thanks for the input.. I found the deal through kitchen foundry. I don't believe it is a floor model. from what I am told it is just new old stock. from the link weissman posted, people weren't complaining about the quality nor the performance. that was my main concern. people state the finish comes off the baffle boxes over time. after talking to Erik from kitchen foundry he stated that is mainly due to harsh cleaners people are using..... and worst case they can be replaced for 170 bucks. the other complaints were noise, but most seemed to state it was due to improper install or unbalanced fan wheels. My only real reservation now is the fluorescent lighting. I plan to look into an LED tube replacement. This post was edited by Zivman on Mon, Jan 20, 14 at 21:22

erikanh: that's the first picture of your hood/range I have seen, and it rocks! Totally different look than our kitchen but I love it. The way you've assembled the critical elements of cooking into a compact, incredibly efficient layout is fabulous. It makes me want to drop everything and start cooking right now. And, of course, the hood is gorgeous. Great job. rgjem: you are asking the right questions. Clearly if you are ducting straight out the wall, with only a very short run of duct, there is little advantage of an external blower, as the distance is too short to give you the noise reduction you'd want from an external blower. The alternative is to run duct all the way up to the attic and roof. That's what we did. That allowed us to use a Fantech inline blower and silencer, and the result is an unbelievably quiet hood. I am totally ecstatic with it, but others might not find it quite as ideal. The duct installation was a nightmare, involving many hours of HVAC consultation. The performance of the blower is reduced by the long duct run, though the layout of our range (which is in an entirely enclosed alcove, which greatly enhances hood performance) compensates totally: I can sear at max temp and have not a wisp of smoke escape. For me it was a no brainer but many others, who would prioritize cost, and maximum cfm performance, would choose otherwise. I am going to take the liberty of quoting a recent email from Jeff Herman at Modern Aire which I think is the clearest explanation of the pros and cons of internal vs external vs inline blowers (Jeff was aware I might do this). It was directed at another potential customer who had corresponded with me, thus the reference to my (Mark's) hood: Our hoods are supplied for use with our internal motors 600 Â 2400cfm, Abakka exterior blowers 1000 and 1400cfm, and Fan-Tech inline blowers so switching for the fan is not a problem. If you are planning on using the Fan-Tech inline I highly recommend using the silencer. It makes a very dramatic difference in regards to air and motor noise at higher speeds. The Abakka exterior blower is the quietest option we have going right now, but the performance is not as good as the inline IMO. If pure performance is the most important then our internal blowers are the best way to go, they are louder in comparison to MarkÂs set up, but are moving more air then the inline or exterior blowers at 1200CFM. Our internal blowers compensate for higher static pressure loads and do not slow down when connected to ducting making them a great choice for super long duct runs or duct runs with many turns or transitions" HTH

Chevy vs Mercedes for the same price!! From performance standpoint, it's no contest in my mind. The VAH will be louder by far, and clearly underperform vs the MA in ventilation. I am (based on my own, admittedly biased personal experience) unconvinced by the VAH claim that "900 = 1300 cfm". The VAH we have at the lake is rated 600 cfm and nothing about it makes me believe it is 50% more efficient. I can easily overwhelm it with smoke just searing off one burner. Noise is another factor. The VAH is loud enough, even at the lowest setting, to annoy me. It's enough that it is tough to make normal conversation standing at the range. You clearly have to raise your voice. Another big issue is the VAH grease collection system. If you haven't already done so, search this Forum for posts. In particular look for the owner who put his VAH "cage" into the DW and had all the paint start to peel off. As a result, I have decided to hand wash mine, which is a PITA. The MA uses the more widely favored baffle system, which can be thrown into the DW. The MA will also allow you much more customization. For the minimal custom upcharge you can specify exact width (ours which is sitting in the garage waiting to be installed in the main house is 64'' wide, a non-standard size), depth, height, ductwork location, electrical connection location, and of course, you get your choice of internal, inline (which we used), or external blower. Using inline or external blower also may allow use of a silencer if there is an attic the ductwork runs through to further quiet the system. Another MA advantage: infinitely variable motor speed control vs the clumsy VAH three speed/two switch system (not sure what the 54'' has, that's on our 42''). This allows fine tuning of speed including ability to run very slow (and quiet) when only a low level of exhausting is needed. Another: remote switch mounting. The MA allows installation of fan and light switch remotely. Ours will go on the wall to the left of the range. Much easier than craning your neck to look up into the hood to find the switches every time. Roof snow issue not one we worry about in Georgia! But in both cases you have duct exiting through roof so see no advantage to either. If having the fan exposed to the elements is a concern, and again if there is an attic run, could use inline blower instead and keep all the advantages of remote blower. I have dealt with MA a bunch in deciding to order from them. Their customer svc has been phenomenal and others have recently had similar experiences if you're searched other threads. No way a big company like VAH can compare. What else can I say? It's a no brainer to me and the proof's in the pudding: we own a VAH but chose a MA for the main kitchen reno.

marthavila: sounds like a good decision based on good advice. All the cfm junkies on GW are nodding their heads. Both changes will reduce noise: the duct upsizing reduces the airflow turbulence, and as you note, the larger blower may run at a lower speed with same cfm output as a smaller unit running harder. The latter is particularly true if you do have a continuously variable fan speed control so you can "fine tune" the blower to what you're cooking. I have a somewhat different take than trailrunner however, on the issue of airflow speed and grease handling. In general, the concept of a well-designed hood is to trap the grease before it enters the ductwork. Once it's in the ductwork, all is pretty well lost, especially if the duct run is at all long. Much of the grease will end up on the duct walls, never to be removed again. As a result, different hoods use different systems to trap grease. There is the Ventahood "squirrel cage" system, which uses a centrifugal fan that theoretically flings the grease particles into the fan housing, where it is trapped, while the air continues up into the ductwork. There is the mesh filter system, which is similar to what is used in most (barely useful) recirculating hoods and UC MW/hood units. The air flows through a metal mesh that is supposed to trap the grease particles. Then there are the baffle systems. These use a system of alternating U-shaped baffles that force the air to make two abrupt 180 degree turns before heading out the duct. At each turn, the grease particles that fail to negotiate the tight turn are trapped by the baffles (and shameless bias--the polished stainless steel baffles on our new MA hood are gorgeous! Almost too pretty to hide under a hood). High airflow speeds likely do not increase grease trapping efficiency: I could imagine that overly high airflow might even facilitate more grease making it past whatever filter system is being used. The reason that high cfm are desirable is not so much to whisk grease out the ductwork, which is unlikely, but to exhaust as much of the fumes/smoke/odor/grease from the temporary confinement in the body of the hood before it can spill back out of the hood into the kitchen. The combination of large capture area, a deep hood, and a high cfm blower should give maximum f/s/o/g evacuation. But totally concur with trailrunner's advice about starting the hood early and letting it run afterwards. Definitely will help.