"shop" vac in place of central vac unit?

[dbcomp]

Is there any reason I couldn't use my Ridgid WD1850 wet/dry vac in place of a central vacuum unit? I'm not talking about sucking up water through the in-wall tubing (dirt + water would be a real mess), but just using the WD to gather all the dust-bunnies and carpet grit from the house.

Getting the power to come on via the contact wires wouldn't be that difficult, a transformer/relay is what's used in the central vac units.

I could still keep it "detachable" for use in the garage/workshop, and I could save a few hundred $$$.

Am I missing something here? :confused:

Thanks!

David

[BadgerDave]

Compare the differences in the SCFM rating between the Ridgid and the central vac unit you're looking at. I think you'll find the answer to your question there. In a nutshell, a shop vac just couldn't move enough air for it do do what you want it to.

[bearbutt95]

I did it and it works fine. I got over 150 feet of 2 inch sealed pipe running through-out my house with 4 outlets in the house and 2 outlets in the garage...
If it or when it burns up its pretty cheap to replace!!!

[BHD]

ours has been going for nearly 30 years now,

It started off as shop vac, after the first motor gave up, and then I jsut ordered a motor/vacuum fan from WW Granger, and made a container out of a 15 gallon oil/grease drum.

I used a Line voltage relay from WW Granger, that put out low voltage 24 volts, and then clicks on a 120 volt relay, It believe it was similar to this one, 1RC38.
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/productIndex.shtml?from=Search&newSrch=yes&operator=keywordSearch&search_type=itemnum&action=Go%21&QueryString=1rc38&submit.x=18&submit.y=11

[Woussko]

The WD1850 uses a single fan attached to the motor shaft. This will move lots of air provided there's little restriction. For a central vacuum system you'll do much better if you have a powerful motor with 2 or 3 fans working in series to create a higher static lift. In addition depending on location you'll most likely want a quieter machine with better filtering. If you already have the WD1850, give it a try. You can add another power unit later as needed. You may have to rig up an adapter fitting to connect the hose to the pipeline.

If you don't have the WD1850, you might want to look into rigging up a true central vac power unit on a hand truck so it can be moved around. Then use a short hose with adapters to connect it to the pipeline. When you can a portable, I'm sure you can figure things out. My bet is you'll end up wanting the shop vac and the central at the same time.

[rggano]

I did it with a 6HP Sears in a basement closet, 2" PVC pipe and 2 ports - one upstairs and one down. I used another 30' of flexible hose to reach the entire house but I loved it. Noise was still an issue when anyone was in the basement. I wired a standard outlet box in the closet with switches upstairs and down. Shop vacs can lift the nap on old compacted dirty carpets and with 3 teenagers and 3 dogs that like to shred things, no kitchen should be without one! I had a regular 1HP, 1-bag dust collector in my shop.