Imperial 3-1/4" x 10" R2 Premium Range Exhaust Hood, White, VT0500

I bought this to install with my new Chef PS18 range hood. The existing hole in the wall from the old vent hood for this cap was already the same size so removing the old one and installing this one wasn't too difficult. This exhaust cap is a premium product, there is nothing cheap about. The metal is thick and the length of the square duct part of it that goes inside the wall is 10 or 12 inches, long enough to go through the thickest wall. I have regular 2 x 4 walls so I had to cut it down to the right length with a hack saw. The painted surface on the head has a good layer of paint on it and isn't easily scratched, it's was probably primed before being painted. The damper inside is also well balanced and opens easy with a little draft, and closes snug when there is no air flow. Since my new range hood also had an exhaust damper on it I decided to remove one of them so the exhaust fans didn't have to force two dampers open. I removed the one from the range hood and left this one for three reasons, one I wanted the damper as close to the outdoor exit as possible to keep critters out, two - if this damper ever gets stuck, I can easily work on it by reaching up the exit opening outside, where if the damper on the range hood got stuck it might be quite an ordeal to get to. Three - this damper was the better made and most likely to remain trouble free of the two. Some things that I would suggest to anyone installing one of these vent exhaust caps is to use the damper in this cap, and remove any other damper in the path such as one that may come installed in the range hood. I would also put a good layer of long lasting caulk or silicone around the inside of the the galvanized rectangle end of this cap where they join and this one slides over the rectangle piece on the back of the range hood. This will seal the two rectangle exhaust pieces together and prevent any accumulation of grease, smoke or other smell from accumulating in the wall.

Great product, very durable. Don’t order any extra pipe. It is long enough to reach directly to the back of the range hood. My only question is that it didn’t come with a wire cage for the outside to keep out animals or birds. Not sure if it is needed.

TL;DR:This is hands down the best exhaust vent you can buy (especially over what’s available in the big box stores). The sheet metal is a thicker gauge than most vents and the weather stripping with weighted vent door makes this very good product. I highly recommend, if installing on vinyl siding, that you take the time to install it behind the siding. It will last for the lifetime of the house, (probably) maintenance free.Install notes (doesn’t include any instructions for the microwave - consult your manufacturer’s instructions):As others have decided to do, I installed this exhaust vent behind my siding. Overall, to complete the project, it added a day’s worth of work and $50 for tools & supplies.Check out the HouseImprovements YouTube channel for any questions on removing siding, cutting siding or installing j-channel. Note that this project doesn’t require window lap drip trim.1. Materials: Tyvek (housewrap) seal tape, Malco SRT2 siding removal tool, 1 1/2” roofing nails, 1/2” or 5/8” white vinyl J-channel (depending on your siding thickness, 1 1/2” wood or sheet metal screws.2. Tools: tape measure, hammer, razor blade, keyhole (manual) or reciprocating saw, extra long drill bit, speed square, pencil, aviator/sheet metal snips, 6” and 2’ carpenter’s level.3. Per your manufacturer’s instructions, mark out the interior dryall per the specifications. Designate the exact center of the rectangle once drawn.4. Drill a hole through the exact center of interior rectangle with extra long drill bit, taking care to keep the drill level and plumb.5. Remove exterior vinyl siding with SRT2 tool, as needed (3 rows, total: row with hole, above and below.6. Cut out the designated interior rectangle drywall, remove excess insulation, and install the microwave with wall vent adapter per manufacture specifications.7. Measure a rectangle on the exterior housewrap exactly 3.5” x 10.25” (1/4” tolerance above exact measurements), based off the exterior drill hole.8. Cut the Tyvek/housewrap per the exterior measurement above and cut out the measured rectangle with saw.9. Measure depth of exterior hole in wall to the base of the microwave wall adapter (not the lip of the adapter, but the edge that touches the back of the he microwave ).10. Reduce (cut) the exhaust vent shaft to the exact measurement as above with aviator/sheet metal snips.11. Insert wall vent into exterior hole, carefully guiding the shaft onto the microwave adapter. When set correctly, you’ll feel it lay freely and the back of the trim of the vent will lay flush with the wall. Secure with sheet metal/wood screws.11a. You can verify the adapter seated itself into the vent shaft by taking a photo with your phone inside the vent, with flash on, as shown in the attached photo.12. Tape the trim of the vent, covering the screws, with housewrap seal tape, starting with the bottom, then the sides, then the top. Conservatively overlap all edges with each previous piece of tape (as shown in the attached photo).13. Cut and attach J-channel to all sides of the vent trim, covering the trim completely (including screws).14. Tape the top j-channel piece, covering the screws. Build up additional tape layers by two, for a total of three taped rows.14. Trim siding as needed and reinstall.15. Turn on microwave exhaust fan to verify functionality.Overall experience:Honestly, do yourself a favor and don’t cheap out. There’s a reason you’re looking for this vent - you recognize the problem with cheap, readily available materials at the big box stores. Take the time to do it right and you’ll have a great, leak-free experience with this wall vent for the lifetime of the house (or at least the microwave). Hopefully you’ll even have your wife say “Wow, that looks like it was always there!”.I will update this review after I have a chance to test its functionality and durability

This is a really, really good venting product. The metal extension fits perfectly over the hood tail with no adapting necessary. Good, solid construction and the damper is weighted and seals well. Two problems in my application: 1. There is no bird screen. 2. The outside is powder-coated, but not the inside. If you only get one shot at replacing a hood vent because you are doing so 30 feet above ground level, and your house is gulf front where the salt corrodes everything, the best thing to do is to use a heavy plastic cover with a bird screen.

This thing is really well made. Heavy metal with good fabrication. It is nice when you order something and it is NOT a piece of junk! Buy this you’ll be very happy with it.

Great vent for my range hood. Much better quality than the thin metal junk they had at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Those were so flimsy they would bend even picking them up, but with this you can really feel the difference. Very easy to slip through the wall, cut to length with aviation snips and attach my range hood. The damper on this is great so far, it has a decent amount of weight to it so it firmly shuts when the hood stops blowing.it looks good on the outside of the house as well, I just put some while caulk around it and it blended into my white siding perfectly. I’d definitely recommend this vent and I’m glad I came across it on amazon, absolutely worth spending a few extra dollars and getting a quality product.

Looks good works good not long to install

Does it's intended purpose.

Sized just right damper works right and well made but high price

This is a good quality vent. The spring loaded flap is great, no complaints.

Fit perfectly with the kitchen hood

As described strong material works perfectly!