Blackheart, your Beam uses different, arguably better motors, 3 fan 5.7 horned exhaust. A little less CFM than the new one, but more water lift and a lot longer life.
Vaclab I have sucked up everything, aside from the fireplace ashes (and I don't recommend that one), including damp stuff, and definitely mountains of pet hair, kitty litter, pine needles. I've even sucked up small bits of water when cleaning out vacuums at work. A central vac is the vacuum for people who just suck everything up and not care.
As for motor size, power, orifice size and flow reduction etc... I've seen many of those charts, and I am fully aware that a vacuum motor is simply a blower, reducing the orifice size in the flow creates pressure, on the in flow side that's negative pressure, on the outgoing side that's positive pressure. At any orifice size, more water lift will increase the flow. As you add the pipe system, hose, and attachments, it's the suction pressure that keeps the flow strong. The lower the suction, the greater the loss as you restrict the orifice. Coincidentally, this same principal works when the nozzle your'e using comes into contact with carpet. The carpet itself becomes a restriction. A Kirby, with the nozzle off the floor may move more air than my central vac head off the floor, but as soon as they are trying to move air through carpet nap, the flow of air with weaker force behind it will be the most impeded. Same goes for upholstery, set the nozzle on the couch and the machine with more water lift will force more air through the fabric.
All the suction in the world won't get the dirt without movement of air, and all of the CFM in the world does no good if it can't be forced through the places where the dirt needs swept out of.
