Broan PM390 Range Hood Review

Hello there, Happy Monday!!

I didn't work much on the garage project these past days, Friday and Saturday were super cold days up here, and yesterday I just didn't feel like to. However, I picked up most of the wood laying on the floor and organized it on the shelves. It feels so much better already! 

Today's post came to my mind about three weeks ago, while cleaning the range hood. I remembered thinking about one of the most frequent questions I have to answer: How do you like your Broan PM390 range hood? Is it too noisy? So, I thought about answering that question and other details about the Broan PM390 range hood right here in this blog post.

Building the range hood was one of my very first DIY projects, almost ten years ago. It was nerve-wracking at the time because there weren't similar projects that I could follow. 

The entire kitchen makeover project was done very slowly one step at a time and with the husband looking at me, wide eyes opened, and with a "what is this crazy woman trying to do?" look on his face. :D

This is how the kitchen looked, with a recirculating hood above the stove. I hated that system.

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The next picture is a look at the same kitchen, right after completing the first big makeover and of course, sporting a range hood that was bringing the air outside.

Details here for HOW TO BUILD A RANGE HOOD

Was it an easy project??  

- Probably so, but at that time I remember being mostly nervous about doing the right thing.

Now, looking back... Yes, it was an easy install and an easy build.

The Broan PM390 is an insert range hood, which means it's the inside unit, the fan. You need to provide the cover for it, as well as all the other parts like the liner, ducting and outside wall cap.

| Broan PM390 Hood Insert | Hood Liner | Metal Duct Pipe | 90-degree Elbow | Wall Cap |

A few years down the road, I gave the range hood and the entire kitchen another mini-makeover by painting the kitchen island a brighter color, getting rid of a couple cabinet doors, and changing the trim on the range hood.

Check all the changes done to the range hood right here: NEW TRIM FOR THE RANGE HOOD

Three years ago, the range hood got another makeover:

A FARMHOUSE LOOK FOR THE RANGE HOOD

What can I say? Change is good.  However, I didn't like the dark shade on the hood and I brought it back to white:

As you see, the outside has gotten many updates. The inside of the unit... not so much!

The Broan PM390 has been working nicely all these years, bringing the vapors and cooking smells to the outside of the house.

The controls to turn the unit ON/OFF are there on the underside (black oval area), as well as the light switch.

It has three air suction settings, low, medium, and high which do a great job at suctioning air.

I almost always use the lower setting, but if I'm cooking something that creates lots of steam or vapors, it goes up to the second, and just a few times I've had to use the highest extraction setting which is loud.

NOISE LEVEL

That's precisely the other question I get: How noisy is it?

- At 6.0 sones it can't be a quiet unit, but I don't find it to be too noisy, or maybe I just got used to it? :)

The low setting is low, it isn't bothersome at all. You hear it, but you can have a conversation while using it.
As you increase its power, the noise goes up. The medium setting is still bearable.

The highest setting is noisy, and that's perhaps why I don't use it much. However, it gets lots of air out of the area, it's powerful!

CLEANING

I went on vacation for almost a month. After getting back home and not being able to clean the unit for almost two months. Let me tell you, this thing was yucky! 😝

It looked like the boys had done many cooking parties here and they didn't bother cleaning the hood.

The filter, which I usually change every month, was nasty. Worst of all, I didn't have replacements. And when I ordered them, somehow the order was canceled and I kept on waiting for their arrival. Well, about a week later I got a new order. And that was the other reason why I wanted to write this post.

I ordered the filters from a new company: Supply House. They were awesome! The price, shipping included, was lower than what I paid to the other company I used to order from. But the best was the FAST shipping. I placed my order at around 5:00 pm and this big, well-packed box was at my doorstep at noon the following day. What?! Happy dance!

By the way, this is not a sponsored post.

| Grease filter - $6.35 each |

The ugly thing... I had to go and clean the entire hood. First, I got rid of the yucky grease filter.

Every two years, I also ditch the nasty metal grille (Grille $30) and buy a new one.
I was ready to do it, but it looks like the new grilles are made out of plastic material and I didn't like the idea of getting rid of the metal one. So, I went ahead and cleaned it.

| Grille |

Another item that I usually change after a few years of use or when they get damaged is the lens, I think their price is outrageous, and they get damaged frequently. They are made of plastic/paste material and the little brackets holding the lens in place are the ones that break, so without those little legs, it's hard to set them in place.

After washing the grille and lens with lots of very warm, soapy water they looked dull. My little trick to alleviate that problem is to give all those surfaces a good wipe with a paper towel full of Stainless steel cleaner.

| Lens each- $17 |

And here you see it... Good as new!

For its overall price/value, I think the Broan PM390 Hood Insert is a really good buy. 👍

I'm starting to think about replacing this unit, probably next year or so. I've loved this unit I would use it again if I don't find something way better. Although, I would like to change the look. ;)
What type of range hood are you using? Do you like it? 

*This post contains affiliate links.

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