Hi, I'm about to build a house and I'm thinking of installing a central vacuum system. I've seen that
Any help is appreciated.
John
I had one on my last home. It was a Sears unit, no longer made that did not have a "filter" only a cyclone type separator and exhausted outside. When I moved about 15 years ago, I had my new home prepped for one (pipes and wires). I guess that tells you I liked the first one.
My second is a Hoover with a filter. I have been very happy with both.
If I were shopping again I would look for one without a filter. Both of my prior units were middle upper level units and I would stick with that part of the lineup.
I have had powered carpet tools but I would consider one that used the vacuum to self power.
Our house came with a house vac. We liked the fact that it is quieter than conventional vacuums. After a few months we returned to our corded upright and canister. It is a great deal easier to drag an electric cord behind you than a (30 foot) thick and heavy hose. Storing this unwieldy thing in a closet is a nuisance.
my dad has a central vac but uses it little stating same thing dragging big hose is pain...
Hmmm, But built-in one is stronger than upright or canister type.
just how much power do you need? most of my friends homes arent pristine to begin with
Hi, In my case 3 levels to vacuum. 3 cats and a dog roam around.
Where are you located
Looking at the hideaway system, I see one big problem. The hose does not support an electric cable in the hose. Which means you either have to use their air driven unit or use a electric one with a seperate cord that is not integrated into the hose. IMO, having a cord around that is seperate from the hose is going to be a big pain. I used to have the old style hose that had the AC power cable clipped on the outside and even that was a PITA. The new ones have them hidden in the hose. And I doubt the air driven units are anywhere near as effective as a true AC powered one.
I would also think installing this system is likely more work, as it seems you have to be more concerned with how many turns, where they are, limiting the radius, etc.
For sure before I went this route, I'd talk to some folks that actually have one.
But, as central vacs in general, I think they are the way to go. One nice benefit is the air and any odors/untrapped particles go outside, while with a conventional vac, they stay inside. Which is more important if you have animals, are allergic, etc. When I bought my house, the central AC was vented into the basement. After vacuuming the house, if you went downstairs you could instantly smell the odor from the carpet. Now I have it routed outside, but without a central, you can't do that.
John You may want to consider piping the system with sweeps rather than elbows. A sweep is a bend with a much larger radius and smoother inner surfaces than an elbow. They are much less likely to clog and will reduce the air flow far less than plumbing elbows. You will need to use adapters to change from the light drain piping usually used to the schedule forty piping in which the sweeps are available.
I worry about pulling that 30' hose around. If you have a lot of furniture, does it get hung up a lot? How much closet space does it take up? Thanks
I've had a central system for 32 years and when we move, maybe next year, we WILL have a central system in our new house .... wherever that will be. The hoses today are much lighter than the earlier ones. Hoses will last about 10
- 15 years, so they are not forever. The system I have is an old Sears unit. I have actually replaced the fan/motor > I worry about pulling that 30' hose around. If you have a lot of
They give you a hanger bracket for it, so it can be hung inside a closet on the wall. It doesn't take up much room. I have a fairly large house with a lot of open space. If you have a smaller house and a lot of stuff, then having room for the hose to move freely when used could be an issue.
Since your doing a new system, one other neat thing they have now is an central vac intake for floor areas like the kitchen. or entry doors, etc. It goes under a cabint, where a section of baseboard is cut out. You can press it with your toe, which opens it and activates the vacuum. Then you can use a broom to sweep stuff to it.
No..and the new ones are very light.Plan your outlets carefully with a tape measure. The hose etc can reach 30 ft
Ours is hung up in a small broom closet thats only 12" deep X 18" wide and the powerhead sits underneath on the floor. The tool holder (hang up pouch system) goes on the inside of the door.
Right
No adapters are required. The real BI vac piping is thinwall ~2" PVC and there are 3 or 4 sizes of 90 o corners from 6" sweeps to tight 90's. All the fitttings are standard BI couplings but it isn't compatible with any other pipe size, PVC or ABS.
One strange thing I found: Kenmore/Sears makes (or has made & branded Kenmore) BI vac systems but you can't buy one at Sears in the USA.
You CAN buy them in Canada..at least 5 different models/capacities and they're hundreds cheaper than the other "name brands" sold in the US. A friend from WA state went to Canada and got an upper end Kenmore model ( adjustable height (4) power head, bigger motor (3 stageIIRC) and it came with an extra hose and spare set of tools just for the garage) for $ 300 less than a lower grade brand name in WA.
My wife is on her third one now and wouldn't be without one. I've installed them all.
I retro-installed an Electrolux central vac into a 3 story house. 2 living floors + half-finished basement with utility room, furnace room, small workshop in one half and big family room (15x35) in the other half. The unit has since been connected to a sawdust collection bag and additional filters between the sawdust bag and the vacuum unit. Although this is not officially recomended by Electrolux, the aded filter trap all the very fine sawdust without causing too much strain on the motor.
I grew up with Electrolux vacums, and they have all lasted a long time. And whenever service was needed, it was always avalable and not very expensive. (A solid American Company, that has a good product and good culture among the employees.)
When I bought the central vac, it had an old-style paper filter that you could rinse in water to remove the trapped dust. Since then, they have upgraded and retro-fitted to a foam filter that you can clean in the washing-machine with regular detergent, or just rinse with plain water. (A much better solution)
One hose 30' can cover all the rooms. And the access points are in the middles of each floor, with a vertical pipe connecting all of them to the vacuum unit in the furnace room.
Make sure that you install extra pipe as a trap at the bottom of the vertical pipe to capture any larger pieces, such as coins and small toys that can be sucked up by the vacuum.. With a screwed-on cap at the base, you can open and empty it as needed. It also allows you to fish out any crud that may block the pipe if something gets jammed. With hindsight, I should have also had the vertical extended to the attic, to make it a true stand-pipe. And the cost of doing that would be an extra hour or so of work and 8" of PVC.
The motor on a central vac is noisy. So don't put it next in an area or next to a wall that is used for other purposes. My basement is semi-finished, so it's not too pleasant a place to be when the vacuum is running
My vacuum unit will be moved out to the garage when the garage gets built next year. it will mean adding about 20' of pipe, through the basement. BUt it should not notably reduce suction.
All in all money well spent A central unit gives you a lot more suction and cleaning than any floor model vacuum, simply because you can mount a really strong motor on a permanent fixed position.
Good luck.
Look at Electrolux, they do have an AC wire built into the hose to power the cleaning head. And you can connect it to an AC outlet near the vacuum motor.
not only that, but the central vac units provide much more suction.
Not only that, but a built-in takes the dust AWAY from the area you are cleaning. With any portable unit, a percentage of the dust is just redistributed in the room.
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