Vaccum System, worth it?

Topper74

At that stage of the build and while I was always going with a vaccum sys. I've been thinking since is it a waste of money! Not a complete waste but still 2k...ish is alot to fork out on it.

What do people think?

babsybaby01

great to use alright.The only problem being that if you get a major problem with them you have to go into the wall to sort it...Great system though and very powerful and quiet and tidy....2k vs maybe 10 150 euro hoovers in a a life time....WEIGH IT UP I GUESS

bobbuk

My brother installed one in his house some years ago.
he never uses it, just uses a regular vacum.

multifunction

Have one for eight years.Think it's brilliant

Topper74

I was thinking are you not lugging around up to 9 metres of hose, almost the same as carrying a hover around?

Do-more

My parents have one installed since they built 12 years ago. The hose is a bit unwieldy OK and unless they are going to do a large amount of vacuuming they will use the small vacuum cleaner which they also have in the house.

There are models available where the hose retracts into the pipe in the wall which probably gets over the problem of lugging the long hose around, I haven't used one so can't confirm how well it works. Don't know what the price differential is but I imagine it's probably considerable.

Those little foot operated dustpans mounted in the kitchen kick board are handy but we have a long handled dustpan and brush that stands in the corner of the kitchen which is nearly as good at a fraction of the expense.



We are about to start building again shortly but have decided against having a fitted system.

Technophobe

I have one in my recently built house and think it's great....especially the kick board option in the kitchen...
only wish I had also incorporated a kick board option on the island unit where my young kids drop plenty of bits and pieces when eating

imitation

At the time I was looking at them, I just kept thinking Robotic vacuum cleaner, as they would be the real work savers. On reflection I'm glad I didn't.

Firstly they are presented as being labour saving, but how much labour do they actually save ? You still have to lug a hose around, so you've saved dragging 6-7kg, but still have an akward object to lug about. Most of the work is going to be in pushing around the hose either way. Emptying the bags is a bigger point but I don't think its a massive job.

Cost wise, a good dyson is 1/10th of the price, the arguement is that the central vacuum will last longer, but I wonder about that too, Vacuum motors have a fixed life, so I can't see a central vacuum going effectively for longer than 2 decades, 3-4 dysons would easily cover this period and each time you would be getting a fresh motor with more suction.

Finally you are putting all this hosing throughout your house at another expense, and you have to get a larger vacuum motor to keep the pressure down over such a large area, which equates to more energy burned.

Personally I think a robotic cleaner would be a better investment and would do more of the work for you.

BarneyMc

I'm in the middle of a self build and got a quote for one of these systems - approx €1,500. I'm in 2 minds whether to go for it or not.

A friend I know who has it told me the hose is very bulky and would have liked a hose for upstairs and one for downstairs. Seems to me like it's more hassle than a normal vac as most come with wheels! :P These hoses must take up a right bit of space to store also?

The one good thing I can see with them is that the small dust particles that come of of the back of a normal vac will be eliminated. Also I could install the unit in the garage so this would eliminate the noise.

Anyway I'd be interested in hearing any opinions. It's not the biggest decision when building a house but would like to make an informed decision and only get the one chance to do it. Thanks.

hexosan

The pipe work is the cheapest part of the install if putting it in at the start of a new build. You could always do that much and make the decision further down the line of the build.spoke to the rep from Beam and he said he's often came back 2/3 years after the house has been finished to install the unit.

BarneyMc

hexosan wrote: »

The pipe work is the cheapest part of the install if putting it in at the start of a new build. You could always do that much and make the decision further down the line of the build.spoke to the rep from Beam and he said he's often came back 2/3 years after the house has been finished to install the unit.

Cheers hexosan, I suppose that leaves all options open. I'll see what they come back with.

fclauson

BarneyMc wrote: »

Cheers hexosan, I suppose that leaves all options open. I'll see what they come back with.

We went with a system where the pipe lives inside the duct work - pull out when needed - sucked back in when complete

Expensive but fab and easy to use

PROJECT K

Hi FC can you please PM the manufacturer (and cost!)...thanks PK

tedimc

Going to fit one ourselves in our retro fit.

A few benefits I see with them are:

• Motor and therefore suction seems to be a lot more powerful as the motor doesn't need to be small in order to be lugged around.
• Larger bin for debris, requires less emptying. Emptying takes place in one location and tends to be cleaner.
• Quieter if you have young kids, night shift workers, etc.
• Normal hoovers can sometimes through dust back out into room and can smell.

BarneyMc

tedimc wrote: »

• Normal hoovers can sometimes through dust back out into room and can smell.

This is the big plus for me especially as my partner suffers from asthma.

tedimc

One other point;

My uncle put one in his house when he was building it back in the early/mid 80s - supplied by probabley the main vendor in this space with a 4 letter name!

He done the house up there a couple of years ago, and put in some new points and replaced the main unit with a bigger model due to the larger house.

His original motor is still going strong in the garage for hoovering out cars.