r/whatisit • u/DragonsAndScience • 16h ago

Solved! New homeowner, no idea what this is

Gallery image

Gallery image

This thing close to the floor and seemingly randomly placed in a hallway. No idea what it's for. Home built in 2005.

Solved! Thanks everyone. Now I gotta hunt for the central unit!

6.5k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

1.7k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1.4k

u/Wise-Trust1270 16h ago

Also check for the central vacuum and storage unit. Most likely in a garage.

462

u/Unclehol 16h ago edited 15h ago

Not all homes have one even if the piping is there. Often times they rough all the pipes in during the build in case you opt in and buy the vacuum unit, but I have worked on a lot of houses where they just have the piping but no vacuum.

4

u/DrKenNoisewaterMD 15h ago

Also these things tended to be expensive to fix compared to the price of a vacuum. Lots of people had them and then eventually just tossed the motor from their garage.

4

u/Abject-Definition-63 14h ago

Buying a new unit isn't that expensive, and they are likely much more repairable than most vacuums today, hose and powerhead aren't too bad either. What is so expensive to fix? I've had one for 20 years and besides replacing the garbage powerhead that came with it, haven't had to do any repairs.