Central Vacuum Help!

[iann_nic]

Hello, I am faced with a tough choice here for upgrading my central vacuum system. At the current moment I have a Budd 7811 unit that I absolutely love!! The unit has lasted for 40+ years and has never given up on me. Just recently I upgraded my power brush to a MD stealth and I am also in love with it! My carpets have never been cleaner. Due to the fact that I have had such a great experience with MD, I thought about upgrading my power unit. I have a very good deal for the MD Flo Master f450t unit. That being said, I just purchased a smaller sized home in Delaware that I am going to retrofit a central vacuum into. If I purchased the unit I would place my old Budd in the smaller house therefor allowing me to upgrade my unit in my main house. The only trouble that I am facing is that, when I look at the specifications for the MD unit, it says that it’s rated for a 3,000 sq ft. house. I have a roughly 3,600 sq ft house. My original concern with that was, maybe it’s under powered for my home. But after looking at the specs. I found out that the MD unit has greater air watts and cubic feet per minute. But the Budd has greater water lift and a 7.2” 3 stage motor whereas the MD only has a 5.7” single stage motor. I have attached specs bellow if you would like to compare. If you could please help me out and give me ur feedback for if I should do this upgrade I would appreciate it so much! Thanks!!!!!

 

[n0oxy]

it would probably work

Most likely this would work fine, although you may want to purchase a more powerful flo master unit, there are larger ones than the one you mention. I have a flo master m85, since I got it, MD has changed their model numbers, but if you can figure out which machine is equal to that, that would be even better. If you are interested I can post the links for several excellent central vacuum units, I would suggest sticking with a bagged model, much cleaner to empty, let me know if you are interested in these.
Mike

 

[ocscott3085]

Personally, I would be hesitant to purchase a unit that wasn't rated for the home size I live in. I would rather pay a little more upfront for superior performance. That being said, I absolutely love my MD central vacuum. It replaced a builder grade bagless system that only lasted about two or three years in my new construction home. The MD is significantly quieter than my previous system and has some serious suction!

 

[iann_nic]

@nOoxy Okay, if you could link some good central vacuums I would appreciate it a lot!!!!

 

[iann_nic]

And I only have 5 inlets for my whole home. So the more I think about it the more it seems the machine would be able to handle that. Also, on the website it says that units can be rafters for higher or lower sq ft. So I’m not sure what I should do!

 

[n0oxy]

links to some good central vacuum units

Sure, these are all bagged machines besides one which can be used bagged or bagless, though I would suggest always using a bag. Bagless machines are a mess to empty.
First is the Purvac Barracuda, I have this machine, it's veryy powerful yet very quiet, it's a hybrid system.
https://www.thinkvacuums.com/purvac-barracuda-4-gallon-system.html
Next is the Drainvac Atomik, this can be a portable unit or you can connect it to piping like any other central vac unit, I also have this one, great machine.
https://www.thinkvacuums.com/drainvac-atomik6-30-portable-system-w-accessory-kit.html
Next we have the Canavac 700-cls, this one uses a 6.6 diameter bypass motor, I also have this one, great machine.
http://www.centralvacuumstores.com/...er-units/canavac-700-cls-condo-central-vacuum
Next up is the Canavac CES-625, similar to the previous one that I listed but this one is a bit cheaper and uses a through flow motor instead of a bypass motor.
http://www.centralvacuumstores.com/...ts/power-units/canavac-ces-625-central-vacuum
Next up is the Imperium cv300, a good value for the price.
http://www.centralvacuumstores.com/central-vacuum/powerunits/power-units/imperium-cv300-power-unit
And last but definitely not least, the Imperium cv800, this one has the largest Ametek 120 volt motor available.
http://www.centralvacuumstores.com/central-vacuum/powerunits/power-units/imperium-cv800b-power-unit
Mike

 

[panasonicvac]

A couple things

I would not recommend buying from Think Vacuums. They do sell some nice products but the company support and service is terrible. Those Imperium units are just rebadged Vacumaids, it's very possible to find one for a better deal from a Vacumaid dealer. And I would recommend just looking into another Flo-Master or other MD unit for your size home. MD offers one of the finest units on the Market. American made, the filtration method is awesome, and they offer warranties that alot of companies don't have. Working at a vacuum store, I've seen MD units that are over 30+ years old and they still work.

 

[vacfan1982]

I like MD but the Imperium cv800 looks like an awesome machine.

 

[iann_nic]

In my personal experience and in my home, I would never use bagged units. I have 4 pets that sheaf like crazy!! I vacuum at least 3 times a week and with the amount of hair and dirt I pick up, I would be changing the bag probably every month. In my experience with bag, first off when you take it off the pipe, dirt comes flying out of the opening. And secondly I would end up changing bags every 3-4 eeeks which can be expensive! Right now with my Budd, I just shake the paddle, unlatch the canister and just throw it away. For me, bagels units just work better and I would really never go to a bag. I really don’t mind having to empty the bin, just seeing all the dirt that I pick up makes it worth it!

 

[n0oxy]

bagless machines, imperium and MD vacs

I'm the opposite, I have 8 central vacuum units around my apartment, I use them as powerful canisters by connecting a hose directly to them. The first one I got was a Beam classic 275 and it was bagless, I hated emptying it. Fortunately there was an adapter available that converted it in to a bagged unit, otherwise I would have sold it cheap or maybe even given it away, emptying it was awful, and those supposedly self cleaning filters are a joke. I also don't like the cyclonic machines that use no filters because you have dust going through the motor with those which will shorten the motor's life. It's bags all the way for me.
In most cases, the imperium vacs are cheaper than the vacumaid version. I actually have the Vacumaid SR800, it is an awesome machine, very powerful, it uses the largest 120 volt motor that Ametek produces.
MD manufacturing units are good, I have a Flo Master m85, they are a bit expensive though, you can get power units with the same power and quality with other brands at a cheaper price.
I've bought a few things from Think Vacuums, I've always found their service to be very good, never had any problems.
If you're a canister lover like I am, I don't like uprights, connecting a hose directly to a central vacuum unit is awesome, without the pipes, it's the most powerful cleaning canister set up you can have. You can actually do this with any central vacuum unit. Some have a utility valve built in but for those that don't, you can attach a utility valve directly to the in take, it's awesome.
There is some debate over whether the bypass motors are actually better than the flow through motors, some think that the flow through motors are just as good.
Mike

 

[luxflairguy]

I remember you now! You went at us all about a year ago about adding more inlets!
I've just looked at the Budd website. If you are so happy with a Budd central vacuum, upgrade to their biggest unit! The power will be outstanding and you won't regret the upgrade!
You talk about having dogs. I hope your power unit is vented outside!
Greg

 

[iann_nic]

@luxflairguy Of course, I have to vent that unit outside or else my basement smells disgusting! But you hav ea good point, I would honestly do that but the only problem is that the Budd units are LOULD!!! I rave about my unit and love it but when I use it, it sound like a Boeing jet engine in my basement! Most of the dogs get scared by it and want to run outside away from the house. So the only reason I’ve been liking to upgrade is because if the sound. I know the MD f450t has around 60 dB and I can only imagine what my Budd has! :•

 

[panasonicvac]

I'm with Greg on this, central vacuums have improved their performances over the years. What I would recommend is buying mufflers for the system because that's what improves the noise level on the unit. And I understand your opinions on bags, that's probably the biggest downfalls with them is changing them very often and yes bags cannot be cheap to replace.

Mike, I still disagree with you on cyclonic central vacuums. I have Neighbors and friends that has a true cyclonic central vacuum for over 20 years with original motors and they still work like new. The only time I see motors go bad on these quickly is because people don't take of them properly like ignoring to clean out the motor screens when they empty them out. It's not just only cyclonic models but it's any type of central vacuums with motors that go bad quickly because of the lack of maintenance people fail to do. Imperium may be cheaper than Vacumaid online but one of the great things about buying from a dealer (And we do it too) is they usually have "Beat The Internet" sales, I know my local Vacumaid dealer does this and their prices are WAY cheaper. Think Vacuums may be good when you buy stuff from them but not when it comes to service calls. This may not happen to you but I've spoken to several other dealers in my state and they've replaced some units that were bought from Think Vacuums because people couldn't get through with them to fix it. What pissed me off from them was that I commented on one of their YouTube videos, it was simply because a few of them were misleading and I was trying to point out some things that they've could've done on their videos if they were really experts, not too long after that they went ahead and deleted my comment AND my comment later about asking why they deleted it in the first place.

 

[n0oxy]

bagged or bagless

Yes, if a central vacuum is not maintained it will definitely shorten its life. With the cyclonic models, you need to clean a filter screen that is above the dirt bucket, I've never done this but I have heard it's a real pain and that dirt goes everywhere when you do it. I would think the best way to do this would be to put a plastic bag under the screen to catch the debris that is cleaned off. I will stick with bags though, since I live in an apartment, I probably could not vent outside anyway which is required for a true cyclonic machine.
You're actually seeing more and more machines that are hybrid units, that is, they can be used bagged or bagless, although the true cyclonic vacs can only be bagless. The one disadvantage with a hybrid machine is that if you use it as a bagged machine, you will lose some airflow since the bagless filter still remains in the machine. I don't have any machines from Cyclovac but they have taken an interesting approach, with many of their models, you can get it as a bag only unit, bagless only or hybrid.
You may get a cheaper price on a vacumaid machine if you buy it directly from a dealer rather than on line. Central vacuum stores is a vacumaid dealer and their prices are the same as buying a unit from the vacumaid site itself.
If I ever own a house, I would love to have one of the Drainvac or Aqua-air machines that connect directly to the water lines, the vacuumed debris is automatically flushed down the drain.
Mike

 

[tolivac]

I WOULD NOT want a wet type central vacuum that flushes the waste directly into the drain system---this can cause nightmare clogs!!!!!NO THANKS.Will stick with dry,bagged machines.Best to throw the bag in the trash!no worry of clogging there!

 

[panasonicvac]

Mike, there were some cyclonic units that I've seen with bins that were full but the screens were still clean. Of course it's still required to check the screen when you empty them, and I always do it anyways with a trash bag and a clean toilet brush. To me and quite frankly I do this alot, cleaning these aren't a pain to do. In fact, I find it just as fast, clean, and easy to do just like emptying a bag. Yes it is true that you need to vent these outside but I actually prefer to have a central vacuum that's vented outside anyways because it exhausts all the dirt outside of the house and it also helps keep the noise level down. Yes it's also true that more central vacuums are using hybird today, we sell the new Simplicity units that are made by Cyclovac and I think it's a good idea to have the option of using either bagged or bagless but I have yet to see the airflow dropping down as the bag fills up. I've never used a Drainvac before, it looks and sounds like great units but I would rather get one from a dealer, and unfortunately there isn't one in my state.

Rex, one of the things about the Aqua-Air is that they have debris screen bags that would catch any large objects before it would flush down in the drain. From what I know, it's very rare that the Aqua-Air would clog up the drain pipe.

 

[n0oxy]

drainvac dealer and new free standing vac model

The only drainvac dealer in the United States that I know of is think vacuums. I think the drain vac units that flush also either use a filter or vent outside. Looks like Lindsay manufacturing which is the company that makes the vacumaid brand has a new unit out that can be used without pipes, it uses a 6.6 bypass motor.
Mike

http://https//vacumaid.com/product/...ife-professional-wall-mounted-utility-vacuum/