How do I change our venting situation?

8 years ago

Dear all,

We are in a high rise condo building. Currently we have an island mount Faber range hood insert which is installed too high (35" from cooktop) albeit its 1200 CFM power. It recirculates the air, so as you can see from the pictures, there is constantly grease build-up outside the vent on the top of the range hood.

There is a bathroom fan a few feet away which sucks air out, so the grease has traveled in that direction.

We are obviously unhappy with the venting situation, so we'd appreciate your ideas for us to make changes.

My current thoughts:

1. Change the insert style rangehood to a Futuro Futuro streamline style. The Futuro is less powerful, but we can install it closer to the cooktop (thinking 27") to make it more effective.

2. Can we possibly connect the range hood interior vent with our exterior vent that currently has a bathroom fan? Are there any building codes against it (NYC)?

3. If we can't connect the two vents, how can we reduce the grease out of the range hood vent on top?

Thank you so much!

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Comments (7)

mama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years ago
It looks as if the center of the hood is about 4' from an exterior
wall, under a wide soffit. Can you vent to the outside wall, using rigid
ducting, through the soffit? I would not connect to the bathroom vent,
and definitely NOT if the bathroom is vented with flexible
ducting--imagine the grease that's circulating in your condo being
trapped in the ridges of flex duct.

As for the hood being mounted
too high--can you have an extension built, to lower the hood to the
recommended height? Covered with stainless steel to match appliances? That might give you easier access to installing duct
work to the exterior wall. Good luck!
sjhockeyfan325
8 years ago
Whether you can vent to the outside is also dependent on your condo's rules.
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imcaffeine
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you mama goose and sjhockeyfans. Unfortunately venting outside is not an option in the condo building.

I wonder if I can somehow find another charcoal filter right outside the vent?
eam44
8 years ago
If it's 1200cfm it may be mounted correctly. How often do you clean the baffles and change the filters?
PRO
Joe Henderson
8 years ago
Charcoal filters do not filter grease, they neutralize odors. As an NYC area dealer, I have seen units used in this manner (although most don't waste the money on a 1200CFM blower!) and without the ability to vent, there isn't a lot that can be done.

The only possible idea I have would be change the insert to something with aluminum mesh filters. Those will trap more grease than baffles but you will need to clean them at least once a week (mesh gets clogged MUCH faster with greasy cooking).

Best by Broan makes something similar that would fit in the faber cutout. Or remove that box and put an island hood a little closer to your range.
User
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
You have 5 choices here.

1. Lower your existing hood. That will only help marginally, as the real culprit is no external venting.

2. Change hoods. See#1

3. Change your cooking and cleaning habits. Eliminate greasy foods entirely, and clean your kitchen thoroughly after each use. No buildup, or at least not as much.

4. Petition your building to vent through that adjacent window by running the duct there. Or somewhere outside. NOT an existing duct of a different variety. That would be a fire hazard.

5. Move into a building or SFH that allows external venting.

Or I guess you can live with things as is and just buy new soft furnishings and repaint a lot more often.
practigal
8 years ago
Eam and Joe are onto the only thing that can make a difference-maintenance. Does the Faber system come with the dishwasher safe aluminium mesh-so that you can pop them into the dw once a week? Reasonable cost charcoal filters so that you can swap those out frequently too? If not I would opt for a new system with a focus on maintenance....it does look like the current setup is efficiently redositing grease and not trapping much along the way.

How do I change our venting situation?

Comments (7)

mama goose_gw zn6OH

sjhockeyfan325

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How do I change our venting situation?

Comments (7)

mama goose_gw zn6OH

sjhockeyfan325

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