“I've read concerns of air recirculating back into kitchen even when hooked up to outside duct system. Is there a solution for this?”
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I just spoke to a tech about the strong air blowing out the front left vent above the door. He said the fan has to be reversed to vent into the ceiling vent. It comes from the factory with recirculation back into the kitchen. They are coming next week. I will update.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.Just finished my install, vented out the rear. I can tell you air blows out from every crack in the unit especially the vent on the top, grease made it out every seam and crack of the old one I replaced, was really hoping technology had progressed over the ten years since my last purchase, looking like this one is going to blow grease out everywhere, its a shame too because this microwave is awesome otherwise.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.I will have 2 of these (one at a rental/second house), both with vertical exhaust to the outside. You should rotate the entire fan complex to send it in the right direction (front, up, or back). But this won't resolve the issue, the air escapes between the fan unit and the fan cover to the microwave 3 sided cover with the fan in any orientation. That's why the air comes out between the microwave frame and the top cover on the front as well as the front vent area. To try and fix my first one (the rental one), after it was professionally installed, I used clear silicon and sealed the front between the microwave cover and front frame plate behind the door where the air was coming out as best I could. Not sure if the silicon will be affected by the microwave. I also added painters tape to the top front vent. It has been in operational for 4 months so no real data. It still leaks air a lot near the door hinge. This still allows the air to move from the fan under the microwave cover and out the gaps between the frame and cover on front as well as the front vent area. I included this in case you don't want to drop yours for the real fix. I'm installing the second one myself this Friday and I plan to do the same thing as my currently broken Whirlpool microwave (got zapped while troubleshooting an intermittent heating issue). For the second one, before I install it, I will seal it by using dense 1/4 inch foam insulation and 2 inch wide aluminum tape to seal the area between the fan cover and the fan unit. I included a photo of the old microwave after it was finished and what it looked like underneath the fan cover. It shows the 1/4" foam on the cover and in the groove around the fan openings. The goal is to treat the air like water and seal it from the fan blades all the way up the exhaust. This worked for my old Whirlpool microwave and should work for my new one. No air leaked out the front after I sealed around the fan unit.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.They redesigned the compact model compared to the traditional one I had previously. The compact microwave has 3 fans inside the unit. One fan cools the electronics/control panel area and exhausts the hot air straight out the top right front vent. You might feel air coming out this vent when the microwave is on. The second fan pulls air from the stove top on the right side behind the control panel and exhausts it towards the center back area of the microwave. The third fan is actually 2 fans (like on older microwaves that had to be rotated into the correct direction) In this microwave, these dual fans always exhaust upward into the ducting on top of the microwave. The ducting consists of the microwave cover as the top of the duct, the top of the internal microwave roof as the bottom of the duct, and some internal frame metal pieces for the sides of the ducting. Unfortunately, the sheet metal has holes and does not go the entire front to back length allowing for air to bypass the sides of the duct. There is some weatherstripping material installed to try and stop the air that blows through the top cover to frame metal gap but there is no weatherstripping at the front of the microwave to prevent it from coming out the top gap between the cover and frame. In addition, there are holes punched into the frame near the door hinge allowing air to escape the ducting system. What changes did I make? Using silver foil tape (Nashua Tape 1.89 in. x 50 yd. 322 Multi-Purpose HVAC Foil Tape although 2.5 inch tape would have been better), I taped over the back cutouts for the rear ducting. I taped over the remaining 3 top vents from the inside of the cover leaving the electronics vent left untaped (2.5 inch foil tape would have been much better for this). I taped over the holes punched in the sheet metal near the door hinge and covered the wiring hole as well but the top of the sheet metal at the front drops down away from the cover near the hinge (more on that later). I taped over the large cutout on the side of the microwave next to the dual fans even though there was weatherstripping on the top and bottom of the cutout to seal it against the cover. I taped all of the sheet metal holes between the fans and the electronics area. I added a bead of silicone along the front framing to prevent air leaks there between the microwave cover and frame. I think at a minimum you need this bead of silicone along the top of the front frame. After that, I would block the holes near the door hinge and cover the 3 vents. This should get you 90% of the way there.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.My assumption is it’s not being vented properly, or people are feeling the air from the fan motor. We have ours hooked up to vent outside (roof) and I can hear the vent panel open up and close down (our old micro wasn’t vented correctly by the guys who installed it, so made sure we did this one right). I will say there is a small amount of air that blows from the top of the microwave from the area directly over the fan motor. I have a feeling that’s the air people feel. I moved the vent panels on the top of the machine as per the instructions, and right over the fan motor area there is a panel that is half sold, half holes. That’s where I feel the air coming from when the fan is on.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.When configured for external venting, the range hood blower will vent to the outside. Even in that case, there will be some airflow from the upper left of the unit because the fan to actually cool the microwave internals exhausts there. This is separate from the range hood venting and works even when the range hood is turned off. This is common on OTR microwaves.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.Best buy guys just installed this microwave for me with a wall venting mode. I read the installation guide which has nothing about reversing the fan. I can feel the air come out from the cracks near the door and left side of the microwave. I used some duct tape on the left side crack, problem solved, but can't do anything about the crack near the door.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.I have not had a problem with mine venting outside. Mine was professionally installed using existing duct system. Might be a problem with do-it-yourself installers. I did have a different unrelated concern with my double oven after install and Best Buy was great. They sent someone out fast to reinstall and told me if I still had a problem they would replace with new one. Really happy with how they stand by their installs, recommend using Best Buy for the install if you are concerned.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.It turns out the top right vent pulls air into the electronics bay and the top left vent exhausts that air from the microwave. I ended up removing the grill and trying to put aluminum tape inside to seal it from the other fans.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.If not installed correctly to the outside duct or not balanced evenly under the cabinet you might get a bit of the air back into the kitchen. It’s definitely a two person job to get right.
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