Combo microwave or dedicated vent hood?

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The_Eric

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Mar 31, 2010
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Hey guys, more home reno questions.. As I slowly creep along, it's been decided that getting some ventilation up for our shiny new stove would be smart. My wife with her serious penchant for order and organization wants a combo unit as it gets the micro off the counter and frees up space. I like the idea too but am concerned about the efficacy of the exhaust fan aspect of the combo, in spite of it's claim to moving 400cfm.

What input do you guys have? Any recommendations for vent hoods? I'd like at least 400cfm, but more than that, I (we) would really like something that doesn't sound like a 747 taking off like our last one did (and it sucked, or more correctly, didn't suck to boot)
 
Our family has three houses where the microwave fan combo is installed. One is Maytag and two are Whirlpool. All are working fine with moving smoke, grease out of the kitchen. All are vented, to the outside vs the recirc vent possibility. The primary cooks in each household like them.
 
My first house had a Whirlpool over the range microwave and later a 240V GE Advantium microwave/speed oven which took a 30 amp breaker. They were both noisy in regards to exhausting. The GE had 3 speeds and worked good on high speed but was as annoying as using a leaf blower.

To note, the GE Advantium was a mixed bag. Using the speed cook was usually great, using it for the microwave only was a little slower than the Whirlpool but the GE heated food up more evenly. The 120V Advantiums aren't worth buying I read.
 
Yeah, that's something that I don't have is 240.. And also worth noting is that I only have the capability to use the 3 1/2" x 10" rectangular rear duct, which if we go with a combo unit, we'll have to relocate the exhaust outlet in the house to account for the increased height of the combo unit.

I'm currently siding with a dedicated vent hood and have been looking at Vesta brand units - many are rated at 800 plus cfm! Has anyone used them? No doubt that on high, they'll be loud..
 
Main thing I'd say is vent to the outside if at all possible. Otherwise, I get the space savings of the micro-hood instead of taking up a bunch of counter space. I grew up in a house with a powerful vent hood that was vented to the outside which has had the effect of making the apartments I've lived in with the typical unvented micro-hoods and cheap-o vent hoods that aren't vented anywhere ($40 Broans and the like) seem substantially less than optimal, unless your aim is to blow greasy, smoky air all over the cabinets... then they do a pretty good job. That said, it's really only an issue if you're searing steaks or something like that.
 
I tend to avoid dual function appliances. When one function stops working and the other still works, both get replaced.

I like Panasonic microwaves. They never seem to fail.
 
Microwave hoods are noisey, extremely loud, vented or not. The quietest vent hoods have remote exhaust fans,motor and fan mounted in attic far away from hood and vented outside through roof of wall. You don’t hear any sound at all. Duct goes from vent hood to fan and outside. Fantech and Continental Fan are two mfgs I use and have in my home. They have them for bath vent too. Their hoods are expensive. I build a custom hood from sheet metal, stainless or copper. Some times cover hood with sheet rock, wood or what ever customer request. I purchase just the fan assembly, much cheaper than vent hood kit, buy duct work from local HVAC supply house. There have been some customers chose to leave existing hood, remove fan in hood, and had me install remote fan into existing ductwork in attic. That is least expensive option to get quiet fan.
Have installed remote exhaust fans to ventilate in crawl spaces, attics, bathrooms, kitchens
 
I have a combo. The standalone fan growing up was very noisy so I'm used to the noise. Never heard of what Chevyc10 describes but it sounds pretty cool, especially if you're doing a reno and have the walls open.
 
The_Eric said:
Hey guys, more home reno questions.. As I slowly creep along, it's been decided that getting some ventilation up for our shiny new stove would be smart. My wife with her serious penchant for order and organization wants a combo unit as it gets the micro off the counter and frees up space. I like the idea too but am concerned about the efficacy of the exhaust fan aspect of the combo, in spite of it's claim to moving 400cfm.

What input do you guys have? Any recommendations for vent hoods? I'd like at least 400cfm, but more than that, I (we) would really like something that doesn't sound like a 747 taking off like our last one did (and it sucked, or more correctly, didn't suck to boot)
Click to expand...

They're not that great because the microwave is typically flush with the cabinets which makes the capture area too small. Especially when you're cooking on the front burners. Companies use a larger fan to try to mitigate this but it doesn't replace a properly sized ducted range hood. A range hood should ideally be 6" wider than the range and extend out enough to cover the stove. The deeper the hood the better as it'll contain the emissions until the fan sucks it out. Max fan speed depends on the size of the ducts and the total BTU's of the gas range. Induction/Electric ranges don't need a powerful fan because they don't generate the huge amount of waste heat like gas. Multi-speed fan is a must.

Finally: BUILDING CODE! If you go too large of a fan you'll need to install a make up air system. iirc 600 CFM is typically the max without make up air.

https://prolinerangehoods.com/blogs...q9DMj1VSjUepX5DOnoG6x-lD_qeIssIu25x3k3idU8S7B
 
Last edited:
Chevyc10 said:
Microwave hoods are noisey, extremely loud, vented or not. The quietest vent hoods have remote exhaust fans,motor and fan mounted in attic far away from hood and vented outside through roof of wall. You don’t hear any sound at all. Duct goes from vent hood to fan and outside. Fantech and Continental Fan are two mfgs I use and have in my home. They have them for bath vent too. Their hoods are expensive. I build a custom hood from sheet metal, stainless or copper. Some times cover hood with sheet rock, wood or what ever customer request. I purchase just the fan assembly, much cheaper than vent hood kit, buy duct work from local HVAC supply house. There have been some customers chose to leave existing hood, remove fan in hood, and had me install remote fan into existing ductwork in attic. That is least expensive option to get quiet fan.
Have installed remote exhaust fans to ventilate in crawl spaces, attics, bathrooms, kitchens
Click to expand...
That would be a really cool solution but unfortunately not an option here.
 
My old house had a dedicated hood that vented to the outside, my current townhouse has the combo microwave that.....vents straight into the cabinets above it. I hate it; the smell of oil and the grease just lofts about unless I open up multiple windows to air the place out. To add; using the stove makes the microwave handle too hot to touch for more than a quick open/close. Space saved =/= the buildup of grease and other downsides.
 
Yeah microwave fans don't do much. In my case, I still wanted an OTR for space reasons, and when I redid the kitchen I made sure to give extra room above the stove for the microwave by selecting a shorter top cabinet. More pot room, less grease and heat on the microwave. The bottom of my microwave is about 2" higher than the bottom of the surrounding cabinets as opposed to dropping below like most.
 
Vent hood hands down for good venting. Micro's just don't have fan size and air flow of dedicated vent hoods and the air path inside them are just grease traps. Small filters need constant cleaning also to maintain airflow.
Serviced them for decades prior to retiring.
 
we went ahead and put in a vented hood that vents to the outside. Works very well but is loud. The microwave? Its gone. I didnt replace it. Found I dont really need it.
 
Like said, I don't believe you can have the best of both worlds in one package. If exterior venting is your priority, you're going to have to go with a good vent hood.
 
E150GT said:
we went ahead and put in a vented hood that vents to the outside. Works very well but is loud. The microwave? Its gone. I didnt replace it. Found I dont really need it.
Click to expand...
What do you do for reheating? We tend to have leftovers and it seems the more efficient way to heat them up instead of cranking up the oven or range.
 
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