Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Hi,

Who thinks the day will come, and how long will it take, when the "vacuum cleaner" will generally be accepted as just a hole in the wall that we plug a hose into? No more cyclones, water baths or super-duper filtering for alllergy sufferers.  No thought over buying canister or upright and what warranty length is.  No more concerns about cord length or operating noise levels.  I'm not just talking central vacuum system but also of a possible change in our view of practicality.  The day is not that far away when our computers will also be our telephone and TV among other things.  Come to think of it they are now though not widely employed.  Does anyone feel central vacuum systems may one day be provided in apartment buildings and other multiple dwelling as a given as well as in individual private homes?

Thanks,

Venson

Here's my thoughts on it.  Central vacuum cleaners were invented before we had "real" vacuum cleaners...at one time they were gasoline-powered, then the invention of electricity changed the machine.  There was a great writeup on this in a past VCCC newsletter detailing the history of the central vacuum which this information comes from.  Maids of the early-1900s walked downstairs to the basement and threw the knife switch, which started the machine, and it was supposed to be left running for a while.  Wonder how many maids they went through that way, considering all of the exposed wiring, terminals, etc., and the high voltage going through them.  High possibility for injury, electrocution, etc., and this is true...recently I heard about a 1910 Spencer removed from a house, still in working condition amazingly enough, powered by a knife switch on the wall.  It was interesting in the sense that the motor had carbon brushes but behaved like an induction motor; the brushes were only used for starting the motor, then they snapped back centrifugally much like a start winding would.  Then after the motor gained sufficient speed, a clutch engaged the fans...of course you couldn't have any ports open until it got up to speed. 

Central vacuums, honestly, are somewhat foreign to me and something I'm largely unfamiliar with even though I've played with a few over the years...down in Texas they're really not that common.  I've since learned more by talking to people who specialize in them, however, and I do find them fascinating.  I also plan on having one installed in my future home.  However, this is just my opinion, but since they have been around for 100 years, if most people indeed preferred this method of cleaning versus the portable cleaner, wouldn't they be more popular than portable cleaners today?  But that is not the case.  It is my understanding (and from observation) that more power and performance comes at a price.  Obviously not everyone can afford a $1500+ two-motor 240V system, and some have homes that are really too small to warrant the use of a central.  Again, just from an untrained eye point of view, I do not see the point in installing a small unit in a single-story 1200-square-foot 2/1 home when a portable cleaner would work just fine. 

To me it seems that while centrals are powerful, portable vacuum technology is catching up in power.  There's also the issue of power and filtration.  I like the idea of constant power when I'm cleaning...suction, airflow, etc. that does not drop off no matter how fine the material I am picking up is.  While some central enthusiasts have told me that since the power is a lot greater in the beginning, the loss is not as noticeable; doesn't mean it's not there, though.  To my knowledge, the VacuFlo is the only unit with a dual-cyclonic arrangement as it stands now; the others either have a filter or bag arrangement which undoubtedly leads to reduced performance.  I would like to see more of that technology incorporated into centrals...I know it can be done.  On a phone conversation with another poster whom I know is a central enthusiast not too keen on the Dyson, I jokingly remarked that the Dyson is the reason that centrals will never gain popularity over portables. 

Of course, even as a die-hard Dyson fan I know that is most likely not true...I was just doing that to see what the reaction would be ;-)

Hey Venson and Motorhead,

 

Since you guys like history – check out an early GE silent film called “The Home Electrical”, promoting "electricity" and a "civilized life".  I converted and uploaded it myself.  Runtime is over 11 minutes.  A central vacuum cleaner with a keyed switch is shown at minute 2:21.  Many appliances are shown, some with lots of potential danger, I cringed a few times watching this movie.  I do not know the films date, but if you do (or want to take a guess) let me know.

 

Video here (make sure to view in “original size” vs. small size)

 

DIB

Great video, I had no idea GE produced early centrals.   I have to say, after seeing all of these early electrical devices and the potential hazards they would have had (the electric shaving mug for example), I'm glad that we've come a long way from cloth wiring and exposed terminals.  Still a great step back in time, though, and definitely a lot older than I would have imagined.  I'm guessing it's from the 1900s?  Could be teens as well, at the very latest.

I used to live in an upscale rental apartment (about 8 stories) built in the 60's that had a central vaccuum system. The suction was very poor.

CVS are more popular now than they have been since 1949.  But...........portable standalone vacuums are here for at least another 100 years.   

Venson, in the USA, the non-electric carpet sweeper has been around since 1868.  Royal since 1905.  Of course, HOOVER since June 1907 when Spangler patented and then sold the rights to BOSS HOOVER.

Carmine D.

Hi Gail,

Although I have heard of central vacuums and even central refrigeration being installed as far back as the very late 1800s and early 1900s in certain luxury mutiple dwelling spaces here in New York, I have not heard about the extensive like use of central vacuums in later years.

This is a guess but the central system in your building back in the 1960s may have performed poorly due to the main source of vacuum trouble -- people. It would be very hard to monitor and maintain a central vacuum in an apartment building with many tenants. Careless adults and children finding fun things to feed "the hole in wall" can quickly lead to problems and maintenance expense for both building owners and maintenance people.

There are specialed central vacuums (bagged with highly filtered exhausts) being sold to individual apartment and condo dwellers but for all the building we've done here in the last several years central vacuuming supplied as part of the package in multiple dwellings has never been offered, at least to my knowledge. If it were, you can be assured already expensive rents and sale prices would be marked up even higher.

Anther reason may have been a badly thought out system. By the way what part of the country was you building in?

Thanks for sharing . . .

Venson

If vacuums had not become a disposable item, we might well be on the way to centrals being the norm. Centrals got a bad rep when shag carpet came into vouge. With only air-driven power heads (pre Turbo-Cat) they failed miserably. The earliest power nozzles had the cord clipped along the length of the hose. Central vac is an idea whose time has come again, with the technology now to provide better suction and airflow, lighter hoses and so many conveniences I predict they will catch on more and more as people realize they can be installed easily in existing homes. For the cost of, say, a Kirby, a CV can be installed in most any home, and plenty of Kirbys have been sold in 1200 sq ft homes. Most people have never even heard of central vacuums. Where is the national media advertising for central vacuums? Most people who were unhappy with a central vac had one that was 1) underpowered for the home 2) had a botched installation 3) were never shown how to vacuum with the long hose. One thing to consider is the eventual loss of some airflow over time due to scarring on the tubing walls. Hundreds of times I showed the need for a new hose on an Electrolux because the existing hose would not allow the machine to pick up all 4 steel spheres in the clear plastic cup. (This is airflow, not suction, the cup is narrower toward the bottom) With a new hose, viola! snap! snap! snap! snap! The sand and grit sucked up do wear away at the interior, which is way going one unit larger than the manufacturer suggests is a good idea. I think the FlowMaxGold tubing is an excellent idea. All virgin vinyl, 5' lengths to reduce the need for cutting, and to make it easy to feed into wall cavities, and flange ends to join lengths together without additional couplings.

While it's possible they exist in some places, I've never seen central vacs advertised as part of a new build or *anybody* here in the UK having them as part of their house.

It seems CVS are more popular in Canada than the USA.  With the housing market tanking, builders and contractors will look to reduce amenities, like CVS, to make new houses more affordable.  Once the economy turns around and heads up [years], more likely to see the extras added back to new homes.

Cordless technologies will cement portables and standalone vacuums as permament fixtures for the future.

Carmine D.

Carmine,

I think you are correct about cordless technologies. They may well be the future of portable vacs.