Thanks breezy! real life experience is what i was looking for!
As for "fragrant"... well, its super subjective. DH likes to eat the food but not have the house smell all the time. And when we have company, if DH has any input on the menu, its all about "less stinky" foods. Unbelieveable.

I have 4 burner Bluestar. I've cooked very, very high-heat and smokey stir-fries in a hand-hammered wok about once every couple of weeks for 5 years, plus at least one smokey searing of a piece of meat a week. I have a 24" deep 600 CFM VAH and I've never, not once, had smoke escape the hood. Yes, it's loud on full blast, and yes, cleaning it sucks, but it absolutely works. I thought at first I might want 27" but it would make cooking very awkward for me (at 6'1") and as it turns out I don't need it.

Ah, keitel, thanks for pointing out the height factor. Well, neither DH or I am that tall... but hood starts at 6 ft ht (max) from the floor, so its not THAT much of a clearance, at least for DH... appreciate you bringing up this point.

Effluent expands as it rises, so the 27-inch hood will have a better chance of capturing it. Larger hoods also allow some increase in their mounting height for taller cooks. (But keep in mind that to look over the range one has to bend, thereby reducing one's distance from the floor.) Position and type of hood lighting is also relevant, as a hot lamp just above one's head can be annoying.

Larger hoods require more air flow in proportion to their aperture area (or at least in proportion to the area where the baffles are, depending on interior design details. And the make-up air has to support this flow.

A roof fan or attic in-line fan will reduce local noise, and if space and resources permit, an in-line sound reducer/muffler/silencer will also help. One can converse in my kitchen next to my Wolf Pro Island hood with its 1500 cfm - rated roof fan at full power. I do have a Fantech silencer and have much of the ducting wrapped with vibration dampening sheets.

Ultimately it is a trade in cost and appearance versus effectiveness and noise that each person has to make accounting for any limiting architectural factors.

kas

Kas, what type of vibration damping sheets are
You using?

Wow, kaseki, thanks for all the info. I have to go back and read it, slowly :) Will ask my builder for these options and see which of them we can incorporate.

katy-lou:

I used Q-pads by Evercoat, Part No. 100116. These are lead-loaded vinyl [I think] and are about 5 lbs per square foot. One side is sticky with a peel-off sheet.

They should be available from any automotive parts store that caters to body shops. They can also be found on-line, but shipping cost may be high.

While capable of indefinite attachment to car doors when put on with a heat gun, they shouldn't be trusted to remain attached to a duct (likely still having a factory oil film) in all orientations without some help. I used very long nylon Ty-Wrap type straps to encircle the duct sections. For those expecting the assembly to endure a grease fire up the duct, stainless steel strapping also exists, and may be available from MSC. The q-pads can certainly stand any normal duct temperature.

Another product reported on in this forum was Dynamat. I have no experience with it.

kas