When we built our house in 1990 we put in a VacuMaid P128 system. It is still going but our motor is not sounding very happy so I spent all day researching this online. I think I've narrowed it down to an Imperium CV7700, which has an even stronger motor than our old Vacu-Maid. But now I'm also interested in the Hide-A-Hose.

We have a 2 story house and a full basement with a suspended ceiling. We've got 5 outlets total (1 up, 2 down and 2 in the basement) and two fulls sets of hoses/tools. We also added a VacPan in the kitchen last year.

I can put a single 50' HAH outlet in the hallway on the first floor and easily reach the entire first and second floor (via the 2 story foyer). I frequently do the stairs and just continue on to the upstairs hallway with my 30' hose so I know the extra 20' will cover it.

The upstairs is all carpet and the first floor is about half carpet and half hardwood. I've heard mixed comments about the Turbo-Cat results but I figure I'd still have my regular system If I needed the electric floor unit.

As long as we have access to the ceiling in the basement, we should be able to run the 50'+ independent run and put in a HAH outlet on the first floor without tearing up sheetrock, right?

Will my existing tools attach to the HAH pump handle? If so I was thinking about getting the 35' electric cord so I could use my electric rug attachment with the HAH instead of the Turbo Cat if I needed to.

Also, any thoughts on the RF pump handle vs the plain one? It's over $100 extra and I'm already doubling my expenses if I add a HAH. My second VacuMaid hose had the power switch on the handle and I really liked that so I guess I should cough up the money for it but since it's so easy to put away, maybe I'll be more likely to just put it back in the "garage" if I have to stop for a while.

Any other advice is appreciated.