My wife and I bought a new construction house in 2017 and one of the questions I asked when it was being built was, “Is this going to have an external vent hood above the stove?” The builder, who was a complete crook BTW, said no, but he could do it. We would just have to sacrifice the microwave above your stove. That was a non-starter for the wife.
Now, five years on, our kitchen is painted with a yellow hue from all of the grease that has been circulated by the piss-poor fan on the beloved microwave. We tried to buy a decent range hood that vents externally early during the pandemic, but it was nearly impossible to find a contractor with an open spot on their calendar. Now we’re extra eager to pull the trigger on this project.
I figured this would be a great location to ask for suggestions on range hoods since many of you most likely cook frequently and get smokey. We have been told by most contractors not to go above 400 cfm because in the nanny state of Massachusetts, anything above that requires the installation of a makeup air system. A cursory reading of range hood info makes it seem like anything in the ballpark of 400 is basically a pinwheel.
If you have any suggestions or would just like to share what you use, I’m all ears.