Anyone here have a central Vacuum?

[steppinthrax]

Just curious if anyone has one, how does it compare to a good Dyson and/or Kirby vac. I'm thinking of getting one installing in my house? My suspicion is the very powerful suction based on the physical size of the unit.

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Just curious if anyone has one, how does it compare to a good Dyson and/or Kirby vac. I'm thinking of getting one installing in my house? My suspicion is the very powerful suction based on the physical size of the unit.

Had one growing up - PITA. Still had to lug hose around, maintain connections, etc. Only positive is bigger bag for dirt and noise was downstairs in furnace room.

My current house is plumbed for it but I took it out. 40year old system and too many leaks inside walls etc. Just not worth it IMO.

 

[NetWareHead]

Cant comment on a kirby or dyson since I've never used those.

Advantages of central vac:
-noise. locating the suction motor in remote area of the house makes it possible to quietly vacuum the house. The only thing you hear is the air rushing through the hose and going into the wall. No motor noise.

-Dust control: remote location of the motor means the exhausted air is blown out somewhere else in the house. Our house had a central vacuum and the exhaust vent was outside the house. Arguably better than a vacuum motor inside the house that uses a HEPA filter to clean the exhaust air.

-Suction power: Far more powerful motor than a handheld.

-Dust collection: the canister the central vacuum fills is vast compared to a conventional vacuum. I would empty the canister 2-3 times a year into a dirt pile in the back yard. No bags to worry about just like a dyson.

 

[mmntech]

We have a Beam central vac. It's about 34 years old, same age as the house. Sounds like a jet engine when you start it up, but still offers decent suction. Two outlets on the main floor, one in the basement, and one upstairs. Covers the entire house.

For suction, the newer low and mid-range Beams offer 600 airwatts and 125cfm of suction. The top of the line Dyson canister vacs are only 230 airwatts. Whether it makes much of a difference I suppose depends on how far the central vac's run is. It has to pull air further, so needs more power. There are 240v models if you need crazy power, but that may be overkill.

The real advantage to central vacs is versatility. You can get tons of cleaning accessories for them. They quickly go from carpet to bare floor. They offer further reach as well, which is handy for cleaning dust bunnies on the ceiling for example. You still have to lug the hose around, but it's lighter to push around than an upright or canister. They're also quieter if you're inside the house.

Given how expensive (overpriced) the Dyson canister vacs are, I'd probably go for a central unit.

 

[Puppies04]

If you get the maid to do it when you are out on your yacht then noise isn't an issue. This is AT:OT after all.

 

[steppinthrax]

We have a Beam central vac. It's about 34 years old, same age as the house. Sounds like a jet engine when you start it up, but still offers decent suction. Two outlets on the main floor, one in the basement, and one upstairs. Covers the entire house.

For suction, the newer low and mid-range Beams offer 600 airwatts and 125cfm of suction. The top of the line Dyson canister vacs are only 230 airwatts. Whether it makes much of a difference I suppose depends on how far the central vac's run is. It has to pull air further, so needs more power. There are 240v models if you need crazy power, but that may be overkill.

The real advantage to central vacs is versatility. You can get tons of cleaning accessories for them. They quickly go from carpet to bare floor. They offer further reach as well, which is handy for cleaning dust bunnies on the ceiling for example. You still have to lug the hose around, but it's lighter to push around than an upright or canister. They're also quieter if you're inside the house.

Given how expensive (overpriced) the Dyson canister vacs are, I'd probably go for a central unit.

I'm trying to compare this to something I can understand. You said 600 airwatts, compared to a Rigid canister vac (home depot).

 

[mmntech]

I'm trying to compare this to something I can understand. You said 600 airwatts, compared to a Rigid canister vac (home depot).

Airwatts work on a similar concept to electrical watts.
For electricity, it's Pressure (volts) x Flow (amps) = watts

In this case...
[Pressure (inches of water) x Flow (cfm)] / 8.5= air watts

Pressure being how much force is being exerted on the fluid medium.

So for that 600 airwatt central vac I mentioned...
(Pressure x 125) / 8.5
Solve for P = 40.8 inches of water
Little unit conversion gives us 1.47 psi of suction power.

A standard issue 12 gallon Rigid shop vac is 227 air watts and 176cfm. Giving us 0.4 psi.

I'm assuming that's measured at the outlet of the machine itself. Given that central vacs have a much longer run, I'm guessing suction power is pretty comparable to high performance shop vacs at the nozzle.

 

[brianmanahan]

dont let dmcowen see this thread :whiste:

 

[steppinthrax]

Airwatts work on a similar concept to electrical watts.
For electricity, it's Pressure (volts) x Flow (amps) = watts

In this case...
[Pressure (inches of water) x Flow (cfm)] / 8.5= air watts

Pressure being how much force is being exerted on the fluid medium.

So for that 600 airwatt central vac I mentioned...
(Pressure x 125) / 8.5
Solve for P = 40.8 inches of water
Little unit conversion gives us 1.47 psi of suction power.

A standard issue 12 gallon Rigid shop vac is 227 air watts and 176cfm. Giving us 0.4 psi.

I'm assuming that's measured at the outlet of the machine itself. Given that central vacs have a much longer run, I'm guessing suction power is pretty comparable to high performance shop vacs at the nozzle.

Thanks,

I'm seeing the airwatts indication online now. I'm looking at a nutone vx1000 that has 1040 air watts...

So i guess the idea is to get the highest airwatts possible (all within practicality).

 

[steppinthrax]

dont let dmcowen see this thread :whiste:

why lol.

 

[Lonyo]

He'll go off on some crazy nutjob rant about something, because that's what he does. Probably environmental considerations and the power use of vacuums and some kind of conspiracy.

Let's try:
The vacuum cleaner manufacturers are in cahoots with the electricity providers to make inefficient vacuum cleaners so you have to spend more time and use more electricity to clean your house. Back in the day of central vacs they would be gas powered and you could run them all day for pennies before the corporations started inflating the price of gas, and now you get cheapo builders who won't install central vacs because they get kickbacks from the vacuum and electricity companies to make you use the less efficient crap they make these days.

 

[vi edit]

They are terrible for carpet. Work great for solid surfaces. Best use for them is the kick pans you install under cabinet kick plate that you can just sweep stuff into. If you have young kids and/or pets they are used daily to get rid of the endless amount of crap that ends up on your kitchen floors.

For the hardwood and and tile I had an attachment called the "manta ray" that was a big v-shaped thing with a dry mop velcro'd to it. Did a great job getting a bulk of the big stuff off the floors.

 

[edro]

The 70s called; they want their central vac back.

 

[gorcorps]

why lol.

Because he's the resident expert on all things that suck

 

[Linux23]

i had no idea that this existed before.

 

[JTsyo]

I have one from a NJ company called Budd. Works well enough. Only issue I've run into is that when the sized the hose for the handheld part, they didn't leave any slack. It will just reach all the corners but when you take into account any paths around furniture it doesn't reach.

 

[NetWareHead]

They are terrible for carpet. Work great for solid surfaces. Best use for them is the kick pans you install under cabinet kick plate that you can just sweep stuff into. If you have young kids and/or pets they are used daily to get rid of the endless amount of crap that ends up on your kitchen floors.

For the hardwood and and tile I had an attachment called the "manta ray" that was a big v-shaped thing with a dry mop velcro'd to it. Did a great job getting a bulk of the big stuff off the floors.

Forgot about the kick pans. Very handy to have. For a small mess in the kitchen i.e. crumbs on the floor, I'm not going to break out the central vac hose. But using a broom to sweep the mess towards a kick pan is great.

Have to disagree about the performance on carpet. We had an Electrolux central vacuum and the power head with a beater brush. We could use the full range of powered accessories that were offered with conventional vacuums.

 

[vi edit]

I've had two different central vacs with the electric heads. They do "ok" for picking up basic debris off of floors.

But neither of them hold a candle to the deep cleaning suck power of the Kirby that I have.

They did work well for stairs though. The little power heads are nice and the hose is a lot more convenient to drag around stairs than a 40 pound kirby is.

 

[Genx87]

I wouldn't so it. I think they are more cumbersome and intrusive than stand alone units. My parents put one into their house when they built it 23 years ago. Trying to lug the cleaning unit + hose up the stairs was a giant pita.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

My house has a central vacuum unit with two motors for extra suction. The vacuum works great and it is very quiet.

 

[nickbits]

I had one growing up and vacuuming was my chore, so I used it a lot. Mostly I recall dealing with the hose annoying.
My house now doesn't have one and I don't miss it one bit and think I prefer using the upright (Hoover). Not sure which cleaned better and don't really care, all did "good enough".
Oh, one thing I did prefer about central vac: doing stairs was much easier.

 

[JM Aggie08]

Shark 4 lyf

 

[boomerang]

But neither of them hold a candle to the deep cleaning suck power of the Kirby that I have.

Reminds me of a story I was once told...

A coworker was telling me about going on shore leave when he was in the Navy. One of the girls at the bar was introduced to him as Kirby. He asked her, Kirby, is that a nickname? She said yes, it's because I suck way better than a Hoover.

But on topic, I have one and use it pretty much when I have a mess to clean up that I don't want to lug the shop vac in the house for. It's also really good for cleaning the crevice between the carpet and the baseboards and stairs as nickbits said. It's not set up for a carpet attachment with a rotating brush or beater bar. As has been touched on in this thread I've heard mixed reviews on the carpet attachments.

Oh, and it's great for cleaning cold air return grills high up on the walls. After a while the woolies start to gather on those.

 

[dtgoodwin]

I've had two different central vacs with the electric heads. They do "ok" for picking up basic debris off of floors.

But neither of them hold a candle to the deep cleaning suck power of the Kirby that I have.

They did work well for stairs though. The little power heads are nice and the hose is a lot more convenient to drag around stairs than a 40 pound kirby is.

My parents have an Electrolux central vac in their home, and I have a VacuFlo in mine. I did a quick test against my parent's Kirby. With it on, I put them hose against hose. The bag on the Kirby almost immediately collapsed. There is no comparison in the pressure between the two.

Honestly, the biggest issues with them for me are the long hoses that get in the way. Honestly though, it didn't take long to figure out how to manage them easily. The other issue is on carpet. My particular power head "seals" itself to the carpet making it difficult to move. I can lift up on the handle and the carpet lifts an inch or two off the ground before breaking the seal.

The amount of dirt that is captured is amazing. My wife and I, and our kids all have allergies to dust. Having all the dust captured in the unit in the garage which then exhausts directly to the outside means that we have no sneezing or watery eyes after vacuuming which we used to with our old upright.

 

[NetWareHead]

The amount of dirt that is captured is amazing. My wife and I, and our kids all have allergies to dust. Having all the dust captured in the unit in the garage which then exhausts directly to the outside means that we have no sneezing or watery eyes after vacuuming which we used to with our old upright.

And since the exhaust/dust is ducted outside, there is no need for hepa filters etc... I kinda enjoyed this advantage of central vacuums since I have allergies.