Adding Sound Insulation to Central Vacuum Motor?

[vgwpg]

Thanks everyone

I think I'll just go with the old fashioned way - using earplugs.

Madman, I do have a muffler. They're only like $10.

Ultralux88, it is vented outside. I would never have a central vacuum and not exhaust it outside, that's one of my favourite features of them!

n0oxy, one day I will get a brand new quiet unit. Unfotunately, I'm not in the market to do that at this point, but then I have something to look forward to!

 

[gregvacs28]

Change out the motor to a flow-thru motor.
They are relatively cheap compared to a bypass motor.
They are considerably quieter.
They are more powerful. You will get better suction.

I recently found a 1500 watt, 650 Air Watt flow through motor NEW for $39.99 from a CV distributor in FLA.

And because you can vent everything thing that comes out of exhaust compartment of the vacuum, you can insulate all of it but the 2" exhaust hole.

With that by-pass motor you can't block the top exhaust and intake and that is left exposed to the air in your home, along with the noise.

My favorite way of sound insulating these cv units is to remove the motor and electronics, fill all holes except the air in and out and the cord hole, make sure all seams are sealed with caulk, then take a piece of thick shag carpet and wrap it around the walls twice, then wrap it in plastic, and cut the 2" exhaust hole.

Then take chicken wire/mesh and fit it against the carpeted walls to be sure the carpet can't collapse and come in contact with the motor.

Do similar for the top and make sure you have weather stripping on the opening edges. You don't want any air leaking out.

Install the motor and connect to the cord. Install the electronics in a separate box that won't be exposed to the heat , vibration, and dust from the vacuum.

Huge difference in noise level. Plus, ANYTHING that comes out of the vacuum, including carbon dust, motor heat, off-gassing, bag dust, and the typical vacuum dust and odors, along with some of the noise.....goes outside via the vent.

If you haven't converted that S1600 to using bags, do it !
Changing an inexpensive bag takes a minute with no dust clouds or filter cleaning hassles.

I recently acquired a New "Old Stock" MD top fill vacuum and before I'd even use it I did the above.

I took pics I should post.

 

[panasonicvac]

Kieth

There's a reason why true cyclonic units uses a bypass motor. You would need more layers of filtration than converting the cyclonic canister to just using bags if you were to convert a thru-flow motor in a true cyclonic unit. And honestly I don't even know if the author in this thread has a dirt canister for either the P-225 or the S1600. What I would suggest instead is to get a DC800 bagged canister from Vacumaid that uses HEPA filtration. Otherwise that's one of the downfalls that I have seen from thru-flow motors is without extra filtration layers, the bearings and the motor itself can go bad quicker. Another thing too that I have found is the thru-flow motors do run much hotter than bypass motors.

 

[gregvacs28]

Completely agree

"...downfalls that I have seen from thru-flow motors is without extra filtration layers, the bearings and the motor itself can go bad quicker."

Totally agree!
By-pass motors are best for using with carpet cleaning systems, where water or water vapor is possible
or
with cyclonic central vacs where heavier than usual amounts of dirt may be present in the air.

Why they would put a by-pass motor in a typical central vacuum is just expensive and noisy overkill. But then motors have really improved in the last 20 years.

I used to think cyclonic was the cats meow and so "natural"
but soon learned through experience that the difficulty of cleaning out the container with all the dust particles becoming air born
and then having to clean filters and that dust becoming airbourn
and the time it takes for all the pieces to dry....

Bags are simple to change. Takes less than minute and no mess. And a typical CV bag is less than $2.

Flo-thru motors may run hotter. I can't really speak to that. It depends on where one is taking the temperature.
But one thing is for sure, with a vented CV and a flo-thru motor all the heat gets pushed outside.
With a by-pass motor the heat stays in the house because none of the motors workings are vented outside, only the exhaust from the fan. Also carbon dust, off-gassing, and motor noise stays in the house as well.

 

[panasonicvac]

One of the beauties with a true cyclonic unit is there are no filters to ever have buy, clean, or replace. And because they are required to be vented outside, you don't have to worry about all the dust and dirt that you would suck up being blown back indoors. I mean sure it's not like maintaining a bagged unit but I have found that if you use a trash bag to wrap around the unit to clean the debris off the screen like you would with a dryer lint trap. Then use that same trash bag to wrap around the canister tightly to empty it, let the dust settle down for a minute or so while the bag is still sealed onto the canister, seal the trash bag completely afterwards, and throw it away. I barely would get any dust on my hands. Another thing that I have found with Vacuflo's true cyclonic units is the screens doesn't get clogged as much compared to Vacumaid's. In all on honesty, I wouldn't hesitate to put in either a Vacuflo 566Q or a Vacuflo 760 in my own house if I wanted to go for a bagless unit.

I have an uncle who owns a MD Flo-Master F650t that uses a thru-flow motor and it uses a bag that costs like $10 per piece. I can confirm that it does get hot while running. But it is just as quiet as a top of the line MD SilentMaster S5 that uses "two" bypass motors. I don't believe all thru-flow motors are quieter than bypass motors. And who says you can't vent out a central vac that uses a bypass motor? I've seen plenty myself that do. Anyways, those are my two cents here. On a side note, Cana-Vac uses both types of motors for their units and they prefer bypass themselves.

http://canavac.com/central-vacuum-motors/#:~:text=1

 

[vgwpg]

Hello again,
I do have a cyclonic dirt canister, the VacuMaid DC1200. Therefore, as Panasonicvac mentioned, changing to a flow thru motor would not be possible, due to the amount of dirt passing htorugh the motor.
However, even if I didn't have a cyclonic unit, I would not get a flow thru motor. I do agree that they are quieter, cheaper, and far more powerful for their size, but I also find that they are less durable, and run hotter. As this is the vacuum cleaner that is used every day, I want something that I know will be running strong for years to come. I also do a lot of detail work, so I am not sure the amount of air a flow thru motor would be getting while cleaning carpet with a crevice nozzle is adequate for cooling.

I also haven't had a problem with emptying the canister yet. Personally, I find it far easier to clean out than the Canavac unit I used to have (It had a Beam style filter), and the screen at the top is easy to clean. Unfortunately, it does get clogged quite easily, but it's pretty quick to vacuum it off.
To be honest, I am not sure how I would feel about a bagged power unit. As I mentioned before, it is the main vacuum in the house, and it gets used for everything. For one, I'm not the only one using it, and stuff often gets accidentally sucked up, and it's much easier to be able to retrieve the object from the top of the dirt. I also have rabbits, and their hay and fur fill up the canister quite quickly. The MD style bagged units are very difficult to get where I am, never mind the bags. It's almost all Beam style, filtered cyclonic, or true cyclonic. If I got a new unit, I would probably still use the cyclonic separator as a pre-separator. But I do really like how clean the bagged units are to empty.

 

[gregvacs28]

Well you are in Canada.  Canadians have many more homes with CVs than us pitiful people in the U.S.  It's just one of the aspects that makes Canada a desirable country.  People speaking fluet English is another positive attribute.


 


Surely there are distributors there that would be knowledgeable and even have display units that would help you get what's best for you.  

 

[panasonicvac]

I think Canada assembles one of the finest power units on the market. I really like Cyclovac. If I were to pass on getting an American made MD, Cyclovac would be my next choice to get. They have one of the best warranties in the industry! However I will have to admit, I'm impressed with the motors used on Drainvac. I think you could possibly get away with using some units that has a thru-flow motor if you switch from using bagged to bagless. But I think getting a cyclonic dirt canister for a bagged unit or just a true cyclonic unit would still be a better option to have. Cyclovac sells a cyclonic dirt canister and possibly ACV (All Canada Vac), the Canadian version of Vacumaid.