Changing kitchen hood and vent - what are they thinking? (microwave, stove)
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As I mentioned before, when you come upon one of those places that have a microwave above the stove and you don't want a kitchen where the exhaust is recirculated by the microwave oven and blown back into the kitchen, do the following (or have a person who knows how taking care of it for you): inspect the microwave oven to see if it has been installed so that it exhausts the air out of the kitchen, to the outdoors. This inspection would be "child's play" to the right person.
I've got a microwave above the stove, and it pushes air up a vent and outside. It actually worked pretty well until one of my kids broke the handle....and then the replacement handle...and then ANOTHER replacement handle.
Turns out all the replacement handles were built at about the same time as the microwave, and age has made them brittle. So now im working on replacing the microwave.
That being said....I like how it works, and it keeps things more compact.
I see this arrangement in a lot of the houses we've been looking at -- all old houses, but with remodelled kitchens. Agree with you about not liking it! We cook a lot, so I see these disadvantages:
1) Often they are only recirculating, not outside venting, even if on an exterior wall
2) Even if exterior venting, they aren't all that powerful at moving air
3) I too worry about high heat on the microwave long term
4) Quite often we using both the range and microwave while making a meal, and having both in same place is awkward -- not pleasant taking stuff in/out of the microwave if you've got several high burners on the stove, and would be crowded if one of us is working a sauce and searing something and the other was trying to get veggies out of 'wave at same time.
We take it as a given we'd change out for a real hood. I'm told that if against an exterior wall and it's just a basic wall, $500 should easily cover punching a hole and installing (plus the hood cost).
Some of those microwaves do have ducted venting (and some are just recirculating).
I am just finishing up a partial remodel to add a range hood in a kitchen which someone else remodeled and removed the range hood - it required putting in a roof vent as well. I also had to replace the bathroom fan, which just vented INTO THE ATTIC. Morons.
What's wrong with venting a bathroom fan into a large attic? Such a small amount of moisture into a large attic shouldn't do anything. There's probably more humidity coming in on a rainy day from the crack between the shingles and the gutters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rzzz
Hardly anyone cooks enough for a hood to be necessary. Most people just boil water on the stove and make frozen pizza in the oven.
I agree. It's very rare that we have more than two burners going. If the OP's chief complaint while looking at a house is a venting microwave, he/she must have it pretty good.
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