Do I currently have a ducted or recirculating stove hood?

[shelivesthedream]

We're discussing some repairs with our landlord and our cooker hood isn't vented to the outside. I don't know whether this is because it doesn't need to be or because our landlord hasn't installed it properly. How can I tell?

[APowers]

Imo, all stove hoods should be vented to outside, otherwise what's the point?

But if it's installed as a recirculating setup, it will have suction in the hood section, and be blowing out the front/top (where the controls usually are-- you should see some sort of grille/slats/vents).

[px4shooter]

No vent means it is a recirculation. How close is the good to an outside wall?

[shelivesthedream]

Imo, all stove hoods should be vented to outside, otherwise what's the point?

But if it's installed as a recirculating setup, it will have suction in the hood section, and be blowing out the front/top (where the controls usually are-- you should see some sort of grille/slats/vents).

I mean yeah, but I need to decide how much of my life energy to put into this.

What would be the difference between an improperly installed one that is supposed to vent but doesn't, and one which is designed to be recirculating?

No vent means it is a recirculation. How close is the good to an outside wall?

About 1.5m. It could totally be done, but I don't want to spend my life energy on something which is OK (even if not great) as is.

[APowers]

Imo, all stove hoods should be vented to outside, otherwise what's the point?

But if it's installed as a recirculating setup, it will have suction in the hood section, and be blowing out the front/top (where the controls usually are-- you should see some sort of grille/slats/vents).

I mean yeah, but I need to decide how much of my life energy to put into this.

What would be the difference between an improperly installed one that is supposed to vent but doesn't, and one which is designed to be recirculating?

Most hoods are convertible-- meaning the fan housing assembly can be rotated to direct the exhaust either to an outside duct or set to blow the exhaust out through the front of the hood back into the kitchen. If you can feel the air blowing out the front, it's installed correctly to recirculate. If there's no air motion, then it's possibly trying to blow out the (non-existent) outside exhaust duct. If you are reasonably handy, it's not hard to remove/check/reinstall in order to be 100% certain.

Youtube will be your friend here.