# My Oven's Exhaust Fan..... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 18, 2002, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662 "2002-12-18T21:58:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/1 "2002-12-18T21:58:55Z")
…isn’t vented to the outside! I live in an apartment, and all the cheap bastards did was install the fan without venting it. Can they **do** that, legally? I just recently started cooking, so I haven’t used the stove that much (opting for the microwave), and I have one of those air cleaners, so it wasn’t until I dismantled it recently (after burning something 😉 ) that I noticed it wasn’t vented and that all it does is blow the odor around the apartment. Thanks Quasi ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/2 "2002-12-18T22:04:03Z")
Yeah, they can do that. There’s no regulation even requiring an exhaust fan of any kind. At least in Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/3 "2002-12-18T22:12:06Z")
Hey, when the previous owner of our house installed a new tub, he didn’t connect the overflow widget to anything; it just drained into the wall. Two long baths and a ruined living room ceiling later… ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/4 "2002-12-18T22:47:15Z")
The vent over my stove is designed to recirc into the kitchen - I guess what it mostly does it suck the steam away from the stove top. I hate it, but the alternative is to run a pipe up to the 10’ ceiling and thru the attic. Since the stove sits pretty much in the center of the house, it’s the best I can have. I hate my kitchen. Can’t wait till I can sell this place and move! ---
**Author:** ![Skelji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Skelji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skelji)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2002, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/5 "2002-12-18T23:19:26Z")
From what I’ve heard, most people with range hoods just have the recirculating type. Per a contractor, it _supposedly_ is high enough to exhaust cooking odors and smoke over the head of the average-sized woman :rolleyes: (and, I would presume, short-order cooks _ahem_ ). I guess if you’re a tall woman or a guy who cooks (like me), you’re just S.O.L. When my house was built, I insisted that they vent my exhaust fan up through the cabinet it was under, into the attic and out the roof. The contractor actually asked me why I wanted that done. He gave me the “women usually cook” crap, and mentioned that most people don’t want them vented outside because they are “afraid of a grease fire in the flue”. Uh, sure Jasper, whatever you say. It always amuses me if I cook something like bacon, because a visitor once told me that she could smell it outside when she got out of her car. Sure beats smelling it in my kitchen the next day. AFAIK though, like Uncle Beer said, there are no regulations to even have an exahust fan. ---
**Author:** ![d12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/71c47a/32.png) [@d12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d12)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/6 "2002-12-19T00:03:03Z")
Should it be GQ? ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/7 "2002-12-19T00:17:09Z")
**d12** : Yeah, probably it should. Maybe one of the kind-hearted mods will come along and move it for me. Good call. 😃 Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/8 "2002-12-19T00:33:45Z")
I couldn’t find the Dallas, GA building code online, although I did learn that Georgia adopted the [International Building Code](http://www.desplaines.org/Services/CommunityDevelopment/InternationalBuildingCode/IBC-b.pdf) in 2000. (Link goes to a .pdf file) I don’t think there are specifications for residential kitchen fans in the international code. I’m surprised that recirculating fans are so common – I believe that in Vancouver a residential kitchen _must_ have an exhaust hood in order to be “up to code.” An absent exhaust hood usually means you’re paying rent to a slum-lord, 'round these parts. (My kitchen is exhaust-less, but the place was built in 1938 and I doubt it’s been inspected since. And yes, I do pay rent to a slum-lord. But it’s a _cozy_ slum.) ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/9 "2002-12-19T03:52:47Z")
There are (at least) 2 kinds od hoods - vented and non-vented (duh!). If there are vents on the front of the hood, it is a recirc (non-vented) design - just clean the filter and housing, and you’ll be OK. If there are no vents on the hood, it was (probably) intended to be connected to an external vent, and you have a legit bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Fredge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@Fredge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fredge)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/10 "2002-12-19T05:30:55Z")
Hi **Quasimodem**. I’m in Dallas, GA too. If I remember correctly, an outside vented hood was an option when I had my house built (and cost quite a bit more than I wanted to pay for such a feature) so unless my builder shirked codes (and my inspector said nothing about it) then I’m guessing it’s not mandatory here. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/11 "2002-12-19T07:04:04Z")
Well, **Hey!** 😃 Glad I caught your post, neighbor! Looks like I’ll be going filter shopping when I get home from vacation. From your date of registry, it looks like we’ve been “Dopers” about the same amount of time. Just call me **Quasi**. Interesting nickname… See ya’ Q ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/12 "2002-12-19T15:45:43Z")
It’s very common for range hoods not to be vented to the outside. They have some kind of metal filter that does a half-assed job of condensing the grease before recirculating it. As someone who has recently done it, I can vouch that it’s a royal pain to externally vent a stove unless it’s on an outside wall. You also have to worry about things like the effective length of the ducting (a right angle bend increases the effective length by about 10 feet). As far as I know, there’s no building code (in Mass.) that requires a vented kitchen fan. Curiously, you do need exhaust fans in all the bathrooms, even half-baths. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/13 "2002-12-19T15:51:15Z")
When our house was inspected the guy told us that the stove fan was worthless, since it wasn’t vented. We eventually removed it because it was big and ugly and served no purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Fredge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/258eb7/32.png) [@Fredge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fredge)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/14 "2002-12-19T16:32:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Quasimodem \* > From your date of registry, it looks like we’ve been “Dopers” about the same amount of time. Just call me **Quasi**. I’ve been on here for quite a while but I’m not as active a poster as many. I generally put my foot in my mouth anytime I stray from the factual discussions so I try to do that rarely. I’m fairly new to the Dallas area. I was in Cobb County for about 16 years before coming out here. It’s the only place in the area I could find a house that I halfway liked that was also in my price range. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Quasimodem \* > Interesting nickname… It’s a play on my name and Chicago Bears lineman William Perry’s nickname (The Fridge). Friends from my high school days started calling me Fredge in the '80s and it just stuck. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/15 "2002-12-19T18:24:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Maybe one of the kind-hearted mods will come along and move it for me. Okay. I probably should have done so yesterday when I visited this thread. Better late than never, I suppose. Although that cuts little ice with my clients . . . ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/16 "2002-12-19T23:38:54Z")
The hood has a grease trap and must be cleaned or sometimes replaced. That’s the extent of the requirements. I just installed a popup downdraft that exhausts through the wall and when turned on full actually blows leaves onto the street. ---
**Author:** ![glilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/48db29/32.png) [@glilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glilly)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/17 "2002-12-20T04:41:54Z")
I’ve got a wall mounted fan (no fancy hood for this old house!), but during the frigid winters, cold air would roll in through it, so I covered it with plastic wrap. Newer ones probably have better draft protection. ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/18 "2002-12-20T10:42:21Z")
Where I come from (Sweden), recirculating kitchen vents were at one point sold as being more ‘energy efficient’, as they did not expel the heat generated when cooking… It does make some kind of sense to recirculate the hot air, but only if you have a very good filter. You need an **active carbon filter** , and it has to be replaced rather often (especially if you do greasy frying.) An externally vented fan is more expensive to install, and incurs higher heating costs, but requires much less maintenece. ---
**Author:** ![tsunamisurfer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@tsunamisurfer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsunamisurfer)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2002, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-ovens-exhaust-fan/143662/19 "2002-12-20T14:34:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Finagle \* > \*\*It’s very common for range hoods not to be vented to the outside. They have some kind of metal filter that does a half-assed job of condensing the grease before recirculating it. As someone who has recently done it, I can vouch that it’s a royal pain to externally vent a stove unless it’s on an outside wall. You also have to worry about things like the effective length of the ducting (a right angle bend increases the effective length by about 10 feet). \*\* How hard would it be to retroactively fit a vented system? (Providing you don’t mind the mess and cost.) And how big would the exhaust pipe really have to be? It seems possible to fit a pipe between existing 3 1/2 interior wall spaces and then use a fan mounted **outside** , at the terminal end of the vent. IOW, don’t install a blower fan on the range, but instead a system that basically draws out or evacuates (sucks out) the air, from the outside end of the pipe. That’s the system I have, IIRC, and it’s totally silent. BTW, I doubt the pairing of a high-volume fan and special “carbon-activated” filters would do much in reducing the odors from cooking meats. Doesn’t a high throughput reduce the effectiveness of any filtration system? Comments?