This "sucks"... the Hoover And Other Vintage Vacuum Cleaners

[Forgotten Man]

Oh yes, the AIRWAY is quite the machine! My friend Anthony has one and it's in pretty good shape, I want to get a scan of that booklet he has for it... Just love that machine, it's so unique.

I talked to a friend of mine who collects all sorts of things and is a member of the Packard Club down here, he told me that there is an antique appliance club on the net and they help people find parts for these machines and other appliances. I'm going to look into this club; I might be able to find the parts I need to finish the Hoover... I mean, it works and I use it now but it's not as restored as I want it... yet.

 

[RetroToday]

I talked to a friend of mine who collects all sorts of things and is a member of the Packard Club down here, he told me that there is an antique appliance club on the net and they help people find parts for these machines and other appliances. I'm going to look into this club; I might be able to find the parts I need to finish the Hoover... I mean, it works and I use it now but it's not as restored as I want it... yet.

Great FM,

I wish you luck with the club and with resurrecting your Hoover to 'as new' condition. Special interest clubs like that are an invaluable resource.

Today I took my Beatty Cadillac vacuum into the repair guy I previously mentioned, he's back from vacation this week. He asked me "so, what's wrong with it?" Told him that I didn't know, it was in an attic for years before I found it and I didn't plug it in, just in case there was something wrong.

He wheeled it near his workbench, plugged it in, a puff of dust floated out as it whirred to life!
Although, something started rattling around inside, so he unplugged it. I think maybe it's a loose or worn bearing, causing the fan blade part to somewhat vibrate back and forth. We chatted a bit and I left it with him to tinker with.

The only other nagging thing I want to fix is the area where an on/off toggle switch used to be on the handle. The switch must have worn out and it was taken off and bypassed, so as soon as you plug it in it turns on. Luckily, toggle switches of that style aren't tough to find.

So, the repair guy said the owner of the business left him with a bunch of repairs to do before mine (as your guy did), but I also suspect he'll want to do mine first. I hope at least! lol That's all she wrote, for now... I'm now just waiting patiently... more like IMpatiently!

Any more progress on finding parts, etc. for your Hoover?

 

[Forgotten Man]

My, sounds like your getting closer to getting it ready to go to work for you. I’m sure the repair man you took it to will get her running right! Or figure out what the problem is.

The switch shouldn’t be too hard to find, see if you can find one that’s black or what not… well, could always paint it black I guess.

I know how you feel, you want to get’er going and enjoy it… hang in there, it will be worth the wait I’m sure!

Nothing new is happening on the Hoover front… I haven’t had much time as of late to do much. I still need to strip the handle and paint it black… and rewire it. It really needs a new cord. Some where I have a vintage plug that says Hoover on it! I need to dig that out and maybe put it on this machine.

There’s a model 700 on eBay right now that has the correct parts I need, and a box with the dusting tools AND the owners book! I saw the bag on it and it looked like it might be close to the correct one… sent a message to them about it and they said it’s not the original bag but the bag brace is the “scissor” type. A friend is going to bid on the whole set so, I’m not bidding on it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

.... that I wanted a vintage vacuum. But I do!! So I have to ask those who have them - how well do they work, really, once they have been restored? And what sort of regular maintenence is required to keep them up and running, generally?

I use an Electrolux XXX -- they were built from 1937 to 1952, and mine is probably a 1946-47 model. It's a *very* reliable machine -- Electrolux was still selling them as rebuilts well into the '80s, and many of the attachments are interchangeable with later models, so there's no trouble at all with finding parts. Probably the most common problem is loose connections in the electrical cord and switch, which can easily be fixed if you're handy with a screwdriver. Otherwise, they need very little maintenance. And the suction is much stronger than any modern vacuum I've seen.

They use an inner cloth bag, rather than disposable bags, so you need to take it out and beat the dust out of it once in a while. Sometimes also the gasket on the edge of the bag cracks with age, but replacement bags are easy to find on eBay. Attachments are also common, including such things as a paint sprayer and a floor buffer.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Oh yes, the famous Electrolux... The finest canister vacuum ever made!

Thanks for sharing Lizzie! That photo you shared is so perfect you have no idea! I want to take a photo of my gal in a 20s dress demonstrating the Hoover Cleaner. lol

 

[RetroToday]

My, sounds like your getting closer to getting it ready to go to work for you. I’m sure the repair man you took it to will get her running right! Or figure out what the problem is.

The switch shouldn’t be too hard to find, see if you can find one that’s black or what not… well, could always paint it black I guess.

I know how you feel, you want to get’er going and enjoy it… hang in there, it will be worth the wait I’m sure!

Hi FM,

Went back to the vacuum repair guy today and discovered that yes, the bearings are shot in the motor of my old Beatty vacuum cleaner. He recommended that I bring it over to a small motor rebuild shop that's also not too far away from my work. I know that place very well, my Dad's been going there for years to rebuild his car alternators.
The repair guy also told me that he could replace the bearings himself if I wanted bearings that will wear out in about a year - he claims that all the bearings he has are made overseas and they aren't made very well at all. I just love the honesty he puts across.

I asked him how much was owed for the trouble of looking my vacuum over - he said "Nothing at all, I give free estimates". Can't beat that. I again insisted on giving him money and he just 'shooshed' me away.

Loaded it into the car and brought the Beatty home and when home I took it completely apart.
It's a really basic machine now that I see it this way, pretty much just a glorified big old table fan, enclosed in a nickel-plated can, on wheels!

So now I have the motor on its own, ready for the rebuilder. Hopefully they're open on the weekend.

 

[Forgotten Man]

It's really refreshing to know that there are honest people in the world today still! And, they seem to be repairmen! They're not too common these days, in fact, the only repair business that can make a buck are the vacuum repairmen. Because, vacuums are still some what simple machines and it still makes sense to fix a vacuum cleaner then to replace it unlike so many things made today.

Good to hear you'll get the motor rebuilt. That will make your baby just run like the wind! When I took my cleaner apart, it only took me to unscrew 8 or 9 screws and it was apart! and it is so simple I remembered where everything went and it went back together within less then 10 minutes! Pretty much just a fan motor with a cast aluminum house to direct air into a dust bag thus causing a strong vacuum to suck up dirt... In fact, I've had to inflate an air mattress several times this month with this Hoover... just added the attachment to the back of the machine and then let her rip! Had that mattress inflated faster then you could say "Bob's your Uncle"! Such a simple and basic design that it's beautiful.

 

[vitanola]

Well your enthusiasm for the Hoover 700 is contagious. I've been using an early (1917) Eureka straight suction job, but yesterday picked up a really cleen hoover 700 with attachments. It, too has a later bag. I do have a patched original Hoover bag that I will be taking to a custom T shirt shop on Tuesday. I will have them make a few iron-on decals for these bags. My tailor is willing to run up a couple of bags if i can provide him with just the right cotton twill.

Any suggestions?

If the bags turn out (and they probably will, I've had them made this way before) I will be glad to send one your way, Forgotten Man.

I will probably have the top tailored to fit the later Hoover suspension, the type that you have, although I could just as easily make up the closed-top bags with the 2 little cloth tapes that were used earlier. A suspension for these could then easily be improvised out of 12 gauge steel wire.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Well your enthusiasm for the Hoover 700 is contagious. I've been using an early (1917) Eureka straight suction job, but yesterday picked up a really cleen hoover 700 with attachments. It, too has a later bag. I do have a patched original Hoover bag that I will be taking to a custom T shirt shop on Tuesday. I will have them make a few iron-on decals for these bags. My tailor is willing to run up a couple of bags if i can provide him with just the right cotton twill.

Any suggestions?

If the bags turn out (and they probably will, I've had them made this way before) I will be glad to send one your way, Forgotten Man.

I will probably have the top tailored to fit the later Hoover suspension, the type that you have, although I could just as easily make up the closed-top bags with the 2 little cloth tapes that were used earlier. A suspension for these could then easily be improvised out of 12 gauge steel wire.

Well, sounds great! Keep me posted will ya! Oh and by all means, please post photos of your 700!!! I wanna see it!

 

[Bingles]

Royal Vacuums

For those of you interested in a new machine with a vintage look, the Royal brand of vacuums still produces its Everlast models.. which have changed very little in appearance over the decades. Unlike most everything else made today.. that are ALL metal.

I bought one used on ebay, and it works GREAT! I love using it, and most people think it's from the 50s. Best of all, it uses disposable bags so you don't have to shake the cloth bag out, but still have the look of the outer cloth bag.

 

[scotrace]

I used one of those for years, and they are GREAT.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Royal's are good cleaners, it's nice to know that there is a company that still holds to some traditions!

However, let's keep this on restoring antique cleaners shall we? After all, there's nothing that can replace the feeling that comes with using a real antique! That's why I restore things, to bring and old something back to life and give it a new lease on life.

 

[RetroToday]

It's really refreshing to know that there are honest people in the world today still! And, they seem to be repairmen!

Hi FM,

Yes it was refreshing to find an honest person at that repair shop. I know there's many good honest people out there, sometimes tough to find in a business.

I found an appliance repair shop here in Toronto that's been in business since 1927, brought the motor for my Beatty Cadillac vacuum cleaner there.
The guy behind the counter was a little surprised and said he might not be able to fix it, but they'd have a look. Said it may take a week to get to it.
More waiting... :eusa_doh:

Hope they're honest too. I guess if you've been in business since '27, they must be honest? Or maybe they've stayed in business by ripping people off?
We'll see soon enough but I have a good feeling so far.

Cool... turns out they also repair old tube radios...

 

[Forgotten Man]

A repair shop that has been in business since the 20s sounds like a safe bet... hopefully they can repair it, so much has changed since 1927 and I’m sure they have gotten rid of many replacement parts that they once had 60+ years ago.

I find it funny that even though so many of these appliances are easy to service, some don’t want to touch them because of a liability… if they can’t fix it or if it’s broken wile being repaired, they don’t want to be held responsible for an antique machine. Also, even if the shop has been in business for many, many years, most of the repairmen were not trained on older machines so, they may be apprehensive about taking on a job such as a vintage or antique vacuum cleaner.

I find that most places that do repair vacuums are passionate or very enthusiastic about vacuums in general and love seeing a unique antique machine so, they tend to want to take on a job of that nature and love a challenge.

I’m looking forward to hearing more about the progress on your Cadillac Vac!

Interesting side note; I was in Bakersfield last Saturday with some friends and we saw two unique vacuums. The brand was Packard, the logo looked much like the 1920s Santa Fe Railroad logo, a blue circle with a blue cross on the inside that said PACKARD in white. Both looked in shabby shape but, could be restored. I’m not sure, I may buy one if they’re still there later on but, I know nothing about the Packard make. It seems that much like the auto industry of the 1920s, there were many, many, MANY companies making suction sweepers until the depression hit and wiped out many of the smaller companies much like the auto industry of the period.

 

[RetroToday]

A repair shop that has been in business since the 20s sounds like a safe bet... hopefully they can repair it, so much has changed since 1927 and I’m sure they have gotten rid of many replacement parts that they once had 60+ years ago....

Hi FM,

I hope this shop wants a challenge too. Will definitely keep the progress on the Cadillac vacuum cleaner updated. The repair shop does have quite a lot of old style parts and ancient electronic service equipment, so it looks promising.

A little update: I told a local friend of mine about taking the vacuum motor to the shop. He said I should have brought it to him first, he can get me any type of bearing (even that style) no problem. He works in a business that makes clutch assemblies, so he has access to a lot of cool gadgets that may also come in handy. So, if the repair shop doesn't pull through I'm taking it over to him to repair.

*Those vacuums in Bakersfield sound very interesting, also sounds like the beginning of a large collection! Take caution, I'm sure this new hobby can become addictive.

Yes, there were so many producers of household electronic items during the 1920s, was a very lucritive time for that. Electricity was for the first time being used heavily in many households and it was a booming market. Such an great time, a lot of neat looking items were produced because of that diversity. Admittedly, there was also a fair share of junk from shifty companies that just wanted to make a fast buck.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Well, this shop you took your cleaner to sounds really neat! Take some photos if you can and post them here... I'd like to see a repair shop from the 1920s!

Sounds like your cleaner will be fixed sooner then later... even if the guys at the old shop can't fix it, you're friend can do it. Just a matter of time!

Keep us posted!

 

[RetroToday]

Well, this shop you took your cleaner to sounds really neat! Take some photos if you can and post them here... I'd like to see a repair shop from the 1920s!

Sounds like your cleaner will be fixed sooner then later... even if the guys at the old shop can't fix it, you're friend can do it. Just a matter of time!

Keep us posted!

Well, the shop is probably not quite what you might expect, there have been changes over the years, of course. When I saw the sign that read "Your Appliance Repair People since 1927" I was expecting a much more old-timey looking interior than it has. Cool items such as the old tube tester and other equipment did catch my eye though.

When I go to pick up the motor I'll be sure to bring my camera and hopefully they allow me to photo a little of the interior. They also have a cool collection of vintage toasters up front I'd like to get a shot of at least - By the way, they're just for show, not for sale. Of course, I had to ask them!

Thanks for the helpful encouragement. More time's not so bad - gives me a chance to save more pennies for this project.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Sounds like the old vac is going to come back to life! I'm looking forward to seeing photos of it in use and of the repair shop of the interesting old stuff they still have.

Last weekend when I saw those two Packard vacuums, I found ANOTHER Hoover 700! Did I buy it? Yes... they had it marked at $69.95 and there was lots of dust on it... it had been in that store for a very long time. I offered them $30. They bit! So, I had to get it... it works and is in good shape, has a 50s replacement bag, clear rubber bumper and such... the one thing I'm going to fix on it is the cord from the motor to the handle... some one cut the cord half way and put a white plastic lamp cord with a modern plug at the end to plug into the handle... a total "Do'er yer selfer" type of job! lol I'll walk'er over to the vac shop next week or something and have a new cord put on it and hopefully my guy has a plug that will fit in that socket that would be a more proper type of plug for a 1928 Hoover.

I'll post some photos of it soon.

 

[RetroToday]

Sounds like the old vac is going to come back to life! I'm looking forward to seeing photos of it in use and of the repair shop of the interesting old stuff they still have.
Last weekend when I saw those two Packard vacuums, I found ANOTHER Hoover 700! ...

Wow FM.

It seems vintage vacuums are a lot more plentiful in your area. Great!
They're very seldom seen around here, well, at least in the places I've been. Here's hoping that not all of them went to the scrap dealers.

I brought the Beatty "Cadillac" vacuum motor into Butler's Repair Service. It was a good experience, even though it wasn't repaired completely.
Chatted a lot with the staff there, all family that have kept the business going for over 80 years. They informed me that this building is actually the second location which they moved the business into in the 1940s. It was first established in 1927 a little further east down the road from where they are now.

A little disappointed - they weren't able to find my style of bearing, but they were able to re-pack the original bearings with new grease and get it working much better than it was before, that was cool. Going to eventually have to bring it over to my friend for repair, they told me that this repair won't last too long.

Now, my business with them now isn't over quite yet because I also remembered to bring the vacuum cleaner's handle (missing the toggle switch) to show them.
Turns out that they have a great match for that switch! The new old stock part will be 'donated' from a beat up old floor cleaner they have in storage.
They're going to fix that in the next week or so, which means I still don't have the vacuum in one piece. It was either wait or modify the original, so I'll wait.

As promised, I brought my camera when I went to pick up the Beatty Cadillac motor from servicing. Now, I took quite a few and I don't want to clog up your thread with them if you don't approve. If it's too much I'll delete the hyperlinks and just put a link to where people can find the rest of the pics.

Hope you enjoy them.

Front of the store from across the street

I love the front door, very "streamlined".

View from the front desk - vintage radio tube tester, other radio test equipment and piles of other "stuff".

"Household Appliance Mini-Museum" / Waiting area / common sales items, vacuum cleaner bags, etc...

Vintage kettles and toasters. The sign painter was great at his letterforms, however, his spelling...

Neat toaster from the '20s, wonder what the orange material is.

Vintage toasters, I think from the 1950s

Vintage Coffee Percolators. I have one just like the one on the right.

Vintage waffle / pancake irons

My disembodied Beatty vacuum cleaner motor with service tag and receipt.

You can find a few more images of my visit here

 

[Forgotten Man]

Wow! What a neat shop! That door on the place is really amazing! It's rare to find any older shops here with the original or older doors. Most have all upgraded in the 70s or 80s to those ugly aluminum boring generic doors and windows.

The inside looks like a real repair shop... all a mess to some degree! The little museum looks like part of the collection a friend of mine has.

This toaster is quite unique. The orange/yellow pieces on this model are made of Catalin it appears, an early plastic that was popular in the mid 30s all the way into the 50s.

That toaster is from the 30s, could be up to the mid 30s. "Flop door" or "Swing door" toasters most think were only made in the beginning of electric toasters to the advent of the pop-up toasters in 1930 or so. "Flop door" toasters were made into the 40s! And this one with the cut outs in the doors indicate to be an earlier model however, most appliances and the design of such in Canada (no offence to Canadians of course) took a little longer to evolve then that of the appliances made in the states.

I'm excited to see the Betty back in business! If you wanted to get her all shined up, get your self a can of Mother's Polish at a local auto parts store and go to town on it... it's amazing! That's what I use on every metal thing I own... and the Hoover of course!