So, here's my story on Futuro Futuro. I found a range hood that I really liked. Of course, not knowing the brand, I did my research. They had on their website manual for the range hood that the warranty is provided by the DISTRIBUTOR (NOT the manufacturer) - RED FLAG. I was also concerned because all of the pictures of the range hood I had wanted showed a range hood over 2 burners (not 4 burners) and I saw the range hood was very small in diameter - RED FLAG. I did see that they had a limited lifetime warranty on their blower motor which I thought was great! I emailed Futuro Futuro at their email address which is an "optonline.net" address (as opposed to a normal corporate address) - RED FLAG. I quickly received a response that the range hood they are selling in the US was designed for Italy and Italians normally have only 2 burners!!! When I asked if the range hood I was looking at was designed for 4 burners (as is normal in the US) I received no response). I also wrote to them about their limited lifetime warranty on the motor blower that was listed on their "ABOUT US" page on their website and also asked who the distributor was who would cover the warranty. Well, they responded that there was no limited lifetime warranty and that they CHANGED THEIR WEBSITE TO ERASE THAT LANGUAGE right then and there! I still have their old website photo as I'm guessing anyone who purchased their range hood prior to today would have that limited lifetime warranty. (By the way - as of now it's still listed on their Newegg shop that they provide a limited lifetime warranty on the motor although according to them that's not true). They wrote to me that their distributor is Air Forte. Air Forte appears to be a company owned and operated by ONE Russian guy who is from Brooklyn, NY. He appears to be the one who started this import business importing Italian range hoods. I'm going to bet he won't do much when it comes to warranty work. Manufacturers generally have the bucks to back up warranties - individual people generally do not. While I appreciate the quick responses from Futuro Futuro - there were enough red flags in this process that I will be avoiding them. They are not listed with the BBB and there's something fishy going on here....

So I finally ordered the SV218D-30 from Euro-Kitchen and yep you get what you paid for. 2 Boxes. At first I was quite impressed with the Euro-Kitchen special logo tape they used. But when I opened the boxes it was obviously used. The styrofoams were dirty with foot and hand prints. The glass is new. The unit looks used. I can tell from the scratches in the back. The fan is metal but clean and it smells funny when I plug it in and turned it on (By the way it's a regular 3 prongs plug for typical outlet) The smell is hard to describe it's not disgusting but more like heating metal. The smell is similar to the new light fixture I installed but it went away within days so hopefully this will too. Handprints were all over the stainless steel. They could have at least made it more presentable. But once again, $460 versus $2000? Overall it looks nice! Just like the picture. Touch sensitive buttons, halogen lightbulbs, the corners are smooth and welded, I love the glass part. Quality looks good. Timer function is useful. I'm still not sure what I will do yet. All night I've been contemplating if I should have bought the Cavaliere at Overstock.com for $60 extra instead without warranty. At least with Euro-Kitchen I deal directly with the manufacturer instead of having Overstock being the middle man. I just hope it will last a few years until I move. I¡¯m going to try Futuro the next time.

I had a VaH and was not a fan. To answer your question about cleaning, I always had to wipe, scrub, and scrape. Even if it was only a month or so between cleanings. The paint they use on the box likes to hold on to the grease. In fact, the paint started to bubble in a few areas after the first couple of trips to the dishwasher and I had to pry the paint bubbles off in order for the blower wheel to not scrape. Yes, it left exposed metal but I had no choice. Getting the box back around the hamster wheels was a challenge as well. Lots of fiddling involved. Have baffles now and love them. Clean them often because it's so easy. With regard to noise, current hood is about three times more powerful and has about the same noise level. Maybe even a bit lower now. That said, there are many here that swear their VaH are whisper quiet so your mileage may differ. Good luck.

With that information, I'm confused too. My guess is that the two sets of information are using different terminology. My guess from the wording is that the Prestige has a smaller aperture than the ModernAire, and that it is smaller than you want, but I can't be certain. I also don't know how the words liner and insert are being used in your last paragraph; often these are used interchangeably to mean a hood without a fancy exterior that is to be covered by a cabinet. Because I don't have either of these, I can only write generically. For clarity (and this may only apply to this message), let me call the size of the hood or insert aperture along the long dimension of a cooktop the length, the size transverse to this along the short dimension of a cooktop the width, and the vertical size between the aperture opening and the duct interface the height, just like one might describe a cardboard box sitting on the ground. Choosing a length of 42 and width of 27 inches is good. Smaller will in many cooking instances lead to more leakage of effluent around the hood. Height is helpful, but of secondary importance to capture and containment except that short heights probably lead to increased pressure losses at the duct transition, thereby slightly reducing the actual cfm from a given fan. Powerful is not the correct adjective for the question of 24 vs. 27 (or vs. 16). The larger the hood for the same fan/blower, the lower the velocity at the aperture, and hence one could use the term in a way that larger was less powerful. Larger would, however, be more effective. In any case, the rated cfm should increase with aperture area to have the same effectiveness in containing rising effluent at the higher velocities that some cooking can achieve. One doesn't want to put a liner high in the wood cabinet that is forming the exterior of the hood. All wood exposed to grease should be protected by metal, both for cleaning and safety. I would want the aperture of the insert/liner to have a lip at the bottom that overlapped the wood. But if this wasn't included, I would want to have strips fabricated at a local sheet metal shop that I could apply to the wood edge. The aperture of the insert (which should be the counterpart of the interior of a standard hood), must fit to the baffles in a way that precludes inducing effluent from "reflecting" out of the hood (plume spillage). The sides can taper, and the baffles can be installed over a range of tilt angles, all of which can make the baffle sizes vary from one hood to another. So, in order of action in the capture and containment process, start with a large enough aperture then ensure sufficient actual cfm at full power. This second step has to account for all the issues you have seen discussed on reading every GW hood thread. (This by itself should merit some GW reward for patience.) kas