Hi all - everyone here was extremely helpful on deciding getting the VAH. I was wondering if you guys have any input to the following: I purchased the model CWEAH6K30SS last October but I still haven't gotten a chance to use the unit. Warranty The initial company that I ordered the unit from only delivered the main body, but not the filters and the duct cover parts. I waited until this October and it was still not delivered from the initial company. In the meantime, I tried another company and hoped I could get it sooner so I ordered the duct cover from another company and it was delivered by the end of October. But there was some confusion on the filter and duct cover (following point) from both companies that I still do not have everything to put the rangehood in use. In this case, how is the warranty counted? Filters and Duct Cover Confusions The initial company - when I spoke to the staff on the phone, I was advised to order the main body plus the duct cover and that would include everything that I need. So when I ordered from the second company, I thought the filters would be included in the duct cover. But I only received the duct cover and the filters are not included. I went back and checked the correspondence with the second company and realized that the filters come with the main body. I reached out to the second company again, then another staff advised me that I need to purchase the filters separately. But, the filter is discontinued. Is the filter part of the main body or the duct cover? Is it purchased separately? The initial company that I ordered from has also increased the price by almost $300 just for the duct. I really appreciate any advise you could provide! Thank you very much!

Just finished a kitchen reno. Before, a 30" range and an over the range microwave hood affair. After a 36" range with a Vent-a-hood over it. My thoughts.....don't go with the OTR microwave/hood - had it - it was loud and ineffectual. Never used it and was unhappy at times about the smells that were left behind due to cooking when I did use it.... Now that I have the Vent-a-hood (and I not plugging this brand - you could go with others that are less 'in your face') - no/very few cooking smells in the house but lots outside :) My DH was outside barbequing the other night as I was making some garlic rice - no odor in the kitchen but he said it was very noticeable that someone was cooking with garlic outside. Having said all of that - I would definitely get one just not the OTR version. I do think it makes a difference even with your style of cooking.... Marion K.

There is a thread on here about the VaH ARS system. I think it is here (from notes -- not checked):: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2347276/vent-a-hood-ductless-ars-range-hood-update#n=65 Opening a single window will spread the grease around just as well or better than a recirculating hood that is crippled with no or slight filtering. Opening one window and using a large window fan in a transverse window (with the cooktop in between) might be better than a non-performing recirculating hood. Please reread my comment. Any hood used has to have adequate performance or it is a waste of money. " Shelly Miller, PhD, a mechanical engineering professor at University of Colorado Boulder, told us that if you don’t have an exhaust hood over the stove that vents directly outside, you’re better off opening a window or running an air purifier." I don't know the date of this telling, but it should be obvious that a grease filter will reduce the amount of grease recirculated, and a charcoal filter (also part of the ARS) will reduce odor. An air purifier that could filter at a 300 CFM rate would be quite the beast; at least the same scale as the ARS. If the filter takes seemingly forever due to its low flow rate, then filtering works mainly by letting the grease aerosol particles settle out on the surfaces and fabrics. Absolutely the recirculating design needs mesh or baffle filters (mesh may be better at low air speeds) or the VaH approach of centrifugal impingement using the blower -- and -- charcoal filters for odor removal. Serious grease particle removal might require stacks of different filter devices. These are available for commercial purposes. [all I have time for this morning]

Broan/NuTone/Best make a large range of ventilation equipments and generally you get what you pay for as far as I can tell. However, why a "high end" appliance dealer wouldn't include some other brands is unclear. At a minimum, I would expect a Wolf dealer to have examples of Wolf hoods. (My hood is a Wolf, made by Independent before Wolf moved production in-house.) Decide how high you want the hood for good site lines and reaching to the back burners, and missing one's head, while keeping in mind that the front burners will be emitting plumes that expand as they rise, so height corresponds to increases in needed overlap -- side to side and front to back. 10 degrees from vertical measured from the flame diameters when pans are on the burners can be used for plume expansion estimation. Sketch it out. Given a height and hence width and depth, calculate the square footage of the entry aperture of the hood. For wall hoods the light bar in the front may qualify as partial or whole entry aperture area. Multiply area by 90 CFM/sq. ft. Multiply by 1.5 if you don't know all the pressure losses. Find a blower that has that result as a rated value. Decide on in-hood, in attic (in line), or on roof. Farther away is generally quieter. If there is room for a silencer (Fantech) between blower and hood then the result will be quieter still. There is a lot of dissension about ease of hood cleaning by type. I can say that my Wolf hood baffle assemblies easily remove and can be cleaned in a dishwasher. (I have ten of these, so it takes two loads.) One still wants to reach up inside and wipe the surfaces. I use Simple Green, but likely there are myriad possible choices. I have never owned a VaH, and was initially repulsed (2007) by the Magic Lung® claims. Others like them. If you have guests sitting where they can see into the hood, a baffle system may be aesthetically superior. Duct should be sized so that full power actual flow rate achieves a velocity in the duct between 1000 and 2000 ft/min for best balance between grease condensation and grease impingement. You can go lower (larger duct) if you pre-heat the duct in cold weather. On CFM focus. Standard (if that actually ever applies) residential hoods are designed to fit into residential kitchens. Commercial hoods are designed to fit into commercial kitchens. At a minimum, the typical difference is two feet of ceiling height. When the commercial hood can be built so that there is tremendous volume below its baffles, there are conditions where the specific flow rate (CFM/sq. ft.) can be reduced below the value I suggested above. This is due to "baffle averaging" resulting from the reservoir volume vs. plume steady state and transient volumetric rates. At the other extreme, residential hoods with little volume below the baffles will allow plume escape (capture failure) if the plumes are not immediately entrained into the baffle flow. And, of course, plumes not initially captured are not contained and removed except as a matter of long term kitchen (and whole house) air replacement. So CFM focus varies. Another difference is that commercial hoods are typically operated at a fixed CFM and the MUA is balanced for this case, whereas residential hoods, along with bathroom fans, etc., operate at variable CFM, and this makes the MUA control more complex.