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5 Venting Issues When Installing Your New Built in Microwave
Are you installing a new built in microwave for the first time? Before you rip the box open, take a minute to make sure you have checked out the area where you will be installing the microwave first. Over the years I have helped many customers who have entered the fabrication shop looking for duct fittings needed to vent their brand new microwave oven.
Here are five of the most common venting issues they have conveyed to me.
Are you installing a new built in microwave for the first time? Before you rip the box open, take a minute to make sure you have checked out the area where you will be installing the microwave first. Over the years I have helped many customers who have entered the fabrication shop looking for duct fittings needed to vent their brand new microwave oven.
Here are five of the most common venting issues they have conveyed to me.
1. Cabinet space above is never big enough
The cabinet above your microwave is notoriously tiny. Obvious reasons are because of ceiling height and most of our homes aren't blessed with 12' vaulted ceilings. If you happen to have ample space where your new microwave will live, then you probably won't have these issues. Either way, the space provided most of us for venting your brand spanking new microwave is extremely tight, leaving limited space to vent the appliance properly.
2. Manufacturers don't provide venting accessories of any kind
Nothing's as easy as they make it seem in those Home Depot or Lowe's commercials where the couple stroll into their friendly neighborhood warehouse and find exactly what they're looking for. They take it home, it fits perfectly into place and both stand back in glorious satisfaction.
Sadly, this is not how it usually happens in real life. During the project you will inevitably run into some issues while installing your new hanging microwave. Especially because the manufactures of your new microwave have no accessories for installing the vent duct to the outside of your house. They give you some basic direction, leaving it up to you for the rest of the installation. Obviously this is a major problem when trying to finish what seems like such a simple installation.
3. Manufacturers always have a rectangular outlet for venting
Another major issue, related to no accessories, is the outlet for the vent on your new microwave will almost assuredly be rectangular. Why is this such an issue? Well, the answer brings me to number four.
4. Most stock venting is round
If you're hooking your new vent to an existing vent, there's a good chance the already installed duct is round. Or if you take a trip to the local hardware store, the majority of new duct and duct fittings for venting will be round. You may find some square to round duct fittings, but it's a crap shoot on whether or not you will find the size--usually 3 1/4" x 10"-- of the outlet vent on your brand new microwave.
Again, the issue when trying to install your vent in such a small cabinet. The more fittings you use, the more space is taken up. There's only so much to go around.
5. Keeping the vent rectangular means custom made
If the existing vent does happen to be rectangular, there's an even better chance the sizes of each will be completely different, leaving you looking for shops like mine to have a custom transition fabricated.
Many times this will be your best solution due to lack of resources, especially if you are a laymen when it comes to a project like this. One fabricated duct piece is much easier to fit inside your tiny cabinet rather than two or three from Home Depot. And, the cost savings is immense if you are able to find a custom fitting because the alternative is hiring someone to install the microwave for you.
Now, if you are installing the microwave in a new home or for the first time in your older home there are many more options. What do I mean by this? Well, you may have enough room to buy a stock square to round fitting and run the rest of the vent round. Or you may be able to use the stock rectangular duct from the hardware store to run the entire vent.
No matter what your situation, taking the time to map out the project to avoid these pitfalls is always a good rule of thumb.
Good Luck!
Do you need a custom transition for your built in microwave vent? We can help! Visit our contact page to get in touch with the fabrication shop.
Old School Custom Trunk Duct Fabrication
Currently I am fabricating some custom transitions to marry a new heat pump system to this existing trunk duct. The customer emailed these this morning to give me an overview of what I would be hooking the new duct transitions up to. Always helpful when a customer is willing to take the time and snap a few shots of what the job looks like.
The ductwork in this house is absolutely fantastic! Yes, it's old and may be sagging in some area's after hanging for years and years. All of this is normal. Should it be changed? Maybe, but all in all it looks ok.
I have only come across a few jobs with duct where this much time and effort was placed into the fabrication and installation. The time needed is easily double, maybe even triple of what lead times would be today. Plus, the man hours into laying out the duct needed to complete the job.
The cool part is the way the duct line is laid out and how each heat run is a rectangular or square branch with multiple rounded offsets and risers. Today, all of these heat runs would be round and branching off the top of the main trunk line. And the fabrication time would be minimal because much of what you see would be standard, stock sizes that can be purchased at your local Home Depot.
However, the time and effort in the fabrication, with rounded inner throats is completely custom and just fabulous. My father and I completely appreciate the craftsmanship that went into this amount of bespoke trunk duct and fittings. Very cool.
Custom Galvanized Sheet Metal Ash Box
The benefit of our fabrication shop is the ability to fabricate small numbers of custom projects for a range of products. Our main focus being HVAC custom ductwork and fittings, but we fabricate a lot of specialty items for many of our customers.
Last week I received a request through our website for a custom 15" x 15" x 15" ash box with a sliding top cover.
The benefit of our fabrication shop is the ability to fabricate small numbers of custom projects for a range of products. Our main focus being HVAC custom ductwork and fittings, but we fabricate a lot of specialty items for many of our customers.
Last week I received a request through our website for a custom 15" x 15" x 15" ash box with a sliding top cover. For some reason my immediate thought was urn or something like it. However, I was completely wrong, the customer was only looking for a box to rake old ash and embers from an outdoor grilling station.
I had a tiny idea of what he might be talking about, growing up in a house with a wood stove and many family members with the same. Nevertheless, asking for any documentation or drawings is always worth asking. I emailed a request for a picture or something he could draw to give me a starting point. Surprising to me, he had a picture of exactly what he needed.
Receiving a quality photo of what the customer needs is rare, with me usually coming up with something on the fly or deciphering a crude drawing on a scrap sheet of paper. This is a rare and extremely beneficial occasion.
The customer requested I do my best to keep it as waterproof as possible because the box would reside outside most of the time. My goal was to keep the simplicity of the box he had sent me thereby keeping the cost down. Needless to say this was not the most difficult of fabrications, but that doesn't mean I don't keep all customer requests in mind and do my best with each order.
I got to work and basically made the same box with a few minor adjustments to the original design with the biggest one being to the sliding cover. The extended handle was unnecessary, so I simply rolled a hem flange up with a 1/2" extension down to help keep any water from running down inside the box. You can see this depicted in one of the photos below.
The finished box is not completely waterproof mind you, but any chance to keep water out is a good thing and something I kept in mind. Hence the cross break on the cover, helping runoff of any water, keeping it from pooling on the top. There is also a 1/4" extension at the opposite end of the cover to help with water drainage.
My goal with any customer is to make sure they get what they're paying for no matter how simple the request may be. It's always fun to fabricate the more intricate items, but the simple pieces are the ones people remember because they usually solve a simple problem. Every customer is important.
Plus, they're the first ones to promote you when things come up in conversation.
Sheet Metal Fabrication Shop Panorama
A few things jump out at me when looking at a panoramic photo of the shop.
- We are running out of room....quickly!
- Would it kill me to put together a scrap clean-up day.
- A little more lighting probably would not be a bad thing
Custom Duct Transitions For AC Coil
Installing a new AC coil
There are times when installing a new AC coil to existing duct work can be simple and times when the task can be difficult. Usually you can get the proper cased AC coil for the furnace you are installing and either easily transition the duct to the existing duct line or you can have a custom plenum made fitting the coil to the furnace.
Then there are times when you need to transition from your furnace to the size of the uncased AC coil and then back again to the custom size of your existing duct work. When this happens your first call should be to us, K & E Sheet Metal, because this is exactly why we exist. Custom plenums and transitions are our specialty :)
Installing a new AC coil
There are times when installing a new AC coil to existing duct work can be simple and times when the task can be difficult. Usually you can get the proper cased AC coil for the furnace you are installing and either easily transition the duct to the existing duct line or you can have a custom plenum made fitting the coil to the furnace.
Then there are times when you need to transition from your furnace to the size of the uncased AC coil and then back again to the custom size of your existing duct work. When this happens your first call should be to us, K & E Sheet Metal, because this is exactly why we exist. Custom plenums and transitions are our specialty :)
Taking measurements
Today we received an order for a plenum with transitions needing to get from one measurement, to another and then back to yet another. Below is a crude drawing of the sizes needing to be transitioned.
In order to make the transitions and fit the AC coil, I will need to fabricate two transitions and a straight plenum, placed in the center, that will house the coil and have a door for servicing. The transitions can be entered into the computer system and cut with our new CNC plasma machine, while the straight box I will cut with tin snips.
Looking down inside the AC coil plenum at the shelf that will hold the coil
The fabrication
The bottom transition, 13 1/4 x 18 up to 17 1/4 x 19 3/4 will have a 1/2" flange on the new furnace side and S-lock on the top side that will accept the straight plenum box. Inside the plenum box will be a 24 gauge metal shelf (Picture to the right) to hold the AC coil inside the 17 1/4 x 19 3/4 box.
From the top of the AC coil box I will transition to the existing duct inside the customer's home. Basically, the old duct work leftover after tearing out the old furnace.
All being said the fabrication for this order sounds much harder than it actually is. Many times the hardest thing is translating what the customer is thinking into how my brain processes things. Once this hurdle is completed the process goes rather quick and easy. This particular order foe example ended up being two simple custom transitions with a straight AC coil box sandwiched in between.
Below is a photo of the finished plenum ready to be picked up and installed
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Even though we have stepped up our game in regards to cutting sheet metal, we still kick it old school when it comes to bending all of our custom trunk duct and fittings.