Over the range microwave

[mikes02ls1]

The house was a sales office for my subdivision. It had a over the range microwave but when the house got inspected he notice there was no vent for the microwave. Cant go through the room due to it going into daughters room. Well roof would look aweful cause of how the cabinets are and the vaulted ceiling. Any ideas how to do this right. The home was built in 96 so its been this way for some time.

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[bczygan]

Vent into room.

 

[mikes02ls1]

Just let it vent into the kitchen. I couldnt see putting a vent through the wall into my daughters room.

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[Dirtydan69]

Either open the wall to install duct or slide it down from the top. How far are you from the outside wall on the left? You can either run it through the cabinets or over the cabinets and then box it in.

 

[mikes02ls1]

Though about cutting a hole in the dry wall to run a vent, and vent into wall. Then i thought that would be a no no, dont know mold or anything going into the walls.

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[cvairwerks]

Will depend on the microwave you buy. Some filter and vent into the room, others require a vent to the outside. The one that was installed in our current home, vents into the kitchen.

 

[Cougar67]

Many, many of them have a charcoal filter and recirculate the air in the room. This isn't ideal if you fry a lot but it has worked fine at my house for 20 plus years. Clean the filter a couple of times a year in the dishwasher. Sounds like a dumb inspector trying to justify his fee. It's a non issue.

 

[larry4406]

Well - how handy are you?

I detest the recirculation vent method. That's what mine had, but no more.

The rear red wall at the ceiling, where does that go? Second floor or attic above? Sounds like it backs to a bedroom. What is below - crawl space, slab, basement?

Use the wall as a chase and run 3x5x12 duct in the wall. You will either go up the wall or down below depending on what options you have.

Open the wall up at the center of the cabinet. Put in a 3.5x12 duct. If going upward, cap the bottom of the duct about at the bottom of the cabinet while continuing up the wall. If going downward, cap the duct about at the top of the cabinet opening. Once the duct exits the wall, say into attic or joist bay, you can transition to 6" round and then to your wall cap or roof cap. Seal all seams with mastic or proper foil tape.

Most microwaves can be set to recirculate or vent by removing a plate, sometimes flipping the fan motor around. Get your manual on-line via the model number. Then cut a rectangular opening thru the wall aligning with the exhaust port and to the duct. I line the perimeter of the opening with weatherstrip that has 2-sided tape. Install microwave and enjoy.

 

[mikes02ls1]

Looks like this model is set up for recirculation, so just hang the bracket and install. Thanks everyone for the help.

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[John in OH]

Maybe it's a local building code thing ... but I've lived several different places where the mounted microwave vents directly out the bottom via a charcoal filter. No outside vent whatsoever. Just bought a new GE microwave two years ago that vents into room.

 

[larry4406]

Maybe it's a local building code thing ... but I've lived several different places where the mounted microwave vents directly out the bottom via a charcoal filter. No outside vent whatsoever. Just bought a new GE microwave two years ago that vents into room.

External venting to my knowledge is not a Code requirement. The venting of these microwaves is not for the space being nuked; rather these are vents for when the unit is used over a range. That said, I think recirculation into the room is a waste of time and the charcoal filters are snake oil. To each his own. Kind of like not being required to have a fart fan in a bathroom if you have an operable window.

 

[Jess]

Most models of over the range microwaves are convertible to exhaust into the room, which in my opinion defeats the purpose of the venting or can be configured to vent up through the cabinets or out the back. The only issue with out the back and up in the wall is getting the sheet metal bend of a short enough radius to make it in the 4" wall. In my own home and rentals where there is attic above, we have gone up and had nice boxes made to cover the exposed duct in the cabinet and above the tops. Paint to match décor and soon you won't even see it anymore. Transition to round in the attic and through a roof vent. We use aluminum duct and slip a section of 6" insulated flexible duct over it in the attic to prevent condensation in the pipe when using the exhaust fan function. Seal all duct joints with foil tape.

 

[Falcon67]

Every over stove unit I've ever seen can vent into the room. In fact, they come that way out of the box and you have to convert them to external venting.

IMHO - fergetabout it. Get a smaller unit and put it somewhere else. Spend that money on a really good convection oven. We got rid of the monster over stove unit and I'll never have another. A small 700w unit has been plenty for just about everything that is useful in a microwave. Ours was vented to the attic, I replaced it with a small vent hood, much nicer and more room over the stove. Same deal - the vent hoods vent into the room and have conversion hardware for anything else.

 

[BillK]

Mike,
I cant tell a thing by your picture which is way too huge. Is there a microwave presently installed ? Does the microwave also function as an exhaust fan for the stove ? Ours is above the range and it just recirculates back into the kitchen like 99% of them do. Has worked fine that way for 30 years or so. I think we are on the second actual unit. We probably use it more than the range and oven so I love it there.

One thing I will say is you need to make sure that it is on a dedicated circuit. Most of the new over the stove units are right about at the limit for a 15 amp circuit. Ask me how I know

 

[mikes02ls1]

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[mikes02ls1]

Finally installed, little pain in the *** getting the template lined up with the stove in the way, and being short.

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