RV Vacuum Systems – This Sucks!

May 13, 2008

438

May 13, 2008

Howdy !

Yep, nature is wonderful. As RV’ers we may travel thousands of miles to be able to enjoy mountains vistas or the rolling sea shore. We also manage to collect parts of these scenic wonders in the form of dirt, sand, leaves and all the other things that kids and adults track into RVs leaving the problem of getting this “wonderful nature” outside again.

A hand vacuum is great for small spot cleaning, but it’s rather difficult to clean an entire RV with one. Larger household type vacuum cleaners will do the job but take quite a bit of storage space for the machine and the accessories.

One solution to these problems is a centralized system which places the vacuum cleaner out of the way of normal traffic and storage locations. Central vacuum systems offer several advantages over other types of cleaning systems.

They operate much more quietly because the motor and bag system is placed behind cabinets, closets, under seats or other dead space areas where the sound is muffled. There is no bulky machine to find a place to store or to have to wrestle with in the confined space of the RV, simply a 1 1/4 inch hose and vacuum head. The lack of an external power cord means one less thing to drag around and snag while doing the cleaning. Central vacs are high powered systems that use about 8 Amps of AC power to get out the deepest of dirt and they can use all the same attachments that a normal household vacuum cleaner does to get into any area from deep corners to cleaning mini blinds and even the ceiling of your RV. They also have a thermal sensor that automatically shuts down the motor in the event of it running too hot for any reason, this includes if the dirt bag is to full and is causing an air restriction in the system.

The key to installing a central vacuum cleaner system is careful planning. Things to be considered include how the system will fit into the desired location how it will be secured in the mounting location? Can you easily reach it to change the dirt collection bag? How to reach the fuse, if needed? How will the exhaust air from the vacuum will flow out of the mounting location? Can you mount the hose attachment plate directly to the vacuum motor or will you need the remote hose kit? Can you reach the entire RV using the 20 foot hose, perhaps you need a 30 foot or longer hose? Where and how will the 110 volt AC power plug will be connected? Are you able to use an existing three wire 120 AC volt power socket or will one have to be installed? The vacuum motor unit is not normally spark protected, so it must be mounted away from any flammable vapors and locations where water may be splashed upon it.

All right, let’s find a location that will be central and meets the other installation requirements. Place the vacuum motor into the selected area to make sure that it fit’s. You will want to leave at least 2 inches of space all around the unit for cooling. This means a space about a 2 ft by 2 ft area. If it’s needed, use the optional remote hose attachment kit offered by most remote vacuum companies. These kits allow you to install the vacuum motor up to 10 feet away from the hose connection plate. To locate the position for the hose connection plate, have someone hold the vacuum hose with the metal band around it to the place that the connection plate will be located in the RV as if it were plugged in. Now attach the 2 rigid extension wands and a floor cleaning attachment to the other end of the hose and see if you can reach everywhere in the RV with it. There is nothing more frustrating then to almost be able to reach a corner for vacuuming and be only a few inches short.

The mounting location must meet all our needs before we can go to the next step of installing the hose connection plate. Now before we go any further let’s accept the possibility that we aren’t all expert wood and panel cutters, electricians and wrench spinners so if any of this seems a bit much for your skill set get someone else to do it !

First cut a 2 1/4 inch (58 mm) wide by 3 3/4 inch (95 mm) high hole in the panel that the plate will be installed in. The on/off switch built into the hose connection plate should be wired at this time to make the final installation simpler. Make sure that the wire from the connection plate switch to the vacuum motor unit is long enough to reach. If it is not, replace the wire from the installation kit with number 14 American Wire Gauge (AWG) solid copper wire of the proper length. The wire should have 3/8 of an inch of the insulation striped off both ends. Insert the ends of the wires into the switch in the back of the hose connection plate. Once these wires are pushed into the plate pull on them slightly to be sure that they cannot be removed.

Next fasten the hose connection plate and the backing plate to the wall using the screws supplied with the unit. The tabs on the backing plate should face away from the hose connection plate. The wires from the switch go through the punched-out hole in the plate and are run down to the vacuum motor unit. Attach the pre-striped two strand copper wire coming from the bottom of the motor unit to the wires from the switch. Use the wire nuts supplied with the installation kit. Make sure that the wires are run in such a way as to prevent them from rubbing against any sharp parts of the RV where the insulation might be cut. Because solid wire is being used you must avoid kinking the wire to keep from breaking it.

The vacuum motor can now be connected in one of three ways. If the mounting plate location selected allows clearance for the vacuum motor to be placed directly behind it then the motor unit may be connected directly to the hose connection plate. If the vacuum motor unit needs to be mounted away from the hose connection plate we will need the optional remote hose attachment kit. The kit comes with a flexible 10 ft hose that may be cut to any length and adapter fittings. Place the vacuum motor unit into the desired location route the hose to it to make sure that everything fit’s properly. If the hose must be routed through floors or walls, use a 1 3/4 inch hole saw to make the cuts. Caution: before doing any cutting make sure that there are no wires, pipes or structural members in the way. After the hose has been routed to the vacuum motor it may be cut with a sharp knife. With most vacuum cleaner there is no steel in the hose to require the need for wire cutters. Cut the hose a little bit on the long side, about 2 inches worth, this way you can compensate for the extra length by compressing the hose if needed, but you can’t stretch the hose if it’s to short.

When you do your measurements don’t forget to allow for the adapter fittings that go into the vacuum motor unit and the hose connection plate. The hose fittings are all press-together fit’s but may be glued or taped together if desired, just to eliminate any worry about them coming loose later. The third method of mounting the system is recommended anytime the vacuum motor unit is located more then 10 foot from the hose connection plate. The basic idea is the same as the remote hose mounting kit, but with 2 inch rigid PVC pipe. This is more difficult because each turn and bend of the path from the hose connection plate must be measured, the pipe cut and then a fitting installed.

Now that all the measurements are completed and the hose and hose door-switch wires are connected we can mount the vacuum motor to the RV. In the back side of the motor is a U-shaped channel. The installation kit comes with 2 square headed bolts that fit inside this channel and allow one end of the heavy L-shaped brackets to be bolted directly to the vacuum motor and the other side to be screwed to the floor with the heavy lag-screws provided. Be sure to check beneath where the brackets will be secured to the RV so that you don’t penetrate any wires, pipes and so on before bolting the unit into place.

The area containing the vacuum motor must be vented to allow the exhaust air from the vacuum to escape. A 3 inch vent hole from the vacuum motor area will provide sufficient area for the air to escape.

The last step is to connect the vacuum motor unit to the 110 volt AC power. A 6 foot long power cord with a grounded 3-prong plug is provided with the unit so that it may be plugged directly into a AC socket. This allows the unit to be unplugged as a positive method of shutting off all power to the vacuum motor. If there is a grounded AC outlet within reach of the vacuum then plug it in, if not you may need to have an outlet installed by a qualified technician. Make sure that the AC outlet is on it’s own 15 Amp circuit breaker and is grounded properly. Never use a 3-prong to 2-prong adapter on this equipment.

Operating the vacuum is simple. Open the door on the hose connection plate and insert the metal banded end of the vacuum hose into it. As soon as the door is opened the vacuum motor will start automatically. Attach the wands and vacuum attachments of your choice to the hose and go for it.

To change the dirt bag in the vacuum simply open the lid on the top of the unit, pull the cardboard reinforced rubber grommeted side of the bag away from the inlet pipe and lift the bag out of the vacuum. Installing a new bag is easy, open a new dirt bag and place it into the unit. Press the rubber grommeted side of the bag over the inlet pipe and replace the lid back on the unit. You will need to check the bag after every 4th or 5th usage. Do not allow the bag to become more than 3/4 full as it may cause overheating because of restricted air flow through the system.

Yes, Mother Nature is grand, as long it stays outside of the RV, and a central vacuum system will make that part of living the RV lifestyle much easier.

Later – –

The Old Ranger