A question: Where is your kitchen designer pro? Yes, your on site PRO.

Answer:

A vented hood is always better than recirculating. Nothing good is easy or cheap. If you want a better answer, nobody here can provide one.You are either willing to pay for the possible venting or are not. The ONLY thing anyone can say is a recirculating quality hood will be better, and better looking than a microwave over a range. Size of cooking area is personal. If you don't need it, don't buy it. If you combine a second oven, with a microwave on the wall? I am sure you will enjoy your 30 inch range top. The hood issue? ........As above.

Most important is this is an issue , along with layout, and all the functions associated with it, that demand help up front and on site. Renovating is expensive, and a "cabinet salesman"..................is not a designer, or even your ally. Big mistakes or a result you are not happy with on a long term basis will render any "savings" from avoiding this truth ? No savings at all.

Jan, thank you for replying. I am sorry if I commented on the wrong site (Pro)? I have never asked a question on here, I only read alot! I honestly do not have a kitchen "designer" and I don't really know of any in the area. We don't live in the "boonies" but, not near great access to a professional either. I agree about cabinet salesmen, and I don't want to make a mistake either.

Lisa, if you go to a good cabinet showroom, you can often get a designer with the cabinet. In our case, the "salesman" was our designer but boy, she was good. Much better than the designer we hired for $180/hour. Look for a showroom that has a portfolio of work designed by in-house consultants/designers/salespeople/whatever you want to call them.

This is a good primer to help you make a decision: https://www.remodelista.com/posts/remodeling-101-vented-vs-non-vented-range-hoods/

Thank you Azlee014 !

Maybe post a floor plan to see if there is a solution to the venting problem since you are remodeling. And yes a KD not a salesperson is a much better choice and my clients tell me worth every penny.

Hi Lisa,

Congrats on your remodel, many important and long term financial decisions to make!

YES YES YES to the vented hood, you have no idea how much I regret that we didn't install one when I had the HVAC guy here during our reno. We're still talking about having it done, but with cabinets installed, backsplash up, etc. etc. it would be a huge deal to start cutting holes.

Don't make the same mistake I did, spend an extra G, vent that sucker outdoors, have it done professionally and take over your kitchen.

FWIW, I have a 24 inch Verona gas range, perfectly happy with a small unit, but it's only 2 of us.

The consensus in this forum is that recirculating hoods are generally not much better than a noise-generator. And over-the-range microwave hoods tend to be even worse. So, I am not at all surprised that you are not particularly happy with your current solution.

This means, in an ideal situation, you would get a vented hood that has about three inches overhang on each side (i.e. get a 36" hood for a 30" range). It also should be sufficiently deep front-to-back so that there is complete overlap with the front burners. As far as performance is concerned, you need at least 90 CFM per square foot hood opening. This gets you to about 400CFM for a typical residential hood. If you cook lots of fragrant/greasy foods, if your hood is mounted higher up (necessary for hoods that are deeper), if you have a gas range, if your range has high BTU burners, if you have more than four burners, ... you have to up the CFM.

As you go up with CFM, the need for (heated?) make-up-air becomes increasingly more relevant. Exact details depend on where you live; building codes differ here. It also depends on your climate. If you always keep windows open, then MUA is less critical. On the other hand, if you have other gas appliances, and if your house's envelope is well-sealed, then insufficient MUA can be a safety risk, as the hood will cause backdraft of exhaust gases. Carbon monoxide poisoning is no joke.

Having said all of the above, sometimes it simply isn't possible to install a vented hood. If that's your situation, then there really aren't too many alternatives. From reports in this forum, the only recirculating hood that actually works is made by VentAHood. It's an impressive product. But it's big. And it's expensive.

My wife works at Lowe's and bought us a replacement Samsung microwave that ducts directly outside. The vent is horrible. Do not skimp on ventilation unless you want all your guests to know you had fried fish for dinner last night.

chiflipper ...thank you! I actually learned that by reading online, because the "cabinet" guy told me I do not need a hood bigger than my stove! Ugh. So much wrong information!

Lisa, you have discovered "information is power". Sadly, some of the most expensive mistakes seen on Houzz are caused by someone NOT taking the time to do research. Thankfully, you will never be among them. Your new kitchen will be beautiful...and odor-free.

Hi Lisa,

Based on my experiences with vented and non-vented including over the range micros, I would strongly encourage you to try to figure out a way to have a vented hood. I know it is not always easy and you may not be able to come up with a perfect solution, but you will be very glad you did if you actually cook very much.

I just faced this myself as the home we just moved into had a non-vented over the range micro. It not only was useless at dispelling moisture, grease and smells...it also blocked the light making it impossible to read the range controls. The wall behind the stove was not an outside wall so venting was not simple. Going up through the ceiling and roof would mean taking out the overhead cabinet and damage to the surrounding cabinets. I kept brainstorming and then a eureka moment! We were putting in a corner gas fireplace in the FR behind the kitchen so we could run ducting into the area behind the surround and to an outside wall if we ran the duct through an adjacent cabinet.

It has worked out great. I ditched the otr micro for a counter micro and put in a nice, 400cfm, 3 speed vent hood with a decent light that does the job. Here are pics before and after.

. It is a 30" because that is what fit. Would a 36" be better? Maybe so but it wouldn't fit so a moot question. And this one does just fine. Cooking is sooo much better with it.

Sometimes you have to think outside the box(or cabinet)! Hopefully you can find a work around.

Hi LisaSpyker,

Congratulations on your new kitchen to be.

You wrote "We are remodeling our existing kitchen and I've only ever had a vent above my stove that is built into the microwave. I HATE it. I cook alot! ...."

If you had said you don't cook very much and loved your Vent above MW, I would say you might be okay with a ventless hood but....... You said you HATE it.. And so with that said I believe you would hate it more than the MW hood combo.

Why not upload your kitchen plans, even if it is a drawing of your space and the brilliant minds on Houzz can help you come up with a plan for your kitchen. Yes it might be a bit more than your planning but a few hundred more is worth it.

Enjoy the planning of your kitchen space.

~boxerpal

I love my vented range hood but if you can't afford it, you can't afford it. I HATE HATE HATE microwaves over the stove. Personally I would rather have the best possible recirculating hood and move the microwave. Preferably to Goodwill. I use an induction hob these days for heating nearly everything. Boils water WAY faster than the microwave and I can't think of anything I couldn't heat up pretty nearly as fast (if not faster) on the induction hob or possibly in my air fryer than the microwave could manage.

This place is temporary for me but in a permanent housing situation I would get an induction range built in (preferably under an externally vented range hood), a wall oven, and dispense with the microwave altogether. The only thing I DON'T like about my cheapo induction hob is that it is nigh unto impossible to keep it looking clean and shiny. That glass stovetop stuff is a royal pain to keep looking nice. I don't know if they're all the same, but even if they are, I'd still rather the induction cooktop. I'm a gas girl from way back, but induction is the New Black.

zensojourner ..thank you! Yes, I HATE my microwave above the stove. If you cook at all, it's the worst idea ever. Such a mess! My Father in Law just purchased and induction stove. He loves it. I haven't used one yet. Thanks for your input. I am still not convinced I want to switch to a 36" range. I just don't have the space for an extra wall oven and most all of the 36" ranges have small ovens. If you look around, there are some nice 30" stoves that have great burner placement allowing for larger pans while cooking. Ugh, so many decisions!

You can get a Tramontina induction hob for around $79. I don't have the exact dimensions but its only about 2" tall and is way way WAY smaller than a microwave. You can even unplug it and stash it somewhere if you're that short of counter space. I would probably make a padded bag/cover for it in that case in order to minimize chances of scratching or breaking the top plate (which is glass).

Then you can at least dispense with the microwave. I got an induction capable teapot for all of $6 on Amazon (its a piece of junk but it works, there are plenty in the $40 range that are much nicer) and a couple of nonstick pans for heating stuff up. The setup I got came with one stainless steel pot of a reasonable size, but I found out AFTER I bought mine that you can get a different setup that comes with the nonstick pans to start with. That's what I would suggest, for purposes of getting rid of your microwave.

Any quantity of liquids over a single cup heats up faster on my induction hob than in the microwave, and the cup doesn't get too hot to handle (because it was never heated to start with).

BTW - this is the second time I'm hearing from people that the ovens are SMALLER in 36" stoves. That's crazy! The ONLY reason I would want a 36" stove is to get a larger oven! We had a 36" stove when I was growing up that my dad kept going for DECADES. The oven cavity was absolutely ENORMOUS. I cannot tell you how many 30+ pound turkeys I made in it (I did ALL the cooking from age 6, yes, my very first thanksgiving dinner came when I was just a few days over 6 years of age, LOL!)

Then my mother finally prevailed and/or my dad couldn't fix the old stove any more, and we got a new 30" stove. No way would a 30+ pound bird fit in that thing! Holiday dinners became a nightmare. Had to go to store bought rolls and cold pies, and way fewer leftovers (which meant many fewer extra dinners for the same effort - I made a killer turkey barley soup that just wasn't practical except when we had leftovers from a giant turkey).

That is so weird. I cannot imagine why the oven shouldn't be AT LEAST as large as in a smaller stove!