The horrible truth about central vacuum systems and why every non-Canadian millennial hates them.

[ajr2993]

Central vacuum systems have always gotten a horrible reputation from non-vacuum enthusiasts for being clunky, outdated, and impractical. They've also been hated by professional vacuum test channels like VacLab for losing 95% of their cleaning performance due to their long hose and long piping, So why do people hate them? I give you many reasons why.

1. The hoses are bulky, clunky, and hard to store

Central vacuum hoses have definitely improved since the days of the old-school, bulky, wire-reinforced hoses that were heavy and had terrible suction and airflow. They have since moved to crushproof hosing which is much lighter-weight and aerodynamic. Plus, there's always a retractable hose system like the Hide-A-Hose.

2. They waste so much electricity

Central vacuum systems burn almost 2500 watts of electricity a day. In today's era of energy-saving appliances, central vacuum systems are obsolete.

3. They're prone to clogging

Central vacuum systems have piping throughout the home, meaning if you vacuum fireplace ashes, wet food crumbs, pine needles, bugs, or other sharp or sticky objects, they'll clog, BIG TIME!!

4. They're not aerodynamic AT ALL

Because the suction and airflow has to travel through a massive highway of tubing, it loses cleaning performance drastically, unless you install it correctly or have a powerful unit. Uprights and canisters are much more powerful than central vacuums, as shown from VacLab and braveheart vacs.

 

[beagledad]

Can an admin please deal with these trolls?

 

[vaclab]

Geez, hold up their dude

And stop putting words in my mouth. Let me state this plainly

I LIKE ALL VACUUMS, PERIOD!

Central vacuums have their place but aren't very efficient at what they do. It's by design.

Now let me respond to your claims:

Your Claim: "losing 95% of their cleaning performance due to their long hose and long piping"
My Answer: They do not lose 95% of their cleaning performance and I have no idea where you obtained that number. Example: motor starts out with 150 CFM and ends up with 80 nozzle CFM. Not a 95% loss. Do the Math!

Your Claim: "The hoses are bulky, clunky, and hard to store"
My Answer: Some can be, hide-a-hose models not so much

Your Claim: "Central vacuum systems burn almost 2500 watts of electricity a day"
My Answer: Uh, do you mean 2500 Watts/hr. or something like that? If you run a 1700 Watt machine with a PN for 30 minutes, that would be 850 W/hr. If you run it for 1 hour that would be 1700 W/hr. Not sure where you grabbed 2500 Watts from. You need a time component.

Your Claim: "They're prone to clogging"
My Answer: The typical person barely understands how to use/maintain any vacuum and can clog anything as I've previously stated elsewhere. BUT, if you actually pay attention to what you're sucking up, clogs are rare in any vacuum.

Your Claim: "They're not aerodynamic AT ALL"
My Answer: This is a repeat of the first "95% loss" claim.

While there are some that clearly "kowtow" to central vacuums, all I want to accomplish is show everyone that central vacs are inefficient. Merely having a big motor does not equate to big performance at the nozzle.

VacLab

 

[panasonicvac]

Seriously Andrew?

This is like maybe the third or fourth time now you've created a thread recently about central vacs, I don't get why you keep on making new threads while I've noticed you rarely post back into a thread that you would create. I honestly find it annoying. And I'd get less interested in visiting your new threads.

 

[vaclab]

Annual Cost of Running Vacuums

You have to make some assumptions. Adjust your usage as required.

Say you vacuum 50 hours per year (typical).

A machine that uses 1000 Watts would consume 50 kW/hrs per year. My electric costs 11 cents per kW/hr, so I would pay $5.50 USD per year. A Starbucks fancy coffee costs as much (or more).

If your "suck the paint off the walls" central vacuum uses 2000 Watts (including the PN), you would now pay $11.00 USD per year.

Whoopdeedoo...

Bill

 

[tolivac]

NEVER,NEVER use a central vacuum or others for that matter to pick up fireplace and woodstove ash.Good way to use the vacuum system as a HOUSE IGNITOR!!!!!Use the fireplace shovel and a METAL ashcan which is stored OUTSIDE the home!!!The ash can be dumpted in a garden-away from the house as fertilizer.Trash companies often do not pick up ash because it can cause trash truck fires.A trash truck is an EXPENSIVE item-some can cost over quarter mil for the body and chassis.

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

Reply 5

What about Ash separators?

 

[tolivac]

Not famaliar with ash seperators-you can get ash vacuums-these use all metal bodies and fireproof hoses and filters.You do have to empty them after each use.Since ash is a good thermal insulator live coals can remain hot for days!Best to play it safe.My Dad always cleaned his woodstove and fireplace with the steel shovel and ashcan.He didn't use a vacuum.The safest way.He dumpted the ashcan in his garden a distance from the house.

 

[wstonehockertv]

ajr2993

I understand this is all your opinion, but I feel you are doing this to attract attention. If I have an opinion on something, I try to not show my bias towards it. Remember, central vacs are not for everyone.

 

[dysonman1]

It all depends upon how the unit is installed. My installer is my friend who not only is a fellow vacuum collector, he also installs and services central vacuums for a living.

I have three electavalves installed in my home, and a 30 foot "Lux" style electric hose with the 'super J' type grip.

I have a Cameleon retractable hose for the bedrooms, located in the main hall.

I have a Wally Flex in the laundry room as well as over my work bench in the garage.

I have a Vroom under the kitchen sink. I have a vacpan along the baseboard in the kitchen.

I have a garage inlet near the garage door for cleaning cars in the driveway. And of course, Modern Day central vacs have a utility valve I use when vacuuming the garage floor.

At vacuum convention time, my friends try different power units on my 'pipes', with different results. They run every power nozzle I have at home at the end of the different hoses. We had Central Vacuums as a theme a few years ago.

The central vac is like a very, very quiet canister vacuum with a long hose. As the late Stan Kann used to say, "it only needs enough suction to get the schmutz into the end of the hose".

 

[ocscott3085]

Tom, just curious, is your electric hose wire-reinfoced like the older style hoses or the newer, crush-proof design?

 

[maytag142c]

I have an MD M-715H with a crushproof hose. The unit has 4 inlets on it plus the utility inlet for the basement and it’s vented outside. Apparently this unit is one of the more powerful units that you can run on 120v before stepping up to a 240v model. Not once have I ever had a clog, have I ever had suction loss, nor have I ever had an issue with the unit and I suck up all sorts of stuff, some stuff shouldn’t even be sucked up but if it can fit it goes. The same friend Tom got his unit from, I got mine from and I couldn’t be happier. It’s the vacuum I use the most.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

I thought about it in my old place.

I found a HOOVER unit on ebay...but couldn't get it here.  It's the only one I'd get.  I really don't need one.  But, Owen Perkins was very kind to me about it.  A few yrs back,  someone else tried to sell me one...didn't work out.


 


 I'm told it wouldn't be THAT hard to retrofit this 12 room place. But.....................


 There is a Hoover Central vac in the basement.  Good enough.

 

[dysonman1]

Scott

I got a number of different electric hoses from my buddy who installed the machine. One is crush proof and two are wire bound. The smooth bore crush proof hose does allow for much more airflow.

 

[ocscott3085]

Yes I have only had crush-proof in this house but my parents' system had the old wire-reinforced hoses in the 80's/90's. I liked the look and feel of those better than the crush-proof. The Plastiflex crush-proof electric hose that came with my system split in half after only 8 years of use and I haven't replaced it yet. I ended up getting the battery version of my Wessel Werk EBK360 powerhead so I don't need electric.

 

[huskyvacs]

I think people vastly underestimate and do not think about what goes into installing a central vacuum. This is not something you just buy and use. You have to spend weeks renovating your home to fit one in which is why they are only found in new constructions. There is a lot of damages done to walls, floors, ceilings , et cetera to install central vacuum tubing. it's at least $1,000+ in labor to install.

the people that actually use central vacuums are maybe less than 1% of America. in canada most new home construction requires central vacuum systems - why i don't know. canada is very strange.

I would highly advise you to stop watching clickbait youtube channels which will cut out these paranoid rants. central vacuums have existed for over 100 years and they are still a very little used and little bought cleaning system and the top vacuums are still hoover and shark and dyson. there is absolutely nobody rushing out in the middle of the night to buy a central vacuum system.

 

[vaclab]

Canadian Central Vac Requirement?

I only did a quick Google search to verify a new home builds central vac requirement. I came up with bupkis.

Huskyvacs, please provide a link that shows central vacs are mandated in new Canadian home builds.

Bill

 

[countryguy]

I have never heard of the requirement that new home construction requires central vac installation....and I live in Ontario, Canada. I checked the building code online and did not find anything. Where are you getting this information? Can you provide a link?

Thanks.

Gary

 

[huskyvacs]

I think what I must have read must have been a builder's requirement for certain estate homes as their furnishings and not the national code.

https://pacesetterhomessask.com/wp-...er-2021-Standard-Building-Specs-June-2021.pdf

https://pacesetterhomessask.com/about/

I just figured it was a requirement because so many homes had them from new. But Canada does have requirements in the building code on how the piping can be run and protected from fire.