Dear Peggy,
I am so glad I stumbled on your site. Have been re-doing a kitchen and so much trouble finding design help. Wish I'd found you sooner, your advice seems very sound and sensible.
My current issue is choosing appliances -- it's overwhelming! We have an open-concept kitchen and really want quiet exhaust fan and dishwasher. We're going stainless and have the fridge, but trying now to decide on a micro-hood combination or not before we choose the cooking range. It seems to be a trend and don't have any other great place to put the microwave; however, concerned about inferior exhaust fan and noisiness. Also my sister had one that had poor lighting. Have been doing a lot of research, but the manufacturers just give a lot of details about the microwave, with the fan and lighting hardly mentioned. Do you know of a brand that has a strong-enough exhaust (that will draw from front elements) and is fairly quiet? The microwave functions are secondary since we don't use it for cooking much at all . We might tho' if it were convection (another decision).
So, Peggy, please help.
Lynne
A.
Dear Lynne (and all)
No I don't know of a micro/hood that has the attributes of a quality hood properly installed. There is no such animal.
Microwave/Hoods were concocted by appliance makers to answer the problem of the first counter microwaves taking up precious counter space. Why they have endured is the big question.
1. Placing the microwave over the range is a safety hazard because users will be working over burners in use (Think Sunday breakfast and the flowing robe).
2. Proper (manufacturer recommended) mounting of the microwave for optimum ventilation efficiency leaves too little height free above the cooking surface to see into pots on the back burners.
3. Even with proper mounting, a microwave - with no canopy to contain steam and grease - makes a lousy hood. The result is a greasy microwave and a greasy kitchen. If your kitchen is open plan then a greasy open plan.
4. The microwave is a child's first cooking appliance. Over the range it is out of reach until the child is nearing adulthood. There goes self-sufficiency and independence.
Anyone remodeling their kitchen and replacing cabinetry and appliances can ALWAYS find a better place to put the microwave than a micro/hood.
I haven't put one in since I was the worst kind of kitchen design novice 26 years ago.
I usually use a GE Spacemaker II, or its Monogram counterpart, and the hanging kit available with them to hang the microwave under a shortened wall cabinet. These microwaves sell for about $100. The microwave itself is the same interior size (1.0 cubic foot) and wattage as the GE over-the range microwave. Sharp also makes one that is a little bigger (1.5 cubic foot), for those cooks who really COOK in their microwaves.
With some artful "framing" it looks built-in.
Like this:
Yesss. That's the microwave right next to the refrigerator, where you get almost everything that goes into a microwave (step saving). Even in this very obvious (and handy) place it kind of disappears. Doesn't it?
I have been using this arrangement for 20-odd years now (Thank you GE).
In the last several years we have also had microwave drawers available to build in, both from Sharp and Dacor. Such appliances are definitely more costly than the hang-under-cabinet models, but they serve us when there aren't any cabinets to hang a microwave under.
Therefore you have absolutely no excuse for buying a micro/hood you will surely hate. Instead, select from the options I have given you and also choose a hood with a canopy to contain steam and grease until the vent fan can exhaust them. A Broan 89000 is a good choice that is moderately priced.
Learn more on Kitchen-Exchange post Hoods Noise & venting Q&A
Peggy
