Product review (4 stars): Nice fan, first one poorly packaged
I like this fan. I replaced an "over the range" microwave with this fan. It fits the space perfectly and since it is a lot more shallow than a microwave I now have more room to cook on my stovetop - especially with the rear burners. I like the bright lights on this new fan too. I went for a mid-range price Broan because my kitchen set up (open concept room) requires a non-ducted fan (unless I wanted to hire a contractor for a major overhaul which I didn't). Logically, there is no way a non-ducted fan will ever give the same level of performance as a ducted to the outside fan, so it didn't seem to me worth it to pay more money for a more elaborate fan. Also, I noticed in reviews that the more expensive Broan fans have an automatic feature where if the fan senses too much heat it will turn itself on and run until the heat drops to a certain level - you can't turn it off manually when it goes into an override mode and reviewers said they hated that feature - I would hate it too. This model of Broan fan does NOT have that automatic on feature so that was a big plus for me. This model also has a completely smooth underside (other than the mesh filters) and I think it will be reasonably easy to clean. It has "rocker" style switches for the fan and the lights and I like that type of switch better than a soft touch button, I think they are more durable. Installation was fairly easy, my son-in-law helped me because it is awkward to hold something above your head while trying to fasten it. I purchased a cord (on Amazon, Broan HCK44 power cord kit) to modify the fan from direct wiring into a plug wiring and was therefore able to just plug it into the electrical outlet that had been used for the microwave. This was quite easy to do, the cord came with good instructions, just follow them carefully. I also purchased the charcoal filters that are used for non-ducted use of this fan (Amazon, Broan BPSF30 non-ducted filter set) and those were also easy to install. I also purchased the lightbulbs (Amazon, Sylvania #14700 50 watt PAR20 Halogen, set of two) and installed those in the fan after it was mounted. I'm telling you all of this so that if you want to install this fan non-ducted and not hard wired you will know you have to purchase these things separately (fan, power cord kit, charcoal filters and lightbulbs). It would be annoying to not have everything you need while doing the installation. As far as function I am happy with it. The fan has two speeds which is fine by me, high and low. The low is very quiet the high is louder but not unbearably loud. The lights also have low and high. In my opinion the low lighting would be a little too bright to function as a nightlight and halogen bulbs get hot so I wouldn't use the low setting as an overnight nightlight. The reason I'm not giving this product five stars is that the first one I bought arrived very poorly packaged, basically thrown in a huge box with a few handfuls of packing peanuts. The peanuts had even gotten inside of the fan blade part of the unit and I had to pick them out. I thought it was poorly packaged but unharmed and it wasn't until my son in law and I got the fan fully installed that we noticed a big "ding" right on the front top of the fan. It was such a bad dent I had to return the fan to Amazon which meant taking it down, packing it up and running to UPS with a big box. Amazon did pay for the return shipping and sent me a new fan (same model) without an additional charge. The replacement fan was very securely packaged in stiff foam. But it was a hassle, I had to wait for my son in law to have a free evening to help me again, plus the packaging and trip to UPS. If you receive your fan and it is poorly packaged, take it out and examine it very carefully before you install.