charcoal. That is the whole of what it does. Heat, steam and moisture pass through both filters and come straight back into the kitchen. So do the combustion gases a gas burner produces — nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide — which charcoal does not remove.
That is why recirculating over a gas range is the weakest version of this compromise, and over induction or electric it is the most defensible one. If you are ducting-free and cooking on gas, lean on other ventilation: an openable window near the range, a bathroom-style exhaust fan elsewhere in the kitchen, and the habit of running the hood whenever a burner is on.
There is also a code question. Codes generally do not count a recirculating hood as the kitchen’s required exhaust, so in some jurisdictions a ductless kitchen needs an exhaust fan somewhere else to pass inspection. Ask your building department or contractor before planning around this kit.
Making a ductless hood as good as it can be
If recirculating is the only option, a few choices make a real difference to how well it works day to day.
- Cook on induction or electric if the appliance is still open. Without combustion gases to deal with, a recirculating hood is only handling grease, odour, heat and steam, and the charcoal handles the odour well.
- Go wide. A hood wider than the cooktop captures more of the plume before it spreads, and capture matters more when the air is not leaving the building. Every shell family here is listed at 36″, so a 30″ range can always take a hood six inches wider than itself.
- Hang it at the low end of the insert guide’s 24″ to 30″ range, within your range manufacturer’s clearance, so it catches more at the source.
- Run it longer. A recirculating hood left on for ten minutes after cooking clears more than one switched off with the burner.
- Keep the grease filter clean. Grease that gets past a clogged metal filter coats the charcoal and shortens its life.
In a condo, ask the building early. Some associations have rules on hood exhaust even for recirculating units, and some will allow a new wall penetration if it is proposed properly — which, if it is possible, is always the better outcome.
What a complete recirculating hood costs, and what it keeps costing
| Part | SKU | Displayed price |
|---|---|---|
| 36″ chimney shell | GPG RHE36 | $2,788.50 |
| 400 CFM insert | GPG RHBB 400 CFM | $903.50 |
| Recirculating kit | GPG RHBB DCT | $263.25 |
| Spare charcoal filter | GPG RHBB FLTR | $71.50 |
| Total | $4,026.75 |
The one-off saving against a ducted hood is the ductwork, the exterior cap and the labour to run them, which your contractor prices. The ongoing cost is the charcoal: unlike the insert’s own grease filter, it is replaced rather than washed. The replacement filter page works out what that adds up to over the life of the kitchen, and it is worth reading before deciding the saving is real.
If you actually wanted something to hide the duct
If you are venting outside and wanted a painted piece to cover the pipe between the hood and the ceiling, this listing will not do it. The ways to enclose a vertical duct in this finish are:
- Choose a shell with a stack. The chimney, designer and slim shells all have sectioned chimneys that trim to your ceiling, and the curved glass shell’s one-piece chimney trims by up to 12 inches. The stack is the duct enclosure.
- Put a short wall cabinet above a plain box. A bridge upper over the plain hood closes the gap to the ceiling and the duct passes behind or through it; your designer will size it from the wall cabinet list.
- Build a drywall chase and paint it. The cheapest option, and on a long run to a high ceiling sometimes the neatest, though the paint will not match the cabinet finish exactly.
Any of those, plus panels and filler from the loose parts and decorative pages, will enclose a duct. The kit on this page will not.
Common questions
- What is the RHBB DCT duct cover?
- Despite the listing name, it is a recirculating kit: a charcoal filter, a soffit grille, a 90° stack boot, a length of 7″ round duct and a 6-to-7″ transition. It converts a Broan-NuTone insert to return filtered air to the room. It is $263.25.
- Can a range hood work without venting outside?
- Yes, with a recirculating kit like this one. It removes grease and odours but not heat, moisture or the combustion gases a gas burner produces, so venting outside is always better when it is possible.
- Is a recirculating range hood allowed over a gas stove?
- It is often allowed but it is the weakest option there, because charcoal does not remove nitrogen dioxide or carbon monoxide. Codes generally do not count it as required kitchen exhaust, so check with your building department.
- Where does the air come out of a recirculating hood?
- Through the kit’s soffit grille, after passing through the grease filter and the charcoal. The grille needs a soffit, chimney or enclosure above the hood with space to breathe; plan its position with your installer.
- Do I need this if my hood vents outside?
- No. A ducted hood does not use this kit or its charcoal filter. To hide the duct above a ducted hood, use a shell with a chimney, a bridge wall cabinet or a drywall chase.
- Can I switch from recirculating to ducted later?
- Usually, if a route to the outside becomes available: the shell and insert stay, the kit comes out and ductwork, a cap and a damper go in. Ask your installer to leave the enclosure above the hood accessible so the change is not a demolition job.
- Does the recirculating kit need ongoing parts?
- Yes — the charcoal filter, GPG RHBB FLTR at $71.50, is replaced rather than washed. Order a spare with the kit.
Keep reading
The guides behind the numbers on this page.
- Kitchen Layouts Guide
Whether the range can move to an outside wall and avoid this compromise.
- Cabinet End Panels, Scribe Molding and Fillers Explained
The panels and filler used to box in a hood and its surroundings.
- Wall and Tall Kitchen Cabinets: Sizes and Buying Guide
Sizing a bridge cabinet over the hood if you wanted trim, not a kit.
- Important Kitchen Dimensions Before Buying Cabinets
Hood height and clearances, which apply ducted or not.
