It is possible that at some stage you may experience a blockage in your ducted vacuum system. The majority of blockages will occur in the floor tool, wand or hose. If this does happen remove the hose from the inlet and inspect the floor tool and straight wand attachments, if they are clear of obstructions check the curved wand on the hose. If you cannot find any obstructions in the wand and tools and the machine still has low suction it may require a bag or filter change at the power unit. If your bag or filter has been changed and the problem persists please call us on 1800 33 51 33 for further assistance.

Your ducted vacuum system has a low voltage circuit which allows it to switch on by simply plugging the hose into the inlet. To turn the system on you first need to check that the machine is plugged into a power point with the power switched on. Once the power has been switched on to the machine plug your hose into a wall inlet inside your house. If you have a standard hose the unit should start immediately, the unit will turn off by removing the hose from the wall. If you have a switchable hose (on/off switch on the handle) first take care to align the locating lug on the cuff of the hose to the corresponding location on the inlet- this will ensure the switch functions correctly. Plug in the hose and the unit should switch on and off via the switch on the wand. Please Note: Switchable hoses require modern style inlets with 2 electrical contact points inside the inlet. If you are trying to connect a new switchable hose to older style inlets which turn on as soon as the door is opened or have a single ball bearing inside the hole the switch on the hose will not function.

If you remove your ducted vacuum hose from the inlet and the machine keeps running it is possible your machine may have a manual switch in the on position. This will cause the machine to run continuously once the power is switched on regardless of whether the hose is plugged into the inlet or not. (Not all ducted vacuum machines have this switch). To check if this is the issue- turn the power point off to your ducted vacuum machine and then look for a switch on the machine, if present turn the switch off. Turn the power to the machine back on. With no hose plugged into the system the unit should not run. If the unit continues to run contact us on 1800 33 51 33 for further assistance.

The majority of ducted vacuum systems do not need regular maintenance as long as they are used in accordance with the manufactures specifications in regards to current use of bags and filters. A service may be necessary if you are experiencing a loss of suction or the machine will not start.

It is important to use the correct type of ducted vacuum bag for your particular machine. In normal household conditions most ducted vacuum systems require a change of bag every 6-9 months or when at 75% capacity. Please note: In homes with new carpet installed, the first 1-2 bags may need to be changed more often due to shedding. A range of quality ducted vacuum bags can be ordered- (here)

No, ducted vacuum paper bags are not re-useable. The paper of the ducted vacuum filter bag has been designed to filter dust and stop it from entering the motor. Trying to reuse paper bags can void manufactures warranties. A range of quality ducted vacuum bags can be ordered- (here)

The majority of bagless ducted vacuum machine on the market use a removable foam or cartridge style filter. To ensure the best performance from these machines you need to clean the filter regularly approx. 1-2 months. This can depend on the type of floor coverings and how often the system is used. It is important to follow the manufactures recommended cleaning method as some of these filters are washable and some are not. In most cases it is recommended to have a second filter which can be interchanged while the original is being cleaned. Note: It is important these filters are replaced once they begin to show deterioration as they responsible for the protection of the machines motor. A range of filters can be ordered- (here)

A range of ducted vacuum bags can be seen (here). If you are still unsure of the bag you require please contact us on 1800 33 51 33 or email srw@astrovac.com.au for further assistance

A small percentage of ducted vacuum systems use an inverted material filter bag. These are mostly self-cleaning if mounted in the top section of a canister machine that is emptied by removing a drum off the bottom eg. Volta, Electrolux and Cyclovac. It is important to follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and it is not advised to remove these filter bags without proper instructions. If your system has a paper bag with a secondary cloth bag filter eg. Silent Master or Central Vac International, the paper bag should be replaced at regular intervals and the cloth bag only of damaged. Silent Master and Central Vac replacement bags can be ordered (here)

To minimise any marks to your walls and furniture from the ducted vacuum system hose it is important you have the correct length hose for your home. If the hose is too short it is more likely to rub against corners of walls and furniture as you try and clean that furthest part of the house. With the correct length hose, a hose sock/cover is an excellent investment to further protect against any marking. A range of hoses and socks can be ordered (here)

Fitting a hose sock over a very long ducted vacuum hose without a proper tool can be a very frustrating and time consuming job, however it only takes minutes if you use the right tool. You will need an installation tube, ie. about 1 meter long carboard or PVC tube with approximately 50-65mm diameter (As long as a little bit bigger than the hose diameter, so that the hose can pass thru the cardcoard tube freely). Stretch one end of the hose sock over the tube and commence to slide the entire length of the sock onto the tube. Be sure to pack the hose sock tightly around the entire length of the tube to ensure it fits. Ensure the entire hose sock is on the installation tube. Insert wall end of vacuum hose through installation tube. Slide tube all the way to the handle end of the vacuum hose. Pull 2 or 3 inches of hose sock from the tube and onto the hose. Secure cover with elastic ties (or plastic tie strap, for some styles), as close to the handle as possible. Slide installation tube along entire length of hose, allowing the hose sock to discharge freely onto hose. Remove tube when the hose sock has fully covered the hose. Push any excess hose sock onto hose and secure with elastic ties (or plastic tie strap).

Standard ducted vacuum hose is available up to 20M long, however this is not recommended. To ensure proper performance it is recommended to use no longer than a 12M hose with the optimum length being a 9M. Switchable hoses are available in 9, 10.5 and 12M lengths. A range of hoses can be ordered (here)

Changing ducted vacuum wall inlet is quite simple, and in most cases you can do it yourself. Although there are wiring reconnection involved, but they are only low voltage wiring (12/24 Volts), hence you do not need an electrician to do it. First turn the unit off from the power point, then remove the old inlet from the wall by undoing two screws from the face of the inlet (you will see these screws on the inlet as soon as you lift the lid open). Next disconnect the cable connections from the back of the inlet. Now you are ready to install a new inlet. Please note that there are no polarity on the cable connections, so either way is fine, as long as the two wires do not touch each other. It is very important NOT to take the screw completely off from the back of the inlet, as you can easily loose a tiny spring which may pop out as soon as you remove the screw.

You need to replace an old Valet inlet because you need to be able to operate a switch hose that you just purchased or your old valet inlet is broken and the same type of inlet is no longer available. In this case you will need to replace it with the current dual-pin type inlet. Changing ball bearing to dual-pin inlet also requires you to change the hose end, from a plain cuff to a banded cuff (dual-pin type inlet needs the metal ring in the cuff to close the circuit in order to turn the machine ON). Upon fitting the new inlet, you may find that the screw holes at the backing plate on the wall do not match with the new inlet holes position. To overcome this, you will need to elongate the screw holes on the new inlet a couple milimeter closer to each other. You can use a small file to do it. To finish it off, you may need an inlet trimplate to cover the paint mark on the wall, because the new inlet is slightly smaller than the old one, without the trimplate you will expose the old paint mark.

A switch hose is ducted vacuum hose with an ON/OFF switch on the handle, allowing us to turn the power unit ON/OFF right from the handle. Operating a ducted vacuum system using switch hose is similar to a standard hose, ie. by first inserting hose end to the wall inlet (socket). However unlike the standard hose which will switch the unit ON automatically as soon as the hose is inserted, switch hose requires button in the hose handle to be turned ON. To get this switch hose to work properly, you will also need to line up the hose cuff's guide (a small plastic rectangle moulded in the hose cuff) to two parallel lines printed on the surface of the wall inlet.