Range hoods - vent-a-hood vs miele, vs bestbybroan - opinions needed

Joined Apr 26, 2010
I'm looking to replace a downdraft vent with an updraft hood.  I have been looking around the web and have discussed the issue with several kitchen design retailers.  I am getting several different recommendations and thought I would ask your your opinion.   First some parameters:

We will be venting a 36 in drop in cooktop (probably a Bluestar, Wolf or DCS - replacing a terrible thermador)
We can use either an internal or external blower
We have 9 ft ceilings

Several people have recommended a 42 in vent-a-hood (we're looking at the EPIH18-242 model) because it is quite.

Does anyone have experience with the vent-a-hood or the Miele DA403 or a bestbybroad IS42?  Both of these are a bit smaller (40in) than the 42in ventahood.

Thank you for your help.

Joined Apr 26, 2010
If you're interested in the most quiet yet efficient range hood available, Vent-A-Hood is the right product for you. Our EPITH18-242 is rated at 6.0 sones at it's highest power setting. This is due to the fact that our hoods use centrifugal, filter-less technology. The noise you hear from a range hood is not produced by the motor, it's the noise that the air is making when it passes through a restrictive filter. No filter = less noise. On top of this, the Vent-A-Hood comes with a full five year warranty!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to call us at (800) 331-2492 and we'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Joined Dec 4, 2001
I have a 36" Vent-a-Hood for a 36" range (no need to go greater than the size of the range.) It has 3 speeds and moves 200, 400 or 600 CFM. "Quiet" is a relative term but it is efficient and certainly much quieter than the fan blade/filter type. It's well made too and easy to disassemble for cleaning.

A word of caution though, it has an 8" diameter outlet which is larger than most hood fans and may mean some work to upgrade your existing vent. Depending on how far it is from the fan to the building exterior discharge point you may be able to get away with reducing down to a 6" diameter vent at the fan. But it seems to me that would defeat the design purpose of the fan and possibly increase the noise.
Joined May 31, 2010
I have a 48" island Vent-a-Hood which I've had for 15 years.  I love it and it is easy to clean.

It only has one speed (at the time I didn't know it was possible to have more than one speed).

The stainless steel still looks as good as it did when it was installed.

I'm starting to remodel my kitchen but I'm definitely keeping the Vent-a-Hood!
Joined Dec 10, 2010
I got my range hood from the range hood store. They have a good selection and good prices. The important thing that I've found is that the hood is as powerful as it is large. I have a vent-a-hood hood that didn't really provide enough suction. Anyway, here is where I got my range hood.
Joined Oct 10, 2005

The main purpose of a hood is to remove grease laden vapours, and secondly to remove spent gas fumes from gas equipment.

When you look at hoods you must ask yourself where does the grease go?  Where does it accumulate?  How is the hood kept clean?  How much effort is required to clean accumulated grease from the hood, plenum, and duct work? 
Joined Oct 20, 2011
Seems that Vent-A-Hood is worth trying. Been with a lot of forums and most of its users are satisfied. As for the last query, most of range hoods are equipped with grease  filter inside a duct system and out of the house. 
Joined Mar 10, 2017
I want to make others aware of my recent experience with poor service from Vent-A-Hood.  I purchased a hood with shiny stainless steel bands for a high-end kitchen remodel, and then, several months later, found that I would have to purchase a hood extension to match for about $1000.  For some reason it took 2.5 weeks to get the bid from VAH regarding cost, which delayed the ordering process, but because I started this process far in advance the delay in the bid did not disrupt our project.  My issue is that, after I gave VAH the specs, they made the extension with the incorrect bands.  Unfortunately, the error was not detected until our contractor pointed it out after he had put the extension and the hood in place.  Installation was a 2 person job that took at least half a day. I contacted VAH about the error in the hood extension, and they stated that they would replace the bands without charge, but that I would have to have the extension taken down and brought to their warehouse.  I responded that the problem with this approach is that it would 1. cause me to incur significant additional labor costs, and 2. delay all the other subcontractors who are lined up to do their various jobs as our project comes to a close, possibly leading to further costs, and definitely leading to irritation and annoyance from everyone involved.  I asked VAH to either 1. come remove and then replace the hood and extension at their own cost, or 2. give me some degree of a rebate to compensate for their error.  I did not expect that they would agree to the first option, but hoped that they would agree to the second, as this seems to me to be a pretty reasonable compromise.  They stated that they were unwilling to do anything but what they originally proposed.  I am not surprised at their response, but am disappointed.  I would think that a well-respected company like VAH that caters to those willing to spend a lot of money on high end hoods would either get the initial order right, or would do their best to take responsibility for fixing their error without incurring additional cost and inconvenience to me.  Appears that this is not the case. Will take this experience into consideration if and when we every do another remodel, or if anyone every asks me for a recommendation about range hoods.  I told VAH that I would do my best to make my experience known, so here we are...

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