Island Range hood

[joea]

Installing a AKDY island range hood with Carbon Filters. It can be installed with these filters in a "re-circ" configuratio or in a "vented" configuration with exhaust exiting the building.

The former is what I intended. I did not want to have to run a vent stack and penetrate the roof. Now that I am into it two things came up. The "activated carbon filters" are a disappointment. The carbon bits are large, between a grain of rice and a pea, with a lot of "free air" space. Don't seem like they could be that effective. Second, I see I "could" it out the soffit. That is, there appears to be enough room where the ceiling rafters meet the roof, "truss" to squeeze an oval or rectangular elbow and rig up some kind of exit "down" through the eaves cover. Which is a typical "snap in" style with some vented, some solid.

Looking for comments on how feasible this might be and on the carbon filters. I seem to recall something about not venting and soffits, but that may have been talking about just dumping the exhaust into the soffit area, without a proper "vent". I suppose there is some concern about normal attic air flow taking the exhaust back into the attic via the vented soffits panels, but that should be pretty diluted by then. No?

 

[chowderman]

I'm strictly an "exhaust to the outside" type.
"dumping" the grease rich moist air into a soffit is simply creating a mess and a fire hazard.
over time the surrounding soffit will become saturated with grease/oil, it drips out, discolors every thing, and if you ever have a duct fire, it'll light up your whole life.

if you can route a duct through the joists and into a soffit area, you can easily continue that ducting a few inches and exhaust outside the soffit.
use all metal ducting - none of the flexible duct.

 

[joea]

I'm strictly an "exhaust to the outside" type.
"dumping" the grease rich moist air into a soffit is simply creating a mess and a fire hazard.
over time the surrounding soffit will become saturated with grease/oil, it drips out, discolors every thing, and if you ever have a duct fire, it'll light up your whole life.

if you can route a duct through the joists and into a soffit area, you can easily continue that ducting a few inches and exhaust outside the soffit.
use all metal ducting - none of the flexible duct.

If I do vented style, I would certainly vent outside the soffit,certainly not "dump it" into the soffit area. Guess I did not make that clear.

There are several versions of this style hood, all claim to have very efficient removable grease filters that they advise must be monitored and cleaned often.

 

[FrancSevin]

If I do vented style, I would certainly vent outside the soffit,certainly not "dump it" into the soffit area. Guess I did not make that clear.

There are several versions of this style hood, all claim to have very efficient removable grease filters that they advise must be monitored and cleaned often.

Venting "inside" or "outside," clean the filters often. Outside is best in both performance and safety. Period.

Sometimes venting outside is problematic. Okay then. But, if there is a choice, then there really is no choice in the long run. As a former fire inspector, just my personal opinion.

 

[joea]

Just to "close out". Ran it vented inside, for a while, till weather and energy allowed me to install the roof vent, a traditional Lo profile Broan vent. Poor QC by the way, but, it will work. And work it does.

Much better with venting outside. Thanks for the comments.