Central vacs

[sebo4me]

I'm thinking of fitting an MD Central Vac.

I don't have an attached garage so will have to fit the power unit in a cupboard in the kitchen. It's ventilated.

Do you think it will be annoyingly noisy? I'm told that central vacs are quieter these days. Is this true?

 

[vacuuman101]

I don't know about MD central vacs but my grandmothers Fasco mastervac II from 1993 was really loud and when it died last summer she got a new Vacuflo FC650 and it is quieter then the old one but it is a little loud. Hope this helps

-Jeremy

 

[ocscott3085]

My MD central vacuum is significantly quieter than the Dirt Devil Pro Series it replaced. I actually don't think it would be any louder than a canister vacuum if you were to keep it in a ventilated closet/cabinet.

 

[ctvacman]

My vacuflo 566q is incredibly quiet right at the unit.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

You can put a Central vac in a detached garage...I've seen it done. They run pipe underground. It depends on how close it is to the House.
Andy

 

[sebo4me]

Thank you for your help guys

I'll risk it. Supposed to be 65db so I guess that isn't too loud. I hope not anyway.

The garage isn't far away. I was considering running pipes under my lawn but I was advised not to as it could lead to problems?

 

[vacerator]

If the ground

gets too cold or too hot, the pipes could crack. My guess is if the ground doesn't change in temp. more than 20 degrees C or F., and doesn't freeze, you'll be ok burying them. Lawn sprinkler lines crack all the time around here even though owners have them air evacuated every fall before the ground freezes.

 

[sebo4me]

What about condensation?

We don't get severe weather here.Cant remember the last time it was very hot or very cold. Plenty of rain tho. I'm developing webbed feet!

So you think it would be better to put it in the garage as it may be a bit noisy in a ventilated closet?

 

[compactelectra]

I Put an MD Silentmaster

In a hall closet in my home in LA. No basement and a detached garage. I originally had a regular MD unit but my partner worked from home and the unit was next to his office. Way too loud for him when the housekeeper was there twice a week. Replaced it with a Silentmaster and problem solved. Those Silentmaster units are perfect for closet installations. Very quiet.

 

[sebo4me]

Thank you Fred I might fit a silentmaster then.

 

[vacerator]

condensation?

Good question. There shouldn't be much. I wonder if a Lamb bypass 2 stage motor is tough enough to handle it.
Mine has been in my garage exposed to condensation for sure for over 20 years.
Some light rust inside the dirt canister, but that's it.
An exhaust muffler will fit any unit. The Beam serenity series uses that, plus an insulated vented plastic cover on top.
I added a muffler to my Hoover, and it makes a big difference.

 

[sebo4me]

If you lay the pipes underground can you get condensation inside them? That would trap the dirt wouldn't it?

 

[gottahaveahoove]

but, couldn't you

also suck up that water? Couldn't the ruin your unit?
My cousin hada central vac.... never really used it. Bought the biggest, hottest cleaner....went from a Dial A Matic powerdrive...to Oreck....to................then, she passed. Alzeheimer's.

 

[centralvacs1928]

The condensation occurs anytime the air you're sucking through the pipe is a lot warmer than the pipe itself. The dirt then sticks to the wet inside of the pipe, which gradually clogs and needs to be cut out and replaced. Dirt + water = concrete! I see it all the time around here with piping that runs uninsulated through attics. Bad idea if you ask me, especially if you have cold winters. If not, there would be a way to do it, but no doubt costly and labor-intensive.

Better to install the unit into a soundproofed cabinet and pipe the exhaust outside. The Flo-Master F650T is a very good and quiet unit, plus it's compact and filters tremendously well.

 

[panasonicvac]

It depends on which kind you would get because some are noisier than others and some are quieter than others. We sell Simplicity and MD central vacuums because not only they are ridiculously powerful but they are also extremely quiet. If you're going to get an MD, go for the Silentmaster lineup because they're quieter than the other MD models such as the Flo-Master, Air Force, Modern Day, and Air Master.

 

[oreck_xl]

DrainVac makes a unit that can pick up water. Their Automatik can pick up water then cleans itself every 15 minutes by connecting to your plumbing it washes itself out.

 

[vacerator]

I think

air moving through the pipes with daily use dries them out.

 

[myles_v]

If you do bury the pipes, be sure to go deep enough that it's below the frost line and put the pipe and wire inside of a larger pipe. This is supposed to prevent the central vac tubing from being crushed, cracked, or causing condensation.

I have a Honeywell central vac/made by Electrolux Home Care Products/same company that owns Beam.
It's not unbearably loud being in the same room as it, but it is vented outside. Being near the exhaust while it's running is almost unbearable.

Our exhaust vent is on the back of our house and you can ver clearly hear it from the front of the house. You can't hear it much inside though.

 

[tolivac]

Air drying the pipes out-if there is WATER in the pipes from condensation or leaking the water CAN get into the units motor--NOT good!Better to have the central machine in the building where it will be used.

 

[n0oxy]

vacuum noise and outside pipes

I also would not suggest putting the vacuum in a detached garage, it would be much more work to run the pipes under ground. Central vacuums these days are not that loud, I have 7 of them throughout my apartment, I use them as very powerful canister vacuums by attaching the hose directly to them, it's awesome. There are mufflers you can attach to the exhaust port to cut down on the noise.
Mike

 

[sebo4me]

You have 7 power units in your home Mike? How big is your apartment?

 

[n0oxy]

my apartment

It's about 900 square feet I think. I have one in each bedroom, two in the living room, two in the dining room, and one in the kitchen.
Mike

 

[tolivac]

I have 5 central machines at my place-use them as standalone canisters as well.Simply use them with the 35 ft hose.I have one at one end of my house-the others in the kitchen area.My place is about 1900 sq ft.Lately no nice condition central units have shown up at the vac dealers trade in pile.2 of mine were bought brand new.Both MD machines-A Silentmaster and an "80" series-this made for the Pot-A-Vac this is mounted on a janitor or maid cart.It has a full bypass 14A motor and a 5 gal bag.This is in the kitchen.The Silentmaster in my hall against the wall near the back of my place.It has an 8 Gal Tru-Seal Filtrete bag.

 

[n0oxy]

central vacuum as powerful canister

This is actually fairly easy to do, some central units have a utility valve built in, but for those that don't, you can just attach a utility valve to the in take, if the unit does not have a override power switch, you can attach a short wire to the terminals. I actually think the vacuflo utility valve works best for this set up, it already has the wires attached, the vacuum turns on when the valve is opened. This means that if your hose has a power switch, it won't work, but if you're attaching the hose directly to the unit this doesn't matter.
Mike

 

[sebo4me]

Do they leak dust from the switch and where the cable enters the unit etc?

Are the units tightly sealed?

 

[tolivac]

Yes,on most of my central units use the utility intake.The others are capped off.In one of my central vacuums-a Nutone VX550have to use the main inledt.It doesn't have a utility inlet.Use the local switch on the machine to start and stop.Have no issues of dust leakage.Most of my machines use bags.No messy bins or filters.

 

[n0oxy]

power switch

The only unit I have that doesn't actually have a power switch is the vacumaid SR800, had to connect the wires for that one to work, that's probably the most powerful unit I have, it has the ametek 8.4 2 stage motor, it's a real beast.
Mike