Replacing stove vent

squirt13 · Fri May 18, 2007 5:36 pm

I want to replace the vent over my stove with one that is self contained. The one I have now vents outside and take up a lot of room above it. I am aware that I will have to patch the outside wall but is it possible? I am not sure if there is some special regulations for MH that I am not aware of. I was planning to do this when I replace my upper cabinets. The ones that are currently in are all only 18 inches long. This does not give me much storage space and I want to replace at least the upper ones and then do the bottom ones.

JD · Fri May 18, 2007 8:52 pm

It is best to vent the range hood out of the home. When installed ventless, the filters are designed to remove odors but they will pump humidity into the home.

On the bridge cabinet, you will need to maintain 24" to 30" clearance between the cooking surface and the range hood.

JD

Frank · Fri May 18, 2007 10:28 pm

squirt13 wrote:I want to replace the vent over my stove with one that is self contained. The one I have now vents outside and take up a lot of room above it. I am aware that I will have to patch the outside wall but is it possible? I am not sure if there is some special regulations for MH that I am not aware of. I was planning to do this when I replace my upper cabinets. The ones that are currently in are all only 18 inches long. This does not give me much storage space and I want to replace at least the upper ones and then do the bottom ones.

The range hood exhaust is part of your air exchanges for you air quality that was calculated when your house was built. Eliminating this exhaust will greatly affect the quality of the air in you house along with creating condensation in the house.

squirt13 · Fri May 18, 2007 11:22 pm

I understand the need to have it vented to the outside but is there one that comes 30 inch wide like the vent-less ones. The one I currently have is 43 inches wide and is preventing me from putting in new cabinets.

Maureen · Sat May 19, 2007 12:59 am

Hi Squirt,

Believe me, ventless is not the way to go! Especially if you live in the Seattle area with lots of humidity.

Now, I have a safety question for you. You say you have a 43 inch vent above the stove. How large is your current stove or cooktop? Your stove or range vent should be larger than your cooking surface, not smaller. This is basically fire code in most areas. Even though the vent won't prevent a fire, it does act as a metal barrier between cabinets and the cook area. The vent not only takes the cooking oders and grease out of the air, it also protects your cabinets.

I just replaced mine about 3 or 4 years ago. I replaced it with a 36 inch vented model. Very happy with my choice!

Maureen

squirt13 · Sat May 19, 2007 12:06 pm

My stove is 30 inches wide so I need to have a 36 inch vent correct? Where can I get these?

Maureen · Sat May 19, 2007 11:52 pm

Hi Squirt,

I purchased mine at Lowes, but just about any home store will have a 36 inch vent hood. We purchased a Maytag that works like a charm.

Now, you may have to double check you vent first. Is it round or rectangular? I just learned recently, that rectangular vents are found in some of our homes.

Yep, we all learn something new everyday about our homes. That's the beauty of this forum!

Whether you have a rectangular duct or a round, these should be available at any home store.

Maureen

Harry · Sun May 20, 2007 5:55 am

Hi Squirt

I agree with Maureen, JD and Frank.

When we replaced our appliances we went with the combo microwave with built-in exhaust fan/hood vented to the outside thru the roof. It works really well.

When my wife cooks there is sometimes a lot of smoke. The venting to the outside world clears it out.

Gook luck.

Harry