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Posted by John Gilmer on May 12, 2008, 9:12 am
> I will tell you, before the microwave is installed, there's a plate over
> the fan. The fan actually rotates to 3 different positions, depending how
> you will vent the exhaust. It's very possible, if yours is built the same
> way, someone may have left the plate intact. Or, they rotated the fan
> motor the wrong way vs. the way it actually exhausts.
Yep! I think you hit the nail on the head there.
I have installed two over the stove microwave units. The first was set up
to just filter the "hood" air and expel it back into the kitchen and the
other is connected to a duct going up to the attic (yeah, I know, it should
be run outside but that't for another project).
Neither words quite as well as the dedicated hood they replaced but they
definite do the job. Since they are closer to the cooking food the odors
don't diffuse as much so that compensates for the lower power.
Bottom line: it sounds like the installer messed up.
Installing them is a PITA but taking one down and putting it back up again
shouldn't take much time: the back plate will stay in place and the holes in
the cabinet are already in place. It's "smart" to move out the stove first
and also to have a strong helper to help "catch" the unit when the screws
are taken out.
I think the OP (or the installer) should take the unit off the wall and make
sure the "vent" is set up correctly. I suspect the GE guy just checks to
see if the motor turns and the "electronics" works; if he didn't take the
unit off the wall he would have no way of determining whether it was
installed properly.
>
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **
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Posted by Mark Modrall on May 12, 2008, 7:52 pm
Thanks to everyone for their responses.
The unit we bought was a GE Profile Microwave/Convection as well. And
we have it venting to the outside through a duct.
We had our contractor do the installation. When we kept complaining
about it, he took it down, checked, and re-did the installation 3 times,
the last time with GE Support on the phone.
GE support told him that their definition of "success" is when you put
the fan on High, put a kleenex up against the vent, the kleenex stays
there. By that standard our installation passed, but just barely.
Either way, when we boil a pot of water on the back burners right
underneath the vent, *some* of the steam goes in (but hey, it *is*
rising directly under the vent) but most just billows out to the back,
front, and sides, making it pretty useless.
We called the GE support guy out. He immediately declared it an
"installation problem". He spent an hour fiddling. He unhooked the
pipe and hooked it back up (not changing anything as far as we could
tell - certainly not changing the performance of the fan) and then said
it would be $170 because it was an installation problem not an equipment
problem.
If he'd found something and fixed it we might have just lumped it, but
we demonstrated the lack of function to him. He got caught in this
catch-22, saying "it's functioning as designed" and then saying "it's an
installation problem" over and over. Getting a $170 bill and having it
not work a lick better is the insult to injury.
Since we had this experience we've called around. Found one person with
the exact same unit who said that the vent never really worked so she
just didn't use it. Found another person (don't remember the type) who
said she gets all kinds of mold on the walls and cabinets under her vent
because it doesn't suck in the steam either.
We just figured that it was a trade-off; the microwave in the way of the
duct diminished the efficacy. Plus, it couldn't fit a big enough fan
because of the space the microwave took up.
Have to say I was surprised to see so many people here say "worked fine
for them" because we haven't found a local person yet who said that the
combo units had a working vent.
By the by, we also found someone who worked for GE. A defective GE
microwave burned down his house, and GE told him they wouldn't help him
out.
Mark
> Mark,
>
> I had just installed a GE Profile Microwave/Convection in my place. I don't
> know the specs on the fan, but it works quite well.
>
> I will tell you, before the microwave is installed, there's a plate over
> the fan. The fan actually rotates to 3 different positions, depending how
> you will vent the exhaust. It's very possible, if yours is built the same
> way, someone may have left the plate intact. Or, they rotated the fan motor
> the wrong way vs. the way it actually exhausts.
>
> Check the installation here, under "hood exhaust".
> http://products.geappliances.com/ProdContent/Dispatcher?REQUEST=ITEMID&itemid=
> 49-40247
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Posted by Kirby on May 13, 2008, 8:40 am
"Mark Modrall" wrote
> We had our contractor do the installation. When we kept complaining
> about it, he took it down, checked, and re-did the installation 3 times,
> the last time with GE Support on the phone.
Mark, I don't want to sound as I'm flaming you, but this sounds like total
incompetence on the contractor's part. 3X's for an installation? For the
contractor having to get phone support, after having installation
instructions available, I would've thrown this person out!
> We called the GE support guy out. He immediately declared it an
> "installation problem". He spent an hour fiddling. He unhooked the
> pipe and hooked it back up (not changing anything as far as we could
> tell - certainly not changing the performance of the fan) and then said
> it would be $170 because it was an installation problem not an equipment
> problem.
Surely he had to find something to indicate it was an installation problem.
There only can be a number of things.
> By the by, we also found someone who worked for GE. A defective GE
> microwave burned down his house, and GE told him they wouldn't help him
> out.
Now this sounds like a fish tale, by a disgruntled ex-worker. If in fact, a
defective microwave burned down a house, you don't ask for help from GE.
You hire a lawyer, which takes them to court.
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Posted by Wayne Boatwright on May 13, 2008, 9:18 am
On Tue 13 May 2008 05:40:08a, Kirby told us...
>
> "Mark Modrall" wrote
>
>> We had our contractor do the installation. When we kept complaining
>> about it, he took it down, checked, and re-did the installation 3
>> times, the last time with GE Support on the phone.
>
> Mark, I don't want to sound as I'm flaming you, but this sounds like
> total incompetence on the contractor's part. 3X's for an installation?
> For the contractor having to get phone support, after having
> installation instructions available, I would've thrown this person out!
>
>
>
>
>
>> We called the GE support guy out. He immediately declared it an
>> "installation problem". He spent an hour fiddling. He unhooked the
>> pipe and hooked it back up (not changing anything as far as we could
>> tell - certainly not changing the performance of the fan) and then said
>> it would be $170 because it was an installation problem not an
>> equipment problem.
>
>
> Surely he had to find something to indicate it was an installation
> problem. There only can be a number of things.
>
>
>> By the by, we also found someone who worked for GE. A defective GE
>> microwave burned down his house, and GE told him they wouldn't help him
>> out.
>
> Now this sounds like a fish tale, by a disgruntled ex-worker. If in
> fact, a defective microwave burned down a house, you don't ask for help
> from GE. You hire a lawyer, which takes them to court.
Of the several micro/hoods we've owned, two were GE. We had nary a problem
with either. Both were vented to the outside. As I mentioned in another
post, the best ventilation draw is from pots on the back burner, but it was
very effective for those. The unit inherently sets too far back to catch
much steam or vapor coming from pots on the front burners. Still, I'd
rather have one than a plain hood. Our current micro/hood is a Whirlpool,
and it performs just as well as the GE.
--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 05(V)/13(XIII)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Countdown till Memorial Day
1wks 5dys 17hrs 45mins
-------------------------------------------
Cats need to kill the kibble by
batting it around the kitchen.
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Posted by Phisherman on May 13, 2008, 6:39 pm
On Tue, 13 May 2008 13:18:07 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
>with either. Both were vented to the outside. As I mentioned in another
When I was looking for a house to buy back in 1998, I thought I found
what I wanted until I found there was no vent to the outside. To
correct this problem I would have to use up considerable cupboard
space, plus have a long run to the outside. Ideally, the hood/range
is mounted on an outside wall.
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