This fix was huge. Weve had this exact microwave for years and I always thought the hood was useless. I just did this today and this worked like a charm! Thank you!!
holy crap.... obviously I'm here because i could barely feel mine venting, and couldn't see any noticeable movement of steam or smoke.... I literally can't believe the design flaws that they built around. thanks for posting this.
and another item of note... you "CAN" put metal in the microwave... hence the racks... you just can't have "points" like with fork tines for the microwaves to jump between. I don't recommend testing this. also... replace those incandescent with LEDs for an even more rich kid feel
I did end up replacing the bulbs with LED because the lights often get left on at night for dim room lighting. I feel so rich now that I need my Mr Peanut monocle!!
Thanks for the video, I have same issue with my Whirlpool, I wanted to remove the OTR and see why no suction while it blow ait pretty good. Here is the solution.
Thanks for watching. I hope it works out for you. Our OTR is still running strong with the same paper tape holding strong. You’ll definitely notice a difference.
thank you for sharing, it is clearly a design issue that Samsung needs to improve on and that the customer should not go through this inconvenience. I had the same issue with the bnew unit I bought. I don't know what the technician will tell me next week but I seem to lost my confidence with the brand. I wish I can be handyman like you to fix mine.
I know what they’ll tell you! Everything is working as designed! Unfortunately it wasn’t designed well. The back panel is like Swiss cheese and let’s air in from everywhere but the stove top. Mine will pull the steam from my coffee mug as my Keurig next to my stove makes the coffee. Thank you for watching and I hope it goes well for you. Wish I could help more.
Thank YOUUU!!!! I had the same issue with my new LG Microwave , Like you, my main reason for the over the range microwave purchase was to exhaust out the heat and steam from cooking. My first try of boiling water was a failure. after I found your video, I made some brief adjustments to blocking off whatever top holes behind the front top panel I saw , it's a big improvement. I'll take it down soon and get inside to make more fixs, but thank you again.
I’m glad you’re seeing results. My blue painters tape is still holding strong after four years and the blower will still pull the steam from the coffee maker on the counter next to the stove. We’ve had ZERO issues with this fix and I’m glad we took the time to do it. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Sorry to hear of your problem, but we’re not alone. When I did a quick search of the internet, there were thousands of complaints to manufacturers about these issues. Wait till you see how many air leaks there are in the cabinet! Please let me know how it turns out and thanks for watching.
Excellent post can't find much on OTR suction fix. My Kenmore is not sucking at all. I was thinking it was the charcoal filter but I'm not sure. I didn't know if that sucked or blew. But it had been replaced in a long time so it was definitely in need of it. I will definitely consider what you have shown here if I can't get the thing to suck
Thanks for watching. I’m willing to bet this is a wide spread problem amongst ALL the makes and models. I’m sure you’ll make only improvements if you take it apart and block all the holes in the rear panel. Good luck and write back if you have any questions.
Before anyone starts taping the holes make sure the backdraft damper, that’s installed between the top of the microwave and the vent piping, is able to move freely. If your replacing an existing microwave or have had it replaced by an installer the chances this is the problem are very high. The backdraft damper is easy to bind up if you’ve even slightly crushed the duct fitting that goes from the 4x10 (dimension may be off) boot fitting to 6”round duct. Best Buy installers don’t take time or care if they leave it working. It just has to appear to work and their on to the next one.
We had a couple of guys from home Depot install an over the range microwave and range, of course after they left I tested it, but it hardly any suction, aren't you supposed to hear the flapper close when you turn off the fan, I don't hear the metal flapper close when I turn off the fan, is that normal for over the range microwaves.
The back of the microwave looks like it was shot with buckshot there are so many holes in it!!! Way too many vent holes inside the microwave. You’ll notice a big difference. Cover as many as you can, but leave some holes for the microwave cooking area to vent steam. Thanks for watching and good luck.
Excellent video, we moved into our new house and they had a Samsung microwave and had the same issue. I have never heard anything good about Samsung electronics…… regarding household appliances💩. Terrible design flaw.
I couldn’t agree more! I can’t believe all the holes in the back of the cabinet. It’s like shooting a vacuum hose with bird shot and expecting it to still function.
That’s fantastic!! My tape is still holding up a year after installation. I’m very happy for you and your fan that now works the way it should! Thanks for getting back to me with the results.
@@237130 I mean it does not work, the steam goes straight up all over the microwave and all my cabinets. Samsung is sending a tech over. We'll see what he says
mathieu nadeau let me know what he finds please. I know my duct work has a flap in it to keep air from coming back in from outside. I believe it’s located on top of the microwave in the adapter the goes from a rectangular piece to the round duct work. Also the motors have to be turned (or not) to direct the vented air to either go to the ductwork or blow out the top. Please let me know what he finds.
@@NeilKorotash he told me thats how the product works and he couldn't do anything about it, samsumg told me product was working as it should, it's junk.
Your microwave fan is supposed to be 18 inches off the stove too so you need to raise the cabinet above the stove to accommodate this. If you have a hood fan it can be higher. Also a 6 inch duct is required and as straight as possible Exit to the outside. Every elbow you add lowers the flow. Also a ridged vent pipe is code, no flex pipe as it too will restrict flow and cause oils to pool inside the vent pipe. Also the outside vent must also be large enough that it doesn’t restrict air flow to the outside. If you go to an H vac company they can show you what is required. The reason air is being pushed into the cabinet is because of not meeting the vent standards as per code. Your solution is just putting more stain on the fan motor with out reducing the restrictions of air flow interruptions by poor venting. You are not alone many homes don’t meet code. Also in new homes your bathroom fan and your microwave are wired so make up air is allowed in your home when fan is on. This reduces the air pressure in the home and allows less resistance to the fan and again creates a positive flow instead of a negative flow. The building code is there for a reason. Dryer vents are even more of an issue when using wrong materials. They too should be solid ducting. This is number one cause of house fires. I have removed the shell of dryers and found them to be covered with lint and sooner or later a fire will start. If your clothes take a long time to dry it is because of poor venting not a bad dryer. Hope this helps You can do this stuff yourself but do it right, lives are worth way to much and all your belongings that are lost in a house fire that can designate a house in under 15 minutes. Do the right thing follow code and get real advice from an H Vac company or your cities building code office.
Everything in the house was inspected and passed. I followed the installation instructions and have 6” duct all the way out. No flex pipe. This microwave/fan moves air as when I open the kitchen window and turn the fan on, I can feel the air getting sucked into the house through the window. Thanks for posting the info as all the points you made are completely valid. My purpose of the video is only to show how leaky the cabinet is and how to improve it. At no time will I give people instructions how high to mount it or what equipment to use to vent it. As you say, that’s up to building code inspection and the installers due diligence. Thanks for watching and taking the time to share your knowledge.
This is very dangerous solution as it introduces many fire hazards. Over time the painters tape will come off and become a fire hazard or clog your fan. Painters tape is meant to be easily removable the heat and air flow expedites this process. It will pass code because inspectors don’t take apart your microwave. The microwave would not pass inspection. This may work but not for very long.
I did block the top vent off because there seemed to be some leakage there even though the motor was turned to direct the air flow up the duct. The entire cabinet is one big leak.
It’s still running fantastic. The only thing I’ve replace are the cook top lights under the microwave. I’ve changed them over to LED and few years back.
Thanks For your intelligence and great video. Sucks to know you have to buy these Microwave new and modify them like this to make them work Better. Kind of a goofy design.
This seems like a major design flaw on all OTR's and not just Samsung. I have a newish OTR in my basement that I just tested for the first time and it does not suck!! Will be taking it apart soon to investigate.
@@237130 Works good now and I used foil tape to cover all holes and gaps. It's a LG but inside looked similar to your Samsung. Before it couldn't even hold a piece of toilet paper, now it can hold a regular sheet of paper. Thanks for the tutorial!
@@Yolo-xj2qe that’s fantastic!! I’m very happy for you and I’m sure it was worth the effort. I was going to use the foil tape as well, but when I was working this project, I want sure if the holes in the cabinet were the issue (turns out it was) I didn’t want to waste the foil tape. If I have to take mine down for any reason, I’ll be swapping the painters tape out for foil tape. The painters tape is holding up quite well for now. Thank you for letting me know it worked for you and thanks for watching!
@@237130 Okay, having followed this video as I worked on our Samsung Microwave, I can say that this video was extremely helpful! There were some differences with our model (ME18H704SFS)--fewer holes to patch--but the basics were the same, and this video explained what to do in a clear, straightforward way. And I will NEVER buy a Samsung microwave again!
@@josephmillett8940 I have to say that as much as nobody should have to pay the $$$ that we pay for these products, get them home and have to modify them to function properly, the microwave and blower itself works fantastic. My wife and kids slam the door to it and drive me nuts when they do so. ALL THE ELECTRONICS IN THE DOOR!! “KEEP SLAMMING IT AND ILL PUT YOUR HEAD IN IT NEXT TIME” I’m not saying it’s gonna last 10+ years as nothing seems to be made to last anymore, just saying the engineers seemed to put more thought into the unit itself than the cabinet!
Thank you very much for watching and commenting. This fan system went from useless to pulling the steam out of my coffee mug while under the keurig next to the stove. I hope the video helped you or at least entertained you for a minute.
Great video, and it's funny how you made fun of all those button options. This stupid thing can't even do the second most important function it was made for, which is sucking the air out! I had a service technician come today, and he said that actually, all this ventilation was designed to protect the microwave itself from overheating in case someone keeps it running for a couple of days in a row. Overall, I think these are faulty designs that defeat the purpose of their use.
I’m glad you liked the video. Well I’m not sure how someone would accidentally leave it running for a few days but that’s the best excuse I’ve heard for their design flaw so far. The microwave chamber has vent openings that vent into the case. If we run the microwave for long cook times, or something is going to give off lots of steam, we turn the fan on to remove that steam and keep the microwave cool. Works great. My blue painters tape is still holding strong and it still pulls the steam from my mug as the keurig makes my coffee next to the stove. Microwave still works great and works great removing whatever moisture and odor is coming off the stove. Thanks again for watching.
How has this held up? I'm about to YOINK! This thing down and start plugging! It's crazy how the blower is so strong but almost nothing goes into the bottom intakes. And Samsung doesn't care.
It’s held up great. It will be worth it. Cover all the holes on the back of the cabinet and that should be good. I guess results may vary, but my duct work is 6” diameter all the way to the exterior and about 25’ in length with only one 90* bend. The more narrow the duct, the longer the duct, and the more bends will negatively effect airflow. But the blower on settling one still pulls the steam from my keurig next to the stove.
@@237130 excellent! Mine is on recirculating right now. Aka, less than diddlysquat, but when I get a duct installed, it'll only be one bend and 2' of duct! I actually contacted Samsung today and they're sending someone to check it out. I know they're going to say it's fine but if "there's nothing they can do" they may give a refund! If not, I'll be taking everything up. Thanks!
@@courtneyw994 When the tech is done and says there’s nothing they can do, ask him why the back of the cabinet looks like it’s been shot with a shotgun! Why so many holes? Is it possible all the air is being sucked in from the Swiss cheese looking cabinet and not the intended vents!!! I’d be interested in their response!! Good luck!
Same issue, just unwrapped and installed it. Are the holes you blocked meant to circulate air to electric components?-- otherwise it looks like a fix. I will wait for a reply. Thanks for the vid.
All of the air that comes in from the bottom wraps around the entire microwave “chamber” and all of its electronics, so plenty of air is still circulating around in there. Instead of coming from behind the cabinet where you don’t want air coming from, it will come from where the air should be coming from when you buy a hood vent...from the vents!!! We use ours all the time, and the microwave gets used a lot too. My wife likes to cook. We call our stove the “eternal flame”!! My painters tape is still in place and the suction from the hood vents are still pulling the steam off the stove and out of my coffee cup beside the stove. This fix will work for you too. Thanks for watching and let me know if I can help any more.
I just put in a brand new lg I bought at year ago.. don't ask. Same issue. Not much suck but a lot of blow out the vent. Did you end up going going back in to caulk it or tin tape?
I haven’t done anything to the unit since we hung it on the wall! The blue painters tape is still holding on! Steam and cooking odors are being pulled into the hood vent and the flaps on our exterior vent are straight out when we have the blower on, indicating that it’s moving plenty of air still. We have a keurig on the counter top next to the stove, and when I make a cup of coffee with the hood vent running, it will pull the steam from my cup. So it’s still working just fine.
How is your microwave going? I just wonder if those leaking holes are a design defect or they serve some purpose. I mean if your microwave is still working good, then I will do the same on mine.
I hope it helps. It angered me to see so many people wanting to throw these new micros in the trash because Samsung wouldn’t help. The simple tape placement took the micro from absolutely useless as a hood vent to a great micro/vent. We shouldn’t have to do this, but....if you spent the money, this is how you can get your moneys worth. Thanks for watching.
Firstly, thanks for watching! Mine is vented through 6” ductwork which exits the side of our house. Although yours is not a terrible situation being vented in the attic, it can introduce excessive moisture into the attic which can lead to mold. Never a good idea to vent anything to the attic. Warm moist air is a breeding ground for bacteria and mold. If you can, get it vented through the roof, soffit, or siding. Thanks again.
The top cover on the microwave was so covered with grease, I never even knew there was a filter underneath! All smoke etc from cooking was going OVER the front and up to the top and out. I mean, huh? I know it works because I can go outside and feel the air blasting out the vent. So...I took the thing apart looking for the filter ON TOP, silly me no filter unless you are BLOWING out the top. So I sealed everything up on the front, just some duct tape and cardboard, and now it's "fixed". We'll see which way works better but I mean how long can it keep sucking all that grease through the front with no filter before it becomes a complete mess and I have to pull it down, take it apart and clean it? I think this is better. We'll see! While you're in there, replace those old crap incandescents with some LED's. That's how this all started, bulb getting so hot!
Mine has two filters underneath that get soaked in dawn occasionally for degreasing. I’d imagine all that grease would be all over the inside of the cabinet without filters in place. I also dumped those 80 watt bulbs and replaced mine with LED. Nice, bright, and cool.
You two are great! Very informational and funny to watch...thanks for making the video. I will be taking my new Samsung micro back down and taping off the holes as well. QUESTION: Do/did you have air blowing out the top recirculating room vent opening? Mine does even though I properly installed a roof vent. Cooked bacon and it blew so much smoke out the room vent the alarms went off and the entire new house smells like bacon (thats probably a win! lol)
We did have the same issue. The frame of that cabinet is so leaky it’s insane. What we ended up doing was we ran actual foil backed duct tape across the top vent. That tape has a strong adhesive and the foil keeps it strong and easy to keep clean.
@@237130 Thanks for taking the time to answer my question so thoroughly. I'll add the foil tape to the room vent as part of my repair. Keep posting videos you'll have a 100K subscriber plaque some day soon. Merry Christmas to you and family 🎅 🎄
Wow this is exactly the same problem I’m having except with an IKEA/whirlpool microwave. Tons of air flow out the top but very little suction on the bottom. Totally perplexed but this makes sense. I’m going to try this tomorrow. No issues with the painting tape?
Thanks for watching! Way too many air leaks in the cabinet. My painters tape is alive and well. I did keep some small holes open into the microwave chamber for steam removal. With the tape, make sure the surface is good and clean wherever you plan on taping. Good luck and please let me know if it works for you.
It did actually. It’s still holding on tight. Maybe because it was new, no greasy film or dust anywhere in it or on it. That might be a good surface to adhere to.
Am I ever glad you posted this, I'm having this problem and just started tearing it apart. How is your fix holding up? Still using the painters tape? Do you think the foil tape would be an issue?
Thanks for watching and I hope it helps you out. Our painters tape is still in place and holding up well. All of our efforts have been worth it. What kills me is when I’m out doing yard work and I can smell what my wife’s cooking for lunch or dinner!! So all of those odors (good or bad) are getting sucked outside like they should be. Also, not sure if this was in the video, but I was asked by another viewer. Even though we have the duct work installed correctly, some air still gets blown out the top of the microwave where it would blow out if you didn’t have it ducted outside. So we ran a piece of foil backed tape across the top vent above the door. The foil tape is super durable, easy to keep clean, and has a strong adhesive. Hope all that helps. Let me know if you need any more help. Thanks again for watching.
Thanks so much for watching! Ours is still doing great! We never took the painters tape off and it’s all holding up just fine. We have plenty of suction at the bottom vents and I’m so happy we made the fix. My wife has made some cooking dishes that would normally have left the house smelling less than desirable. Now we just pollute the outdoors with the smell of Brussel sprouts!!
Are you talking about the microwave cabinet or my wooden cabinets? If you’re talking about the wooden, they’re 19” off the countertop. The microwave sits about 14”+ above the stove top which was in specs from the manufacturer.
I find it shocking that people will take the opinions of an regular guy probably works in construction on have to modify and improve a microwave over which was built and safety and fire tested thousands of times for years before passed to be safe for use in a home and not some are you are going to alter it??? IF YOU BLOCK the ventilation as it is designed You insure will not cover the damage when your house burns down... just FYI . Oh and yes a microway (filled with extremely high voltage equipment that generates enormous amounts of heat) can cause a fire.
I appreciate your opinion as this video contains my opinion on how to address a low flow of air in a hood vent/microwave system. I’m clearly not an engineer nor claim to be one, however engineers have been know to make some deadly mistakes as well. Air flow was not halted in any way from what I have shown in this video. All I have done is show how all the random holes in the rear panel of the microwave cause it to pull air from the wall side of the microwave instead of the huge openings over the stove. By blocking the rear holes, air is pulled in from where it’s intended to be drawn from. I see no benefit from having air drawn in from the wall side of the cabinet as the sole purpose of the appliance is to be a microwave and a hood vent. The air that is drawn in from the stove side (even after all the rear holes are blocked) flows quickly and abundantly around the microwave cabinet AND still pulls air from the microwave chamber. There is no lack of air flow, the microwave isn’t going to over heat and explode. If I blocked every hole on all sides of the cabinet and stopped all air flow, I’d agree. That’s not the case here. I’m surprised you watched a video on how to make improvements on a microwave hood vent , the proceed to to attack the content provider and the people the video has helped. To each his own. I do thank you for taking the time to watch the video and comment. It’s all part of the community and I honestly appreciate your opinion.
Bought a house with brand new samsung appliances, stove, OTR microwave and refrigerator. Bought a samsung washer/dryer too before I did any research. I hate samsung products. The stove top glitched 3 months after we moved in and the hot burner light won't turn off. The microwave has NEVER worked as an exhaust fan (didn't know until we moved in) and the samsung ice maker freezes at least once a month and I have to use a blow dryer to make the ice maker function again. The dryer will NOT TURN OFF and the medium heat setting doesn't work but the high temp works oddly. Knocking on wood but since I am writing this my washer will probably break now. OH, they also put a brand new samsung dishwasher in too but I have used it 4 times tops and it still works I think normally. I'm getting rid of ALL samsung crap and buying more expensive worth the investment appliances. Samsung is garbage.
After all of that, they’d all be on the front lawn in a pile and on fire. Good Lord! So far so good with ours. Thanks for watching and I hope your appliances get their act together.
I don’t want you to do anything. This video was for people who wanted to make the product work better or at least as advertised. A lot of the microwave/fan units in production have the same issue, so returning it an buying a different unit may yield the same results.
If I have to take it down again, I’ll inspect the tape. The aluminum tape was my first thought, but putting metal backed tape in areas where I wasn’t sure how it would react with the microwaves themselves didn’t leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling. Paper tape has worked just fine so far. It’s been 4 years and it’s working great. As far as the warranty goes, well, it’s easier and cheaper to fix it myself tan to deal with the warranty. Paper tape comes off real easy with no remains if needed.
This fix was huge. Weve had this exact microwave for years and I always thought the hood was useless. I just did this today and this worked like a charm! Thank you!!
Outstanding!! So glad it worked for you too! Thanks for watching!
holy crap.... obviously I'm here because i could barely feel mine venting, and couldn't see any noticeable movement of steam or smoke.... I literally can't believe the design flaws that they built around. thanks for posting this.
and another item of note... you "CAN" put metal in the microwave... hence the racks... you just can't have "points" like with fork tines for the microwaves to jump between. I don't recommend testing this.
also... replace those incandescent with LEDs for an even more rich kid feel
I did end up replacing the bulbs with LED because the lights often get left on at night for dim room lighting. I feel so rich now that I need my Mr Peanut monocle!!
Also, thanks for watching! If you end up doing this, I think you’ll love the results.
Thanks for the video, I have same issue with my Whirlpool, I wanted to remove the OTR and see why no suction while it blow ait pretty good. Here is the solution.
Thanks for watching. I hope it works out for you. Our OTR is still running strong with the same paper tape holding strong. You’ll definitely notice a difference.
I was having the exact same issue. This easily double the suction, especially under the button panel. Thank you both for the tutorial.
Glad we could help! Happy holidays and thanks for watching!
thank you for sharing, it is clearly a design issue that Samsung needs to improve on and that the customer should not go through this inconvenience. I had the same issue with the bnew unit I bought. I don't know what the technician will tell me next week but I seem to lost my confidence with the brand. I wish I can be handyman like you to fix mine.
I know what they’ll tell you! Everything is working as designed! Unfortunately it wasn’t designed well. The back panel is like Swiss cheese and let’s air in from everywhere but the stove top. Mine will pull the steam from my coffee mug as my Keurig next to my stove makes the coffee. Thank you for watching and I hope it goes well for you. Wish I could help more.
Thank YOUUU!!!! I had the same issue with my new LG Microwave , Like you, my main reason for the over the range microwave purchase was to exhaust out the heat and steam from cooking. My first try of boiling water was a failure. after I found your video, I made some brief adjustments to blocking off whatever top holes behind the front top panel I saw , it's a big improvement. I'll take it down soon and get inside to make more fixs, but thank you again.
I’m glad you’re seeing results. My blue painters tape is still holding strong after four years and the blower will still pull the steam from the coffee maker on the counter next to the stove. We’ve had ZERO issues with this fix and I’m glad we took the time to do it. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I'm actually having this exact same problem! I'm gonna go try this as soon as I can! Thanks man
Sorry to hear of your problem, but we’re not alone. When I did a quick search of the internet, there were thousands of complaints to manufacturers about these issues. Wait till you see how many air leaks there are in the cabinet! Please let me know how it turns out and thanks for watching.
Great video, we’ve been having issues as well. Thank you!
@@Elrod88 Thanks for watching! Ours is still trucking along, works great as a hood vent, and still has the painters tape holding on tight!
Thank you for posting! I was about to replace the microwave with just a hood vent, but will try this first.
Thanks for watching! Please let me know if this works out for you. Covering all the holes in the rear of the cabinet made a huge difference for me.
Excellent post can't find much on OTR suction fix. My Kenmore is not sucking at all. I was thinking it was the charcoal filter but I'm not sure. I didn't know if that sucked or blew. But it had been replaced in a long time so it was definitely in need of it. I will definitely consider what you have shown here if I can't get the thing to suck
Thanks for watching. I’m willing to bet this is a wide spread problem amongst ALL the makes and models. I’m sure you’ll make only improvements if you take it apart and block all the holes in the rear panel. Good luck and write back if you have any questions.
Before anyone starts taping the holes make sure the backdraft damper, that’s installed between the top of the microwave and the vent piping, is able to move freely. If your replacing an existing microwave or have had it replaced by an installer the chances this is the problem are very high. The backdraft damper is easy to bind up if you’ve even slightly crushed the duct fitting that goes from the 4x10 (dimension may be off) boot fitting to 6”round duct.
Best Buy installers don’t take time or care if they leave it working. It just has to appear to work and their on to the next one.
We had a couple of guys from home Depot install an over the range microwave and range, of course after they left I tested it, but it hardly any suction, aren't you supposed to hear the flapper close when you turn off the fan, I don't hear the metal flapper close when I turn off the fan, is that normal for over the range microwaves.
Thank you so much for the video, we were so disappointed with ours. Gonna fix this weak sucking thing before Christmas
The back of the microwave looks like it was shot with buckshot there are so many holes in it!!! Way too many vent holes inside the microwave. You’ll notice a big difference. Cover as many as you can, but leave some holes for the microwave cooking area to vent steam. Thanks for watching and good luck.
Did you ever complete the modifications? Wonder how it came out if you did.
Excellent video, we moved into our new house and they had a Samsung microwave and had the same issue. I have never heard anything good about Samsung electronics…… regarding household appliances💩. Terrible design flaw.
I couldn’t agree more! I can’t believe all the holes in the back of the cabinet. It’s like shooting a vacuum hose with bird shot and expecting it to still function.
So basically it is designed so that the entire inside will get coated with the remaining gunk that makes it past the mesh filter.
Bingo!
just taped all the holes, tested it with paper, worked fine. boiled some water and the steam goes straight up ...
That’s fantastic!! My tape is still holding up a year after installation. I’m very happy for you and your fan that now works the way it should! Thanks for getting back to me with the results.
@@237130 I mean it does not work, the steam goes straight up all over the microwave and all my cabinets. Samsung is sending a tech over. We'll see what he says
mathieu nadeau let me know what he finds please. I know my duct work has a flap in it to keep air from coming back in from outside. I believe it’s located on top of the microwave in the adapter the goes from a rectangular piece to the round duct work. Also the motors have to be turned (or not) to direct the vented air to either go to the ductwork or blow out the top. Please let me know what he finds.
@@broncomat what did the tech discover?
@@NeilKorotash he told me thats how the product works and he couldn't do anything about it, samsumg told me product was working as it should, it's junk.
Your microwave fan is supposed to be 18 inches off the stove too so you need to raise the cabinet above the stove to accommodate this. If you have a hood fan it can be higher. Also a 6 inch duct is required and as straight as possible Exit to the outside. Every elbow you add lowers the flow. Also a ridged vent pipe is code, no flex pipe as it too will restrict flow and cause oils to pool inside the vent pipe. Also the outside vent must also be large enough that it doesn’t restrict air flow to the outside. If you go to an H vac company they can show you what is required.
The reason air is being pushed into the cabinet is because of not meeting the vent standards as per code. Your solution is just putting more stain on the fan motor with out reducing the restrictions of air flow interruptions by poor venting.
You are not alone many homes don’t meet code. Also in new homes your bathroom fan and your microwave are wired so make up air is allowed in your home when fan is on. This reduces the air pressure in the home and allows less resistance to the fan and again creates a positive flow instead of a negative flow.
The building code is there for a reason.
Dryer vents are even more of an issue when using wrong materials. They too should be solid ducting. This is number one cause of house fires. I have removed the shell of dryers and found them to be covered with lint and sooner or later a fire will start. If your clothes take a long time to dry it is because of poor venting not a bad dryer.
Hope this helps
You can do this stuff yourself but do it right, lives are worth way to much and all your belongings that are lost in a house fire that can designate a house in under 15 minutes.
Do the right thing follow code and get real advice from an H Vac company or your cities building code office.
Everything in the house was inspected and passed. I followed the installation instructions and have 6” duct all the way out. No flex pipe. This microwave/fan moves air as when I open the kitchen window and turn the fan on, I can feel the air getting sucked into the house through the window. Thanks for posting the info as all the points you made are completely valid. My purpose of the video is only to show how leaky the cabinet is and how to improve it. At no time will I give people instructions how high to mount it or what equipment to use to vent it. As you say, that’s up to building code inspection and the installers due diligence. Thanks for watching and taking the time to share your knowledge.
This is very dangerous solution as it introduces many fire hazards. Over time the painters tape will come off and become a fire hazard or clog your fan. Painters tape is meant to be easily removable the heat and air flow expedites this process. It will pass code because inspectors don’t take apart your microwave. The microwave would not pass inspection. This may work but not for very long.
did you block the holes in the top grill were it was pulling air in though top grill part above the door?
I did block the top vent off because there seemed to be some leakage there even though the motor was turned to direct the air flow up the duct. The entire cabinet is one big leak.
Also the vents on top of the door were leaking air out for me, not getting sucked in.
thats good to know .I blocked mine off and it made a big difference. is yours still working good with all the modifications
It’s still running fantastic. The only thing I’ve replace are the cook top lights under the microwave. I’ve changed them over to LED and few years back.
Thanks For your intelligence and great video. Sucks to know you have to buy these Microwave new and modify them like this to make them work Better. Kind of a goofy design.
Thanks for sharing... I was so frustrated with my new purchase. Going to try this!
Thanks for watching and please let me know how it works out!
This seems like a major design flaw on all OTR's and not just Samsung. I have a newish OTR in my basement that I just tested for the first time and it does not suck!! Will be taking it apart soon to investigate.
Thanks for watching!! Please drop a line back here with your findings! I’d love to know if you found what we found concerning the rear panel.
@@237130 Works good now and I used foil tape to cover all holes and gaps. It's a LG but inside looked similar to your Samsung. Before it couldn't even hold a piece of toilet paper, now it can hold a regular sheet of paper. Thanks for the tutorial!
@@Yolo-xj2qe that’s fantastic!! I’m very happy for you and I’m sure it was worth the effort. I was going to use the foil tape as well, but when I was working this project, I want sure if the holes in the cabinet were the issue (turns out it was) I didn’t want to waste the foil tape. If I have to take mine down for any reason, I’ll be swapping the painters tape out for foil tape. The painters tape is holding up quite well for now. Thank you for letting me know it worked for you and thanks for watching!
Thanks for this video. We also have a Samsung with the same problem, and now I can't wait to solve it!
Thanks for watching! Please post back with your results. I’d love to know how it works out.
@@237130 Okay, having followed this video as I worked on our Samsung Microwave, I can say that this video was extremely helpful! There were some differences with our model (ME18H704SFS)--fewer holes to patch--but the basics were the same, and this video explained what to do in a clear, straightforward way. And I will NEVER buy a Samsung microwave again!
@@josephmillett8940 I have to say that as much as nobody should have to pay the $$$ that we pay for these products, get them home and have to modify them to function properly, the microwave and blower itself works fantastic. My wife and kids slam the door to it and drive me nuts when they do so. ALL THE ELECTRONICS IN THE DOOR!! “KEEP SLAMMING IT AND ILL PUT YOUR HEAD IN IT NEXT TIME” I’m not saying it’s gonna last 10+ years as nothing seems to be made to last anymore, just saying the engineers seemed to put more thought into the unit itself than the cabinet!
@@237130 And now I have to find a video to show me how to stop the vegetable bin in my Samsung refrigerator from freezing up!
I have the same issue with a GE.
It’s worth the time to take it down and tape some holes. Mine has been up for 5 years now and now problems at all.
Lesson to learn from this! Samsung is cheap product ! Good job on your microwave Jarrod
Thank you very much for watching and commenting. This fan system went from useless to pulling the steam out of my coffee mug while under the keurig next to the stove. I hope the video helped you or at least entertained you for a minute.
Great video, and it's funny how you made fun of all those button options. This stupid thing can't even do the second most important function it was made for, which is sucking the air out!
I had a service technician come today, and he said that actually, all this ventilation was designed to protect the microwave itself from overheating in case someone keeps it running for a couple of days in a row.
Overall, I think these are faulty designs that defeat the purpose of their use.
I’m glad you liked the video. Well I’m not sure how someone would accidentally leave it running for a few days but that’s the best excuse I’ve heard for their design flaw so far. The microwave chamber has vent openings that vent into the case. If we run the microwave for long cook times, or something is going to give off lots of steam, we turn the fan on to remove that steam and keep the microwave cool. Works great. My blue painters tape is still holding strong and it still pulls the steam from my mug as the keurig makes my coffee next to the stove. Microwave still works great and works great removing whatever moisture and odor is coming off the stove. Thanks again for watching.
How has this held up? I'm about to YOINK! This thing down and start plugging! It's crazy how the blower is so strong but almost nothing goes into the bottom intakes. And Samsung doesn't care.
It’s held up great. It will be worth it. Cover all the holes on the back of the cabinet and that should be good. I guess results may vary, but my duct work is 6” diameter all the way to the exterior and about 25’ in length with only one 90* bend. The more narrow the duct, the longer the duct, and the more bends will negatively effect airflow. But the blower on settling one still pulls the steam from my keurig next to the stove.
Samsung don’t give a damn about your microwave.
@@237130 excellent! Mine is on recirculating right now. Aka, less than diddlysquat, but when I get a duct installed, it'll only be one bend and 2' of duct! I actually contacted Samsung today and they're sending someone to check it out. I know they're going to say it's fine but if "there's nothing they can do" they may give a refund! If not, I'll be taking everything up. Thanks!
@@courtneyw994 When the tech is done and says there’s nothing they can do, ask him why the back of the cabinet looks like it’s been shot with a shotgun! Why so many holes? Is it possible all the air is being sucked in from the Swiss cheese looking cabinet and not the intended vents!!! I’d be interested in their response!! Good luck!
Same issue, just unwrapped and installed it. Are the holes you blocked meant to circulate air to electric components?-- otherwise it looks like a fix. I will wait for a reply. Thanks for the vid.
All of the air that comes in from the bottom wraps around the entire microwave “chamber” and all of its electronics, so plenty of air is still circulating around in there. Instead of coming from behind the cabinet where you don’t want air coming from, it will come from where the air should be coming from when you buy a hood vent...from the vents!!! We use ours all the time, and the microwave gets used a lot too. My wife likes to cook. We call our stove the “eternal flame”!! My painters tape is still in place and the suction from the hood vents are still pulling the steam off the stove and out of my coffee cup beside the stove. This fix will work for you too. Thanks for watching and let me know if I can help any more.
I just put in a brand new lg I bought at year ago.. don't ask. Same issue. Not much suck but a lot of blow out the vent. Did you end up going going back in to caulk it or tin tape?
I haven’t done anything to the unit since we hung it on the wall! The blue painters tape is still holding on! Steam and cooking odors are being pulled into the hood vent and the flaps on our exterior vent are straight out when we have the blower on, indicating that it’s moving plenty of air still. We have a keurig on the counter top next to the stove, and when I make a cup of coffee with the hood vent running, it will pull the steam from my cup. So it’s still working just fine.
How is your microwave going? I just wonder if those leaking holes are a design defect or they serve some purpose. I mean if your microwave is still working good, then I will do the same on mine.
The microwave works just great. Zero issues what so ever. It’s almost been a year and well worth it! DO IT!!
Nice job! Thanks for posting.
Helpful video. Thank you.
I hope it helps. It angered me to see so many people wanting to throw these new micros in the trash because Samsung wouldn’t help. The simple tape placement took the micro from absolutely useless as a hood vent to a great micro/vent. We shouldn’t have to do this, but....if you spent the money, this is how you can get your moneys worth. Thanks for watching.
We notice our vent just ended up in the attic and not up through the roof- Did you vent yours through the roof?
Firstly, thanks for watching! Mine is vented through 6” ductwork which exits the side of our house. Although yours is not a terrible situation being vented in the attic, it can introduce excessive moisture into the attic which can lead to mold. Never a good idea to vent anything to the attic. Warm moist air is a breeding ground for bacteria and mold. If you can, get it vented through the roof, soffit, or siding. Thanks again.
The top cover on the microwave was so covered with grease, I never even knew there was a filter underneath!
All smoke etc from cooking was going OVER the front and up to the top and out. I mean, huh?
I know it works because I can go outside and feel the air blasting out the vent.
So...I took the thing apart looking for the filter ON TOP, silly me no filter unless you are BLOWING out the top.
So I sealed everything up on the front, just some duct tape and cardboard, and now it's "fixed".
We'll see which way works better but I mean how long can it keep sucking all that grease through the front with no filter before it becomes a complete mess and I have to pull it down, take it apart and clean it?
I think this is better. We'll see! While you're in there, replace those old crap incandescents with some LED's.
That's how this all started, bulb getting so hot!
Mine has two filters underneath that get soaked in dawn occasionally for degreasing. I’d imagine all that grease would be all over the inside of the cabinet without filters in place. I also dumped those 80 watt bulbs and replaced mine with LED. Nice, bright, and cool.
You two are great! Very informational and funny to watch...thanks for making the video. I will be taking my new Samsung micro back down and taping off the holes as well. QUESTION: Do/did you have air blowing out the top recirculating room vent opening? Mine does even though I properly installed a roof vent. Cooked bacon and it blew so much smoke out the room vent the alarms went off and the entire new house smells like bacon (thats probably a win! lol)
We did have the same issue. The frame of that cabinet is so leaky it’s insane. What we ended up doing was we ran actual foil backed duct tape across the top vent. That tape has a strong adhesive and the foil keeps it strong and easy to keep clean.
Thanks for watching and I’m glad we made you laugh a bit. We have fun together!
@@237130 Thanks for taking the time to answer my question so thoroughly. I'll add the foil tape to the room vent as part of my repair. Keep posting videos you'll have a 100K subscriber plaque some day soon. Merry Christmas to you and family 🎅 🎄
Wow this is exactly the same problem I’m having except with an IKEA/whirlpool microwave. Tons of air flow out the top but very little suction on the bottom. Totally perplexed but this makes sense. I’m going to try this tomorrow. No issues with the painting tape?
Thanks for watching! Way too many air leaks in the cabinet. My painters tape is alive and well. I did keep some small holes open into the microwave chamber for steam removal. With the tape, make sure the surface is good and clean wherever you plan on taping. Good luck and please let me know if it works for you.
Would metal tape be safe to use?
I wasn’t sure if the metal backed tape would interfere with the microwave, so I stuck with painters tape.
Did that painters rape actually hold this long? I would imagine you wouldve had to rip this apart and do it with better tape after 6 months or so.
It did actually. It’s still holding on tight. Maybe because it was new, no greasy film or dust anywhere in it or on it. That might be a good surface to adhere to.
Subscribed for the followup, well done!
Am I ever glad you posted this, I'm having this problem and just started tearing it apart. How is your fix holding up? Still using the painters tape? Do you think the foil tape would be an issue?
Thanks for watching and I hope it helps you out. Our painters tape is still in place and holding up well. All of our efforts have been worth it. What kills me is when I’m out doing yard work and I can smell what my wife’s cooking for lunch or dinner!! So all of those odors (good or bad) are getting sucked outside like they should be. Also, not sure if this was in the video, but I was asked by another viewer. Even though we have the duct work installed correctly, some air still gets blown out the top of the microwave where it would blow out if you didn’t have it ducted outside. So we ran a piece of foil backed tape across the top vent above the door. The foil tape is super durable, easy to keep clean, and has a strong adhesive. Hope all that helps. Let me know if you need any more help. Thanks again for watching.
How it is holding up . I just did mine and it worked . Thanks a lot !! My is a Ge
Thanks so much for watching! Ours is still doing great! We never took the painters tape off and it’s all holding up just fine. We have plenty of suction at the bottom vents and I’m so happy we made the fix. My wife has made some cooking dishes that would normally have left the house smelling less than desirable. Now we just pollute the outdoors with the smell of Brussel sprouts!!
Your microwave is mounted to far below the cabinets . Code for your cabinet is 18 inches off the counter.
Are you talking about the microwave cabinet or my wooden cabinets? If you’re talking about the wooden, they’re 19” off the countertop. The microwave sits about 14”+ above the stove top which was in specs from the manufacturer.
Same problem
Wow I wish I could fix mine, is soo annoying. I have two speed and only one sucks just a little
TAPE THE TOP ITS A LOT BETTER
I find it shocking that people will take the opinions of an regular guy probably works in construction on have to modify and improve a microwave over which was built and safety and fire tested thousands of times for years before passed to be safe for use in a home and not some are you are going to alter it??? IF YOU BLOCK the ventilation as it is designed You insure will not cover the damage when your house burns down... just FYI . Oh and yes a microway (filled with extremely high voltage equipment that generates enormous amounts of heat) can cause a fire.
I appreciate your opinion as this video contains my opinion on how to address a low flow of air in a hood vent/microwave system. I’m clearly not an engineer nor claim to be one, however engineers have been know to make some deadly mistakes as well. Air flow was not halted in any way from what I have shown in this video. All I have done is show how all the random holes in the rear panel of the microwave cause it to pull air from the wall side of the microwave instead of the huge openings over the stove. By blocking the rear holes, air is pulled in from where it’s intended to be drawn from. I see no benefit from having air drawn in from the wall side of the cabinet as the sole purpose of the appliance is to be a microwave and a hood vent. The air that is drawn in from the stove side (even after all the rear holes are blocked) flows quickly and abundantly around the microwave cabinet AND still pulls air from the microwave chamber. There is no lack of air flow, the microwave isn’t going to over heat and explode. If I blocked every hole on all sides of the cabinet and stopped all air flow, I’d agree. That’s not the case here. I’m surprised you watched a video on how to make improvements on a microwave hood vent , the proceed to to attack the content provider and the people the video has helped. To each his own. I do thank you for taking the time to watch the video and comment. It’s all part of the community and I honestly appreciate your opinion.
Bought a house with brand new samsung appliances, stove, OTR microwave and refrigerator. Bought a samsung washer/dryer too before I did any research. I hate samsung products. The stove top glitched 3 months after we moved in and the hot burner light won't turn off. The microwave has NEVER worked as an exhaust fan (didn't know until we moved in) and the samsung ice maker freezes at least once a month and I have to use a blow dryer to make the ice maker function again. The dryer will NOT TURN OFF and the medium heat setting doesn't work but the high temp works oddly. Knocking on wood but since I am writing this my washer will probably break now. OH, they also put a brand new samsung dishwasher in too but I have used it 4 times tops and it still works I think normally. I'm getting rid of ALL samsung crap and buying more expensive worth the investment appliances. Samsung is garbage.
After all of that, they’d all be on the front lawn in a pile and on fire. Good Lord! So far so good with ours. Thanks for watching and I hope your appliances get their act together.
That's scary, putting those screws in with the impact, brave.
I live on the edge!! I was trying to be as gentle as possible.
Seriously you want me to take apart a brand new unit and do this .
Sent it back is much easier
I don’t want you to do anything. This video was for people who wanted to make the product work better or at least as advertised.
A lot of the microwave/fan units in production have the same issue, so returning it an buying a different unit may yield the same results.
I will
Never buy another Samsung appliance, this is the dumbest design
I have the same micro, it’s trash. I installed it and the suction, sucks. 400 cfm...... better off with the $150 amana micro
Aluminum tape is what you should use. And your warranty is now void. That blue tape will let go over time
If I have to take it down again, I’ll inspect the tape. The aluminum tape was my first thought, but putting metal backed tape in areas where I wasn’t sure how it would react with the microwaves themselves didn’t leave me with a warm fuzzy feeling. Paper tape has worked just fine so far. It’s been 4 years and it’s working great. As far as the warranty goes, well, it’s easier and cheaper to fix it myself tan to deal with the warranty. Paper tape comes off real easy with no remains if needed.
@@237130 the electronic board is 250 bucks. And after your fix that would not be covered as well
You didn’t cut the whole as per the pattern. I install time all the time and that is your mistake
Which hole?
@@237130 in the bottom of the cabinet