my experience with Broan-NuTone NTM302WH range hood

feisty68

12 years ago

I have had this under-cabinet hood installed for about 6 months.

Broan-NuTone NTM302WH - 30 Inch, 500 CFM, 4.1 Sones

Not sure if mine is the same as the photo above - mine is slightly off-white, not standard appliance white.

PROS:

* I like the smooth, rounded appearance of this hood. It looks unobtrusive compared to the black hood that it replaced.

* CAN$300 at Home Depot

* noise level is probably as advertised

* grease cups are easy to clean in dishwasher

* offwhite colour complements my wall colour better than standard white-white appliance colours

* lighting is pleasant

* effective for normal cooking

* depth provides pretty good capture area for a hood in this price range

CONS:

* noise level is too loud for conversation, talking on the phone, or listening to the radio - noise is an "air moving" noise, not a motor/mechanical noise

* doesn't keep up with smoke from wokking or searing meat, etc.

* wire cages on underside have to be unscrewed for cleaning (not that hard but they do get dirty)

I wrote this review because I am finding it really hard to find "real people reviews" of range hoods. I have seen a lot of suspicious positive and negative reviews on consumer sites and even in forums. Although there is a lot of theoretical information available about range hoods, it is still hard to select a residential pro-style model. I hope others will review their installed hoods so that we can be better informed as consumers. Most of the brands/models of range hoods that I am considering cannot be viewed in a showroom in my city.

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Comments (7)

malabacat_gw
12 years ago
Thanks for posting this review. I'm currently looking for a range hood and like you, haven't found the solid information, for a variety of reasons, about range hoods that I've been able to find on other home related things.
justsaying
12 years ago
I also have been looking to replace my range hood and was looking at the Broan. Gets good reviews on Amazon, especially for the price. Amazon has better prices on it than Home Depot. I mostly just run the one I have when I burn something because it is so noisey!
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feisty68
Original Author
12 years ago
The one I've reviewed runs from 4.1 to 9.5 Sones (at the higher settings), according to manufacturer specs. Too loud for me, but I don't think that there are much quieter options in this price range?
paolorosso
11 years ago
do not buy this. impossible to remove lens cover to replace lightbulb.
Futuro Futuro Kitchen Range Hoods
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
9.5 sones is definitely too loud for conversation (around 3.5-4 sones is the threshold for getting uncomfortable). However, in this price range (~$300-$400), it's pretty much par for the course.

A low-power blower running "at redline" is always going to be louder than a more powerful blower running at a fraction of its speed. In other words, a 500-CFM blower producing 500 CFM (full speed) will always be louder than a 1000-CFM blower producing 500 CFM (1/2 speed).

Unfortunately, with under-cabinet range hoods, there's simply no room to equip a large blower - you need a full-size wall range hood for that (or a remote blower, which would add to the cost). So, the entire category of under-cabinet hoods is stuck with either very low performance, or high noise, it's not a Broan-specific issue.

In addition, the filter area comes into play. The smaller the filter area for a given airflow, the higher the speed of the air being pulled through the aperture. Higher speed = more noise.
Christopher Burkholder
9 years ago
I am also unable to remove the lens cover to replace the lightbulb
HU-846196089
last year
How do you replace the light bulbs, I am having problems getting them out?