Kitchen exhaust fan

[Leighton Jantz]

Hi guys, today I had a GE exhaust fan over the range. It had recirculating fan with carbon filter in place (dirty). But it also vented to exterior, no louvers to block the exhaust to interior. Other than the gummed up dirty filter this should be a non-issue, correct?

Leighton

[Marc]

If the range is electric, yeah. I write up combinations of gas powered ranges under recirculating hoods when the house has a tight building envelope.

Marc

[kurt]

What's your concern?

Most folks don't care. Asian folks usually; all my Asian customers want a high functioning exhaust. I'd probably tailor my comments to the clients expectations, which is always a good idea regardless of the concern.

[Jim Katen]

Hi guys, today I had a GE exhaust fan over the range. It had recirculating fan with carbon filter in place (dirty). But it also vented to exterior, no louvers to block the exhaust to interior. Other than the gummed up dirty filter this should be a non-issue, correct?

Leighton

I wouldn't call it a non-issue. I'd call it a screwed up installation and I'd recommend installing the stoopid baffle so that it actually vented all of its exhaust to the exterior.

[Leighton Jantz]

Thanks guys for the quick responses, Marc- yes electric range/oven, tight building envelope, HRV on the furnace, built in 2012. Furnace fan automatically comes on when bathroom fan is turned on, etc.

[AHI in AR]

Originally posted by kurt

What's your concern?

Most folks don't care. Asian folks usually; all my Asian customers want a high functioning exhaust. I'd probably tailor my comments to the clients expectations, which is always a good idea regardless of the concern.

To reinforce what Kurt said, I work with a LOT of clients of Indian descent. They also care--deeply--whether the exhaust vents out or not. I've seen them walk away from a 4000 square foot house if a recirculating vent can't be converted to one that exhausts out. In other words, it's not a non-issue to them!

[John Kogel]

Ditto, the exhaust fan is sometimes a major issue, depending on the clients.

I always point out a fan that is missing that baffle plate. That is the part that gets left in the box, along with the instructions in 4 languages. []

Not a big deal but where do you buy that trim piece? It maybe calls for fabrication by a skilled metal artist or a full replacement of the range hood.

Some of the microwave units have an internal baffle that just needs to be turned, although the whole unit has to be removed to fix it.

So yeah, it can cost a few bucks to fix it.