I think the ventahoods are sleeker, and I like the fact that they are 18" tall below the chute....but worried about noise. On Viking, I can do an inline blower and silencer (thinking of 900 CFM), but the Viking is a bit stubbier at only 14" tall below the chute. What would you do vanity vs quiet-y.

This will be a 42 inch hood over a 36 inch induction cooktop. (but we do lots of Asian cooking, so need a strong hood. Both are 24" deep.

Here are the links:

http://www.ventahood.com/hoodmodels.jsp?id=42

http://www.vikingrange.com/consumer/products/product.jsp?id=prod180282#product-overview

Which one do you vote for? or if you know one that looks as nice as VAH, but can vent in-line, do let me know... Thanks!

I also find it noisy, especially due to an electrical buzz that cannot be mitigated. It is 4 years old so perhaps that has been addressed.

VAH is more complicated to clean.

The prior two responses seem to be talking about a Viking hoods with internal blowers, which isn't what's being asked.

I wonder if the new viking's are quieter than the old ones (which ironically were made be ventahood once upon a time)

rococogurl and tube, were/are yours internal blowers?

If anyone knows of a hood with the ventahood look but can put external blowers, please let me know!

Any other votes? Thanks!

Here is the schematic that shows 2 choices -- internal/external.

It is adquate. I would not call it a great performer. I find it noisy and have been told by them the very annoying electrical buzz is part of the deal. It looks good. I would not be happy if I had a more powerful range or did any frying. When I saute during the winter the performance is fair as it does not clear the kitchen as well as I'd prefer. I've got a flickering halogen bulb and I dread the change out because it requires prying off the baffle and I cannot see how to do that without scratching it to heck.

If I had a do-over I'd consider VAH, Miele, Zephyr, Faber or the Elica if I was going for drop-dead design quality.

I won't do truly external but am debating between internal (VAH) or inline (viking).

(Actually I might be getting ahead of myself here; he's got an insert. I don't know if an actual hood would also be comparable in price. But it might be an option worth checking out.)

My blower is definitely in the canopy -- no question. We discussed internal vs external with the contractor at the time of installation and he recommended internal.

I've never heard of placing a kitchen vent blower in an attic -- I assume this would be in the middle of the duct run or thereabouts? Based on the performance of my hood I wouldn't want it farther away than it is now so do hope that's been double checked with Viking and approved.

Someone else here may know.

Yes Viking, like others, approves of remote and inline. That's why they sell non-powered hoods. An inline setup can be the best of both worlds for those who can swing it. The blower noise is removed from the kitchen, and there's no big fan on the outside of the house.

So while your honest assessment of your hood may be helpful to someone considering an internally powered Viking, the electrical and mechanical noises you are describing are irrelevant to the set-up that the OP is considering.

But out of curiosity, what is the CFM rating of yours that you find inadequate?

Also, I have seen the posts on the modernaire vs ventahood, and actually was what gave me angst about buying the VAH....but I don't really have time to do a custom hood and the chimney pictured hood by modernaire has much sharper lines than I want...tks again

I think the inline blower and silencer is the Rolls Royce setup. It's powerful and ultra quiet. IMHO nothing else compares. I've been criticized for constantly touting Modern Aire, but I'll briefly restate that they can custom build your hood to any specs/design you want, at a price that is competitive with VAH, Viking, etc.

I have requested the dealer for a silencer too, but haven't heard back. She can't give me a discount on Viking, but is throwing in a free microwave in lieu of being able to discount it :), and I can have it delivered within two weeks (yes I have procrastinated on this decision)

Thanks!