central vacuum sales myths

[n0oxy]

Found this article very interesting, what does everyone think? I actually do have one of the power units made by this company and I think they are awesome, some of the best available. When the article mentions the largest manufacturer in North America, I wonder who they are talking about, I'm guessing Electrolux since they make central vacuums under several brands.

http://www.aspria.systems/knowledge_base/top_10_central_vacuum_sales_myths

 

[dysonman1]

Don't you love what they LEFT OUT of their amusing anecdote about Central Vacs? Remove the bag & filter, and you have CONSTANT airflow. That's why I chose a 2 motor commercial VacUFlo for my new (to me) home. Why a two motor machine? So Donnie could be vacuuming in the back bedrooms, and I could be cleaning the formal living room, and we'd have CONSTANT airflow and suction through BOTH hoses. I wouldn't own a central vac that used bags or filters, when there's really no need for bags or filters at all.

 

[marks_here]

Yes I chose

Vacuflo also because it did better then ALL the other central vacuums installed in the homes in my neighborhood, easier to use & best of all the suction is incredable. I'm still waiting to see this infamous cloud of dust people have been saying because it's bagless when they dump the canister out even cleaning the screen I'm not covered in dust or need to wear a hazmat suit. I don't even have to dust maybe once a month even then trying to find dust on any surface is non existent. I even have the kit you can put on the end to pick up water with so it is a great machine & has already paid for itself many times over.

Mark D.

 

[ctvacman]

To clean my VacuFlo screen I just take a regular vac to one of the inlets, the reverse airflow dislodges anything on the screen and then just go down and empty the bin, not messy at all. I'd like to think the reverse airflow helps to dislodge any fine dust on the fan blades. Not that I'm really concerned since I've heard that these machines can be abused and just keep going.

 

[n0oxy]

bagless central vacuums

My beam unit was bagless when I first got it, I didn't like emptying the bucket at all, it was quite dusty. I converted it to a bagged unit and would never go back. It's a personal preference of course, but I much prefer bags, far easier to deal with. Also, I'm not sure if they still do this but vacuflo used to use nonstandard wall valves.

 

[tolivac]

In my collection of central vacuums-do have one twin motor unit.The motors airpaths are in series-for higher suction "pressure"It is a NuTone 120V CV450.This is a good metal case machine-the motors can be replaced easily if required.Both sound good and spin down equally when the machine is turned off.I have another NuTone central unit that has one motor-3 fan bypass-two fans for suction-one for cooling.This is the same style motor used in the older NuTone twin motor unit.I don't really think its such a big deal as to wether the unit has two motors or one-Its how they are used and the design and quality of the motors used.The main central unit I have is an MD S550 unit-has one Ametek US made motor-full bypass.It is a bagged machine.I WILL NOT own a bagless machine-they are just to messy to deal with.You have to empty several gallons of dirt-and the life of bagless units as a whole is less.The dirt can find its way into the motor-unbalancing the fans-then killing the motor bearings.The dealer that works with central vacuums in my area is MD-I like the quality of these units.They are top notch.Builders and lighting dealers here install the NuTones.The bagless 'Lux machines are sold by the Areus Lux dealer here and they don't hold up.The dirt gets into their motors and kills them.The MD dealer here has replaced several of these with MD.Bagless machines depend on the discipline of the owner to properly empty it and clean the filters-do you think most folks will do this?The MD fellow here told me of a service call involving a S44 unit that was totally stuffed with dirt-the bag weighed over 60Lbs!!!He had to remove the machine from the wall to take the bag out.He asked the owner when he last replaced the bag-the guy didn't know!!Guess the dirt goes away by magic!I have one of the dead Lux machines from the trade in pile---dead motor-the machine was built in China!This was a surprize to me.

 

[rugsucker]

"dirt goes away by magic"

In the mid 60s Whirlpool(& Kenmore)had a CV that connected to water supply and drain lines.When the vac stopped the dirt was flushed down the drain.Could also be used for wet pick up.

 

[n0oxy]

wet pick up with central vacuums

That's interesting that Kenmore had a central vacuum in the 1960's that flushed everything down the drain. There are two companies doing that now, drainvac and aqua air. The power units are much more expensive and it's more work to install them since you have to connect a water supply and a drain, but, it's a very nice concept.

 

[n0oxy]

nutone and MD vacuums

The Nutone vacuums are very popular with home builders, I've never seen one of these but it sounds like they are decent. I have an MD flomaster, and it's a great vacuum, but, comparing to what else is available, it's overpriced. I paid around $600 I think, for a vacuum with a flow through motor, that's a bit high. Aspria systems, who wrote the article I posted when I started this thread, sells a bagged unit with a bipass motor with similar power specs for $499 I think. I have this model and it is very nice.

 

[delaneymeegan]

My parents used to sell Nutone, and they had a CV.
They are noisey, the hoses are cumbersome, It's a lot of work to install, they're expensive.... you can only use them within the areas of the inlets.... the hoses can damage woodwork or drywall....

Don't recommend them.

They haven't used theirs in years.
In fact if anyone want to buy the power unit and non electric hose(s), its a 90s model. let me know.

 

[tolivac]

Central vacuum noisey?Where was the central machine installed?Nornmally they are installed in a non living area such as a garage,utility room,or basement.I have a MD Silentmaster that resides in my main hallway.The machine is VERY quiet!!!Even right near it.I use it with my Kirby Avalir-"Monster Vac!"
Hoses damaging things-you can get cloth hose covers-"socks"that cover the hose-that makes them easier.No damage.The hoses can be had in sizes from 30' to 50'.And they can be electric so use can use a powernozzle.I use two with mine-Sebo ET1 or the MD "Stealth" which is really Lindhaus.Central units have improved since the 90's!

 

[AspriaSystems]

Thanks for the support n0oxy. It's nice to see folks reading and discussing our article, thanks everyone! Technical articles and blogging are the most fun, but vacuumland has such a wide variety of great info and historical knowledge in one place - love it. Much of it reminds me of my early days repairing & selling vacuums at the shop.

 

[gsheen]

MMMM Made for some interesting reading...
I dont agree with a number of things,
Thru flow motors aren't less of a motor than bypass motors.
While a thruflow motor uses the air sucked in to cool the motor and as such can suffer premature failure because of clogged filters or bags they do tend to ( In the correct environment tend to out last bypass motors in life span ( by the way I am taking about the big twin fan thruflow motors not the Hyper speed single fan ones found in many vacuums these days )

500 hour life span????? Really that little, When I worked at Electrolux a bottom of the range vacuum had to have a minimum run life of 500 hours continuous running.
Commercial motors tend to last 1000 and upwards, even the cheap made in china ones have a 800 hour run life.

Dommel motors
I like amatek /lamb motors, but you cannot compare them to the performance of a dommel motor, They have better designed suction fans which give great suction and airflow,When I replaced the motors on my carpet machine from Lamb Ametek to Dommel I couldn't believe the difference in cleaning performance.

Twin motor is not necessary, While it may not be necessary their is a massive difference between twin motor and single, You dont get double the suction power ( not without making some changes, To get double the power you need to up the tank size and the diameter of the hose to at least a 50mm, but saying that its pointless doing a twin motor is nt a wise statement. YOu will normally get 1.5 times the suction power without any modifications to hosing. but 1.5 x the suction power is allot more than it sounds, To test this out simply get your hands on a twin motor ( with option to run each motor separately ) industrial vacuum, switch on one motor at a time , they have shut off plates that shut off the opening to each motor when not in use you will notice a huge difference between one motor running and two

 

[luxflairguy]

Noxy!
If you're interested, the owners manual for the Kenmore water based central is in the Library section of the site. It came from my parents, who installed one in our all terazzo floored house in Florida in 1965! Greg

 

[centralvacs1928]

Greg -

I love that manual. Never knew it came from you! That must have been a neat system. Wonder how long it took those units to start rusting...can't imagine they ever really dried out.

I got your email, btw...you're right, I am quite overdue for a new blog post! I keep waiting until I'm "not busy".....