If you’re tired of dragging a portable vacuum cleaner from room to room, you might consider a central vacuum system. Central vacs are convenient, quiet and up to five times more powerful than portable vacs. With self-cleaning microfilters, they capture smaller particles than many portable units, and you can vent the dusty exhaust air outdoors or through a garage space. While the systems are generally sold installed, you’ll save money by doing the work yourself—with components and materials running between $800 and $1500, you’re not far from the price of an expensive portable model. A central vac system consists of a motorized pump and canister, wall and floor outlets, low-voltage cable, thinwall PVC pipe and fittings, plus a hose kit and beater bar. There are a wide variety of accessories available, but these are the basic components. You’ll find two systems for powering the beater bar motor. Both types have wiring molded into the hose—a 120-volt line for the beater bar and a low-voltage line for the remote control of the central vacuum’s motor.

The first alternative has a direct-connect inlet cuff (the fitting that connects to the wall inlet) that taps both low-voltage and 120-volt power as soon as you plug in the hose. This system requires wall inlets to be wired with 120-volt current. The other system has an inlet hose and fitting that handle the low-voltage connection, but the hose has an 8-ft. pigtail that draws 120-volt current from a nearby wall receptacle. Direct-connect systems are more common in new homes because it’s easier to run the 120-volt lines during construction. In retrofits like ours, it’s easier to install the vacuum inlets near existing receptacles and plug the beater bar into one of those. In both cases, the vacuum’s motor and the beater bar are controlled by a switch on the hose grip. This project was originally published in the September 2001 issue of Popular Mechanics.  You can find more great projects at Popular Mechanics DIY Central. Step 1: System PlanningShow All Items« PreviousNext »View All Steps Download

Deals Of The Day (22) Hot Deals Not To Be Missed (2)most powerful vacuum cleaner india Shipped from Singapore (594)stick vacuum cleaners amazon Philips FC7088/61 Upright Vacuum Cleanercar vacuum cleaner & tyre inflator Karcher Window Cleaner WV50 PLUS Toyomi VC4501 2400W Cyclonic Vacuum Cleaner Black Get those tight corners cleaned!Parents always want to keep their homes tidy. If you’re finding all of these scattered all over your house and wanting to clean them out then vacuum cleaners are the ones to help you! Vacuum Cleaners for your cleaning needsThere are different types of vacuum cleaners available in the market. These models vary on the kind of cleaning job your house needs.

Also, there are different brands offering their own unique types of vacuum cleaners that showcase each brand’s trademark features and functions like Imarflex, Kyowa, Dyson, Karcher, and a lot more. But whatever brand it is there are only two common types of vacuums—hand-held vacuum and upright vacuum. So keep your homes dust and dirt free and get a vacuum cleaner now!Hand-held Vacuum CleanersPortable Car Vacuum Cleaner: These type of vacuum cleaner requires 60 watts of power, has 1500pa vacuum pressure, its cable length can extend up to 2.5 meters, and weighs around 532 grams.OMI Cordless Vacuum Cleaner: This type of cleaner is usually used indoors, it's lightweight, does not make much noise, and requires 60 watts of power.Power Vacuum Cleaner: This type of cleaning appliances has a powerful suction, can be conveniently operated, comes with complete accessories, and its cable length can extend up to 6 meter.OMI Nanny Series Vacuum Cleaner: This type of cleaner is usually used indoors, it's lightweight, does not make much noise, and requires 60 watts of power.

Upright Vacuum CleanersLotus Wet/Dry Vacuum Cleaner: This appliance requires 1100 watts of power, ideal for cleaning the garage, car, kitchen and furniture, it is lightweight and durable, its power cord can extend up to 3 meters, and this has swivelling casters.Kyowa Wet/Dry Vacuum Cleaner: This vacuum has a 9.6 L waste bin capacity and 6.5 L water bin capacity, this is great for wet and dry cleaning, has high suction power, has a unique wet-pick up function, and has a deep cleaning plus technology feature.Geepas 2-in-1 Vacuum Cleaner: This cleaner requires 220V of power, has a cable winding house, a locking system, a floor brush, and crevice tool.Imarflex 3-in-1 Vacuum Cleaner: This appliance has a high velocity suction rate, requires 850 watts of power, has 20 liters capacity, has a heavy duty motor, and an adjustable telescopic wand.The newest Dyson V8 Absolute cordless vacuum is very much a refinement rather than a reinvention. It looks very similar to the previous V6 Absolute, which in turn wasn’t drastically different from its predecessor, but it’s upon closer inspection and under use that the differences between the new models become more obvious.

Fire up the V8 and the reduction in volume is the first thing you’ll notice. Dyson claims the V8 generates 50% less noise than previous generations. Vacuuming is never going to be a silent activity but the noise reduction was a welcome one. The digital motor inside the V8 Absolute, while quieter, has actually seen a power upgrade. It now runs at 425W, whereas the V6 made do with 325W. The bin, too, is now higher capacity at 0.54 litres to the former’s 0.4 litres. It’s an important change as the battery capacity of the V8 has now been doubled to 40 minutes of running time. The bigger bin means you’ll be both emptying and charging the V8 far less frequently. While Dyson would say that 20 minutes on the previous model was plenty for giving the house a quick clean, especially as the trigger power button meant it was only powered on when needed, extra run time is still a great thing to have. If you use the mini motorised tool you’ll get around 25 minutes. For the first time, there's a battery metre too, so you know how much charge is left.

The way you use the V8 hasn’t changed. It still uses a trigger grip with all of the major components positioned close to your hand. This aids the V8’s maneuverability and means cleaning ceilings becomes less tiring as most of the weight is positioned close to your hand. For a cordless vacuum as expensive as the V8 is, I would have liked if the trigger grip was more comfortable. It’s made from hard plastic and the side of the motor rubs against the top of your thumb, which can become a little uncomfortable. A softer plastic or rubber coating wouldn't have gone amiss and would help with grip, too. The V8 is still very much a dual-function vacuum, acting as both a handheld and a standard cordless. You’re able to attach the V8’s multitude of accessories either directly to the handheld vacuum or used in combination with the (now orange) extension tube for vacuuming high or low. It was just as easy to clean the floor as it was to clean bookshelves or dusty ceiling corners. The V8 Absolute comes with a soft roller cleaner head, direct drive cleaner head, mini motorised tool, combination tool and rigid crevice tool, so there’s a tool for basically every cleaning task you can think of.

Emptying the bin is a pleasingly simple affair and has also seen further refinements from the V6. You simply need to release the catch at the top and pull upwards, which in turn releases the lid at the bottom to eject the dirt. It’s a simple but effective change and means you don’t have to manually clean out the inside of the bin. If you’ve ever used an electric toothbrush you might have noticed that its motor begins to spin slower as the battery runs down. This isn’t the case with the V8, as with previous models, as a fade-free Lithium-ion battery is used. Whether you’re using it with a fully-charged battery or towards the end, the level of suction remained the same. Suction, too, isn't significantly affected by the level of dirt accumulated in the bin, either. The V8's increased power amounts to the motor spinning at up to 110,000RPM, the same as on the previous model. Dyson’s rated suction power has increased, however, from 100 air watts to 115 air watts in the new model.

Under our tests the Dyson V8 Absolute performed immaculately and just as well as some of the corded cylinder vacuums we’ve tested. The soft roller cleaner head made light work of our hard floor test, cleaning up 95% of the fine powder spill in one sweep and providing a buffeting shine while it went. This was with very little pressure exerted towards the floor, with a bit more force the V8 clears up the entire mess in one go. The direct-drive cleaner head also performed excellently on our carpet surface, too, collecting the cat litter spill with minimal fuss and with only the occasional loose piece flying off waywardly. The direct-drive head is able to push its bristles deep into your carpet, pulling up fine debris even in the pile. The direct-drive floor-cleaning head has an articulating ball-joint, which makes it incredibly nimble. Cleaning around chair legs and under cupboards became almost enjoyable as the V8 danced between objects and glided over surfaces aided by the power profile heads.

The mini motorised tool made light work of more difficult ground in dirt, too. For more difficult dirt, the Max power mode switch can enable even higher suction levels but this will drain the battery very quickly, providing just 7 minutes of continuous operation. The switch has been moved from previous models and is now found on the top, making it easier to toggle on and off as needed. The post-motor filter has also been re-designed, meaning fewer allergens and dirt should be expelled back into the air. I'm fortunate enough to not be afflicted by allergies but during long-periods of vacuuming I never felt like air quality was being affected the same way old vacuums used to leave the air feeling heavy. The V8 Absolute proved adept at going from hard floors to carpeted areas without any issues, making it a very versatile cleaner and certainly capable of a full-house clean with its improved battery life. You would hope so, too, considering its eye-watering price. At £499 it’s undeniably expensive.