Seaglass,

We've been struggling with the same issues and have a similar run of duct, although we can use 45 degree bends instead of 90 degree. What size duct can you run or is that predetermined? Also can you do an in-line blower?

I like the look of the VAH, but the 36" models were louder than we wanted. I also really like the look of the baffles and found Independent and Precision to be evenly priced. I have not received a price quote from Modern-Aire.

As of yet, I have not been able to do a head-to-head comparison of a baffled hood with in line blower to the VAH. Some people say in line blowers are quieter, but I have yet to hear it.

We're planning on going with baffles and getting a 1200 CFM blower for our run. But I'm not feeling confident in this decision.

I have a 30" BlueStar range and I ended up choosing a 36" Prestige hood (600cfm). It seems plenty powerful to me, but then again I haven't been able to really test it yet with something extra smokey. We do have a 90 deg turn in our duct run, but otherwise it's a short one. I chose the Prestige hood with baffles because I tried disassembling the VAH on display at Expo and I broke a sweat trying to do it. Yeah, the box comes off easily with a clip but to get to the box you have unscrew two screws and at the hood height it was just too awkward for me. My arms felt like they were going to fall off staying in that really awkward position. The baffles come out in a cinch and are no trouble at all. The edges are pretty sharp so I'd be careful in handling them, but the baffles have little knobs that you can hold when removing them for cleaning. I also liked the Prestige hood better because of the rheostat controls, and I also preferred it esthetically over all the others I've seen.

Re: I tried disassembling the VAH on display at Expo and I broke a sweat trying to do it. Yeah, the box comes off easily with a clip but to get to the box you have unscrew two screws and at the hood height it was just too awkward for me.

The screws straw mentioned are large brass screws that are removed with your fingers-no tools required. It is not difficult after a time or two, as you learn where to stand to remove them.

As to noise levels, it is essentially impossible to determine the noise level of a hood, as each installation is different, and the length of ducting, the number and placement of bends, the way the ducting is secured, etc., etc., etc. each has an effect on the noise level. The bulk of the noise is generated by moving air, not the motors. About all you can really say for sure is that all else being equal, the more CFM, the more noise.

We have a 36" Bluestar range and went with the Independent 42" pro Style hood with baffles. it has a 1200 cfm blower. Very well made, fairly priced and definitely does a great job. We chose baffles over VAH because of cleaning issues with the VAH as well as some of the same concerns mentioned in this thread. the baffles are much easier to clean than the VAH and ease of use is important

30" bluestar here with a 36"w x 24" deep VAH liner. 600 CFM.

i chose the VAH because of the easy cleaning and the decreased noise due to no baffles. i work in restaurants and have spent way too much time dealing with baffles.

i have a stainless unit, so there's no paint to peel. i've only had this set-up for about a week or so, so i can't comment on the performance much yet. haven't done any real high-grease or smoke cooking.

berryberry, how do you like your independent?
how loud/quiet is it?
do you feel that 3 speeds are enough? Does it have the auto detect feature? how does that work?

olchik - we like the Independent. As to loudness / quietness, thats hard to say because we used to have a worthless jennair downdraft vent - which was quieter but also very ineffective. You can definitely hear the Independent but it is not overwhelming. As to 3 speeds, yes, we have found that to be plenty. Not sure what I would do with even more gradients of speed.

Our unit does not have the auto detect feature so I can't really comment there

Hope this helps

I have a 600 CFM VH liner, and it ended up being cheaper than other hoods I looked at. It's stainless, and stays looking very clean, no rusting. It is mounted higher than is usual, so taking it apart is a little tricky, since I have to stand on a chair to do it. But if it were at a standard height, I don't think it would be very hard. It's as loud as my prior good-for-nothing hood (fairly loud), but does a far, far better job.

Houscrzy, I was considering the VAH 600 CFM liner, but I wanted to mount it 32" to 34", and I think the specs just say 30". How high is yours, and does it work ok?

Thanks to all who replied. It's good to know that the VAH works well, because that is one of the options for me. I was hoping for baffles, but we'll see.

overlyoptimistic-I met with the GC yesterday regarding duct size and in-line blowers. He thinks he can fit a 10" duct, isn't sure about where he'd put an in -line blower,and won't know for sure until he opens up the walls and sees how much room he has (we have new a/c ducting going in as well). It's an unusual situation because the house is a 1950's cape with a few rooms added on over the years, and when we're all done the kitchen and laundry room will be right in the middle of the house, making the venting of the rangetop and dryer a real dilemma. We can go up through my daughter's bedroom closet (try selling that to a teenager), or up and out through the rear wall or snaked through a shed roof and vented upward. We've had an architect, an engineer, and 3 HVAC people look at it. All agree it "can be done", but I can't get anyone to agree on specifics.

I guess I'll toss this in the "wait and see" bucket for now. Boy, is that bucket overflowing these days!

The rust doesn't form on the stainless hood itself but on the blower box and wheels. I'm already on my 2nd blower box due to a complete breakdown of the paint on the original one after only about 3 runs in the DW.

I have a 30" BS with a 36" wide, 24" deep 600CFM VAH with an incredibly short duct run right out the wall. If I could do it all again, I'd go 27" deep, 900-1000CFM baffles. I'm not thrilled with the VAH and I don't think it's powerful enough. I say this because I found a very, very thick coating of grease on top of my adjacent cabs yesterday after only having the range / hood setup for about 7 months. Clearly, in spite of me using it EVERY SINGLE TIME I COOK it's not capturing enough.

It's also very loud i.e. I definitely can't have a conversation with my wife when she's right in the kitchen with me even while running it on low.

Just my 2 cents.

We've had experience similar to keitel's with our 600 cfm VAH in lake house kitchen. Have not had rust issue in part because based on his prior posts we don't use the DW to clean. I'm agnostic on the Magic Lung vs baffles issue so far.

I will say two things: 1) performance-wise, it's just barely adequate over a rather modest 30 '' Dacor PGM 5 burner drop-in cooktop (I believe about 52K BTU total). If I sear hard on the 15K burner, I definitely get some smoke spillover. 2) Noise-wise, as keitel says, it's noisy enough that on medium, and certainly on high, you can't converse with someone else in the kitchen.

Realistically, I would argue that at least 1000 cfm through an adequately sized hood would be my minimum for a "pro-style" 6 burner Wolf. At least as important as the cfm rating would be to make sure to use a liner at least 6'' wider than your range, mounted 30'' above surface.

Based on our VAH experience, we've spec'd a Modern Aire 60'' liner with Fantech 1200 cfm inline blower and Fantech silencer for the new Lacanche in the main house kitchen. It's in an alcove which should further enhance performance. We chose Modern Aire due to good reputation, solid construction, customizability (for a very minimal charge they will customize the hood for height, location of ductwork and electrical connections, etc), available continuously variable fan speed control with remote switch (no more fumbling under the hood for the switch like with the VAH!), and quick turnaround time.

While I know that airflow is a big contributor to noise, I am still hopeful that the inline Fantech plus the huge 10'' silencer will keep it as quiet as possible.

We have the Independent Connoisseur 42" range hood with a 1400 cfm external blower over our Wolf 36" AG range. We had to run the 10" duct up through a closet on the second floor and through the third floor attic to vent. I'm guessing it's about a 20-22 foot run and the ductwork has two 90-degree turns. Our venthood does a fantastic job of capturing all grease, smoke, and cooking odors. It is not what I would call "quiet" when running, especially on the highest speed, but it does move all smoke, odors, and grease out of the kitchen. I assume it would be quieter if it had a shorter ductwork run and no turns but this was the only way to configure ventilation in our house. I had a popup downdraft before and am amazed at the grease collected on the baffles as I cook, even when I'm not cooking something especially greasy. I wonder where all that grease was going in my old kitchen! I've also been impressed at the lack of lingering cooking smells in the new house. I find that the lowest of the three fan speeds is adequate for almost all of my cooking (and relatively quiet). I have only used the top speed to cook bacon, sear steaks, stir-fry, pan-fry, etc. The baffles are very easy to pop out and place in the dishwasher for cleanup and come out sparkling clean. I have no experience with VAH but the baffle system is sure easy to maintain!

Does anyone want to buy my VAH by the way? Still under warranty.

Thanks for the kind offer, but I think I'll pass. I'm pushing for baffles now. I can't see myself disassembling it all and then having to hand wash it! But thanks for giving it the road test for all of us. BTW-my salesman also told me "you just pop it in the dishwasher and it comes out like new!" Sorry you had to go through all of this.

These posts have scared me away from VAH!

Astridh--my VH is mounted at 36" because it is in a wood housing and my Bluestar specs said no "combustible" materials less than 36" above the range. I wish I had it a little lower, as I do get some leakage of smoke when I sear or stirfry. Some of that is from the height, and probably some is from the depth. I'd think about going deeper next time, as all the really high heat cooking I do is on the front burners, where the capture isn't as good.

Seaglass,

Good luck on the duct run. Sounds like quite a challenge. I have found the people at Prestige to be very helpful over email, if you have any questions.

Keitel, I wonder if your house is so tightly sealed that no "make up" air can get in to replace the air the VAH is trying to exhaust? Try opening a window a bit while operating the hood to see if it makes a difference.

As to the OP, each hood has a spec for maximum length of the duct. Each bend costs a certain number of feet. Look at the manufacturers specs and the FAQs for the exact numbers.

I have a VAH 54" over a Capital 48" range. Choice was based more on the style than it was on performance. It was the only 54" hood we found that was of the design my wife wanted.

Although performance was not the main criteria for our choice it certainly was a consideration. The hood has performed quite well. It captures all the smoke and grease as it should. Very rarely have I even needed to run it on high. Noise has not been an issue and my kitchen is wide open to the rest of the house. Yesterday was the first time I actually cleaned it. I must say I was a little concerned regarding this because of some of the posts I have read here. Well I no longer have these concerns.

It was very easy to disassemble clean and reassemble. I can't for the life of me see what all the fuss is about. The hood is mounted at the recommended 30" height and I am fairly average at about 5'8". Really the whole process was very simple and only took a matter of minutes. No standing on stools or odd twisted position was needed.

Bottom line is that I think both types of hoods will do what they are designed to do.

jab913,

What's great about this forum is that you can get a lot of different opinions to weigh before you purchase and install appliances. From your post it seems that VAH has worked well--can you tell me how many CFM's your hood is, and whether you have a remote blower, in-line, or in-hood? Also, did you get the 27" deep hood or go with the more standard 24"?

I'm still weighing all the options---seems as if the GC has ruled out an in-line blower (can't get to the attic where we could put it), so I'll have to go with an external blower or in-hood. I really think in-hood will probably be too loud at the CFM's I need, so I'm anxious to hear more about your set-up.

Thanks!

It is a zth model which is 24" depth. Has 3 in-hood blowers and is 900 cfm. As I recall VAH claims their 900 is equivalent to 1200 or something like that. Either way I had no choice since the model I have only went to 900 cfm. Range is a 48" 6 burner w/griddle. I can run 1,2 or 3 blowers. For most general cooking I can get away with just one. One blower only has a high setting and the other two have a low and high. Most of the noise I hear is moving air not the actual motors. I initially planned on having an external blower but for several logistical reasons that just didn't work for me. My venting is a straight up run of 10' out through the roof so there are no bends.

Noise wise, I have been in friends house with their 48" Thermador hood and it is no quieter than mine. The one thing I thought would be nice is a reostat or variable blower control which VAH does not have. Not sure now if that is such a big deal.

Does anybody have experience with the Viking pro chimney hood with baffles (model VCWH3648 Â 36" wide)? Seemed very easy to clean, but I'd love to hear about performance and noise levels.

jab913,

Thanks for the detailed information on your set-up. Glad you're enjoying your 48" range! The entire venting issue seems to be a mystery to all of us newbies. It was nice to let your wife choose the style ;-).

I have a 54" Tradewind liner with inline silencer and 3 speed remote 1400 cfm blower . All this is over our 36 " Caldera and the Miele deep fat fryer- builtin. The baffles trap all grease and the removal of the smells and moisture is complete. All this and very quiet too. Baffles are simple to remove...reach up and lift out...takes 5 sec and run in dw and they are like new. You can Google Tradewind liner. I wouldn't have anyrhing else for ease and price and performance. c