First question: I assume you are using a metal hood liner inside your decorative wood hood? That's a necessity--you have to have some sort of baffling system to trap grease and to handle the high temperatures generated. When you say "the only blower that will fit in the wood hood" it sounds like you're trying to install a fan unit directly into the wooden unit, which is definitely not kosher!

Assuming you are indeed using a hood liner, then there should be many options that will fit. The best IMHO is a custom liner that can be exactly manufactured to your hood surround dimensions. As always I'll vouch for Modern Aire, who did our custom liner. Fabulous product.

That would allow you to use any appropriate blower, but if you can install a remote blower it is absolutely the way to go. The difference in noise level is huge. They allow you to go as high as you want with cfm ratings, though I agree that your induction may not need quite as high a rating versus a big gas range with a grill, for example.

If you do follow up with Modern Aire, contact them directly and they will give you great advice on proper cfm rating etc. Ask for Jeff Herman, he is spectacular.

Useful links:

Modern-Aire

Hoods and noise; the real scoop on VAH

Thanks so much for your response. I checked into it and found out that the wood hood comes with a liner. The wood part is arched in the front and the liner provided by the cabinet company has the same arch shape. The liner has a certain opening size that is the limiting factor. I think the Broan power pack with the remote blower will fit in the liner's opening. An appliance person also suggested that we could buy a different liner/ blower insert and have it cut to the arch shape. I will also look into Modern Aire. Thanks again!

I'm confident thatModern Aire can configure the shape of the hood to your needs. They hand-build each unit to order. When I called to check on the status of my liner, the rep ran back into the shop and told me what machine it was on at the moment.

Still unclear why there is any issue of fitting a "power pack" into your hood liner opening. If this is truly a remote blower, then there should be nothing inside the hood liner itself. For example, my MA hood liner has the baffles, and if you remove them, you can see straight up the ductwork. All of the blower apparatus is mounted remotely in the attic.

Thus my confusion over why you'd have to use a Broan "power pack." You should be able to use any remote blower with any hood liner. I'd definitely get someone who knows something about hoods (likely NOT your appliance sales person) to go through your requirements. Again, Jeff at MA is a great resource.