Central Vacum Systems

Wobs

Hi,

Has anyone had any experience with central vacum units? Im looking at putting one in and have three quotes back, from Beam, Vacuflo and Sach.
All were pretty similar. Would appreciate any feed back on any of these guys, reliability, performance etc.

Thanks
Wobs.

Delboy5

Out of interest whats the quotes you got from each company and what size is your house !? Building a new house myself this year and am thinking of putting this in !

Wobs

The house will 2863 sq ft. Vacuflo was 1200 confirmed, Sach said over the phone it would be about 1200/1300 needs to see the plans, both supply only. Beam was about 1600 will have to check if that was supply or supply and install, will let you know.

They all supply the same amount of points etc for those prices. Beam and vacuflo actually put the outlets in the exact same positions on the plans. So there doesn't seem to be much difference in what they give you. The only difference would be the vacuum unit. Beam is a filter system like a regular vacuum, Vacuflo is cyclonic like a Dyson and Sach said their's is a combination of the two systems.

Delboy5

Any idea how much extra it would cost to install ?

Also i dont know much about vaccum systems, so can you explain to me whats the difference between a regular system and a cyclonic system, which is better !?

Thanks !

Wobs

Beam 1105 to supply, 540 for installation

Vacuflo 1200 to supply, 700 for installation

Sach approxx 1200/1300 to supply approx 1000 to install.

Have been told they are very straight forward to install, if your any way handy. Don't really know the difference between regular and cyclonic, can only compare them to say a nilfisk and dyson. The vacuflo quote was for a system strong enough for a 5000 sq ft house, This is only 100 euro more than a system for a 3000 sq ft house. Think the extra few quid for more power would be worth it.

shabbyroad

I wish I had known about these systems 5 years ago when I was getting our place built.

Anyone here with experience of installing them after the fact ? I'm guessing it could be really messy - having to lift floorboards, replastering and painting.... ugh.

Mothman

I got a Beam installed while house was being built in 98. While I'd have no hesitation in getting another one, here's some things I'll point out about my system. I don't know what model it is except that it is the 1150 watt one.

Mine is installed in utility room. The motor is very loud though when utility door is shut, you can't really hear it around rest of house. There is a small buildup of very fine dust in the compartment where the motor is situated.

I plan to move the motor outside of house. I didn't have garage at the time, and I assume the motor would be located here in most installations.

I've cleaned the filter twice, and I reckon I'll need to clean it every couple years. Its a case of not noticing the gradual decline in suction, but when it is cleaned, then its WOW, it works better than when new!
Mind you I've done this with a dyson as well, and suction improved dramatically once filter is cleaned. To clean the Beam though means removing the pipe and taking it off the wall, not really a big job, but not for anyone either.

The standard Beam installation doesn't/didn't have an on/off switch at the nozzle. The on/off is activated when you plug the pipe in. I was advised that the on/off switch at nozzle was unreliable. We got this and have had no issues in the 7 years. I wouldn't have one without that switch.

Installation is like waste plumbing. Its just PVC pipe plus the 2 core cable for to go to each outlet to enable remote on/off of the motor. So it is straight forward enough.

AceHigh

I got a Vacuflo system installed in my house about 12 months ago. I must say, I never notched so many browning points with my wife as I did that day.

Seriously though, we've had it 12 months and have emptied the cannister once. That is as much as we have had to do.

Ours is True Cyclonic and from what I gather, that means that there is no filter that you have to take out and clean.

I looked at many of these systems before choosing my one and found they are all relatively similiar, however there are a few reasons that put vacuflo ahead.

Mine is true cyclonic, no bag or filter, which means that my system never drops in power. Neighbour of mine has a beam one and it tends to fall away in power as the filter gets clogged up.

My system is the 280 which does up to 3000 Sq ft. My House is 2750 Sq Ft. The power is brilliant. I was going to get the next model up to do 5000 Sq ft for an extra 100 but I didn't bother. The power is so good.

If you have a system in already and are not happy with it you could do as my neighbour did and replace it with the same as mine.

Send me an email if you want the name of the agent we used and I'll send it on to you.

Regards,

AceHigh

AceHigh

I got a Vacuflo system installed in my house about 12 months ago. I must say, I never notched so many browning points with my wife as I did that day.

Seriously though, we've had it 12 months and have emptied the cannister once. That is as much as we have had to do.

As far as I can remember we paid Eur 1700 for it.

Ours is True Cyclonic, that means that there is no filter that you have to take out and clean.

I looked at many of these systems before choosing my one and found they are all relatively similiar, however there are a few reasons that put vacuflo ahead.

Mine is true cyclonic, no bag or filter, which means that my system never drops in power. Neighbour of mine has a beam one and it tends to fall away in power as the filter gets clogged up.

My system is the 280 which does up to 3000 Sq ft. My House is 2750 Sq Ft. The power is brilliant. I was going to get the next model up to do 5000 Sq ft for an extra 100 but I didn't bother. The power is so good.

If you have a system in already and are not happy with it you could do as my neighbour did and replace it with the same as mine.

Send me an email if you want the name of the agent we used and I'll send it on to you.

Regards,

AceHigh

Wobs

Hi AceHigh,

I had pretty much decided to go for the Vacuflo unit, because it is cyclonic! I was going for the larger 5000 sq ft unit for extra power but might go for the smaller one now.

1700 was that installed or supply only? I was quoted 1200 for supply only

AceHigh

Wobs,

Was that including or excluding vat?

I was thinking of doing it myself but the vat is 21% if you DIY it. Vat is 13.5% if you get the agent to install it. At the end of the day it was worth it to have it professionally installed i think.

Up to you though, You might have a better graft of the aul DIY than I do.

What county are you in? I think vacuflo have nationwide coverage.

Hope the house is going well anyway.

AceHigh

Pataman

Wobs: i as quoted 2200 for the vacuflow for my house. It is 4100 sq feet and i was told the 5000 sq foot beast was one to go for. Can you pm me the name of the guy you were dealing with?
Thanks

Pataman

just looked at www.vacuumsdirect.co.uk they seem to have good value. anyone know this crowd.

Wobs

Acehigh,

I will check the vat issue, but would think like most quotes its x vat. But even so I would say it is still cheaper to self install. I reckon I would be able to insatll it myself. I have a beam cd rom which shows how to install them, looks straight forward, and they all give you instructions and diagrams with the system, just take your time and set it out correctly.

Im in Meath, we are going to be clearing the site this weekend.

Pataman, Thats a big house, you defo don't want to be lugging a vacum around that. My house will be 2863 sq ft, I was only going for the 5000 for the extra power and incase we extend in the future. Will pm you the guys name later.