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whole house central vac - how to make sure pipe is clear?
QUESTION: My wife is saying that the central vac isn't getting as much suction as
it used to. Seems ok to me but I don't know for sure. I've emptied
the can and shaken out the filter, nothing obviously seems wrong. So,
I'm curious. I think I could just suck a ping pong ball thru the pipe
and if it ends up in the can, all is well. But if there is something
in the pipe that will just make it worse.
So, anybody have any experience with clearing blockages in the whole
house vacuum pipe?
Anybody do that with a ball on a string and run into problems?
Any advice would be appreciated.
ANSWER: Get a new filter and see. They can clog so that shaking or even using
compressed air to blow them clean, does not restore the power. Some are
washable BTW.
I keep two filters so I can switch them out. I usually use compressed
air to clean them, but mine are washable and they get washed occasionally.
Do you have an outlet on the tank? Mine does so you can connect the
hose directly to it. See if that is much better. Properly installed clogs
are rare.
Mine has a place to plug in the hose on the side of the canister, if yours
does then plug the hose in there and compare the air flow and/or noise to
when it's running with the hose in the other house outlets. I am not sure
if I had a partial blockage how I would deal with it, probably try a snake.
It's important to have proper air flow as the air cools the motor.
If you have a shop vac, open up the central vac cannister so air can
flow through the house piping easily and use the shop vac to suck on the
outlets throughout the house.
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