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I've had a Microwave Oven Range Hood that has 300cfm blowing straight out through the wall and upgraded to a 850cfm dual fan recently. Huge difference when cooking.
Wife hates it when I cook burgers or fish that at full blast the old 300cfm just doesn't do a good enough job reducing smoke and fumes.
Past few days, I've done steak, burgers, fish, frying you name it and no smell outside of the kitchen. The new 850cfm Range hood is quieter too. I can see that it's got better sound insulation.
As for the install, it wasn't easy but spent more time measuring and prepping the install than actual mounting.
Because the old range hood had a different vent exit location, I had to seal it and cut open a new opening on the wall. I used a mini reciprocating saw to do it. Inserted an exterior vent and foam it up for proper insulation.
The last toughest part was mounting, managed to lift 40lb+ hardware and maintain stability by myself and secure it. Kudos to weekly weight training very tough on your forearms.
Once it was mounted then start it up. Wow, LED lightening improves cooking lighting a lot.
The beauty of it was the performance it was night and day, had I opt for Installers to do this it can easily cost $400-$700 to do the job with additional hardware.
Future advice, I believe using top exhaust would be the proper way to go for ease of upgrade in the future but back exhaust directly has less and shorting exhaust piping which should be easier to clean and replace later on.
Last edited by vision33r; 05-22-2017 at 10:17 AM..
I've had a Microwave Oven Range Hood that has 300cfm blowing straight out through the wall and upgraded to a 850cfm dual fan recently. Huge difference when cooking.
Wife hates it when I cook burgers or fish that at full blast the old 300cfm just doesn't do a good enough job reducing smoke and fumes.
Past few days, I've done steak, burgers, fish, frying you name it and no smell outside of the kitchen. The new 850cfm Range hood is quieter too. I can see that it's got better sound insulation.
As for the install, it wasn't easy but spent more time measuring and prepping the install than actual mounting.
Because the old range hood had a different vent exit location, I had to seal it and cut open a new opening on the wall. I used a mini reciprocating saw to do it. Inserted an exterior vent and foam it up for proper insulation.
The last toughest part was mounting, managed to lift 40lb+ hardware and maintain stability by myself and secure it. Kudos to weekly weight training very tough on your forearms.
Once it was mounted then start it up. Wow, LED lightening improves cooking lighting a lot.
The beauty of it was the performance it was night and day, had I opt for Installers to do this it can easily cost $400-$700 to do the job with additional hardware.
Future advice, I believe using top exhaust would be the proper way to go for ease of upgrade in the future but back exhaust directly has less and shorting exhaust piping which should be easier to clean and replace later on.
Microwave oven hoods are simply not very good. I have never understood their popularity. I suspect they began to be used in small kitchens that had to maximize every sq foot.
I can't really tell from your description; is your hood a true hood or a backdraft unit? As it happens we have a backdraft that raises and lowers as needed, and it works well. Very noisy though. Your unit is really nice looking.
I don't know what you mean by true hood. It has 2 exhaust path, through the top or the back. It includes hardware for both methods. I chose the back so I had to install the backdraft connector and buy the proper ducting hardware to interconnect out to the back. For the top exhaust I would need the duct and dampers.
My wife said the performance is really good compared to the old microwave range hood that could only get the smell of fried eggs out.
With a hood with that many CFM, assuming you have any gas burning appliances, you are a required to provide fresh air intake. And even if you're all electric, it would help with the function of the hood.
Microwave oven hoods are simply not very good. I have never understood their popularity. I suspect they began to be used in small kitchens that had to maximize every sq foot.
I can't really tell from your description; is your hood a true hood or a backdraft unit? As it happens we have a backdraft that raises and lowers as needed, and it works well. Very noisy though. Your unit is really nice looking.
I agree. I have looked replacing my old hood with a MW, but the ventilation on them SUCKS.
Are you referring to a "downdraft" unit? Those are cool, much more expensive than a hood though, and they cannot be placed behide a range, as an " add on". (Well, people do it, but that's an improper installation.)
I just ordered a new hood myself, I took a chance and ordered one that is a brand new model, with no reviews. But I bought it from Lowes so I figure it would beceasy to return if I need to. It's a Broan, 400 CFM, with LED lights. Hoping I love it, but it has to be better than the 22year old Nutone that it is replacing.
I don't cook enough on the stovetop to worry much about the ventilation, and use the bbq outside for most meats so I'm happy with the microwave over the stove for convenience and space savings. My mom did cook a ton on her Wolf stove and had an industrial hood to go over it, that was a great set up but overkill for the way I live.
I have a nice big window in the kitchen that open all the way, odors are eliminates in a matter of seconds
i never use my rangehood an, dont need to, mother nature takes care of that for me
I have a nice big window in the kitchen that open all the way, odors are eliminates in a matter of seconds
i never use my rangehood an, dont need to, mother nature takes care of that for me
Aw come on nightcrawler---you know there are plenty of us city folk (me) that don't have windows anywhere near the kitchen! (Which I really dislike.)
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But I bought it from Lowes so I figure it would beceasy to return if I need to. It's a Broan, 400 CFM, with LED lights. Hoping I love it, but it has to be better than the 22year old Nutone that it is replacing. 
