The first one I had was Ricar when the house was being built. They came out about 4 times. It would work when they left, but still never enough power. Then I would have trouble with the hoses not going in or coming out. Then I got electrolux to come out and they put in all new ports or outlets, and new hoses. Still not enough power and the same with the hose problems. They did do a few things in the attic with the pipes. Now I have Drainvac which is the high powered unit I got the electrician to install. Great suction power but hoses still get stuff in the pipes. If I only had clear pipes I could see where the blockage is. We have a call into the head people at the original company that installed the pipes. It was a Hide A Hose system. We are hoping they will recommend someone who really knows how the install and service them. I have almost 9k in this system now and still not happy. My sister built a new house the same time and did not want it. She has a rainbow somebody gave her. She is laughing all the time about what I am going thru. I never had any trouble before until I got Hide a Hose.

I have never had Hide A Hose but your installer does make a few valid points. It will only work with air driven power heads, like the Turbo Cat. I had a system installed in my former home and they sales person this would perform as well as an electric power head. I used it a week and purchased and electric set for each floor. I had 35 foot hoses in this house and they were heavy. I had 25 foot hoses in my 2 previous homes and they were much easier to handle. I 1/4 ID does restrict the air flow and the air driven Turbo Cat slows to a crawl. My system came with a 1 3/8 hose and it spun like crazy. It just didn't pick up anything. I had new plush carpet and after 20 passes the carpet fuzz was spit out, onto the carpet. The Turbo Cat has a very small air opening and the suction is reduced as the turbine takes up most of it. With the reduced airflow at the brush roll it isn't doing much. I had to keep taking it apart and dig the fuzz out of the opening and that is the reason I purchased the electric power heads a week later. It would work fine on Berber or any low pile carpet. I would look into the future as when you change the carpet it would be a shame to limit your use of CV as the air driven would not work on your new carpet. Also pay attention to the placement of the inlets and your furniture placement. If you are not going to get direct connect valves to run an electirc head you will need an electrical outlet near by to plug the pigtale into. Be certain that it is not behind a heavy piece of furniture and are unable to access it. I had new outlets placed right next to the inlet. I had 3 Vroom in my former home and the were great in the baths and kitchen. Hose Magic is still in business and is now called Hose Genie. You are able to use and electric power head with this system, the hose ID is 1 4/4 so the air flow is not reduced, it uses a electric motor to retract the hose instead of suction, and the hoses are 45 feet long. I think that would be heavy as I didn't like my 35' hoses. I found this on www.thinkvacuums.com They have an istallation video and a lot of information and the pros and cons of Hide A Hose and this system. They are still in business. Hoover can't save itself since it closed their factory in N Canton OH. They have made junk for years. They should just go out of business. This Co was bought out by Cana-Vac if I remember right. Can-Vac has been in business for years. Good luck. Let us know what you decide.

Make sure you get a dust pan intake, and locate it someplace other than under the toe kick. I wish I had put it behind the door in the kitchen. Instead, it is located under the toe kick and is a pain to use. I asked to have it behind the door, but the installer assured me that I would get used to it under the toe kick. I have a vacu flo system. Plan where you will keep the hose and attachments. Get an extra hose for the upstairs so you are not lugging the hose and attachments up and down the stairs. I don't like the vacuum head with the vacuflo system and am thinking of getting a power head. If you have a large area that isn't carpeted get the commercial size hardwood attachment as it makes clean up of those surfaces a breeze. Make sure you are present when they mark the spots for the intake valves as you want to make sure, A) you have enough, and B) that they aren't in the way of furniture.

I have a Beam Central Vac. I like it alot. It is very quiet and I've had mine for 10 years with no problems. I am getting to the point where I need to buy a new power head, but they are expensive, so keep putting it off. I find I have to clean out my dirt bucket every 3-4 months. The beam doesn't have a bag, there's a fabric filter that hangs down in the bucket that filters the dust. My only issue with the Beam is emptying the bucket can be messy. Since the dirt is in the bucket, and hair/dust lings to the hanging filter bag, you can't just take the bucket off without extraneous dirt falling onto the floor. I take a large trash bag and put it around the entire bucket and up the sides a bit of the unit. I then take off the bucket and stick my hand up inside the unit to pull out any hidden hair etc. It's messy, but I only have to do it 3-4 times a year! Other than that, I've not every had a clog because the opening on the hose is smaller than the pipes so things don't go into the hose period if they're too big.