Anyone add vent to 378XL convection?

[wvphil]

would like to add exterior vent to 2013 378 XL microwave/convection in order to get rid of the heat/odor issues while cooking. Wondering if anyone has successfully done this in this model Georgetown and specifically was there studs in the way of the exterior venting? Anyone who has successfully done this and could share info would be greatly appreciated.....

[silver]

Originally Posted by wvphil

would like to add exterior vent to 2013 378 XL microwave/convection in order to get rid of the heat/odor issues while cooking. Wondering if anyone has successfully done this in this model Georgetown and specifically was there studs in the way of the exterior venting? Anyone who has successfully done this and could share info would be greatly appreciated.....

I put one in my Berkshire. While I did not hit a stud I used a multi-tool and cut the hole from the inside. I went layer by layer rather than through the whole side at one time. As the flap for the vent is part of the outside part I figured if I found a stud I would just leave it in place, cut the hole around it. The air will just pass on both sides. Should work.

[wvphil]

Thanks for the pictures. I've thought about the idea of leaving metal stud if one was in the cut area but have concerns what would be the resulting damage to the fiberglass and exterior paint if using the convection on lets say 425 degrees? I'd think the metal stud would get very hot?

I'm hoping someone with a newer 378 may have already either vented or attempted to cut from the inside using the template provided with the microwave and can inform me what I can expect. I have read a few posts some are just using the fantastic fan in kitchen area while using the convection but this I'd suspect this would make things pretty warm if in the sunbelt. Last time I was in South Texas it was pushing 110 in august. With the convection oven unvented as it is now it's pretty useless to us right now. I've wondered if this was left unvented by Forest River for cost saving ie short cut or for any real valuable reason? Looks like you have already answered that question as far as the Brookshire is concerned.

Thanks for your information provided.

[dezolen]

My 5th wheel was not vented Could never understand why not.
I guess Forest River cuts corners as my new motorhome which has wonderful convection micro came from factory vented. It's not a Forest River product. Only hint I can give is it is made in Alabama.

[Nepas]

I'm still trying to figure out how to work my convection in my 378xl

HA

[Iggy]

Are the convection ovens worth replacing the microwave?
What make and models do you have?
Does it still have a light and intake vent on the bottom like the microwave?
What is the wattage and does it work OK on the present 15 amp outlet?
Thanks

[ramair]

I had a convection/half time oven and microwave in our 5th wheel and loved it. It cooked in half the time as the oven and D/W loved it for baking and everything. It was vented to the outside. You can purchase a convection/microwave and any of the department stores and they will fit in the same location. What we have in our motor home is a residential style microwave. Measure and you'll see. Looking at purchasing one if and when ours take a s-it.lol

[wvphil]

Iggy
I have at 2013 378 xl with the frigidaire micro/ convection installed from factory
In place of a conventional oven. Model number cfmv154clsa owners manual states 13.5 amp power required microwave output power 900 watts convection 1450 watts. Yes has lite above stove and is capable of being vented to outside but I'm
Not sure if a stud will be in the way to vent. I'm planning on removing unit and cutting wall from inside behind the unit using the supplied vent template to see if
Unit can be vented. I'd say it's a matter of personal preference but the biggest thing I do not like is it came from factory not vented. I'm sure a regular oven gets coach warm also however I think I'd like it a lot better if heat was vented to outside. Not to mention once vented the fan over the stove would also be vented to suck the cooking odors out. A 15 amp breaker will work fine with 14 3 wire but you'll not want to run anything else on the circuit while operating the convection.

[wvphil]

After much thought (actually worry) about trying to undertake this project today I decided I could not live with the recirculating of the cooking odors in the coach and the additional heat from the convection oven without finding out for sure if the unit could be successfully vented. So based on the outstanding guidance and pictures received earlier from "Silver" on venting of his Berkshire I decided today to pull the unit down, cut the wall from inside using the template supplied with the microwave to see if it could be done in the Georgetown 378XL. My main concern was would there be a stud in the way where the template required the hole to be cut? Getting right to the point the unit is now successfully vented. Used multi tool as advised by silver. Had to purchase an adapter from a distributer for the back of the convection in order to vent oven from back (part number can be found in installation manual for microwave) Bought vent at local RV dealer at parts department. (can be found easily on internet very reasonable) Project took about three to four hours but could of been done quicker if I was not triple checking everything before starting to cut. I'm very happy with the outcome. No more heat while using convection and no more smell from cooking! Well worth the effort. I'm going to post a few pictures as some of you other 378XL owners may be interested in doing this upgrade. My unit is a 2013 year model for the record.

[GABoy]

Very well done! I like the outside vent cover too. Looks better than most I've seen.


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[DreiHunde]

Outstanding!

[WDK]

Really good job!

WDK

[Palms]

This should be pinned. Excellent work!

[Maddog378]

i have the Amana Convection, but would like to do the same thing. I am especially interested in the manufacturer and model number of the outside vent. My biggest concern was the 400 degree plus heat coming out from the convection and discoloring the paint outside.

[wvphil]

I purchased my vent in Myrtle Beach. However, I found the same vent for you on Tweetys. Go to Tweetys.com and type in 50045 in part number search. Item number is N22-0678 made by JR products. price 36.52 in Black and N22-0677 pn 50035 in white.

I have tested mine for 45 minutes at 400 degrees which is my highest oven setting. Vent did not melt. Also I can hold my hand up to the exhaust and it is blowing pretty warm air but does not feel anywhere near 400 degrees being exhausted.

Take a look at new Winnebago's they are venting their convections. The vent they are using is a little smaller so I'm not sure of their part number. I've been told Tiffin is venting their convections at the factory also.

You will also probably need to order an adapter from the manufacture of the oven to vent out rear. (I did anyway) You then will have to use alum vent tape to connect the two together.

I did a lot of looking at different vents before starting. This was by far the best design I could find as far as functional (flapper with latch) and looks (outside cover). There is many complaints with some other designs that the flapper door latches often break. Hope this information helps. Good Luck.

[dolftb]

Originally Posted by wvphil

I purchased my vent in Myrtle Beach. However, I found the same vent for you on Tweetys. Go to Tweetys.com and type in 50045 in part number search. Item number is N22-0678 made by JR products. price 36.52 in Black and N22-0677 pn 50035 in white.

I have tested mine for 45 minutes at 400 degrees which is my highest oven setting. Vent did not melt. Also I can hold my hand up to the exhaust and it is blowing pretty warm air but does not feel anywhere near 400 degrees being exhausted.

Take a look at new Winnebago's they are venting their convections. The vent they are using is a little smaller so I'm not sure of their part number. I've been told Tiffin is venting their convections at the factory also.

You will also probably need to order an adapter from the manufacture of the oven to vent out rear. (I did anyway) You then will have to use alum vent tape to connect the two together.

I did a lot of looking at different vents before starting. This was by far the best design I could find as far as functional (flapper with latch) and looks (outside cover). There is many complaints with some other designs that the flapper door latches often break. Hope this information helps. Good Luck.

So when oven breaks you need a new one, but you already have the vent cut out for the old one are you now screwed ?

I talked to forest River and told them after I bought our 378XL if found out it didnt vent out and that this would have likely been a deal breaker for me at purchase if I would have known.

Thanks for your post and pictures and to the person starting the thread thank you too !

[wvphil]

I'm not overly concerned about finding one to match my hole if mine blows. The convection looks pretty standard and I think with all the manufactures of convection ovens out there I'll be able to find one to match the hole if mine is ever not repairable. The vent is located in the center at the top where the fan motor is located. I think this is pretty standard as far as vent locations for hoods ie microwave / convections. I don't think Winnebago, Tiffin, and other high end manufactures would be venting their coaches if matching the vent hole were a problem. I'd bet the location of exhaust vents in the rear of most convections are pretty much standard. (centered and to the top where the fan would be located) Keeping in mind heat rises I couldn't see a reason for an engineer to design it any other way. But again I'm just guessing as I am not an engineer. I am however an old retired USAF avionics back shop technician and I'm pretty sure I'd get one to fit (one way or another) If I'm wrong on this one the wife may one day be getting a standard oven under the stove or maybe this will be leverage I could use to justify a new diesel pusher. I'll get my biscuits one way or another.

[dutch]

Wvphill,

Great job, I'm planning to do ours after reading your forums, couple of questions I have is how is the unit being held on, I see four screws underneath one on each corner of the oven is that what holding it? What type of blade did you use on the tool, and when you made the final cut outside did you cut from the inside. Like you pretty scared to cut into the unit but there is a lot of heat that comes out of that when on. Thank for the help.

[wvphil]

Dutch,
On my unit there is a wooden trim piece across the top of the microwave. Forest river did not take the time to countersink screws and put wooden plugs on top of the screws like some other manufactures. They instead used finishing nails and nailed through the trim to save five minutes labor on their assembly line. I used the hook end of a scribe to hook behind the edge of each side of the trim and pulled it out little by little. I advise removing the other straight end of scribe before you do this so you do not stab yourself in the eye. Once you remove the trim you will see a bracket on Each side of the microwave behind the trim piece with two or three long screws on each side. One side screws into the cabinet area and the other side into the slide wall. It will be easier if you have someone hold up on the bottom front of microwave or prop it with wooden blocks before you remove the screws. Once you remove the screws on the top brackets the microwave can be tilted forward. Tilt it and lift on the back. The main support is the bracket you see still on the wall in my pictures. The microwave has a bracket on the back that does not need removed. No need to remove anything on bottom of microwave. Once you have microwave out use your template you should have in your microwave papers to tape to wall and mark your four corners of cut. You could use a small drill bit to mark your four corners and then a ruler to draw straight lines and connect the dots. I used a new fine tooth multipurpose blade for the multipurpose tool. ( harbor frieight has tool for 20 bucks) direct from china and guaranteed not to last very long but great for this small job. I cut from inside. I went layer by layer through the plywood on the inside wall. Once through the plywood you'll see your styrofoam insulation in wall. Used a box cutter to square off the styrofoam then cut through the fiberglass using the inside cut as guide. You could also go to the outside and use masking tape to square off your four drilled holes and to protect your expensive paint job and cut from outside if you desire. I cut from inside and stood on a small step ladder as the fall would have been not so far as compared to standing on a six or eight foot ladder and falling on the outside of the coach. I've found from past experience whenever my wife helps me with stuff like this one of us normally ends up getting hurt. Keeping this in mind is why I decided to cut from the inside rather than risk my life that she'd hold the eight foot ladder sturdy and cut from the outside. Guess just depends on how much life insurance your wife has on you and who will be holding your ladder steady as to which approach you decide to take. This job really is not very hard to do and if you can cut a straight line after marking you will have no problems. I highly recommend using the same vent that I used as the flapper door is of reasonably good design and should hold up for the long haul. I looked at some other vents that the doors looked pretty flimsy. I suggest you order the adapter that fits on the back of your microwave listed in owners manual. Once you slide this on it will fit into the inside of your coach mounted plastic vent and then you can use aluminum tape to seal from the outside once microwave is reinstalled. The plastic vent has a snap on cover once you mount the plastic vent from outside. You will need some putty tape to put under the lip of the plastic vent to seal around your cutout on the outside. The vent was installed with standard square head self tapping rv screws you can get from any rv parts shop. I pre drilled the holes from outside as I was a little concerned about drill slipping off the screw head and putting a big ugly gouge on my paint. Again, based on past experience, I hope for the best but always prepare for the worst. Hope I've answered your questions. Once you do this mod I promise you'll be glad you did. It Definately should have been done in Elkhart Indiana before these units ever left the factory. If anyone from the company reads these threads I hope they will consider the extra ten or 15 minutes in labor cost it would take to install this vent would be worthwhile. It's the small things like this that keeps the customers coming back to the guy down in Alabama.

[dutch]

wvphil,

Thanks for all that information, I really think I can do that now from your step by step, I let you know how I made out,