Why Your Range Vent Rattles and Hums
Range vents are wonderful conveniences. They help to keep your entire house from becoming smelly and smoky as a result of cooking activities. But even when they’re working properly, range vents can be a bit noisy.
And sometimes the noise from range vents can be rather extreme – loud enough to drive you to distraction! Sometimes the noise of a range vent can be so annoying that you’re not sure which to choose: the noise, or a smoky, smelly house.
If your range vent is making way more noise than it should, it’s most likely for one of the following reasons:
Motor Malady:
The vent or blower wheel that creates the airflow can begin to fail with age and wear. If the motor fails outright, then you certainly won’t have a noise problem!
But sometimes motors can fail gradually. And when that happens, the motor might make all manner of ghastly noises as it suffers through its death throes. High-pitched whining noises are common, as are grinding sounds.
One common point of motor failure is with the bearings. If you can access the shaft of the motor, you can test whether the bearings are a problem. Simply try wiggling the motor shaft back and forth. It shouldn’t move at all.
If you detect any back-and-forth movement, it’s likely that the bearings are going bad, and the motor will have to be replaced.
Fan or Blower Wheel Misalignment:
All vent hoods use either a fan or a blower wheel to move air. Sometimes the fan or blower may become misaligned. When that happens the fan or blower may rub against the housing.
With a severe misalignment, the fan or blower may become lodged against the housing so that it won’t turn at all. But with just a slight misalignment, the fan or blower may continue to run while constantly rubbing against the housing. And that’s likely to create lots of noise.
Do You Just Hear a Humming Noise?
If your range vent doesn’t blow air, but still makes a humming sound, that’s an indication that the motor is working. This can happen when there’s a severe misalignment of the fan or blower with the housing, as discussed above.
But it can also happen if an obstruction of some sort has wedged against the fan or blower wheel, preventing it from turning. The humming sound you hear is the motor trying to do its job, but unable to overcome whatever is preventing the fan or blower from turning.