Well hello R2D2
A few weeks ago when I was out looking at houses in San Francisco I came across a house being sold as a total fixer that had the remnants of an old central vacuum system. As you can see from the picture above, the manufacturer is Sequoia central vacuums, and believe it or not the company is still around! Even more amazing – they’re a local company with headquarters down in Menlo Park.
- -Central Vacuum or R2D2?
I’ll admit I’ve always had a fascination with vacuum cleaners. Don’t ask me why, I can’t explain it. True story – when I was just a wee boy of 3 or 4 years old, I got separated from my parents at the mall. They were completely freaked out, but found me staring at the window display of the vacuum store. Let’s try not to read too much into this, okay? Thanks!
The pitch behind central vacuums was that they were lightweight and more efficient, allowing the ladies of the house to keep it sparking clean without having to over-exert their delicate natures. Oh the sexism, how it still burns decades later!
Clearly the ladies weren’t impressed with this claim because although the fad of central vacuum systems seems to recur about every 20 years or so, the idea never really sticks. I’ve never lived in a home with a central vacuum (oh, the deprivation I’ve suffered) so I have no idea how well they actually work, but I have a very hard time imagining that they can come anywhere close to the power of a Dyson.
But regardless of if it actually works or not, how cool would it be to have an R2D2 looking vacuum cleaner?
Actually a good Dyson suck about 1/2 as good as a basic central vacuum and has the life expectancy of about 20% of a central vacuum. There is nothing on the market that comes close the the suction and utilitarian possibilities of a central vacuum. It isn’t that they come and go in spurts, people that purchase them just don’t brag about them. It is only a vacuum cleaner!
Barry
Only a vacuum cleaner? Sacrilege!!!
And now I want one…
Yes exactly, a Dyson can’t hold a candle to a good central vacuum. My Dyson went in the trash after a year when it became useless for carpet cleaning. I installed central vac there after and its still going strong 6 years later. Also I was appalled with how much dirt the vacuum vacuum pulled out after the first few uses that no other vacuum even touched. As far as I am concerned you can’t beat a central vacuum and personally I’ll never have a traditional vacuum again.
After is little research in our records, this SV400 Power Unit was actualy installed on October 6, 1964. Sequoia Vacuum was established in 1956, which is 17 years before R2D2 became part of film history. It’s unfortunate that Sequoia Vacuum was not recognised in the design of this famous iconic movie character.
Yes, we are still in business, after 56 years, located down in Menlo Park. If you would like to contact us, please see our web site http://www.sequoiavacuum.com or call us at (800) 994-0494
Michael – Wow, that’s fairly impressive record keeping. Glad to hear that you are still around, even if you didn’t get any credit for R2D2. I consider myself schooled on the benefits of central vacuum systems after the range of comments on this post. It is a good thing my Dyson can’t read, it’d feel really bad to find out it isn’t the coolest vacuum in town
And for what it is worth, this home where this vacuum was located will most likely be gutted and totally remodeled, the house sold for almost $400,000 over its asking price!