Central Vacuums

[OVERKILL]

So, my carpet vacuum just died.

My dad has been a proponent of central vacuums for as long as I can remember. He's a hardcore Electrolux guy, and that's all he buys. This philosophy has served him well; we've owned four of them in four different homes and never had a failure.

I was on-line shopping and found that Frigidaire brand central vacs are made by Electrolux. I could get one locally probably as soon as tomorrow, but was told by dad that their are two lines of the Electrolux vacs and that I could get a Chinese-sourced model, which is a red-flag for both of us. The ones he's been buying are US or Canadian made (can't remember which off-hand) and that if we went through the guy he deals with (who is down-east) that we'd be assured to get one of these domestically-sourced ones.

So he's calling "his guy" tomorrow, and we are to see if we can have one drop-shipped to me.

Anybody else as hardcore about these things as my father?

 

[OtisBlkR1]

I owned a vacume shop for 3 years, I found central vacume's to have less power than many, yes they are convenient but thats all they are. Back in your dads day there may have been a time when central vacs were all the rage.. that time has passed.

most powerfull vacs i seen were

Kirby
Electrolux (tanks) not there uprights.
Rainbow, although i dont like the water.

there are a few cheaper plastic vacumes that are very powerfull and will last a few years, but there not lifetime vacs like the above mentioned.

 

[robshelton]

I think the idea of the central vac is great! However in practice I've found them lacking in power to the point of just being a nuisance. You end up getting a regular vac just to do a decent job.

I believe central vacs and intercoms' time has passed.

As far as Electrolux goes, at one time they were great! But now I feel they have diluted their brand to the point of being no better than any other. It had to be done just to continue to compete in the market. BTW Electolux owns a lot of other companies! IIRC Poulan and Husqvarna and even NOMA!

Do your research carefully!

It might be worth a try to get an older Electrolux canister/tank and getting it rebuilt by a local vac shop. The shop might even have one ready to go. That would keep dad happy...

 

[SteveSRT8]

The idea is wonderful, but for every few feet farther away you get the power drops off tremendously.

Note that if you ever had a carpet claim we could deny it simply because you had a central vacuum system!

These do not suck! That's why they are no good!

 

[rg200amp]

We use Orecks. Never had a problem. . . .

 

[buickman50401]

I had one in my first house and never used it. The main unit was probably about 15 years old. Still worked just fine and had plenty of suction. The previous owners had bought all new hoses and power heads as well as put in all new "plumbing" for it when they remodeled the inside of the house about 3 years before I bought the place.

I tried to use it a couple of times and while it worked fine it was more of a hassle than it was worth. Lugging 20ft of hose and power cord for the power head is a pain and it gets in the way.

It was much easier to just buy a high powered Dirt Devil stick vac for the bare hardwood and a regular vacuum for the carpeted areas. With those you're only dealing with the highly flexible power cord instead of a 2 1/2" clumsy and much less flexible suction hose.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: rg200amp
We use Orecks. Never had a problem. . . .


We bought our Oreck last year and so far it's great. Powerful, lightweight, easy to service, and if service is necessary a dealer is close by.

 

[Bluestream]

I'll go against the grain here, I've owned Beam Central Vacs in both houses since 1988. Never had a failure, and they have more than enough suction. I installed them both myself when the house was being built, So I keep the runs short, with as few 90's as possible. Its still easier to get out a hose, than a complete vacuum IMO...

 

[OVERKILL]

Bluestream:

Yes, I'm puzzled about the suction comments, both of the Electrolux models my parents have in their houses have absolutely nutty suction; FAR more than what the Panasonic 12A upright I have does/did.

One of the guys from work, his home had one in it when he bought it and the suction was awful, but it wasn't an Electrolux, and the difference in quality between the components on it, versus the ones my parents have well, they are night and day. I imagine the price was as well though.

I'm not concerned about the performance of the unit; we've owned four of them, I KNOW they work well based on my experience with them. I'm just curious what the experience of others has been like. It sounds like a lot of you haven't been using the same gear I have been

given the criticism of the systems.

BTW, robshelton: My parents (until very recently) had an older Electrolux canister that they bought when they were first married. Dad had a new hose put on, and had it re-wired in the early 90's and it worked as good as new. He gave it to my sister when he bought the central system for that house. She's still using it with no issues.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Amazing those old Eluxes, I don't think they ever die!

Just remember that claim story above, as any major manufacturer of carpet rejects central vacs, period. That says a lot about their performance right there.

I don't doubt the unit itself, it's probably monstrously powerful close to it, but get 50 or more feet away and it'll be pitiful.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Amazing those old Eluxes, I don't think they ever die!

Just remember that claim story above, as any major manufacturer of carpet rejects central vacs, period. That says a lot about their performance right there.

I don't doubt the unit itself, it's probably monstrously powerful close to it, but get 50 or more feet away and it'll be pitiful.


Steve:

My experience just doesn't reflect that, and I've been using them for over 15 years. My parent's old house was ~5,000sq-ft and the central vac was in the basement, there was an outlet in the garage and it would suck up a boulder if you let it. Worked fantastically well for cleaning out the vehicles.

My dad has installed every one of our units himself FWIW.

I have ONE carpet in my entire house, and it is a small-ish one in the middle of my living room. So that is not a concern for me.

 

[Bluestream]

Overk1ll, I think you need to do a clean install and the Vac will work fine. The less outlets the better. I have one on each floor and that's it. My unit is i the garage and that can be used for cleaning the cars.

FWIW, Costco has Electrolux Central vac systems on sale for $1290 off. Only thing the coupon I have in only good March 12-25th 2012...

 

[Bluestream]

That should be $120 Off...failed to edit on time

 

[Volvohead]

A central vac system, well-designed, and WELL-INSTALLED, is as effective as any portable alternative.

We have a 1968 Nutone whole house system that still pulls better than a canister portable (at 100+ feet distances), rarely needs service, is as convenient as can be, pure quiet (except in the garage where the unit is), and only needs a bag change every few months. Unbeatable for floors and carpets. And I can still get parts for it, even after 40+ years.

Like most other central home systems (HVAC comes to mind as well), the difference is in the installer's competence. The plumbing is FAR more important than EVERYTHING ELSE. Ours was done by someone who knew what they were doing, and that's why it's still going strong four decades later.

But they aren't cheap. If you can afford it and aren't moving anytime soon, go for it.

 

[OVERKILL]

Well, it has been ordered from Electrolux (the North American made version) along with a hose sleeve and three of their enhanced wall outlets (all-in-one power).

The unit will be in the basement with an outlet there and one on the other two floors. I'll refrain from putting one on the top floor for now, since we rarely use it.

My dad will be helping with the install, as he has done all of our other installs and does an excellent job.

 

[Colt]

We've had a central vac unit for 15+ years.
The corded hose is long to deal with and store.Now the second floor must have a clog in the line.
We decided to go with the yellow ball wheel Dyson and never looked back.
Great machine.

 

[SteveSRT8]

We run a professional cleaning biz and one thing you learn about vacuums is that suction alone is only part of the story.

This is especially relevant to carpets, not so much to hard floors.

Dysons are a terrific machine. They actually warranty them for 5 years!!!

 

[andrewg]

I had a home about ten years ago that had a central vac in it. Wish I could recall the brand for you. I loved that thing. Very powerful and did the job extremely well. We had outlets all over the place and plenty of hoses and attachments. Made thing very easy. We had a set of stairs to deal with and I was always glad we didn't need to haul a vacuum upstairs. The system had a large canister in the garage that took a while to fill, so I didn't need to worry about emptying it constantly.

 

[kschachn]

I too can't understand the complaints about suction. I have one in a 2500 sq.ft. house (ranch) and it is just fine at the furthest outlet. I put it in myself, following the instructions given with the unit. I have since installed three others for friends and they are also working well.

The biggest thing I like about them is that they exhaust to the outside (assuming you hook up the exhaust) and anything not trapped in the head unit is blown back outside where it belongs - not back into the room. Most portable vacuums are efficient dust mite distributors, I'm not paranoid about them but still I appreciate that what the vacuum doesn't trap isn't re-distributed back into the room.

Plus it is a whole lot quieter than a portable. I can hardly hear it run.

 

[kschachn]

FWIW you have to make sure you clean them out. I helped my neighbor "fix" his, when I asked him when he last cleaned it out he said he never did, and didn't know you needed to. The house was built the same year as mine (2000), he was the original owner, and this was 2006 IIRC.