Don't get me started on !@#$%@$! proprietary $#@%#$&* electrical plugs and connectors and the #@$%*(%^$#@@#% OEM will not furnish individual replacement items of the wiring harness. Some years back, my wife's '95 Altima inline 4-banger developed the typical oil leak into the distributor cap that is quite common on OHC engines where the distributor is driven off one end of a camshaft. As I unplugged the wiring connector at the distributor, the locking tab just broke off. Because this is a weatherpack connector, there is enough rebound off the sealing pack gasket to separate the connector unless it is locked in place. I was never able to find a new connector or even a new "empty shell" to transfer the wire terminals to. Searched salvage yards and guess what! Every vehicle checked either also had a broken locking tab, or the connector had already been cut off (a bunch of other people running into the same shoddy connector problem. For the short term, I fashioned a bracket and fastened it to the head via an unused bolt hole near to the distributor plug. Then I connected the plug to the distributor connector and used the bracket to keep it in place. Ultimately, I found out one of my friends knew a guy who worked at the Nissan plant in Smyrna as a technician in the post assembly line troublshooting department (you can't get any closer to being a "new car mechanic" than this). My friend carried my complaint about the unavailability of replacement connectors to his friend. His friend's boss told him to "cut a connector" off of one of the wiring harnesses that had been replaced for other reasons and send it to me. I was satisfied that my case came out OK but for crying out loud...........why don't they sell replacement connectors? Anyhow, like I said "Don't get me started."

Assuming that you build a system capable of 1000 to 2000 ft/min air velocity up the stack, there should be minimal condensation. Certainly grease particles and steam won't slow down and reverse direction. Residences tend not to condense much grease anyway because they are not cooking greasy foods for hours as a restaurant might be. Also, even with a cold attic, the stack will warm up once the blower has run for a bit. Establish an air flow rate (CFM) to achieve an actual 90 CFM per square foot of hood entry aperture, then size the stack diameter to achieve a velocity in the range noted in the paragraph above. Keep in mind that the blower rating must be higher than the CFM calculated on the basis of the sentence above to counteract pressure losses in the air flow circuit. (The air flow circuit may be considered to start at the cooking zone, pass through the hood baffles, continue out of the hood into the stack, go up the stack, flow past the roof blower or cap to the outside, and thence return from the outside back into the kitchen via one or many make-up air paths. No matter where one starts, it is the sum of the pressure losses in this circuit that determines how much lower the blower flow rate is relative to its rating. The relationship is given by the blower's fan curve; see Broan example below.) I would also plan on a damper at the hood and one at the roof. Most down-slope roof blower housings include dampers. Use of a roof blower allows use of a silencer in the attic to reduce noise, depending on space. This may also apply to using an in-line blower with a silencer. In this latter case, it may be necessary to jog the duct to have enough room for both in the attic. With respect to directional changes in the duct, the dominant causes of pressure loss are not jogs in the duct, particularly if they are 45-degrees or less, but rather the MUA path and the hood baffles. So it is not particularly inefficient to angle the duct in the attic to mate to the faux chimney placed where it best meets whatever considerations apply. kas

Do the wafers bond with the macaroons during baking? Yes Carol. They do the same with soft gingerbread cookies or Lebkuchen, honey cakes and the like. If you want to replicate your MIL's baked goods you need to use the wafers. 100 is not that many. Most recipes make at least 2 dozen of something or often 3 dozen. One hundred wafers is only 4 smaller batches. Plus most boxes have some breakage since the wafers are thin. Plus they can be used with just about any sticky drop cookies.

Nobody can really answer that because we can't see your plant. There's only one way to find out. Soak it in water for a few hours and then pot it up.