Under cabinet range hood installation advice

14 years ago

My Zephyr Cyclone range hood has arrived and I will be removing the old basic ineffective Broan hood of the same width which vents directly through the outside wall using a 3.25 x 10 to 6" round steel adapter and an outside 6" round vent cap.

The logical dis-assembly order seems to be:

Flip the circuit breaker and disconnect the hood power wires

Remove exterior damperless vent cap (new dampered vent cap on hand)

Loosen the screws from the vent hood to the cabinet above

slide the old vent forward to detach it from the screw slots

Lower the old vent onto a blanket covering the range surface

Remove the vent pipe adaptor that may be still attached to the old vent

All the above steps seem straight forward.

Zephyr's instructions say to mark the cabinet screw placement by holding the hood in place and marking the screw locations with a pencil. This where I (DIY) am a little puzzled. The vent weighs 30+ pounds and I do not have two assistants to hold it while I mark the screw locations. How have others done this? I assume the new and old hoods will not have matching screw locations.

Once the new screws are in place I should feed the wires so they are accessible from inside the cabinet above where the outlet is. Then raise the hood to the screws and slide it so the screws end up in the hood top slots. Tighten the screws and power up to test the hood. Finish by mounting the new exterior wall vent cap.

Zephyr's instructions are too brief so any advice is welcome. Thanks

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Comments (9)

john_com
14 years ago
How about a temporary wall cleat or 2x4 floor jack to hold in place while pencil.ing?
benbow
Original Author
14 years ago
I am now thinking of fabricating a wood bracket supported by the wall cabinet above the range to hold up the back end of the hood. Anyone know how pro installers do it?
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weedmeister
14 years ago
Two assistants. Or they remove the blower.
benbow
Original Author
14 years ago
Our Zephyr Cyclone range hood is now installed. No assistants were needed. The trick was to screw and tape the 3.25 x 10 to 6" round adapter pipe to the new hood so that when lifted into position the pipe pokes through the wall and supports most of the hood weight. By holding the front of the hood up to the cabinet bottom the 1" electrical shielded electrical cable access hole and the four support screw holes were marked. Using a 9" drill bit extender I was able drill the the support holes with the hood in place. The hood was functioning by the time dinner needed to be cooked.

DW's only critical comment was that the two 40 watt lamps were too bright on the high setting. They are not recessed enough to be completely shielded by the hood for shorter folks, so they become a glare source. A PAR 20 50W halogen lamp also works in the hood fixtures but sticks out about an inch rather than being almost flush like the 40 watt non-halogen bulbs supplied with the hood.

To finish tomorrow I will install a new Broan exterior duct cap with damper. There is an impressive outflow of air at all three fan speeds as felt from the outside vent opening. The lower two speeds should be adequate for nearly all cooking activities and the noise is acceptable. If we had billowing smoke then the 650CFM third speed would be welcome. The prior hood was rated 180CFM and was very loud at anything beyond the minimum speed.

This black hood looks great with our new black Electrolux slide-in range. The 22.5 inch hood depth matches the 22" maximum front burner distance from the back wall.
macybaby
14 years ago
I'm surprised a 650CFM only required a 6" vent. All the ones we've looked at required either a 7" or 8" vent.

We are installing an 8" vent so that if we ever decide to replace the Broan we just bought, we don't have to redo the venting again. The old stuff was only 4" diameter. We just got the hood yesterday but don't have any cabinets to install it under yet. Today we'll install the vent through the ceiling - it is already through the roof but we moved the location so have not cut the hole in the ceiling yet.

Cathy
benbow
Original Author
14 years ago
Kathy, Zephyr hoods rated up to 850CFM all have the same 3.25 x 10 or 6" round exit openings. I'm no ventilation expert but my guess is that an 8" pipe will allow the same volume of air to flow through at a lower speed and reduced noise compared with a 4" or 6" diameter vent pipes. If your Broan has an opening big enough for an 8" diameter vertical pipe then that is the right choice.

Do you have an electrical outlet box close to where the hood is going to be mounted? On my hood the wiring must exit from the top of the hood so it has to go into the cabinet above and then to the junction box at the back of the cabinet. My hood did not come with a power cord... I re-used the old shielded cable and twist connectors.
sfjeff
14 years ago
Use a transition or "reducer" to go from the 6" outlet to a 8" duct.
sombreuil_mongrel
14 years ago
I installed my thermador 42" hood (27" deep model) by myself. Without the motor (very heavy by itself) it was like 80 lbs of stainless steel. I held it up with one hand and screwed in the bolts with the other, (with a cordless nut driver/drill) The holes were measured and pre-drilled. It's not something I look forward to having to do again, but at least I didn't drop it on my head. A situation like this focuses the mind with great clarity of purpose: "get me out from under this thing!"

Casey
macybaby
14 years ago
We got the duct pipes hooked up yesterday. Our power comes out the top and we'll put a plug with a cord. DH mounted an outlet up near the ductwork. Our cabinet will have a removable cover over the ductwork and the cord will be covered by that too.

Ours is on an inside wall so right now we have the back of the wall open. Still have to figure out where we want to bring in the power for the under cabinet lights. We decided we won't sheetrock the back of that wall until the cabinets are installed. Will make it real easy if we decide we need more bracing or something like that.

Cathy

Under cabinet range hood installation advice

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