Washington Capitals hockey star Brooks Laich recently had his garage renovated by Potomac Garage Solutions, and because he demands the best they of course installed a Garage Vacuum by GarageVac. You can see the entire makeover video below. (hint: the best part is at 2:07-09 into the video!)
Monday, February 22, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The Truth About Horsepower
Most manufacturers of garage vacuums and shop vacuums are marketing their vacuums as 4 to 5 PeakHorsepower PHP. Lately GarageVac had no choice but to follow this trend.
No matter what you call it, PHP, HP, or horsepower, it's all just horse hockey when it comes to the performance of a vacuum cleaner.
To put it into the simplest terms: When it comes to vacuum cleaners, horsepower is a bogus,fictitious number having no relationship to the performance or cleaning ability of the product.
It is not based upon the nominal operating current of the vacuum cleaner, but on the in-rush current to the motor when first turned on.
The peak in-rush current lasts no more than 0.008 to 0.012 seconds. It is often inflated by chilling the motor to temperatures as low as -20F.
Four horsepower equates to 2983 Watts, or 24.9 Amps, at 120Volt under ideal conditions. This would greatly exceed the voltage supply circuits and blow the circuit breaker in a home.
It is a 100% marketing gimmick. In other words, it's just horse hockey.
For the technical person:
Horsepower is not based upon the normal operating current of the motor. It is calculated using the maximum in-rush current. In-rush current is the current a motor sees when first started up, before the effects of winding inductance come into play. A motor with a nominal operating current of 12A can easily have an in-rush current of 30A to greater than 50A, depending upon the windings. It typically lasts for only 8 to 12 milliseconds (0.008 to 0.012 seconds). Some manufacturers attempt to maximize the in-rush current by conditioning the motor at very low temperatures (as low as -20F). This lowers the motor resistance, thus increases the in-rush current.
Power is equal to volts times amps. Even ignoring the efficiency and power factor of the motor, a motor with a nominal 12A current @ 120V will only produce 1, 440 Watts. There are 745.7 Watts per horsepower. Thus, under the best of conditions, the motor will only produce 1.9 hp. A motor touting 4 hp would have to produce 2983 Watts. With that power, the motor would be drawing 24.9 Amps. Horsepower is determined for the motor (without any fan blades), not the vacuum cleaner system, and does not take into account any normal system losses (air leaks, restrictions, piping and the like).
This became such an issue in the late 1980s and early 1990s that Underwriters Laboratories and the Canadian Standards Association put wording into the vacuum cleaner standard prohibiting horsepower from appearing on the products electrical rating label.
Horsepower has no bearing on the performance of the product.
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Friday, February 5, 2010
Top 10 Reasons GarageVac is better than a wet/dry
1. The GarageVac is more powerful. Wet/dry vacs must use a bypass motor for their suction to prevent moisture from damaging the motor, while a dry vacuum can use a flow-through design which creates a more powerful vacuum.
2. The GarageVac takes up less space. With a slim 4 inch profile, the GarageVac can even be mounted inside a 2x4 stud wall. If you choose the hanging model, it still takes up very little space on your wall unlike the big, bulky trash can style vacs.
3. The GarageVac mounts on a wall and has a hose that stretches out to 40 feet, so you don’t have to roll the awkward wet/dry beast around and bang it into or scratch your vehicle while trying to detail your car. And unlike those tube style blower/vacuums that exhaust out the back end and blow all the dust around, you don't have to roll or carry the GarageVac.
4. Better Filtration. The GarageVac uses a high quality hepa type filter which prevents dust and allergens from being returned into the air. No more dust blowing into your face when you bend over to start up the wet/dry vac.
5. You don’t have to find a place to stow your vacuum. The GarageVac mounts on a wall in under 5 minutes. However, you can still take it down and move it to your boat or RV, where you continue to enjoy all of its unique space saving features.
6. Stylish, high-tech design. Unlike the wet/dry vacs or tube style vacs that haven’t changed their appearance in 50 years, the GarageVac is made of high quality polycarbonate and features a sleek new design.
7. We have a 6 Year Warranty. That means the GarageVac only costs $3.50 a month to own. That discount wet/dry vac might seem a bargain at first glance, but check what kind of warranty comes with it.
8. The GarageVac is faster and easier to use. Because it mounts on the wall with all of its accessories, the GarageVac takes a lot less time to use. No more of that laborious task of digging out the buried wet/dry behemoth, finding the lost attachments, moving it to where you need to vacuum, finding a place to plug it in, etc. Watch this video to see how easily the GarageVac performs.
9. Made in the USA to exacting standards. Every GarageVac is tested at the factory before leaving.
10. The GarageVac comes in 4 different colors to match your garage. Black, Red, Gray, or White
2. The GarageVac takes up less space. With a slim 4 inch profile, the GarageVac can even be mounted inside a 2x4 stud wall. If you choose the hanging model, it still takes up very little space on your wall unlike the big, bulky trash can style vacs.
3. The GarageVac mounts on a wall and has a hose that stretches out to 40 feet, so you don’t have to roll the awkward wet/dry beast around and bang it into or scratch your vehicle while trying to detail your car. And unlike those tube style blower/vacuums that exhaust out the back end and blow all the dust around, you don't have to roll or carry the GarageVac.
4. Better Filtration. The GarageVac uses a high quality hepa type filter which prevents dust and allergens from being returned into the air. No more dust blowing into your face when you bend over to start up the wet/dry vac.
5. You don’t have to find a place to stow your vacuum. The GarageVac mounts on a wall in under 5 minutes. However, you can still take it down and move it to your boat or RV, where you continue to enjoy all of its unique space saving features.
6. Stylish, high-tech design. Unlike the wet/dry vacs or tube style vacs that haven’t changed their appearance in 50 years, the GarageVac is made of high quality polycarbonate and features a sleek new design.
7. We have a 6 Year Warranty. That means the GarageVac only costs $3.50 a month to own. That discount wet/dry vac might seem a bargain at first glance, but check what kind of warranty comes with it.
8. The GarageVac is faster and easier to use. Because it mounts on the wall with all of its accessories, the GarageVac takes a lot less time to use. No more of that laborious task of digging out the buried wet/dry behemoth, finding the lost attachments, moving it to where you need to vacuum, finding a place to plug it in, etc. Watch this video to see how easily the GarageVac performs.
9. Made in the USA to exacting standards. Every GarageVac is tested at the factory before leaving.
10. The GarageVac comes in 4 different colors to match your garage. Black, Red, Gray, or White
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