Congratulations on your Central Vac Purchase!
I bought and installed a Beam Serenity central vacuum system over five years ago and I love it. I actually wanted to go with a VacuFlo unit, but I didn't like the local dealer. His customer service skills were very poor and he came across as a real jerk. I wanted to do my own installation, but he insisted that installation in an existing home was too complicated for a layperson. The Beam dealer was totally the opposite. He was very encouraging and extremely helpful. He even stopped by my house before the purchase to go over my plan with me. He gave me all sorts of helpful hints and told me to call if I had any problems or concerns at all. He even lent me a "do-it-yourself" installation video to watch before I began.
Central vacuums are perfect for households with pets. I have an English Springer Spaniel and dog hair is a constant concern. She actually likes the central vauum and loves to be vacuumed/groomed with it. (I purchased the pet grooming brushes).
Installation went very smoothly in my 2-story townhouse. (I only installed the standard inlet valves, not the "direct connect" dual voltage electric valves. However, I am going to upgrade my valves this week to the direct connect "ElectraValves." I ordered a "fuse plug" hose end kit to convert my "pig tail" hose into a direct connect hose.) I had a lot of fun planning my installation and even doing the actual install. I'm sure you will too. It requires minimal technical and craftmanship skills and only very basic wiring skills (even for the 110-volt electric inlet valves).
When I purchased my system I bought the standard Beam Rugmaster Plus Power Team. I didn't like the "Eureka" power nozzle at all. It was effective and cleaned well, but it was VERY loud, INCREDIBLY rattly and didn't seem to be of the same quality as the other components in the system. So, after a very short time, I upgraded to a Lindhaus PB14 Electronic power nozzle, which I liked MUCH better. It was much quieter, cleaned just as well (if not better -- especially on throw rugs) and it was of much higher quality. Plus, it was adjustable and had a cogged drive belt. But, I found that the brush roll supports would become bound up with dog hair three or four times a year. So, this year I upgraded again, this time purchasing an entirely new attachment set (hose and all) with a Wessel-Werk EBK340LL power nozzle. So far I'm fairly impressed with this nozzle, but it isn't adjustable and is more difficult to use on certain throw rugs. It does have a telescopic wand, which I really like and it came with a large, European-style dusting brush, which is very handy.
I can't wait to hear about your experiences installing and using your new central vacuum system. Good luck and have fun!
