FOP SAM-1 Range Hood Fan Upgrade Kit

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Chotch

😎In the middle of doing the same mod the fan housing comes off relatively easy, use a sharp drill bigger than spot weld and drill each weld. Wind up with a few holes in the hood but that's it. Then I had to drill 4 mounting holes and decided to use pop rivets to attach new fan housing.

Or use a spot weld removal tool.
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-ei...ter-95343.html

[Chotch]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

Or use a spot weld removal tool.
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-ei...ter-95343.html

👍 Absolutely, but the spot welds are so small it didn’t take much effort with standard drill and I probably wound up with a hole smaller than the center drill in the cutting tool. The spot welds are so small I actually thought that the housing was some how glued or perhaps soldered in place. That would have been a problem.

[marant]

Perfect! The drill idea was great. A little hard to find all the welds, but good cleanup of the surface and locate them by touch works.



The only thing bad about it is I do not get to buy a new tool.

[Chotch]

������

[rbryan4]

I used a spot weld removal bit, quick and easy. I don't recall the holes being very large, and most were covered by the SAM-1.

[elongest]

Video on how to use the tool.
Eddie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk3s4ucJg7k

[marant]

Just finished my installation. Fan really moves air, but quietly. Light is very bright on high, actually useful.

Like moving from a Yugo to a Cadillac.

[Chotch]

Originally Posted by marant

Just finished my installation. Fan really moves air, but quietly. Light is very bright on high, actually useful.

Like moving from a Yugo to a Cadillac.

👍Just the improvement in the light was worth the effort. Did you use the new vent cover or retain the original?

[davidmurphy02]

Originally Posted by marant

Just finished my installation. Fan really moves air, but quietly. Light is very bright on high, actually useful.

Like moving from a Yugo to a Cadillac.

Mine is still sitting in the box...reading this makes me want to move that project up the priority list!

[Kyther]

I am sold. I cook a lot and the stock hood/fan/light was not the quality i expected in my 21 picked up May 2019. Went with oven/3 burner option and 3 burner alone made me glad i did. Could only find SAM-1-81 on Amazon and there were only 5 left. Mine should be here next week.

[Vermilye]

Rather than fighting with the spot welds, I purchased a stainless hood from eTrailer (a Ventline S0721). The sam-1 fan was a direct replacement for the one that came with the hood - no cutting or drilling. Only hassle is the stainless is non magnetic (like most stainless) so my refrigerator & meat thermometers didn't stick until I riveted a piece of steel to the top.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

Rather than fighting with the spot welds, I purchased a stainless hood from eTrailer (a Ventline S0721). The sam-1 fan was a direct replacement for the one that came with the hood - no cutting or drilling. Only hassle is the stainless is non magnetic (like most stainless) so my refrigerator & meat thermometers didn't stick until I riveted a piece of steel to the top.

This is what I did too 2 1/2 years ago when I picked up my trailer, as I ordered it without a hood fan and intended to use the Ventline, not only because the SAM install would be easier, but I liked the look of it a bit better too. Fortunately we are not magnetic nuts like you are.

As one very familiar with hood fans from home kitchen renos I would never cook in a trailer without one, and boy are we ever happy with how this SAM retro works, from the 3 speed fan to the light with two settings, bright and nightlight.

[davidmurphy02]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

Rather than fighting with the spot welds, I purchased a stainless hood from eTrailer (a Ventline S0721). The sam-1 fan was a direct replacement for the one that came with the hood - no cutting or drilling. Only hassle is the stainless is non magnetic (like most stainless) so my refrigerator & meat thermometers didn't stick until I riveted a piece of steel to the top.

With the ventline hood is it just a matter of bolting the SAM-1 fan unit in place and then mounting the hood? That does sound better than fooling with trying to modify the Heng hood. Does the vent opening and flange line up with the hole in the shell or was any modification necessary?

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by davidmurphy02

With the ventline hood is it just a matter of bolting the SAM-1 fan unit in place and then mounting the hood? That does sound better than fooling with trying to modify the Heng hood. Does the vent opening and flange line up with the hole in the shell or was any modification necessary?

Yes, although the original hole in the fiberglass did not quite line up with the new grill & vent that came with the new hood. The vent duct was about 1/4" too high which left the old screw holes exposed.

My solution was to use GeoCell caulk to attach the original outside vent cover over the new vent. I'm fairly sure it will stay on; getting the old GeoCell off was probably the hardest part of the job. The old cover will also keep hose water out of the vent when washing the trailer.

First image is the outside, second image looking up under the cover.

[davidmurphy02]

Well, I went out to the storage facility where our trailer resides this afternoon to remove the range hood and bring it home to do the SAM-1 fan installation. However, I wasn't able to remove the hood. There are four bolts sticking down from above with nuts and washers fastening the hood to the bottom of the upper cabinet. As soon as I get a nut loosened just a bit, the bolt spins when I turn the nut and I can't loosen the nut any further. It would appear that they used a bolt and washer through the bottom plywood of the cabinet and installed the hood before the plywood floor of the cabinet was installed. Now there's no (easy) way to access the head of those bolts....and of course once I get the nuts off to remove the hood, trying to reinstall using those loose bolts wouldn't work.

Just wondering if others ran into this issue, or if ETI has perhaps changed the way they mount the hood. Seems like a plywood block inside the cabinet between the two layers of plywood, and then wood screws mounting the hood, would have been easier - especially if you ever need to remove the hood for any reason.

I had limited tools with me today so I came home empty handed. I'll have to take a look at the feasibility of pulling off the cabinet floor to access the bolt heads. If that doesn't seem simple then I may take some small vise grips to grab the tip of the bolt in order to unscrew the nut a quarter inch to where I could cut off the bolt with a Dremel tool, then come up with a different way of reattaching the hood.

And I thought that the welds on the Heng hood were going to be the difficult part....

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by davidmurphy02

Well, I went out to the storage facility where our trailer resides this afternoon to remove the range hood and bring it home to do the SAM-1 fan installation. However, I wasn't able to remove the hood. There are four bolts sticking down from above with nuts and washers fastening the hood to the bottom of the upper cabinet. As soon as I get a nut loosened just a bit, the bolt spins when I turn the nut and I can't loosen the nut any further. It would appear that they used a bolt and washer through the bottom plywood of the cabinet and installed the hood before the plywood floor of the cabinet was installed. Now there's no (easy) way to access the head of those bolts....and of course once I get the nuts off to remove the hood, trying to reinstall using those loose bolts wouldn't work.



Just wondering if others ran into this issue, or if ETI has perhaps changed the way they mount the hood. Seems like a plywood block inside the cabinet between the two layers of plywood, and then wood screws mounting the hood, would have been easier - especially if you ever need to remove the hood for any reason.



I had limited tools with me today so I came home empty handed. I'll have to take a look at the feasibility of pulling off the cabinet floor to access the bolt heads. If that doesn't seem simple then I may take some small vise grips to grab the tip of the bolt in order to unscrew the nut a quarter inch to where I could cut off the bolt with a Dremel tool, then come up with a different way of reattaching the hood.



And I thought that the welds on the Heng hood were going to be the difficult part....

My bolts ran all the way through the cabinet floor, and the heads were exposed. Can't figure why they'd cover them up on yours - makes no sense. I'd hate to have to cut the cabinet bottom just to get to the heads.

[davidmurphy02]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

My bolts ran all the way through the cabinet floor, and the heads were exposed. Can't figure why they'd cover them up on yours - makes no sense. I'd hate to have to cut the cabinet bottom just to get to the heads.

Hmmmm....I had not previously noticed bolt heads in the cabinet floor, but now we have a piece of non-slip shelf liner on it as well as plates, cups, etc. so I didn't actually check - if those bolt heads are there I'm going to feel really stupid! Sadly, this wouldn't be the first time I felt really stupid

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by davidmurphy02

Hmmmm....I had not previously noticed bolt heads in the cabinet floor, but now we have a piece of non-slip shelf liner on it as well as plates, cups, etc. so I didn't actually check - if those bolt heads are there I'm going to feel really stupid! Sadly, this wouldn't be the first time I felt really stupid

It's okay, you're in good company

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

My bolts ran all the way through the cabinet floor, and the heads were exposed. Can't figure why they'd cover them up on yours - makes no sense. I'd hate to have to cut the cabinet bottom just to get to the heads.

Same here. I remember having a Phillips screwdriver up in the cabinet to hold the machine screw head while trying to get the nuts off underneath.

[gbaglo]

"Phillips"