It is usually faster and more convenient to use one longer hose vs two shorter hoses, because you save on connect and disconnect time. The retractable hose is almost weightless to drag along the floor while you are vacuuming, so an extra 15'-20' is not a problem. If you only need 15' for a quick clean up that is all you need to pull out.

I would choose the Power Unit with the most inches of waterlift. If you are only cleaning hard surfaces the 566Q should work fine.

Here is a link that might be useful: hideahose.biz

I'd think twice before going with a cyclonic unit for a household central vac. They are nowhere near large enough or powerful enough to properly cyclone enough debris out of the airstream before it has to exit the unit. In addition the blower motors are not shielded from enough dust to last long enough for my liking.

Now a cyclone is great for moving huge amounts of air and product/debris like in a woodworking operation or material handling plant. These units are way bigger than most homes can handle and don't like being choked down with 2" hoses.

In a central Vac setup water lift is only part of the story, the unit needs to be able to move air quickly too. This is a CFM rating and both of these numbers in a weighted formula usually give a better gauge of a unit's performance. This number is usually refered to as AirWatts.

Hi...I am the national trainer for H-P Products...the manufacturer of VacuFlo....

I would agree that it is generally more convenient and certainly more cost effective to use (1) 50' hose versus (2) 30' hoses. The caveat is knowing that up-sizing the power unit is required to compensate for the longer hose. I have a single 50' hose in my own home as well as one in my garage and really like the system and find that the hose management convenience exceeded my own expectations. Therefore, I would recommend the single 50' hose.

That being said, a cyclonic unit is highly RECOMMENDED for use with the Hide a Hose system due to its propensity to maintain a high level of suction performance. Contrary to the above claim, the units use non-loading motors and thus shielding them from the 2-3% of pass thru microscopic dust is not an issue. Additionally, since we offer a LIFETIME warranty on the units (including all of the motor components) they are guaranteed to last.

Air watts is indeed a great way to measure performance on a central vacuum. However, the reason sealed suction (or water lift) is important with the Hide a Hose is that a higher sealed suction compensates for the loss over the longer hoses and maintains a greater CFM at the end of the hose. We have tested many systems with higher Air Watts that did not perform nearly as well at the end of the longer hoses. In this particular case, using Air Watts as a performance indicator choice is a bit of a misnomer.

What you are looking for here is the ability to provide enough air flow to satisfactorily spin the turbine brush. If you are going to install the system in a house with no or very little carpet, the 566Q will work just fine. If you have carpet throughout the house, my personal choice here would be to use an FC650 or FC1550.

Hope this helps. I am sure you will enjoy your Hide a Hose/VacuFlo system.

Chris - you obviously have a vested interested in your analysis of the situation since you only sell cyclonic units and you make the hide - a - hose.

I checked your warranty and it's a Limited one, if the house changes hands , poof, no more warranty. Not exactly a necessary clause if your motor is as robust as you claim. Other companies have transferable warranties.

Your units also don't have an air ramp and I'm not sure but I can't find no docs stating the pipe into your units should be straight for a few feet before an elbow to produce really effective results in a cyclone. Typical industry protocal is to drop the pipe straignt down to the unit and have a 90 deg. fitting right at the intlet. Go ask you engineers about those two factors and how they effect a cyclone's performance.

You also fail to mention that if you have wall to wall carpet, just about everyone in the industry acknowledges that a powered brush is the best choice. Only thoe that don't have that option will disagree. You also don' mention that your hose's install is a bit more critical because it's stored in the systems pipe. If a system is designed or installed poorly your hose could block debris from reaching the vac if you use another port without a hide-a-hose. And, we all know the state of tradesmen these days.

Just so you know, I do not work for a vacuum manuf. or even sell them.

I love my vacuflo. Had one installed over 17 years ago in our last house and installed one in our new home. It was one of the 1st things we added when we started remodeling 2 years ago. We have a 30ft hose that I move around the house as needed and are adding a floor sweep in kitchen. I would purchase again without a doubt.

I had a 960 in my former home and it is still going strong after 14 years!

antss, Do you have a central vac system or have even used one? I grew up with a system and had it installed in every home I have purchased. I used one in my hair salon for years. I would never live with out CV.

We have had a Vacuflo system in our house for over twenty years. Not a single problem! We didn't have the H-A-H system available to us at the time, but we are possibly going to be building a home in the spring and the Vacuflo has been high on my list of things to include in the house. I had heard of the H-A-H feature some time ago and am convinced I would enjoy that, a well. Hopefully, the cost won't be prohibitive to include the H-A-H with the Vacuflo system. I have been so happy with my present built-in vacuum that when we first started discussing building another home I mentioned that I would very much want to get another Vacuflo system since it has worked so well for me. I also said that, if it is financially possible, I want to try out the H-A-H. Although I have certainly enjoyed my vacuum system for the past twenty years, it's not hard to imagine that I would enjoy it even more with the addition of a H-A-H. I can't say I enjoyed unrolling and then rerolling the hose every time I needed to vacuum, but I would still say my experience with the Vacuflo has been the most satisfying way of getting the vacuuming done (and sparing my allergies) that I have ever experienced. In our new build we will have a couple rooms with Berber carpet. However, it is my understanding that a berber should not be vacuumed with the power head and brushes,so it sounds like the Vacuflo H-A-H remains the best choice for our family.

We have a 'conventional' central vac. (Built in 2001.) I have hardwood floors with 'Orientals', for which a vacuum with beaters is not recommended. The suction alone is excellent. Either the hidden hose wasn't available when we built, or I wasn't aware of the option. Sounds better than hauling around what I call 'the anaconda'.