--- title: "Range hood not pulling air" description: "Kenmore range hood not pulling air: the first question decides everything, and it is not about the hood." url: "https://kenmoremiami.support/symptoms/range-hood-not-extracting/" date_modified: "2026-09-01" Appliance type: "Range hoods" --- # Kenmore range hood not pulling air ### Find out where the air goes Look on top of the hood, or in the cabinet above it. A duct heading up or back through the wall means the hood is ducted. No duct, and a charcoal filter behind the grease filters, means it recirculates — and it was never going to move steam out of the kitchen. That is an honest answer and it saves a diagnostic fee. ### What it usually means, by the company that built it Kenmore manufactures nothing, so the same behavior points at different things depending on who made the appliance. The three digits before the period on the rating plate are what tells them apart. - **233 Broan** — Broan is a ventilation company rather than an appliance manufacturer, and it publishes no error code table for these hoods. There is nothing to look up, which is fine — a hood has a blower, a switch, a lamp and a filter, and all four are diagnosed by observation. ### The simplest appliance in the kitchen A hood is a blower, a switch, a lamp and a filter. That simplicity is why these outlive far more sophisticated appliances and why they are worth repairing long after a comparable electronic appliance would not be. The 233 prefix is Broan, a company that makes ventilation rather than appliances, and it shows in the design. ### The maintenance nobody does Grease filters are the single highest-value thing a household can do for a hood, and on most models they go in the dishwasher. A loaded filter makes the hood louder, less effective and harder on its motor. If yours have not been out in a year, take them out before you book anything. It recirculates rather than ducting Not a failure. It removes some odor and no moisture, by design. The grease filters are loaded Louder, weaker, harder on the motor. Most are dishwasher-safe and this is free. The damper will not open Painted shut, or a bird's nest at the outlet. A clean duct behind a closed flap is still closed. The duct is undersized or too long Common in remodels. It is a ductwork problem rather than an appliance one and we will say so. The blower or its capacitor A hood with a working light and a dead fan has power arriving, so it is here. Is there a duct at all The first and most important question. Hold a tissue to the filters with the fan on high It should hold there. If it falls, almost no air is moving. Take the grease filters out and look at them If light does not pass through, that is your answer. Go outside and look at the vent flap It should be open with the hood running. The fan runs and the kitchen still fills with steam What it usually means Ducted or recirculating changes everything Grease filters are free to fix and often the answer 233 is Broan — a ventilation maker, not an appliance one Find out where the air goes Look on top of the hood, or in the cabinet above it. A duct heading up or back through the wall means the hood is ducted. No duct, and a charcoal filter behind the grease filters, means it recirculates — and it was never going to move steam out of the kitchen. That is an honest answer and it saves a diagnostic fee. What it usually means, by the company that built it Kenmore manufactures nothing, so the same behavior points at different things depending on who made the appliance. The three digits before the period on the rating plate are what tells them apart. 233 Broan — Broan is a ventilation company rather than an appliance manufacturer, and it publishes no error code table for these hoods. There is nothing to look up, which is fine — a hood has a blower, a switch, a lamp and a filter, and all four are diagnosed by observation. The simplest appliance in the kitchen A hood is a blower, a switch, a lamp and a filter. That simplicity is why these outlive far more sophisticated appliances and why they are worth repairing long after a comparable electronic appliance would not be. The 233 prefix is Broan, a company that makes ventilation rather than appliances, and it shows in the design. The maintenance nobody does Grease filters are the single highest-value thing a household can do for a hood, and on most models they go in the dishwasher. A loaded filter makes the hood louder, less effective and harder on its motor. If yours have not been out in a year, take them out before you book anything. ### It is loud and it does not pull anything. Loud and weak together usually means loaded filters or a greasy impeller, and both are fixable without new parts. ### Can a recirculating hood be converted to ducted? Sometimes, and it depends on what is above the hood and where the air could go. It is a ductwork job rather than an appliance repair, and we will tell you honestly what it would take. --- **[Read full article: Range hood not pulling air](https://kenmoremiami.support/symptoms/range-hood-not-extracting/)**