Central Vac Survey

bwoods · Oct 20, 2011

I was telling Gary how the U.S. is in the dark ages with central vacuum systems, compared to the common place use by our friends and neighbors in Canada.

I have put a central vac in every home/condo I have owned. The new hoses are ultra-lightweight and so much easier to carry and put away. Amazing, they feel almost weightless, and come in lengths of up to 35' and have the built in 120v wiring for the power-head. With that length, usually you only need one outlet per floor.

I just put in one outlet in the middle of the upper level, the middle of the lower level and in the garage. When I had my new carpet put in this past May, the installers asked to use my vacuum to sweep the carpet free of all the fuzz and pieces of pile.

The installer's aassistant, a young kid of about 20, had never seen a central vac or used one. He had a blast with it. He would unhook the hose from the power head and let the suction hold the hose to the palm of his hand while he moved his hand up and down. He yelled over to his partner, "Hey you could pick up a bowling ball with this thing!"

Anyway, back to the survey. I am curious as to how many of you, on this site, have a central vac. I suspect not many (but could be wrong) as they just haven't been that widely acccepted in the U.S. Most of the only homes I see with builder installed central vacs are the high end homes.

So if you have a central vac, please respond. And if you would let me know what brand.

Barry

mattl · Oct 20, 2011

No, don't have one. Thought about it years ago, but the expense and the work involved seemed too much. Know people that have one, and they never use it. It's too much of a hassle to drag a long hose around the house, and then try to stow it away, wrapping a cord around the vac or pushing a cord rewind button is much easier.

I recently picked up my first canister with a power head and have to say I find it annoying to use, much prefer an good upright. Dragging the hose around behind me is a pain, can't imagine pulling 20 or 30 feet of it around.

circlew · Oct 20, 2011

No, I don't have one of these, and never have. I've thought about installing one in the house I'm renovating, but I already have 5 vacs at this time - a Sanitaire upright, a Euroclean canister with powerhead, and three wet-dry vacs. I could still install the piping as most of the walls are still open at this time, but probably won't. I've already spent way more than I intended on the place.

I think a couple of my neighbors have these systems in their homes, and my neighbor Betty told me they had the piping installed when they built the house in 1968, but never got the power unit.

These were quite popular in the Cincinnati area during the late 60's thru the 80's, as one of the major manufacturers (NuTone) was located here. I remember just about every Homearama house for many years featured them, along with the built-in intercoms. Haven't seen as many in recent years.

Several of my wealthy relatives have or have had them in various homes they've lived in. My cousins in Texas had a house that was so large it had two of the units. Another place I see them in frequently is restaurants, and the washateria I go to has one.

I think I would be afraid something might get stuck in the piping, which would require tearing into the wall to repair, though no one I know has had such happen.

bwoods · Oct 20, 2011

Matt,

I thought the same thing when my parents got their first (I think it was about 1978 approximately). My mom never went back to a regular vac as it was so much easier for her to push just the lightweight powerhead. The carpet got so much cleaner too, as there is no comparison on suction and air-flow with a conventional vacuum. One of the things we all liked was the lack of noise. Without the power-head you only hear the rush of air. With the powerhead, it's still quiter than a regular vac as there is no vac motor noise. The main power-unit was exhausted to the outdoors and there was no recirculation of dirt or odor either..

The host is light weight and easier to manage then a vacuum cleaner cord. Just like you don't notice a vacuum cleaner cord behind, you you barely notice the hose behind you.

When you put it away, wrapping the hose around it's holder, in the closet, is much easier than winding a cord around a vacuum or widing a garaden hose up outdoors. I guess because of it's lightweight and larger diameter you don't get kincks, it just easily loops over its holder.

I liked it because of the garage outlet. My dad had a separate utility hose in the garage. It was very convenient to clean the car with. There was an attachment for the hose that hooked onto my dad's power saw and it sucked all the saw dust into the central vac as you sawed. With the extension wands my mom could easily reach all of the ceiling and over the garage doors to get cobwebs and dust.

So when I got my first condo in 1984, I wasn't about to back to the dark ages with a regular vac and installed one myself with outlets upstairs, mainfloor and garage.

(Tom, it was a Nutone. A lot of the local electrical supply companies in Cincinnati, Dayton and the surrounding areas carried Nutone because of the proximity of the plant.)

It became a tradition thereafter to install a central vac in every home thereafter for myself and my sister/brother-in-law and when my parents moved they had a central vac installed into the new house. Once you live with one you just can't go back to a regular vaccum which seems antiquated and outmoded.

Tom,

Ther don't glog often because there of the power. One the rare times it does, it normally doesn't clog instantly. As material collects around the offedning object in the hose or tubing suction gradually diminishes. So you know you've got a clog coming and can do something before it becomes full fledged. You can usually put your hand over the end of the hose and let the motor keep pulling and building up suction, then pull your hand away real fast and the instant wave of air normally forces out the blockage.

In complete blockages, which I have only had happen once, you use a snake, like a plumber would. Aided with the vacuum it knocked out the plug and the vacuum sucked it the rest of the way through the system into the dirt receptable.

Beside the Nutones, I've had a Broan (which is now owned by Nutone, but wasnt then), a VacuFlo, and now a Eureka central unit.

Tubing is only 2" in diameter and easily goes in existing walls. You can go from basement or crawl space up, or from attic down. You can normally install it in one day.

Interesting bit of trivia. I lived in Dayton, and toured the Wright Brothers home (Hawthorne Hill they called it.) Orville, who loved machines, appliances and all gadgets with a passion, had the builder install a central vacuum cleaning system in it when they had the house built in 1911/1912. Unfortunataly, Wilbur passed away of typhoid before the house was completed and sadly, never lived there. But Orville lived there until his death in 1948 and his sister, Catherine lived there for several years, too.)

The tour guide made a point to show the central vac, as they were fairly uncommon in 1912. You can see the vacuum outlets in the wall throughout the house. In the basement, the central vac power unit is still there. It doesn't look quite like todays. (no plastic, hehe) with a large metal tank for the dirt receptacle and a separate vacuum unit feeding into it.

So, you can see central vacs are nothing new!

toploader55 · Oct 20, 2011

It just makes more sense.

Especially for a Restaurant to have Central with the unit remote out of the Dining Room. less Dust and contamination tha way.

tolivac · Oct 21, 2011

Don't have a central vacuum myself-but my Mom used to live in two houses that had them.First-a Levit house in Upper Marlboro,MD(Wash DC area)that had a Black and Decker system-the unit used bags.No electric power nozzle-but a Precor air driven one.Used to LOVE using that thing.Mom liked that-I did the vacuuming!The house was built in 1969.in 1975 she Moved to Fort Walton Beach,Fla.there she had a Nutone vacuum.It didn't have a powernozzle.Just the hard floor tool and wands,and the hand tools.she used her Hoover DAM for the carpets.when I visited Mom in the Summer-she would ask me to empty the Central vacuums-showed her several times how to change the bag in the Black&Decker unit-and you could change the bag without getting dirty.the Nutone machine was something else-no bag-but a giant bin you detached from the machine-I dumpted it outside in the vacant lots at the time(Later neighbors there-but still a patch of woods to dump the bin in.And it had a conical filter-tapped it against a tree.Clouid of dust!And that system would get clooged on occasion-warned Mom to be careful in vacuuming upstairs-the upstairs plumbing clogged easily.Had to go in the attic a few times to clear clogs.usually from a sock accidently picked up-or a scrap of fabric-she used to sew a lot then.No more central vacs now-but have a MD unit mounted on a janitor cart here at work.Handy for vacuuming out the transmitters-and the long hose means the unit is parked in front or back of the transmitter and you bring the hose and tools in for vacuuming out dust and such.-and metal filings!The Greenville Vacuum and Sewing sells these units-Mike makes them up at his shop-and calls it--the "Port-O-vac"Very nice unit.thinking of ordering another for the site-that way if two people are doing maintenance on the transmitter both vacuums could be workking at once-saves time.

pdub · Oct 21, 2011

Vacuflo

Barry, I have a Vacuflo model 560 that was installed in my home after it was built around 1998. It was relatively easy to install and I got it because I liked the power and lightweight aspect of the vacuum hose and power head.

It does a great job and I have never had any issues with it since it was put in. I like the fact that if something gets sucked up by accident, you can go to the dust collector and retrieve it without too much trouble. The best part is there is no vacuum smell that you sometimes get from a traditional vacuum if your bag is getting old but not quite full enough to change out as it is exhausted outdoors.

Don't get me wrong though, I do have 5 Electrolux's, a Kirby Tradition, a Eureka upright, and a Hoover model 800 though so I'm not saying I don't like traditional vacuum's!

Patrick

bwoods · Oct 21, 2011

Patrick,

That's the same unit I have in my house (that I am trying to sell) in Ohio. I like it because ther is no filter, 100% cyclonic separation, so you just dump the container every few months. Lot of suction too. My Eureka actually is a more powerful, but does have a cloth filter in it.

Rex,

I didn't know Black and Decker made central vacs! That's cool. My two Nutones were bagged units. Nutone still gives the consumer a choice of bagged or cyclonics. I prefer the cyclonics overall. If you break a glass or something you can suck up the smaller glass shards without fear of puncturing the bag.

Also, with the bagless cyclonic units, you can vacuum fine dust and ashes without reducing power. I used the central vac to clean the ashes out of my fireplace. With the bagged units, the fine ash particles clog the bag and really reduce the suction power.

With the cyclonic filterless units, like the Vacuflo, you can vacuum up a very large amount of ashes (make sure they are totaly cool though, no hot embers left.) and you can get several fires worth of ashes in the dirt recepticle before it fills, with no loss of suction.

One other thing I liked about the central vac, was the utility hose in the garage was long enough that I could open the garage doors and reach the front porch, with the hose, and vacuum the indoor/outdoor carpeting on the porch.

toggleswitch · Oct 21, 2011

Personally to be able to push a vacuum cleaner's effluent(i.e. exhaust port) out of the house to ensure (some) dust is not getting back in past the canister's or upright's filter is a great feature.

As much as I like lightweight electric-brooms the overall lack of suction and poor filtration means more dust gets back on the contents of a room than one would care for....

A central vacuum-cleaner sounds ideal to avoid dust coming back in!

tomturbomatic · Oct 21, 2011

I love mine. I especially like the little hose I keep by the basement outlet near the indoor dryers to clean the filters on the indoor venting systems during cold weather. I also like that the air goes outside.

The power unit itself is a Beam, but I call the system Anna for the Anaconda-like hoses. It is also a great fly catcher--thwuup and it's gone forever with no smashed fly parts to clean up on the window. It's best to approach them from the front and above because that's the direction in which they take off, although it is interesting if you can only approach them from the rear to watch them try to take off when they are being pulled backward by the suction.

One thing that might be helpful in a general vacuum way. I found a cheap, almost new upholstry brush at a thrift store and made it the dedicated bathroom floor brush. I found that they are the perfect size for vacuuming the floor in the bathroom because they will easily go around the throne, especially between the back of the base and the wall whereas the regular bare floor brush is too big.

iheartmaytag · Oct 21, 2011

I would be very careful picking up fireplace ashes

With any vacuum. If there were even a slight ember left the high airflow of the vacuum and the dust particles in the system could spell BOOM!!!

Back when I was in college, I worked for a Kirby dealer. This was during the end of the Tradition run, which was Kirby's first vacuum with a disposable paper bag. A lady brought in her new Tradition that looked like it had been through Hiroshima. She was cleaning her fireplace with the Kirby hose, and a live ember ignited in the bag and WHOOSH!!! I would hate to see what that would be like in a central unit.

[this post was last edited: 10/21/2011-13:50]

bwoods · Oct 21, 2011

No, I would never do this is any vac with a bag, embers or not! A true cyclonic central vacuum unit, like the Vacuflo, has no combustible filter or bag.

Even so, I always waited a week or so after the last fire before I vacuumed the ashes out, and inspected them very carefully for heat or embers.

What used to take me a long time with a bucket and shovel, and made a mess, (sometimes on the hearth and carpet), took only a few minutes with the central vac hose. It was fun, cleaned the fireplace to the bare brick and didn't make a mess.

revvinkevin · Oct 21, 2011

The house I grew up in had a central vac system installed (probably installed late 50’s / early 60’s), but from what I can remember, my mom rarely used it, if ever. I suspect (a vague memory) she didn’t like dragging the long hose around, then having to unplug it and move to the next connection so she could continue vacuuming.

 

Somewhere along the line my parents bought a Kirby and that’s what was used on a regular basis. I remember using (more likely playing) with the central vac a few times as I was growing up, so it did work early on. But also if I remember correctly, something happened to it and it no longer worked, I don’t remember why. But that cicn't really matter since it was never really used. Honestly I can’t remember if it’s still installed in the garage or it’s been removed.

 

I do not have a central vac system in my house. 

 

Kevin

rapidry1000 · Oct 21, 2011

I purchased my home in 1979 and the previous owner installed a central vacuum system. It wasn't a nuisance to use and I like that it did not stir up any dust and was silent while operating with superb suction. The brand was Magic Vac by John Mitchell Company of Dallas Texas. However dragging the hose from the garage was a chore so I prefer using my three Electrolux G/L vacs or my Eurekea upright from the 80's.

bwoods · Oct 21, 2011

I've found it's easiest to have a hose for each level of the house. In the garage I use a utility hose, made just for the garage. Whenever the car interior needs cleaned I just grab the hose on the wall.

tolivac · Oct 22, 2011

I would be hesitant to use ANY type of central vacuum cleaner to pick up fireplace or woodstove ashes-ash makes the perfect insulator-a hot ember can survive in them for up to a MONTH!So beware.think of the consequence if an ember was to be lodeged in the vacuums plumbing-there goes your house!And if you absolutely have to use the vacuum for cleaning ashes--empty it right when you are done or change the bag right away.then keep the bag or vacuum contents in a METAL container outside the house until the trash pickup takes it.And yes---ashes have caught trash trucks on fire!So-yes its more trouble-but really safer-stick with the fireplace shovel and ashpail.I have used bagged Kirbys,Royals,and my NSS M1 pigs to clean fireplaces-but replace their bags right after finishing.A METAL canister Shop Vac can be a good fireplace cleanout tool.But again empty it right after the job.and use the inner paper Drywall bag and pleated HEPA filter.I have a "Sootvac" I bought from ReTool sometime ago for my collection-it is all metal-has the HEPA filter-and uses multilayer paper bags-with the warnings on them to change the bag after each cleanout job.the Sootvac has a specail heavy fire resistant hose.
the Black&Decker unit was in my Moms Levitt built house in Wash DC area-was from 1969.Was a nice unit.I HATE the bagless central units-from the days of emptying Moms later NuTone-would never buy one of those.Bags are so much easier and cleaner.Bet the trash company would like you better,too-no more clouds of dust poofing out of the trash truck onto the trashman when he cycles the packer.-esp RL trucks.Some trashman get even with messy customers-the trashman backs his truck into the offenders driveway--and packs especially messy loads there.The liquids from the load being packed drains out of the hopper scuppers into the driveway!normally goes into the gutter.

retro-man · Oct 23, 2011

The house i have up for sale has an electolux central system. All metal container. no bags. The suction is incredible, much more than any standard vaccuum. Have 2 sets of attachements and hoses. One for each floor. Loved it. Miss it. New house is plumbed and wired for it just haven't gotten around to buying and installing the main unit. So for now using the regular electolux model j for every day cleanups. Yes i did have the old system installed and exhausted outside. much cleaner than just blowing dust around.
Jon

aladude · Oct 23, 2011

We have a Beam Serenity Plus, and my grandparents have a Eureka. They're pretty much equal in performance. Having a hose connection in the garage (the power unit is in the laundry room) makes vacuuming the car simple.

combo52 · Oct 24, 2011

KENMORE CENTRAL VAC

I am a total central vacuum person [ sorry vacuum collectors from Vacuum-Land ]. My brother Jeff gave me a KM CV almost 30 years ago and it is all I ever use. I won't even let the cleaning people or anyone else for that matter even bring a portable vacuum in the house let alone turn it on. I also installed a WP CV in the West Va. house about 20 years ago when WP was getting out of that businesses and we got a great deal on them. Jason also ordered a powerful system for the warehouse but we haven't gotten it installed yet.

One of my pet peeves are smelly portable vacuums. I often end up using our customers portable vacuums when fixing thier dryers etc. And even these newer hepa filter machines often STINK when you use them. Yes I know they are not changing the filters and bags often enough, but in almost 30 years I have not paid one cent for bags.

Central Vac Survey

Help Support :

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Similar threads