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Can I vent my range through the basement?

14 years ago

We cannot vent our range up for various reasons. My choices are a recirculating fan or venting through a typical range hood but having the air sucked into the hood go down through the duct to the basement, where it can be ducted outside. Has anyone done this? does it work? Any special requirements?

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Comments (6)

needsometips08
14 years ago
What about gravity? Will you have to have the blower of a jet engine to push the fumes downward? I don't know, just asking!

We always thought we had no venting at all, but when we demoed our kitchen we were suprised to find they actually vented our OTC microwave vent hood down into the crawlspace. I can tell you from experience it was as good as having no vent at all. It sucked zero fumes, grease, or steam. (Not to mention who wants a greasy crawlspace if it actually HAD worked!?! Thank God it didn't!)
dan1888
14 years ago
Air goes up and down vent systems in forced air furnaces all the time. The proper sizing for your blower based on the pressure needed to move the cfms you want the distance you have to go with added distance for turns is a calculation for an email to tech support at vent-a-hood.
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I'm faced with the same problem. Finishing a log cabin at the moment. The range is on an inside wall. Above the kitchen is a bedroom so venting up is not an option. Having another hole in the roof is just another potential problem spot anyways. The other kitchen walls are log and I'd hate to cut a 6" hole in them. Besides, there is no electrical outlet in the logs for this purpose. So the only option is down through the basement to the outside. According to the building inspector there is no code that prohibits me from doing so. Just check with the range hood manufacturer. Most people (that cook) say a downdraft doesn't work very well, so I'm going with a range hood. The duct will have to run through the wall to the basement and to the outside. This means two 90 degree corner pieces, 6ft duct in the wall, 11 ft duct in the basement and an end cap with backdraft flap. Most range hood suppliers have a calculation in their installation manual as to how many corners and feet are allowed. In my example this just reaches the maximum allowable length. To accommodate the duct in the wall, the wall will need an extra 2x4 frame to create the room for the 6" duct. Any tips to make all this easier will be appreciated.
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ok Ann... I was trying to be flip "earlier". Allow me to be a bit more clear. Unless it is a "Down Draft" exhaust fan for your cook top I suggest you take that pipe and go up. With each deflection in the pipe comes resistance, resistance = less efficiency = less effective. So go up and keep it as straight as possible and if you want less noise in your cooking area you can also get a roof mounted motor. Now those are really nice!
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galleyette
14 years ago
I can only tell you that our ancient Jenn-Air downdraft range vents out from a reconfigured basement window in the laundry room below.

Whether or not this strange system is efficient or even code-compliant, I have no idea.

I can tell you that it is better to have even this exhaust system, than no exhaust system at all!
seaglass7
14 years ago
It was against code in my municipality.
sue36
14 years ago
How will you get it down? The vent ducts are about 8" around, meant to run between floor joists down wall studs. You would need to build a deep wall. Plus, you need to upsize the motor to account for the distance and the turns. Maybe an inline booster fan.
svwillow1
14 years ago
In our previous house we also had a Jenn-Air down draft. While it was better than nothing and did remove some of the odors, it was not very efficient.

The problem, as I saw it, was that in drawing the air from across the stove top rather than from the above; it mainly served to cool the burners rather than take out the smoke and grease, etc.

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