MD vs Drainvac
Full disclosure - I make my living selling and servicing central vac systems. Am a dealer for several major brands, and I happily defer to customer preference when they are interested in a particular brand. My own brand preferences come from my experiences installing and servicing built-in vacuums, which gives me a chance to see how they perform, how well they hold up, what the maintenance issues have been, etc.
Having installed, serviced, and used just about every brand out there, with the ability to sell whichever brand I prefer, my go-to unit, for new installations, existing system change-outs, as well as my own home, is the MD central vacuum. Hopefully without seeming like I just want to bash the competition, I share the following comparisons:
MD
- Sold through local dealers (who stock parts and provide service in and out of warranty)
- Made in USA (Bakersfield, CA)
- All steel, powdercoated inside and out
- Wide, two stud mounting bracket for stability - unit can be adjusted left/right on bracket
- Three intakes (left/right tubing connections, front and center metal utility inlet)
- Top access removable lid, no clamps
- Microfilter disposable bag supported by tapered cloth filter bag (full surface airflow), with a final safety filter disc
- Ametek-Lamb motors
- Units with thru-flow motors (Flo-Master line) have built-in automatic air relief valve after the filter bag, as well as thermal protection
DrainVac
- Internet sales only - one dealer in the entire U.S.
- Made in Canada (NTTAWWT)
- All plastic construction (have seen failures after a few years in the heat and cold of a garage - becomes brittle and fatigues)
- Single point plastic bracket, riveted to plastic housing
- Single top intake (tubing must make a U-turn if coming up from below, as in a garage - must add separate utility inlet)
- Bottom access removable dirt container, held on with clamps
- Disposable bag hangs inside bucket, in contact with side walls (limited airflow) with cylindrical cloth filter in middle
- Domel motors (quite a good motor, but performance limited by the design of the machine)
- Relief valve is an add-on item that must be installed in the tubing, before the filters
I'll stop there. Like I said, I don't want to come across as though I'm just selling my brand against a different one. But there IS a reason that I sell the brand I do!
Owen