Pour yourself a glass of wine and sip it, feet up, while you order the tool on line, which can be put to use at your leisure when it arrives. A plus is that it allows you to put off the job, although somehow I suspect manana doesn't have quite the charm for you as it does for me...

I second rosie's excellent advice. Why do today what you can put off till tomorrow? And if a glass of wine comes with the deal, all's the better!

; )

Hex wrenches are available at hardware stores (probably for less money, faster service, and no shipping charges). Or is this a specialty device made only by VAH?

Francy

Thank you all. This is what I need, scroll to the bottom.

bayareafrancy, Yes, I think it is a specialty device made for VAH

Here is a link that might be useful: VAH

My DH just said you don't have to get it from them - they are sold at HD, Lowes, other hardware stores, etc. Just make sure you measure and get the handle long enough to work in the space.

Yep, my DH used what he had on hand - so special purchase from VAH

Oh. My. Gosh. You guys. Hex wrenches are as basic a hardware item as a screwdriver! (I almost wasn't sure if you are pulling our legs by saying it's a "specialty device" - were you?). Go to ANY HD, Menards, or neighborhood hardware store. If you just buy the one 1/8" hex, it'll cost about 2 bucks. I have a set that has several different sizes, which I think cost about $12.

I take mine off with a regular old L shaped Allen wrench. Can't tell you what size it is, it's old, and I can't read it, but it is definitely standard, not metric. You can get a whole set of Allen wrenches for 5 bucks, almost anywhere. I don't think the T handle ones are as common. I don't know if the T handle ones come in a set, or not. You could buy the L shaped set, find out what size you need from that, then buy the T shaped wrench you need. The long T handle one looks like it would be easier to use, You could stick it between the fins of the blower, anything helps, cuz you are bent over the stove, and reaching up into the hood. Looks like you can buy a set at Sears for 35 dolllars, or order just the one size from Vent-a-hood. Now that I think about it, I think they sent one with the hood, 3 years ago, but lord knows where it is now.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sears allen wrenches

One more reason not to buy a VAH. Fire hazard and hard to clean.

I have a VAH Excalibur in the stainless steel finish. I have only taken its blower wheel off once for cleaning in the time I have owned it. And that was after I had several days in a row of deep frying, steaks sizzling on a cast iron pan, hamburgers also sizzling, etc. Other than that one time, I typically only remove the shield and housing for cleaning, about every 10-14 days, put it in the dishwasher, and it comes out sparkling. Then I spray Formula409 on the wheel, and turn it on, so that the Formula409 whips all around the wheel (learned about that trick on the Appliances Forum). That works very well in most cases. But the one time I took the wheel off, as the OP is contemplating, I used the 1/8" hex wrench that I had on hand. As mentioned in posts above, it is just about the most common basic hardware item there is. The wheel was very easy to take off using the hex wrench, but a little trickier to put back on. Still only took about 10 minutes at most. It's not something I have had to do more than once.

Applianceguru - while some people on this Forum have said they find the VAH hard to clean, many others have the opposite opinion, including me. I have found it a cinch, especially compared to my previous mesh filter hood, which seemed to get dirty instantly, which also instantly curtailed its efficiency. But good grief, a "fire hazard"? Where did you get that? Saying a hood is a fire hazard is very serious accusation. Please provide back-up to such a serious dramatic statement. If anything, the VAH design is safer. Its "magic lung" design keeps the liquefied grease in the sealed blower housing away from rangetop's flames. According to the VAH website: "In 70+ years of manufacturing this system, Vent-A-Hood® has never received a report of an attic or wall fire when the Magic Lung® blower has been in use."

Yeah, I second akchicagos question about that "fire hazard" assumption. I doubt that just throwing out such an accusation without filling us in on any background on the matter is very responsible.

My DH hasn't been too concerned about the cleaning of it. I like the 409 idea, though. Actually DH would like it better!

Imo, I don't mess with mesh.

I haven't even cleaned mine yet because it's only been installed a short time, but the salesman took apart and reassembled the installed display. Of course he's had alot of practice, but didn't seem like any big deal to me. I just really wanted to say thanks to akchicago for posting kitchen pictures because that's where I first saw the Excalibur and loved it. Knew right away that was the one for me, I love its kind of old fashioned look. It's definitely not a model that is prominently featured in their literature, but because of akchicago, I sought it out and couldn't be happier. Thanks, this forum and all the vast info we pick up here is priceless!!

I'm thinking about getting the Excalibur. Could the 2 of you who have that model please post a photo?

Many thanks!!

Francy

Francy- I'll have to seek out someone to help me :(
I've never posted pictures before and I'm not sure how to do it, but I'd be happy to show you. If you're looking for something just a little different, you make like the Excalibur.

The "easy peasy" (as my 6 year old says) way I was taught to post pictures is to first upload them to photobucket.com. Then, all you have to do is cut and paste the html tag for the picture right into your post. Voila! A picture.

:-)

Francy