Vent hoods for a gas kitchen range. Suggestions?

[JayFatCity]

My wife and I bought a new construction house in 2017 and one of the questions I asked when it was being built was, “Is this going to have an external vent hood above the stove?” The builder, who was a complete crook BTW, said no, but he could do it. We would just have to sacrifice the microwave above your stove. That was a non-starter for the wife.

Now, five years on, our kitchen is painted with a yellow hue from all of the grease that has been circulated by the p**s-poor fan on the beloved microwave. We tried to buy a decent range hood that vents externally early during the pandemic, but it was nearly impossible to find a contractor with an open spot on their calendar. Now we’re extra eager to pull the trigger on this project.

I figured this would be a great location to ask for suggestions on range hoods since many of you most likely cook frequently and get smokey. We have been told by most contractors not to go above 400 cfm because in the nanny state of Massachusetts, anything above that requires the installation of a makeup air system. A cursory reading of range hood info makes it seem like anything in the ballpark of 400 is basically a pinwheel.

If you have any suggestions or would just like to share what you use, I’m all ears.

[kyle]

JayFatCity sorry I don’t have a suggestion for a fan, but as far as the air make up system, all you have to do is crack a window open when using your fan. Houses are built just to tight these days

[calldoctoday]

JayFatCity We are out on the road right now, so I cannot give you the best of answers. However, what you need will depend on what fuel type of range you have, how large it is, how serious of cooking you do, etc. Don’t skimp, but don’t over pay for ridiculousness either. Make sure you vent it through the roof. The microwave over the range will have to go, but you can do a built in up high somewhere near the range if that is what you want & that will probably be much better than any microwave over the range. Please offer my apologies to the Missus. Make sure you have someone that knows what they are doing when they set the vents. It is not rocket science & really pretty simple, but you have to do it right. Use commercial, cleanable vent filters. They are heavy duty & durable & easy to clean. kyle is right, you can crack a window & it will bring in fresh air. Depending on how tight your home is, you may not even need to do that. For what it is worth, if you have a home that is 2017 in your area, it is probably very tight. You may already have some sort of fresh/make up air system in your home already as new as your home is & the location. That is a whole nother subject, so don’t get me started. Those are just a few tips & things to get you started & make you dangerous. Find a good fab shop that can build them or a reasonably good brand & installer that knows what he or she is doing. It does not have to be ridiculously expensive, just right.

[kyle]

calldoctoday its funny how I had a new house built that is so energy efficient that now I have to pay money to run an air to air exchanger that pumps my warm air out of the house and pumps cold air in. makes a lot of sense

[PapaSop]

kyle said in Vent hoods for a gas kitchen range. Suggestions?:

calldoctoday its funny how I had a new house built that is so energy efficient that now I have to pay money to run an air to air exchanger that pumps my warm air out of the house and pumps cold air in. makes a lot of sense

It’s a catch 22 that sucks. Argh!

[kyle]

PapaSop 7 inches of snow yesterday, never got above zero up here today, you guys got the same weather down there?

[PapaSop]

kyle said in Vent hoods for a gas kitchen range. Suggestions?:

PapaSop 7 inches of snow yesterday, never got above zero up here today, you guys got the same weather down there?

Couple inches here. Just frigging cold. Lot of drifting, couple feet in places. Is it spring yet? Today’s high… -2.

[processhead]

JayFatCity
Our home and kitchen was setup much like yours but it was that way when we bought it, unfortunately.

We dealt with the cooking fumes that comes with poor ventilation until a few years ago.

I bought a real exhaust fan and mounted it on the ceiling over the gas range. Not ideal, but still better than nothing.

I had to do a lot of planning to route the duct through several walls and out an exterior wall. Then I framed and sheet rocked the soffit to cover up the duct where it ran in the corners of ceiling. It worked out well though and I have no regrets. It is a huge improvement.

Good thing it came with a remote since there is no way to reach the controls on the unit.

As kyle said, just crack a window or door for make-up air.

[calldoctoday]

kyle Don’t get me started! I have been harping about that & a whole lot of other stuff for a long time. You really do not want to get me started. It all goes back to SIMPLE, HIGH QUALITY.

[calldoctoday]

PapaSop It is kind of a grey area in some ways. Some say you should always have a vent that vents to the exterior for gas, others act like it is no big deal. In my opinion, all gas ranges should vent to the exterior via either that wall or preferably the roof. Down drafts that vent via the foundation or wall just do not seem to be that effective, but are better than nothing.

[JayFatCity]

kyle calldoctoday I know we can crack the window and you know we can crack the window … but the Commonwealth of Massachusetts? They say we need an additional system!

[calldoctoday]

JayFatCity We may not be able to help you there & the conversation may be for another time, another day.

[processhead]

Just put it in yourself and enjoy it. The commonwealth doesn’t need to know.

[processhead]

calldoctoday said in Vent hoods for a gas kitchen range. Suggestions?:

PapaSop It is kind of a grey area in some ways. Some say you should always have a vent that vents to the exterior for gas, others act like it is no big deal. In my opinion, all gas ranges should vent to the exterior via either that wall or preferably the roof. Down drafts that vent via the foundation or wall just do not seem to be that effective, but are better than nothing.

My thinking is if it doesn’t set of the carbon monoxide detector, then it’s not an issue.

[calldoctoday]

processhead My thoughts go just a little beyond that, but that is extremely important & part of why in my opinion, all of the things I noted are important. I am more about doing the right thing for the right reason & doing the job right than all the other political issues. You really do not want to get me started, please.

[johnsbrewhouse]

My home was built in 1998 in WA state, we have an air exchanger built into the intake plenum of furnace. It is ducted to the outside air and has a timer hooked to it. It was designed to give whole house air exchanges every so many hours wherever it was set at because the house was suppose to be tight. We disconnected the system because the previous owner had an extra large doggie door installed in the sliding door in the basement, thus no need to change the air, plus we leave the window open a crack in the bedroom most all year long. Our pellet stove and gas fireplace are both air source from outside air.

[YooperDog]

PapaSop kyle Over a foot of snow here with another 3-7 on the way.

[johnsbrewhouse]

YooperDog Want some rain, all I have is icebergs left. They had 3 feet of snow in the mountain passes in the last 36 hours here. Extreme avalanche danger until Saturday.

[YooperDog]

johnsbrewhouse no complaints around here, yet. The white stuff will typically stay around here until April maybe May. Though I don’t have to shovel or plow rain and live on high ground, but I don’t have a boat as backup transportation. Just spent two days plowing, got up this morning and have another 3" of covering. Good for the water tables, outdoor recreation and such, just gets old after 3 months. Trying to work in some time for sausage making and hard water fishing and this white stuff is stealing my time. Just me grousing.

[TomKat1962]

JayFatCity I have a proline and love it
I crack a window for make up air