We've got an under-cabinet range hood that vents to the outside. I'm thinking about replacing it with an over-the-range microwave instead. Has anyone ever installed one of these? Do they also vent to the outside? If not, is it still possible to install one with the vent that goes to the outside of the house?
Under-cabinet Range Hood to Over-Range Microwave
- Thread starter starnsey
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THey should come with both venting options, one for outside and one for through the microwave vent. I just isntalled one last month.
Mine vents outside.
Awesome, good to know. Thanks!
you dont want to vent inside if you dont have to. think about if something gets burned and the smoke alarm is going off. if you vent inside then the smoke is still there.
i went through this last year. replaced an old hood with a new over the range microwave. after i installed it we realized it just sat way too low. looked too crammed above our stove. and with a really tall pot there would possibly be a clearance issue. so i yanked it out and just put a new hood in.
i went through this last year. replaced an old hood with a new over the range microwave. after i installed it we realized it just sat way too low. looked too crammed above our stove. and with a really tall pot there would possibly be a clearance issue. so i yanked it out and just put a new hood in.
OP - I want to go the opposite way.
We currently have a GE over the range microwave that vents outside from the bottom and front top, but I find the fans to be super noisy, and CFM quite weak.
The frying pan has to be directly below the vent, or smoke just climbs to the ceiling and fills the kitchen with smoke and odour.
When we upgrade our kitchen, I want to wall mount the microwave and oven, and install a nice cook top and professional range hood.
We currently have a GE over the range microwave that vents outside from the bottom and front top, but I find the fans to be super noisy, and CFM quite weak.
The frying pan has to be directly below the vent, or smoke just climbs to the ceiling and fills the kitchen with smoke and odour.
When we upgrade our kitchen, I want to wall mount the microwave and oven, and install a nice cook top and professional range hood.
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Yeah, mine is currently set up to vent to the outside, I just wanted to make sure the microwave can vent to the same location. I don't want it going back inside.
And that's my main concern is clearance. It's only about 18" from countertops to bottom of cabinets, which'll be pretty much where the microwave bottom is. From my viewpoint, it looks like it'd be fine though. But I'm not sure.
Hmm, yeah, being slower at pulling out air might be a down side. Not 100% sure yet, but we need a new range hood anyway, and by spending a couple hundred (if any) more on a over-range microwave, we get the built in vent plus an extra cabinet location (where the microwave will be removed from).
The counter/cabinet savings of over the range is a definite plus.
Maybe check the different models to see if some offer higher CFM.
I too am remodeling our kitchen and we just met with the designer this week. One of the things we discussed was range hood vs microwave/hood. Apparently the micro/hood combos only vent at up to 180 cfm at best, but a range hood can go up to and beyond 400 cfm. If in fact the hood vents at 400 or better, then you need to bring air back in the house because of negative pressure or something like that.
My wife, a former chef, vetoed a micro/hood due to the low cfm rating.
My wife, a former chef, vetoed a micro/hood due to the low cfm rating.
We've had over-the-stove microwaves in our last two house but they were not vented to the outside. We've never had any issues with venting but I can understand the benefit of venting to the outside if you are occasionally dealing with smoke from frying. I'd definitely go range hood before venting a microwave because of the more powerful fan. We have a higher end microwave, but the fan is definitely weak as far as CFMs.
I have a fancy Kitchenaid over the range microwave that vents outside (it's a very short run too).
It's this one:
It works pretty well, 300 cfm as you can see, but it doesn't work perfectly and I would much rather have a dedicated range hood with enough power to suck up small animals.
The house still fills with smoke if I try to get a good sear on a steak, but it can handle most other things.
When I redo the kitchen, I'm getting rid of an OTR microwave because I hate it. I like to cook, so I really want something with more power.
It's this one:
Code:
http://www.kitchenaid.com/shop/-[KHHC2090SSS]-402244/KHHC2090SSS/It works pretty well, 300 cfm as you can see, but it doesn't work perfectly and I would much rather have a dedicated range hood with enough power to suck up small animals.
The house still fills with smoke if I try to get a good sear on a steak, but it can handle most other things.
When I redo the kitchen, I'm getting rid of an OTR microwave because I hate it. I like to cook, so I really want something with more power.
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if you have a large, open kitchen it looks different than if you have a smaller kitchen. it just overpowers (looks) everything. when i installed the one over our range, it also stuck out a few inches past the cabinets. it just looked like a monster over the range and didnt fit with the look of the kitchen. plus the lack of clearance. not so easy to reach to pots in the back of the stove, especially if theyre tall.
they can be a pita to install too. to make them fit in there juuust right. its a heavy item to juggle while trying to drill holes and hang it.
hood? piece of cake lol.
OTR microwaves are over rated and $. instead i bought a very nice $200 hood with nice quiet fans with variable speeds and it looks/works great. then we just got a great counter top microwave. the range looks more open and is easier to cook with. and my girl likes to cook. a lot. and some times with TALL pots. so she wanted easy access without any obstruction.
another thing about the OTR is accessibility. is everyone who will be using it tall enough? i was concerned about my mother in law and kids being able to reach into easily. plus for cleaning. and being able to easily see and access the buttons. there are no tall people in our family lol.
We just completely gutted and redid our kitchen last month, we went with the micro/hood combo and it vents outside. Got this one http://www.kenmore.com/kenmore-1.7-...p-02280333000P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2 300cfm and no problems so far.
Yeah, my in-laws have a OTR one but it is waaaay up high. Ours would be at a perfectly fine height. The top would be less than 6 feet from the floor and I don't have any kids.
And are you saying it looks worse in a small kitchen or large one?
The reason I like it is that we plan to re-face our cabinets with new doors and new paint and the current setup has a countertop microwave that someone rigged to a "bracket" of sorts and slid it into the cabinet area above the oven (we've got a countertop stovetop) and used a white shroud (microwave is stainless) to make it blend with the cabinets. If I took it out of there and put one above the stovetop instead, I could put a frosted or clear glass cabinet door in the space that opens vertically and make it a fancy/contemporary little cabinet area...if that makes any sense.
Edit: AKA this (shroud removed obviously):
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Yeah, my in-laws have a OTR one but it is waaaay up high. Ours would be at a perfectly fine height. The top would be less than 6 feet from the floor and I don't have any kids.
And are you saying it looks worse in a small kitchen or large one?
The reason I like it is that we plan to re-face our cabinets with new doors and new paint and the current setup has a countertop microwave that someone rigged to a "bracket" of sorts and slid it into the cabinet area above the oven (we've got a countertop stovetop) and used a white shroud (microwave is stainless) to make it blend with the cabinets. If I took it out of there and put one above the stovetop instead, I could put a frosted or clear glass cabinet door in the space that opens vertically and make it a fancy/contemporary little cabinet area...if that makes any sense.
Edit: AKA this (shroud removed obviously):
it looks bad in a small kitchen. like you have a refrigerator hanging up in the cabinets lol.
we dont have a small kitchen. but its not a big fancy one either. it just looked too overpowering. it looks much better now with just the SS hood. counter top microwave sits off to the side on a counter. we have plenty of counter space with the new house so we're ok with that. if counter space is limited, then it could be the way to go.
Here is ours, we are very happy with it
Now we have to get the rest finished and painted along with doing the floors in the florida room. The house is from the 20's and the floor was starting to sag in areas, luckily all the support beams were good but everything else had to be replaced.
Now we have to get the rest finished and painted along with doing the floors in the florida room. The house is from the 20's and the floor was starting to sag in areas, luckily all the support beams were good but everything else had to be replaced.
We went from a range hood to an over the range microwave to pick up counterspace. My father in law does contracting and oddly enough there is code height requrement from top of range to bottom of microwave. We put one in anyways but there is a 3-4" difference between my "distance" and a friends house that is newly built and was made specifically for a over the range microwave setup. We have no issues fitting pans or pots or whatever but just something else to think about.
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