Recommend a Central Vacuum

[fredr123]

Long story short, our Kenmore upright vacuum just died. With three kids and a dog, being without a vacuum for any length of time is not ideal.

We've thought about getting a central vacuum for a while. Our home is already pre-wired for one.

Can anyone recommend a particular brand and features to look for? What about a good place to buy one (and possibly have it installed)?

Thanks in advance!

[Rathji]

Get a Dyson

[Icon]

Haven't had any problems with my Beam.

Went through - the Vacuum Specialists - were very helpful and reasonable with pricing (negotiated down a bit beyond the sale price).

It was roughed in when we built the house, so I handled the rest of the install (canister, plates, finishing the wiring) myself.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Get a Dyson

I think Rathji is joking... but I'm serious... GET A DYSON... forget about central vac.

[freedogger]

Originally Posted by Rerun

I think Rathji is joking... but I'm serious... GET A DYSON... forget about central vac.

I doubt it. My motivation to enter this thread was to post the same thing but he beat me to it.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Central Vacuums are the worst, they seem like such a great idea and a time saver, but they aren't.

[Hanni]

I have a Beam and find it does a really good job and is convenient, to each there own I guess. My parents have 2 cats and a beam, they had their carpets professionally cleaned and the guy told them he was surprised how little cat hair he got.

[fredr123]

That's two apparent votes for the Beam. Are Beam central vacs the way to go?

[speede5]

Dyson makes central vac systems.

I bought a cheap Broan at Rona. Had to replace the motor once and the hose was a piece of crap.

Stay away from Hoover, no service/parts in Canada.

[speede5]

BTW, My wife loves having central vac, and it works better than any upright we've ever had. Plus you can run a pipe out to your garage for car cleaning. A must if your putting one in.

[bomber317]

I have an Electrolux Central Vac.

It's pretty good except we didn't get the unit installed in the Garage. So every 3-4 months, we need to empty the dust canister into a garbage bag from our Mech room, getting dirt/dust all over the mech room.

The good things about the unit are the attachments that we received with the unit, lots of attachments with various sizes.

I've never used a Dyson portable unit before, but with a central vac you still need to lugged around the 25-30 ft hose to each floor and also lugged around the attachments that you need.

[Northendzone]

we have a dynavac. We have had them in two different houses and the inlaws also have one - ours is fine and the only problem has been with one attachement which we got fixed.

I beleive this counts for three votes (three different houses).

I shudder to think how much a dyson central vac must cost.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Rerun

I think Rathji is joking... but I'm serious... GET A DYSON... forget about central vac.

I am only partially joking.

I hate the hose you need to deal with on a central vac and the only person I know with one had enough problems with the power nozzle that the thing was near useless, and fairly expensive to replace as well. I really liked the stuff like little trap doors on the foot board so you can sweep stuff into them in the kitchen and not needing to empty the canister every week.

I do love my Dyson though, and when it dies, I will be replacing it with a similar model. Going on 5 years now and the only problems I have had with it are related to my 2 year old insisting he can use it.

[Wormius]

So, with regards to a central vac - we bought a Duovac a couple of years ago and are really happy with it. Sucks up everything without a problem. I am happiest with its ability to vacuum up drywall dust, leaves and shingle grit rom the eavesthrough (yes, I was that lazy), cat hair, and other miscellaneous stuff. The hoses are an ungainly part of the central vac. experience, but no worse than a cord though in my experience and at least you don't have to worry about running over it or something stupid. I also find it really noisy (I can hear it in our garage while I am a little ways down the street).

[Reaper]

Choose your vacuum like your wife. Get one that sucks well or you'll be disappointed in the long run.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

we have a dynavac. We have had them in two different houses and the inlaws also have one - ours is fine and the only problem has been with one attachement which we got fixed.

I beleive this counts for three votes (three different houses).

I shudder to think how much a dyson central vac must cost.

We've had a Dynavac at 2 different houses as well, I like it.

[burn_this_city]

PM Nage, he has some strong feelings on this matter.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Going on 5 years now and the only problems I have had with it are related to my 2 year old smearing fecal matter all over it

Judging by your recent posts, I assume this is what you meant.

+1 for the Dyson. Then a wall mountable shop vac in the garage for the car

My pop bought a Hoover from Costco. It's okay. No glaring flaws but not overly fantastic either. I do like the option to have the little trays build into cupboard bases for sweeping stuff into.

[mikey_the_redneck]

The kick-sweep is the best thing about central-vac., but I would never recommend one to anybody.

They are a major pita in my opinion.

+1 for Dyson.

[Hans Landa]

If you're set on a CVAC, get a CANAVAC.

They are Made in Canada and limited lifetime warranties with 15 years on the electrical.
The 399LS is a good enough for most homes.


Central Vac is a pain dragging that hose around, but having everything get sucked out into the garage and the fact that all you hear is the rush of air and not the motor... that's important to some people.