Friend of mine is buying a home that has a defective downdraft range vent. Problem is the motor that raises and lowers the assembly appears to be burned out. Double question.
- Are these generally repairable?
- Are they universal so that alternate brands can be swapped in relatively easy?
Bottom line is I've never dealt with one of these before. Asking here now so I can pass along recommendations on whether to call an electrican for repair or replacement.
I looked into them a few years ago. As I recall, the ones I looked at were similar, but not identical in size. Some may be a drop in, some might not. But what really matters is what's there now. Just pull the specs, install instructions on it and then compare it to any others of interest. I would think it would be possible to just replace the motor too, if that's what's wrong with it. Again with the make/model you can see what parts are available from online parts suppliers. But if they have to call an appliance repairman, etc and it's a common brand type, could probably find a whole new unit that doesn't cost much more.
How well they work, IDK. I have a conventional downdraft and it does something, how much better the pop-up type are, IDK. My gut feel is that it's probably better than type I have, but only if you use the back burners near it. And best of all by far is the hood type, they really work. That might be an option too, depending on how hard or easy it would be to install.
I've know a couple of people that have them. Don't bother trying to fix it because they don't do much good anyway. Grease and fumes travel up and don't always get sucked down.
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