Central vac recommendations

[kirbyman65]

I was considering installing a central vac in my shop/garage. I was going to get one used because I did not want to pay full price for something that I was only going to use in my garage. Are there any models I should keep an eye out for

 

[bagintheback]

The Hoover GUV fits that bill exactly and there's a few on eBay right now for under $200. Bissell also still sells their Garage Pro, which is currently $226 on Amazon.

I think it's a matter of personal preference. The Hoover is probably more collectable long term imo.

 

[panasonicvac]

Your local vacuum stores would have some in their trade in pile once in a while, they'd have good ones they could either sell for cheap or just give to you. But for just garage only, I'd recommend a VacuMaid CV30 Garage Vac. Or what I'd suggest instead would be a Shop Vac wall mount 5 gallon. Can be used as either bagged or bagless, can be used for wet pick up, and you can always hang it down whenever if you wanted to do other areas with it.

 

[kirbylux77]

Kirbyman65, I would suggest you ignore Nathaniel's suggestion to get the Hoover GUV. The Hoover central vacs are cheaply made with a Ametek Advantek single stage motor that has a VERY SHORT lifespan- the only thing good about the motor is the replacement cost! I can't speak to the Bissell equivalent, but it too is likely cheaply made.

I would second Alex's suggestion to get a refurbished central vac unit and spend around $400. And make sure that they replace the carbon brushes in the motor as part of the price you pay, that will ensure a long life for the motor hopefully. Many times, people will trade in a good central unit simply because it's old, and a small part has broken and they prefer to just replace it entirely than waste money on it.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

I had a used Vac-U-Flo two motor installed in my shop, works very well and handles small debris. Make sure it is exhausted outdoors.

I have a MD Silent Master in the house

 

[n0oxy]

Vacumaid Garage Vac Pro

I would suggest the Vacumaid Garage Pro. Since you only want to use this in your garage, I'm assuming you don't want to install piping. Actually you can use any central vacuum without pipes if you attach a utility valve to the in-take, that's how I use all of mine but this one just has the hose inlet on the front. I have this unit so I can recommend it from personal experience. It's not designed for wet pickup but you can add an interceptor if you need to.
Mike

https://vacumaid.com/product/garage-vac-pro/

 

[kirbyman65]

Thanks!

I appreciate all of your recommendations i didn’t expect so many! But I found this for free on next door! So I installed it in my shop. I couldn’t find any information on this model, so if anyone knew anything I would really appreciate it. I believe it’s from 1991. (Please excuse the not so great installation, I’m also waiting for the inlet to arrive )
-JB

 

[centralvacs1928]

A Beamco "Grand Central"! Longtime California brand, I believe they were self manufactured and installed (a la Sequoia, Omar's in the PNW, or Budd in NJ).

I believe these use a permanent cloth filter, right? Have seen one installation that had two canisters...one like yours and a second one with no motor as a pre-separator piped in series.

Grand Central's big unique feature was the ability to both trigger the power unit to activate and then supply 120 volts for the power brush, through a single two conductor "low voltage" wire. The wall inlets and hoses had a special "headphone type" connector, and the control module in the power unit was unique.

My understanding is that MD was in negotiations to buy the company in the late 1990s, to get access to their patented switching technology, but it was contingent on their getting UL approval. They were unable to do so, and thus the acquisition did not go through.

The company is gone now, but I am not sure when they ceased operations.

Can you post pictures of the inside of the power unit, and the ends of the hose?

 

[kirbyman65]

Sure!

Here’s the photo’s you wanted. When I picked up the vacuum cleaner I was given the cyclone, but i didn’t use it because I didn’t have space and I was only using it 2 feet away from the machine. By the way, do you know where I can find a new one of those hoses? I can’t find any with the headphone like connector.
Thanks
JB

 

[centralvacs1928]

This is super cool, thank you for sharing the pictures. Very unique system.

They manufactured (or modified) the hoses themselves, and now that they are out of business your best chance is finding another used one on CL/Marketplace/Offerup/eBay etc.

It would be entirely possible to convert the system so that a universal type hose would activate it (or you can just switch the unit on and off manually).

If you ever wanted to sell/trade that setup for a different unit, I'd be interested in it as we never had these in Chicagoland.

 

[kirbyman65]

I’ll have to think about it

I might be willing to trade, but I have to think about it. But if I so, would you trade something like this?
This was the same machine my grandmother had before she moved. I believe it’s a Filtex

 

[centralvacs1928]

That's a TSP300L

Two motors in parallel. I see them from time to time, but the TS300L (same motors but in series) is much more common.

Yes, I'd be open to a trade for either model. Much easier for me to find another of those than a Beamco Grand Central.

-Owen

 

[kirbyman65]

After careful consideration

If you pay for the shipping and you find one of those filtex models I’d be happy to trade. The only thing about the machine (besides light cosmetic damage) is the power nozzle is completely useless, it’s cracked it vital places. Finally if we trade are you interested in the hose and attachments? It’s a basic 1 1/4 in hose inlet.

 

[centralvacs1928]

I'll send you an email.