More Central Vacuum Information

Customer Reviews Central Vacuum Installation

Roger and I raised five kids so we have lots of respect for busy moms and dads who tackle DIY projects while raising a family.  Between school, sports, dance, and just life in general, I honestly don't know when they find the time to breathe. Last night was Halloween, and consider all those moms and dads taking their kids "Trick or Treating" or to a party somewhere....I get exhausted just thinking about it. Our kids take the grand-kids house to house every year on Halloween (thought you might enjoy a short slideshow of the grands' costumes this year, if not, please indulge grandma) Last week I got an email from a busy dad who spent a year installing a central vacuum system in his existing house.  I have great admiration for anyone trying to raise a family AND install a central vacuum system. I thought you might be inspired by his story...if you are check out the system he installed (Imperium CV7800) and just call us at 1-800-221-8227, if you need any assistance 

I wanted to drop you a line about my install experience on my Central Vacuum System.  I am a dad that has two active boys and coaching sports teams so getting time for the install was hard, but a little over a year the installation has been completed.  Central Vacuum Stores really helped coaching me through the install. Here is a picture of the motor assembly in the garage.
I have since tie wrapped the wires to neaten up the job and removed the lower receptacle box and went with the upper receptacle. You can also see that I have used your schedule 40 converter which was a big help when you don’t have much time and you can run to the store to get that extra elbow or sweep. I installed 8 inlets, connected all the low voltage wire.  All and all this system really made the wife happy. What POWER This is a vacuum system to have.I do suggest to people to buy a second hose and maybe attachments so you don’t have to keep carrying stuff up and down the steps especially with a 30-35 foot hose. That’s what I will be doing. 3 months ago I was talking to someone at work about it and they bought a head unit and hose from you guys to replace her old unit. My next project is finishing off the basement with a Home Media Center. Looks like you have some stuff that I need is on your website.

Thanks Central Vacuum Stores for all your help.

Timothy Riley

I.T. Technical Architect

Sometimes Breaking Up Isn't Hard to Do

You know the song, "Breakin' up is hard to do..."  Well, it may be so in relationships, but in business, that just isn't always true.  Sometimes breaking up is for the mutual benefit of everyone involved.

For several years we have carried the DuoVac central vacuum power unit on our website.  We like the DuoVac and have maintained a good relationship with John, the U.S. distributor for DuoVac.  Today, John called and said another company was asking for exclusive rights to the DuoVac central vacuum system. 

At Central Vacuum Stores we are a factory authorized dealer for all the major U.S. central vacuum companies...Beam, Vacuflo, VacuMaid, Nutone, AirVac, Hoover, Eureka. and others.  In addition we are the U.S. distributor for RhinoVac and we have our own, well known brand, Imperium. Because of this, we just haven't really promoted the DuoVac central vacuum system.  We know it, and it really isn't going to change.

So, when John called, we weren't surprised and we parted with kind words and a mutual wish for the other's success. So, very soon, possibly today, you won't be finding the DuoVac on our website anymore...but you can check out the systems we recommend...

Cyclonic systems

Bagged systems

Filtered systems

Central Vacuum Customer Referrals

At  Central Vacuum Stores we love our customers, and we found out that if you love your customers, they will love you back. We get a steady stream of customer referrals...we like to call them "love letters".  Well, the other day one of our expert staff received this  email from a satisfied customer:

Thank you Debra,

I have ordered this part.Central Vacuum Stores is on my very short list of companies with the best customer service in the US.  I appreciate your assistance with this

Steve Lambert

Well, thank-you Mr. Lambert, now the rest of the world knows what we've known for sometime...Central Vacuum Stores is one of the best customer service companies in the U.S! (We're just waiting by the phone for Forbes or the Wall Street Journal to call us and ask us the secret of our success)

For us, customer service doesn't just mean serving the customers we have one on one contact with....we are always looking for ways to enhance our customer service to all the folks that visit our website and buy products from us. This week we added a great new feature to our shopping cart, which will enhance the shopping experience of all our customers.  When you go to the shopping cart you will see thumbnail images of all the items you have added to your cart, along with a link to take you back to that item.  This way you will remember everything you've added, plus you can go back to the item easily and make sure you have what you wanted.  We've also made the delete function easy to find so that you can easily remove an item it it isn't what you want.  The new shopping cart enhancements look like this....try it out....

Delete	Product
Delete		7611 Central Vacuum Imperium CV7700 Power Unit

Health Benefits of a Central Vacuum System

In previous posts I have mentioned all the data on the health benefits of a central vacuum system.  On our website you will find a DIY Knowledge Base.  We've compiled EVERYTHING you want to know about central vacuum systems in one place.  No hunting and pecking around the website to find what you want, just go to our Knowledge Base.  We have included a page called "Health Benefits" in our Knowledge Base.  Here you will find links to various articles and studies describing why a central vacuum system is a great choice for a healthy lifestyle.

At Central Vacuum Stores we love to promote activities that encourage exercise, because we know that is another element of a healthy lifestyle.  This year we again sponsored two little league teams for Baypoint Little League in St. Petersburg.  We also sponsored two triathlon teams in the St. Anthony's Triathlon.  Roger and I are proud to say that three of our kids, and one son-in-law, were members of these teams! 

Dawn and Faith, our daughters,  were both doing the swimming leg of the race.  The swim is in the open water of Tampa Bay.  Unfortunately, we had incredibly windy weather that weekend, and the race officials canceled the swim portion of the race (first time ever in the history of the St. Anthony's Triathlon) because the bay was so choppy the lifeguards in kayaks couldn't get out into the bay.  The professional triathletes were still allowed to swim, but when they got out of the water they were commenting about how bad it was.  After she saw the chop, Dawn, our sensible daughter, mother of four, was relieved to hear they had canceled the swim.   Faith, our bold adventurer, said she was disappointed...she would have done the swim if they would have let her.  Luke, our son-in-law, felt like he didn't prepare quite enough for the 24 mile bike.  He said he knew it was pretty bad when he realized he was looking for things to hit in the road so he would have a flat tire!  On the other hand, Drew, our other biker, actually filled in for his daughter who was unable to participate at the last minute.  He had a blast and was ready to enter some more races.  And finally Micah, our son, was just glad he beat Wendy's time in the run! (Even though he is 20 years her junior, she usually runs 6 miles a couple of times a week).    Either way we are proud of our folks for preparing and participating in such a strenuous event.  One thing you can be sure of...you won't find any slackers at Central Vacuum Stores. 

Disappointed swimmer - Our daughter, Faith
Runner - Our son, Micah
Biker - Our son-in-law, Luke

Relieved swimmer - Our daugher, Dawn
Biker - Drew
Runner - Wendy

Central Vacuum Systems Made in the USA: As American as Apple Pie

Last week we had an apple pie baking contest at the store in celebration of Mother's Day.  Those of us who wanted to enter brought in an apple pie during the week.  Everyone sampled and awarded points based on taste, appearance, etc. (Kind of like the central vac version of Iron Chef, and the secret ingredient was apples).  Our most unusual entry was by our Web Development Manager, Cathy.  She brought in apple muffins.  Dawn (our oldest daughter who works from home answering our requests for quotes) and Faith (our youngest daughter who is our resident Engineer) both entered apple pies, as did I.  Faith entered a caramel apple pie, Dawn entered a traditional apple pie, and I entered a caramel apple pie with a crisp topping that included praline pecans, caramel,  and a light dusting of dark chocolate shavings. There was quite a rivalry going on.  In fact, on Thursday night before the final judging we had a family dinner (Our son, Thomas, was home for a week before returning to college).  Let me just say that night there was a lot of trash talk going around about apple pies.  We were all sure we would win.  Well, on Friday, our Administrator, better known as Pastry Chef Marilynn, brought in her apple pie, and I guess she blew us all out of the water.  She brought in the ultimate apple pie...as American as it gets.

These days many of our customers want more than American apple pies.  They are concerned with buying American, and we offer several central vacuum lines that are made in the USA. If you are one of those customers looking for a central vac made in America consider products made by Lindsay or Vacuflo (unfortunately we can't sell Vacuflo on the Internet).  You can call us at 1-800-221-8227 to locate your local Vacuflo dealer or take a look at Imperium, Astro-Vac, or VacuMaid central vacuum systems, all manufactured by LIndsay in the USA.

Locate the Right Central Vacuum Attachments Quickly and Easily

I told you we'd be working on improving our website, and here's our latest improvement.  We have totally redesigned the way we present attachment sets to our customers.  Instead of having to scroll through set after set to find what you want, we have categorized all our sets into a dynamic menu.

For those of you searching for a particular brand, you can search by brand.  We offer genuine attachment sets from the manufacturers we partner with.  At Central Vacuum we are authorized dealers for all the products we sell, so you are guaranteed the best service from the manufacturer.  We partner with all the major manufacturers like, Vacu-Maid (LIndsay Mfg.), Vacuflo (HP Products), Beam, MD Manufacturing, Cen-Tec, CanaVac, Budd, Nutone, M&S, Hoover, Eureka, and others.

If you are one of those savvy central vacuum customers and know you can buy any brand attachment set provided you have  standard inlets, then we have categories based on the type of attachments you want. (Click to enlarge)

Here's what our new attachment page looks like.  If you're in the market for central vacuum attachments, check out our new attachment menu.

Find By Brand	Direct Connect Electric Sets	Pigtail Cord Electric Sets	Air Turbine Sets
Bare Floor Sets	Garage Sets	Hose Finder	Retractable Hose System
Vroom Central	Zip Broom Sets	Accessories

Central Vacuum Systems Always on Special

We just got a call on Friday from a vendor who is trying to help one of their dealers liquidate some inventory.  In our present economy, this isn't unusual.  We are buying merchandise on a regular basis from other dealers and even vendors that need cash.  We get this merchandise at drastically reduced prices.  Often the merchandise is brand new in the box, and sometimes it is out of the box, but it always carries a full warranty.  This is just another way we can pass some savings on to our customer.  While we have a Clearance page on our site, sometimes there is just too much to list there.  So if you would give us a call at 1-800-221-8227 and tell us what you are looking for we can see if we have it on our list of unadvertised specials.  And don't forget to watch our VROOM video to save $10 on any Central Vacuum purchase over $250.

Central Vacuum Does Las Vegas

Last Thursday, my daughters, Dawn and Faith, joined me in Las Vegas for the Vacuum Dealer's Trade Association (VDTA) trade show.  Dawn and Faith are both active in the company, and we decided to make it a girl's trip this year.  On Thursday and Friday we spent time perusing the show for the latest and greatest products to bring our customers, and we met with many of the major industry suppliers and manufacturers.  As always, you'll be seeing changes and additions to our website that are a result of our trip to Las Vegas. 

We had a wonderful dinner in Paris (the hotel in Las Vegas) with Roger and Pete from Lamb Ametek and Winston and Betty Lindsay of Lindsay Manufacturing (the company that manufactures Vacu-Maid, AstroVac, Valet, and Imperium). Our Roger has been a long time fan of Lamb motors.  Lamb motors have a proven track record of longevity and reliability.  All of our favorite central vacuum systems have Lamb motors and if your central vacuum has one of these motors, it will probably out last the time you live in your home.  But, if you live in your house for many, many years you many need to replace that Lamb motor someday.  We are your one stop shop for replacement Lamb motors and instructions on how to install one.  Check out our motor finder.

We were also glad to be able to talk with Grant Olewiler from MD Manufacturing.  You can see the MD Stealth attachment set on our website.   MD is getting ready to move into a beautiful new facility they have just built in Bakersfield, California.  Grant has some innovative new products, and hopefully you will see them on our site in the near future. 

On Friday afternoon we left the show and spent the rest of the day touring Las Vegas. I think we walked six miles that day!  It must have taken us 15 minutes to walk from the monorail at the back of the MGM Grand to the front door.  We thought we passed 5 Starbucks in the hotel!  We checked that out later, and the web says there were only three, so does that mean we were walking in circles?  Anyway, we were fascinated by the lions in the lobby and the endless slot machines.  Gambling and lions...I always think of those two things together, don't you...go figure.  

The girls and I love visiting New York City, so of course we had to go to New York, New York.  I just never remember seeing a roller coaster whirling around the Statue of Liberty...I must have missed that on our Circle LIne Tour of New York Harbor. 

On Saturday evening we went to Cirque du Soleil's O at the Bellagio.  Before the show we snapped this picture of the World's largest chocolate fountain.

We went on to eat dinner at the Bellagio's buffet...the food was really good, but judging from this photo of the dessert carnage, we can assume the chocolate fountain made Dawn and Faith hungry for dessert...
After the show we went outside to watch the fountain show at the Bellagio, and to the delight of my "country music loving" daughters, the show was set to a Faith Hill song. (Our Faith wanted me to make sure I let everyone know since our trip last year, they wore me down, and I am now a semi-country music fan.) 

We flew AirTran home, and were really surprised to find no kiosks at the AirTran counter in the Las Vegas airport.  I think everyone else was surprised too, because there were a lot of people who would have missed their flight if it had not been delayed.  Of course, the delay meant running through the Atlanta Airport to catch our connection. When you travel, if you need exercise, fly AirTran, because you know if you fly AirTran at some point during your trip you are going to be running through the Atlanta Airport.
 

Nutone Central Vacuum CV350 and CV353

Recently representatives from Broan/Nutone were in our store in St. Petersburg, Florida.  We have been partnering with Nutone for almost 30 years and during this meeting they told us we are the  largest Nutone dealer in the Southeast United States!  While they were there they informed us of Nutone's new Internet policies regarding their MAP(Minimum Advertised Price).  Beginnning March 1st Nutone is requiring all Nutone dealers adhere to their MAP pricing guidelines.  Nutone is taking these steps to clean up their presence on the Internet.  They don't want unscrupulous, fly by night retailers, who are unable to offer adequate customer support, to be selling their products.  They want you, the customer,to be able to trust the dealers you buy from on the Internet.

At Central Vacuum Stores, we understand the value of the customer support that comes from our vendors.  For this reason we quickly comply to their requests so that your support from the manufacturer is not compromised.  Our pricing is exactly, to the penny, the Nutone MAP pricing.  If you see these products for less on the Internet, you can be sure these dealers are not cooperating with Nutone and Broan/Nutone does not endorse these dealers. You can go to our manufacturer's page and find the 800 number for Nutone if you want to verify this information. 

While you're at it, check us out on the Better Business Bureau....I got a 2008 report from them today and I was astonished by the number of customers that clicked on the Better Business Bureau symbol on our website last year.  Customers are number one at Central Vacuum and we have worked hard to get our A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. 

Central Vacuum Expert During the Week; Dr. Dolittle on the Weekends

If you call Central Vacuum Stores during the week you will speak with one of our trained and experienced central vacuum experts.  Roger Ambrose, President and CEO of the company, often answers phone calls from customers because he likes to stay in the mix and interact directly with our customers. 

Roger's experience and expertise come from decades in the central vacuum installation business. Over the years he has told me many stories of going into a customer's house for an estimate and making friends with their dog.  "Dogs like me", I've heard him say more than once.  Well, after yesterday, I think he may be Dr. Dolittle. We were at our property on the Withlacoochee River in Istachatta, Florida when a deer wandered through our gate.  It wasn't long before Roger was kneeling down beside the deer, petting it.  I had to snap these pictures, because seeing is believing.

If you have any questions or need advice on a central vacuum installation, give us a call...the man who makes friends with dogs and deer, is just waiting to make friends with you.