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Over the Range Microwave that you like

16 years ago

Does anyone have an over the range microwave vented hood that they like? Everyone says theirs doesn't move enough air or too loud, surely there is a good one out there. I can vent it outside, has anyone vented their OTR Microwave outside?

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Comments (7)

sholt576
16 years ago
I love my whirlpool velos.

The vent is louder than I prefer, but pretty much any noise is louder than I prefer.

But I love love love my velos.
donnar57
16 years ago
I have one that's vented to the outside. It didn't have to be, but it was easy since we already had the vent in place from the old kitchen. If I stand right in front of the OTR MW and the fridge is not running, I can hear the vent outside flapping around (or something).

I have a Maytag, and it has a 5 speed fan and a light with 2 settings. If I had it to do again, I'd look for a similar model with a brighter light (halogen?). The light is pretty wimpy in either setting. But that's the only problem with this MW. One of the things I *like* about it, is that the tray goes side to side instead of round-and-round.

DonnaR/CA
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Nadine--I think those slide out hoods are going to require a lot of the space in the cabinet above so you're going to lose that space anyway. So you might want to consider a more conventional undercabinet hood, too. Depending on your situation, you may be able to vent directly out the back of hood into your existing vent and not lose any of the cabinet space. It won't be quite as accessible though as you realize. I'm assuming that your rectangular vent is 3.25 x 10" which is roughly equivalent to a six inch round duct. So you need to look at hoods with CFM's sized for that size of duct. Unless you know exactly how your vent is situated, you need to remove the microwave. A lot of hoods will be adaptable to horizontal rectangular, vertical rectangular vent and vertical round exhaust. I know that my Zephyr hood had all three options. Zephyr Typhoon I disagree that you will get 'tremendous' noise. Not going to be whisper quiet but will most likely be substantially less noisy than most micro hoods. Here is a link that might be useful: Slide out range hood
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I like your attitude and advice, Jancy. I do love my choice of countertop (Silestone Cemento Suede), which I paired with natural cherry shaker cabinets (3" wide rails and stiles) with orb hardware. I was going for a simple, warm modern farmhouse look. The kitchen is around 7' x 12." Three straight sides, no corner cabinets: a pantry wall with fridge (approximately 7'), an island with sink (approximately 7'), and a wall with range and otr microwave in the middle (approximately 7'). So my range wall is of similar length as yours, Jancy (90'). That wall is the only one with a backsplash and like you, I didn't want to deal with grout. I also liked the simplicity of the full-height backsplash... and, as a bonus, I had the extra material available from the countertop slabs, so I only needed to pay a bit extra for installation. Also, another consideration is that the kitchen is part of a great room and is visible as soon as you walk in the door, so it felt as if the stone backsplash would give the cabinet more of the look of furniture. I definitely don't want tile (even though I said earlier that might be an option). I would consider a stainless steel plate with brushed finish because it feels as if that would tie the range and microwave together... as if they were all one unit. However, the wall may be too short and the stainless too industrial for the look I'm going for. I do know however that I will not be happy if the stone gets chipped if I have to replace the microwave. In answer to your question, prosource, I believe the microwave will be fairly level with the bottom of the cabinets. The opening is 18" high and the microwave is 17 1/2" high. Also, I don't want to get off subject, but at some point, Jance, I would be very interested in knowing if you used plug mold and, if so, what kind. Or did you put outlets in backsplash? All thoughts welcome.
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I don't know why you say an over the range microwave is more affordable. You can get a countertop MW designed to be put on a shelf for $120, or less with sales. An over the range microwave is more expensive than a MW designed to be put on a shelf. It's also much wider than a MW designed to be put on a shelf. And, it does not have a flat bottom because it has lights and the fan mesh screens, so it isn't possible to rest it on a shelf.
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The problem also is most microwave hoods barely have enough power to suck up anything even if they did have a large enough capture area. It sucks (pun intended) but your best bet is probably as Sophie said to bite the bullet and spend on a real hood, and then get a countertop MW. At least the MW will be inexpensive.
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raehelen
16 years ago
I have a Panasonic, and it's vented to the outside. Much quieter and works better than the normal hood van we had before. Has fan at High or Lo, and Turbo Fan. Not sure what that means, guess it's more powerful than Hi! LOL
jt562
16 years ago
We purchased the Jenn Air because it has 1100 watts & 2.0 cubic feet (DH loves his tall coffee mug!) it also has 5 speed exhaust & a halogen light & the square tray that moves back & forth. We will be venting it outside. Have not installed it as of yet since we are our own installers & have been passing the flu/cold bug around.

Will let you know how it works....oh, it reads that it has 300CFM, but when we turned it on un-mounted we could feel the air blowing out...seems pretty promising to me!

Here is a link that might be useful: JennAir OTR
sholt576
16 years ago
Thought I would add to the things I like about my Velos. If you're interested, just search on Velos on the appliance forum. There's one thread with over 100 posts that has more than you ever wanted to know about it.

It functions as a convection oven as well as a microwave. You can bake a lasagne in it. The turntable is very big, so the lasagne pan goes on it and still turns all the way around.

You can grill steaks in it. And they turn out quite yummy!

When you use it as a microwave, and use 50% power, it actually uses 50% power. Most microwaves cycle on 100% power and no power to achieve a 50% average. The Velos actually changes the power and you get that level 100% of the time.

You can fry an egg on the sizzle pan.

It has hundreds of pre programmed options, and you don't have to memorize any secret codes. If you want to cook rice, you hit the buttons boil-rice-white rice and then it pops up a little chart that tells you how much rice and water to put in the rice cooker, and then you put it in the microwave and press start. You never have to look at it again until you're ready to eat. BTW, that's the same with steak. You press the buttons grill-beef-steak (or whatever they are) and it tells you to put in on the grilling rack and put it in and press start. Then it beeps at you when its time to turn it over. You turn it and press continue. Voila. Same technique for frying an egg.

But, its also the best microwave we've had in a very long time as far as reliable, even reheating.
saskatchewan_girl
16 years ago
I second that .........regarding the Panasonic Inverter.
We also have the same as raehelen and it works great, isn't that noisy and can be vented outside or with the charcoal filter. Our house didn't have a hood vent so we just installed with the filters and has worked great for me, mind-you I don't fry a lot.
No bad comments with this OTR MW. Has good (high)watts for quick cooking, under MW light with 2 settings, and 2 speed fan. Looking to buy the same again but in SS : )
patches_02
16 years ago
Like Donna i have the Maytag and love the fact the tray
goes back and forth instead of around. Found no difference in heating time and it getting heated even. Can also use a bigger dish because of the back and forth motion.

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