Do I need to maintain vents under oven?

[Arbu]

I'm thinking of putting some drawers in under my kitchen units - //www.diynot.com/diy/threads/refurbish-replace-kitchen-units.438851/#post-3508095.

Under the oven there are currently some vents (see photo). Do you think that these need to be maintained, or could I put a drawer there as well? The oven is much newer than the vents so maybe whoever put them there felt they were necessary for the old oven, but they are not needed now. I ran the oven for some time on a high heat and the air in the space did not get noticeably hot at all. I could reach through and touch the underside of the oven and it was hot, but not too hot to keep my fingers in contact with. There is in any case a 1-2cm gap behind the wooden panel which provides an air space below the oven, and there's no mention in the oven installation guide that there is a need for ventilation below it. So I'm guessing it would be OK to put a drawer there. But wondered if anyone knew better?

Thanks

Vents Under Oven

• Arbu
• 24 Nov 2015

 

[AlastairE]

Gas or electric??

 

[Arbu]

Electric oven. There's a gas pipe running right at the back of the place where the vents are to supply the gas hobs above the oven, don't know if that has any special requirements.

 

[bernardgreen]

Most modern oven have cooling fans that circulate air to keep the outside case from getting too hot so ventilation around th oven s not as critical as it would be if the casng did get hot.

The cooling fan may fail and the extrnal case could then get quite hot. Hence the natural ventilation of the space around the oven from those openings is worth having.

 

[Arbu]

Most modern oven have cooling fans that circulate air to keep the outside case from getting too hot so ventilation around th oven s not as critical as it would be if the casng did get hot.

The cooling fan may fail and the extrnal case could then get quite hot. Hence the natural ventilation of the space around the oven from those openings is worth having.

Thanks