I love my 30" Viking range. It has performed wonderfully, and it can put out a lot of heat. I have a low profile 650CFM Best by Broan ( $850) and I can't imagine saving $900 for a recirculating system. I honestly would go for the venting setup. I think you would never regret it.

If you have the option of getting outside venting for only $900 (plus the cost of the hood of course) then jump on it. Recirculating is only adequate if there's no possibiltiy of venting outside - like an existing condo where the board won't let you vent outside. In new construction, by all means have them put in a duct - and make sure they put in at least a 8" or 10" duct - 6" will limit your hood possibilities.

There's really no question you should go with external. Pick a hood now so you can specify the pipe size. The majority of that $900 is labor so cost of materials shouldn't be an issue, and being as it's new construction they can hopefully accommodate whatever you ask for.

Any suggestions on reasonably priced hoods?

mkiv808,
I'd never recommend recirculating over a Viking range.

The best hoods out there are made by Ventahood. They come in several different styles and are reasonably priced.

Hope this help.

Valley Appliance

Here is a link that might be useful: Valley Appliance

As everyone else have said, spend the $900. You'll regret it otherwise. Recirculating is only good if all you do is boil water and heat soup. Actually, it's not all that good for boiling water. :p

In fact, make sure the diameter of the duct is wide enough to accommodate a decent sized vent. The stock duct might be too limited if you want to upgrade the vent in the future. Doesn't hurt to ask them and it'll be much cheaper now than to refit it later.

Ok, I am getting the vent done. What cfm will I need? Both the Viking and Ventahood units I'm looking at are both 450cfm. Is that sufficient?

You should get a hood with 600 CFM. Check out the design of the hoods - many of us prefer hoods with baffles for ease of cleaning. Ventahood is a very different design - there are many people who like it, but it has it's detractors, those who say it is difficult to clean. Do a search on this board.

Some other brands to check out are Kobe and Modern-Aire.

Alright, I'm between these 2 so far:

http://www.universal-akb.com/30vikprofser2.html
http://www.universal-akb.com/prh9230.html

I like the Ventahood for its CFM and price, but I like the Viking because it matches the range and I think that little logo might add some perceived value to a home.

I have a VaH and love it. I know opinions will differ on ease of cleaning but in my experience, if you put off cleaning for too long, you'll have problems with either baffles or the magic lung.

Looking at the links you provided, I'd go with the VaH given the higher power. That's almost a 200cfm difference even if you don't account for the larger effective cfm claimed by VaH marketing. Also the Viking is more expensive at that.

Don't underestimate the VaH brand. I think Viking brand is a bit over saturated and many people are looking for more marquee names like VaH. Comments from people who have seen our kitchen indicate most of our circle of friends have heard of VaH and and actually think of them as a step above that standard single brand kitchen solutions like Viking. Frankly, those that haven't heard of them can be told about them if you ever sold your place.

I agree with Weissman that you should have 600 cfms with your Viking range. You may not need all those cfms all the time, but when you do, you'll be glad to have them. 450 cfms limits you.

I know it's already been said twice on this thread, but I'm going to say it a third time, cause it bears repeating. When you are having your duct installed, make sure it's at least 8" diameter, no smaller (some people have 10" ducts for the more powerful hoods). Get that duct size specified in writing from your contractor. The 8" or 10" duct will be much more efficient, and MUCH quieter, and give you more choices in hoods. The Viking hood you linked above requires a 7" duct; you don't want to go smaller, and preferably you should have the 8" duct.

I would also like to suggest the Independent brand hoods. Independent used to make the hoods for Wolf, until Wolf decided to make their own hoods a couple of years ago. The Independent hoods' fit and finish are up to Wolf's standards but they are not as expensive as Wolf. I am linking their site below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Independent Hoods

One more thing--on that Independent website I linked to, they also have a menu tab where they do a "Competitive Comparison" (a table in pdf form). Of course, they are biased! So take it with a grain of salt. But it is still an interesting chart they have set up, where they compare their hoods to Broan and Ventahood.

Here is a link that might be useful: Independent Competitive Comparison