Broan 413004 Under Cabinet Range Hood Review

With over 80 years of experience in the range hood industry, Broan is a household. In addition to manufacturing range hoods they also deal in fans, kitchen lights, diffusers and range hood inserts among other things. They are also renowned for their exceptional customer service and budget friendly home appliances.

Overview on the Features

  1. Dimensions: 30” in width (according to specifications but actually 29 3/4 ") X 17.5” in Length and 6”in Height.
  2. Weight: 10 pounds.
  3. Voltage: 120 V / 60 Hz.
  4. The model, but under slightly different names (all part of the 410000 series) is available in a variety of sizes and colors: 24”, 30”, 36” and 42” in stainless steel, white, bisque, black and almond.
  5. It is relatively weak at 160 CFM, but is decent for a non-ducted range hood. Broan does not officially provide this number because they say that CFM is a feature of a non-ducted range hood. But the fact is that CFM is related to the amount of air a range hood can move, and moving it through it's own filters still counts as moving air.
  6. The range hood is ADA Compliant, which means that people with disabilities can also use it.
  7. Minimum height above the cooktop is 18” and it is recommended to have it installed up to 24” above the cooktop.
  8. This hood can only be installed as a non-ducted installation. A Amazon Image combination grease-charcoal filter is included, but will have to be replaced every few months as it cannot be cleaned (as is the case with charcoal filters on recirculating range hoods).
  9. It accepts up to a 75 W bulb, and no bulb is included along with the range hood.

 

What Makes It One of the Best?

  • The light bulb comes with a protective lens which also helps dissipate light evenly across your cooktop.
  • With rocker type controls, this hood does not have a lot of electronics that could get faulty as the years go by which according to me is one of the reasons these simple and cheap range hoods by Broan are known to last 15 - 20 years. The fan has two speed settings and the light just has an on-off option.
  • Surprisingly for a recirculating range hood, the grease-charcoal filters are not just good at filtering your air of regular cooking impurities, but they also effectively capture smoke. It is worth mentioning that if you burn your steak or bacon, that’s not something this hood can handle. But, under all normal cooking circumstances (not accidents) this range hood is awesome. If there’s a lot of smoke you’re going to have to open some windows or use other means of exhaust.
  • Unfortunately, we do not know the sound level in sones, but watch the video above for a quick demonstration on the operation of the range hood and you would see that it’s not too loud.
  • Installing this range hood is a piece of cake for anyone experienced in DIY projects. It’s also a good first project if you want to get into DIY work. The range hood on it’s own is very light and all you need to do is drill holes and attach the hood under a cabinet. The wiring is on the right side of the hood.
  • Since this series of Broan range hoods comes with a combination grease-charcoal filter, there is no maintenance work other than the occasional replacement of the filter whenever you notice that the hood isn’t performing it’s functions to your liking. This is typically every 6 - 8 months for most homes.
  • Finally, this hood has a stainless steel brush finish with mitered sides and a hemmed button making it a hood that adds to the aesthetics of your kitchen and it is by no mean an eye-sore.

Features I Don't like About It

  • I personally do not have a problem with the hood not having a bottom cover, but this is something you may not like. The hood is fully exposed from underneath, you can see the fan, the grease-charcoal filter and the bulb. I personally do not mind this, because choosing to cover it would reduce the effectiveness of the filter and the intensity of the light.
  • The light bulb is not included and you’d have to buy it separately. This is no biggie, because you have the option to buy one of your choice. But, remember that the bulb socket doesn’t seem to be the strongest fixture on the hood and a heavy light bulb could cause the socket to drop down a bit and touch the light cover. This may not be a problem, but when the bulb touches the cover, it’s going to heat up more and may reduce the lifespan of the bulb (depending on the kind of bulb you use) and there’s the possibility of light not being dissipated as well.
  • The range hood must be hardwired by default. You do however, have an option to buy a 3 foot wide Image wire and plug that goes well with this model.
  • This is not really an issue with a feature, but the packaging when bought from Amazon (not sure about the others) isn't the best. There is very little protective styrofoam and there have been people who have complained of small dents on their range hood on arrival.

I Would Buy It If:

  1. I need a recirculating range hood and have low or medium exhaust requirements.
  2. I want the best bang for my buck and a range hood that can be installed easily, even with mediocre DIY skills and basic tools.
  3. I needed a range hood that was fairly quiet, yet gets the job done.
  4. I have cabinets, because the mounting screws being on the top surface does not allow this range hood to be installed directly on the wall. In short, it’s an under-cabinet range hood and not a wall mounted hood.
  5. I was looking for a range hood from a reputed brand with quality customer service.