Last week, just after reaching 50 years, the rotor burned out on my NuTone CV350. I'm not sure I want to spend $250+ on a replacement motor. I'll try rewinding it at some point, and will keep an eye out for units that are being scrapped to pull a rotor from, but even if it gets fixed it will probably be relegated to garage use.
So, I'm looking for a replacement. My main priority is performance, although I'm not sure how I would balance CFM and suction - leaning towards giving more weight to CFM right now. Bottom-emptying is much preferred, although I can work around that if there's enough to justify it.
I'm not at all concerned about noise or cleanliness of exhaust air, since it will be installed in my utility room and exhaust will be routed outside. I haven't read much about cyclonic systems yet, but it seems like they might be a good fit to eliminate the cost of bag changed and maybe have a smaller impact on performance as it becomes loaded.
Here is a spreadsheet I threw together for MD, Cyclovac, and Flo-Master (also has the info for my old NuTone). Let me know if you'd like to see any other brands or more points of comparison here:
The Cyclovac 725 Hybrid is at the top of my list right now. It seems to be the best value among the mid-to-high performance models (as far as air watts per dollar). It can be operated with or without bags. One strange thing is that it's air watts rating is 6% lower than the A700tv2, despite having a 2% higher CFM rating and <1% lower water lift rating.
So, I'm looking for a replacement. My main priority is performance, although I'm not sure how I would balance CFM and suction - leaning towards giving more weight to CFM right now. Bottom-emptying is much preferred, although I can work around that if there's enough to justify it.
I'm not at all concerned about noise or cleanliness of exhaust air, since it will be installed in my utility room and exhaust will be routed outside. I haven't read much about cyclonic systems yet, but it seems like they might be a good fit to eliminate the cost of bag changed and maybe have a smaller impact on performance as it becomes loaded.
Here is a spreadsheet I threw together for MD, Cyclovac, and Flo-Master (also has the info for my old NuTone). Let me know if you'd like to see any other brands or more points of comparison here:
The Cyclovac 725 Hybrid is at the top of my list right now. It seems to be the best value among the mid-to-high performance models (as far as air watts per dollar). It can be operated with or without bags. One strange thing is that it's air watts rating is 6% lower than the A700tv2, despite having a 2% higher CFM rating and <1% lower water lift rating.
