Central vacuum recommendations.

[johnsmith96]

Hey all, it’s been a while since I’ve posted. I just bought a house two months ago and I’m looking to retrofit a central vacuum in. I really want something with some power. My home is two levels though the upstairs is more of a loft area. It is closed off from the downstairs, but it isn’t the full size of the entire house because it’s an A-frame. I’m leaning more towards a MD unit. I really want to exhaust to the outside of my house. I do have a ground level basement/garage that the unit would be put in. I’ve seen some recommendations on some of the dual motor units from many brands, I would say my house is 12 to 1300 ft.² on the main floor and the upstairs is probably 500 ft.². I’m open to other brand suggestions.

Also am I going to regret putting in a powerful unit? My fear is picking some thing average to slightly better than average suction and feeling like one of my standalone uprights or canisters gives me the same or better cleaning performance. I know central vacuums are often recommended or marketed for specific square footage of homes, but I had a vacuum made garage utility vacuum that claimed to be 4 to 600 air and I didn’t feel that it was that powerful. For a utility vacuum it was “okay” but I think of that experience and can’t fathom putting something that average into my home to only get that performance after all the work.

 

[k15]

Where I am in Canada it seems at least 75% of homes have a central vac. If you really want to exhaust outside, then yeah a central vac is what you'll need. For cleaning performance though, something to consider is the loss of airflow from a central vac. The suction (water lift) is really high, but you also need airflow, and the nozzle airflow isn't all that much higher than a good canister or upright. More powerful motor yes, but also far higher system (piping and hose) friction losses. That said I have a central vac and like it, but I like it for the lower noise and outside exhaust.

 

[johnsmith96]

K15

Do you recommend any models though?

 

[fantomfan]

CENTRAL VACS

Hoping Owen Perkins will see this post, he is the resident expert on central vacs on vacuumland. MD and Vacuflo are excellent units and they have a variety of models for different types of spaces.
Mitchell

 

[k15]

I like the Canavac Signature series, though I'm not sure if they're available in the US. I like Vacuflo and Husky as well.

 

[dysonman1]

Owen Perkins installed a silent master, with two 3-fan Motors in my house. They did not yet have the true seal HEPA bags. He then installed a commercial vac-u-flo. I got a sinus infection from emptying it, so we went back to the silent master which now has true seal HEPA bags. It's the best central vacuum, but one thing it's not is silent. The exhaust on mine is vented outside. I love the true seal bags. I have three electro valves, a chameleon, a VAC pan, a Vroom, A garage outlet by the garage door to clean the cars, as well as two Wally flex with one being in the laundry room and one being over the workbench.

 

[johnsmith96]

Dysonman1

What is the square footage of your house? I looked into a dual motor MD, silent master, the S 900 R. Because it’s only $100 more than the 715h. I just had a new electrical system upgrade in my home, so now I have two panels. One where the old 60 amp fuse box was, and a new panel on the other side of my garage, where the new main power from the street comes in. So I have lots of flexibility with Wiring, my father can do it. But I feel like a few years ago when I asked this question, I can’t find where I asked it or any of the information that was given, people said there is such thing as powerful for a home. I can’t imagine the S 900 R being excluded from that. Though I’d love to own one because I think it could suck the Chrome off a hitch ball from the sounds of it. I also know you can get relief valves and open them up on the handle of your central vacuum hose to assist with suction control. At most there would probably be four outlets in the house, maybe a utility valve in the garage next to the unit and eventually a VAC pan. I’d also be installing this myself. I called the only local vacuum store around and they sell riccar central vacuums, but no installation.

 

[panasonicvac]

I really like the Flo-Master F650t, my uncle owns one and it's got amazing power. I'd also recommend the Modern Day M715h. The one I'd love to install in my own home would be a SilentMaster S900r, however that may be too powerful for you so I'd consider the M715h instead. CycloVac is also a good choice. Either the 625, 725, or 925 would be my pick. I remember someone complained about the 7525 being too powerful for their smaller home. If you're looking for bagless, Vacuflo would be my pick. I really like their 566Q and 760 units, both of which I think are the best bagless vacuums on the market in my opinion. They also have really good bagged units as well. Their DB5000, DB7000, and DB8000 would be my picks. Although I'd prefer to buy one of those under the Dirt Devil name that Vacuflo makes for them. VacuMaid makes excellent units as well, my pick would be the SR800. And I personally own a DrainVac Little Giant sold by ThinkVacuums.com, I love it but I'd recommend buying one from a local dealer cause ThinkVacuums.com is terrible.

 

[johnsmith96]

Panasonicvac

My fear about buying the 715h is it feeling underpowered… and it’s almost the same price as the s900r. I want bagged and to vent outside.

 

[panasonicvac]

I think for your house, you'd be fine with an M715h. My uncle's F650t although a little less powerful than the M715h, it still feels like it's pulling the carpet out of the floor. That's one of the reasons why I think there's a good chance I wouldn't be installing a S900r in my own home cause it may be too powerful especially for my altitude level. Other reasons are it's alot more electricity to use and one more motor I'd need to replace so longevity it'd be even costly to operate than the M715h.

 

[johnsmith96]

Anyone an MD dealer that ships to the east coast?

When I do decide, does anyone have the ability to sell or know a shop that sells and ships to the east coast?

 

[blackheart]

Just my 2c

If you're gonna get a central vacuum get the most powerful unit you can. I've done SOME measuring of central vacuums and Their performance is kind of all over. (measurements taken at 30ft hose)
Beam 2100 Baird 3.5 or about 72 CFM
Broan CV40 (dual motors in series) Baird 5.5 or about 88 cfm
MD Silentmaster S4 (single dual stage motor) 88 Hose CFM
Drainvac Viper (Flow thru dommel motor) Baird 7.5 or about 100 cfm
Canavac XLS (single 8.4" motor" 111.49 CFM ~130" suction
Beam 2900 (dual 2 stage motors in parallel) 129.48 CFM 116" suction

Unfortunately I didn't have my gauges for many of the older machines so no suction readings and a baird meter.

I've come to the conclusion that only the strongest of central vacuum units are really worthwhile. Many higher end canisters are capable of getting at least 100 hose cfm why settle for a central that has less?

In short whatever brand you decide on I'd suggest get the strongest unit they have that uses dual parallel motors. I'm certainly not an expert on central vacuums though

 

[vinvac]

Not being a fan of central vacuums, I would recommend a high end canister.

Central vacuums are not all they are cracked up to be. Lugging a 30 foot hose around, getting caught on furniture, like other have stated it seems to have good air flow but the hose length lessons its productivity.

I know many think they are wonderful, but not a fan here. The funeral home I used to clean for installed one, I always brought my Kirby, it cleaned better and more versatile.

Just my opinion and my two cents.

 

[panasonicvac]

If you're unable to have a MD unit shipped to you, you can look online for either a OVO or a Allegro unit. The OVO 700AW uses the same motor as the MD F700t but for more than half the price off. And the Allegro Zenith uses the same motor as the MD M715h but also alot cheaper as well, although it is bagless so I'd recommend to convert it as bagged. I did fail to mention that the Riccar power units your dealer has are actually CycloVac built units.

 

[dysonman1]

I would strongly suggest a True Seal Hepa bagged unit. Dumping a year's worth of dirt into a trash can results in huge clouds of dirt for you to breath-in. Ask me how I know! Evan Rogers at The Vac Shack and Owen Perkins at Just Central Vacuums in Naperville installed my Modern Day S5 several years ago (after the sinus infection from the Vac U Flo cleared up) and I couldn't be happier. I liked the Vac U Flo (and it was the commercial dual motor model) but hated the filthy emptying. Modern Day true hepa bags are SEALED! The last bag we took out of my Modern Day (Evan did it) weighed almost fifty pounds. Full to the brim - and still pulled it in.

 

[centralvacs1928]

John, for your situation, I would personally go with the M715H unit. It's got fantastic end-of-hose performance and a single heavy-duty 8.4" motor with a tangential exhaust that is easy to vent outside.

Here's a quick video I made looking at the unit and its motor in more detail:



We frequently use this unit for installations (retractable and traditional) in homes 5000+ square feet and the performance is awesome. The only time we step up to the S900R is when we need to stretch a single system that really should have been zoned into two separate M715 systems (think 20+ wall inlets or 10+ retractable hoses).

Venting the S900R requires two separate exhaust lines, and back pressure (from longer exhaust lines) will cause some of the air to blow out the seams in the enclosure (since the motors are peripheral bypass and you're really only venting the enclosure, not the motors directly).

Hope that makes sense! Either unit is a fantastic choice. If you aren't able to make contact with a local dealer via the MD dealer locator, I would be glad to help you out.

Owen

 

[johnsmith96]

Centralvacs1928

Yes I’ll prob utilize you when going to buy. Is the m715 a model that needs its own outlet/circuit breaker?

 

[kirbylux77]

John, I would also STRONGLY suggest looking at CycloVac central vac units as well. The company is practically legendary here in Canada! Seriously, the company has lots of dealers and a strong reputation for building a QUALITY central vac unit. So much so, that Tacony Corporation has them build their Riccar central vac units, and McHardy Vacuum in Canada has their Vacuum Canada units built by them as well. I am not saying Modern Day isn't a great choice....I believe they are as well....BUT I firmly believe CycloVac will give any Modern Day unit a darn good run for the money and performance.

As for your fear, I would say it's a valid and true fear. What people don't realize about central vac is, the units HAVE to be super powerful, because when you are using the hose and powerhead, you lose TONS of airflow and waterlift. In reality, most central vacs are no better than a high end Miele, Sebo or Lindhaus canister with a powerhead for airflow and waterlift through the hose. I totally agree with Devin, who goes by Blackheart on here - reality is, there is no advantage with central vac for airflow, suction or carpet cleaning ability over a high end canister. Years ago, one could make the argument that the central vac exhausting outside was better for air filtration, but now that modern sealed HEPA canister vacuums exist that's no longer a valid argument. And as others have pointed out, dragging that huge bulky hose around is just as inconvenient as dragging and dealing with a canister vacuum behind you, so pick your poison.

Regardless of which brand you buy, make sure you buy their TOL unit with their most powerful motor so you will be happy with what you feel at the end of the hose. And btw, one other reason why I prefer CycloVac is some of the motors used are from Electro Motor, the former Electrolux motor manufacturer.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Great info, Owen

It is true, you ceratainly do know your stuff...and present it in a great way.