Continuing my chat in the "LUX" thread about noisy vacuum cleaners and diverting it to this new thread.

This can of course apply to both vintage and current machines.

The winner hands down. Only one would be considered quieter in my opinion and that would be the Hospital G due to the added filter. I agree Charles, the whooosh of the airflow is definitely louder than the sound of the motor itself. Truly Electrolux at its best. The beauty is they still sell the hoses (albeit vinyl-but still excellent quality.) You can add a more modern power nozzle and you have one hell of a machine.

Noisiest of my vintage machines would have to be the Bison. Jeez, that thing sounds like a jet engine taking off. The Bison roundup is going to be the theme for the Omaha convention. People will see what a beast that machine was. Kirbys have to fall somewhere at this end of the range as well, especially the Classic series.

Definitely a candidate for a restoration. Tom Gasko rebuilt the motor for me and it has been patiently waiting for a beauty treatment. This may be the first restoration project for the site.

Definitely not glam.

I think that the quietest vacuum ever made is the hoover connie model 86 i do not even know i'm using it when i do i talk on the phone all the time when i do!!!

Kyle K.

My Hoover Model 543 is practically silent in use - without a doubt it's the quietest I've used! Barely louder than the Model O in the video in the 'see it clean' section. The brushroll vibrating the carpet makes a louder noise than the motor!

the older Panasonic uprights are very quiet too!

One of the quietest canister that I have is my model 42 Areodyne and it has good suction. I could easily hear the radio and clean with it. I still prefer an upright though in which case I would say that Hoover's 700 was very quiet...just the tapping beater bars is all that is heard.

--Tom

All of the metal-body Electroluxes, whether early or late, are quiet in my opinion, with just a "whooshing" of air and the gentle hum of the motor. My 1956 Model S is quiet as it is with an open exhaust port, so I can only imagine what a Hospital G sounds like!

The vintage Constellations seem to have a very quiet motor as well, which is probably due to the exhaust blowing downward.

One thing I do like about both is that while they're very quiet, the suction and airflow are second to none. I know some have commented in the past about how the Connies aren't all that powerful, but I disagree.

--Austin

While the Hoover Celebrity is a VERY powerful canister, there is a tradeoff to that...it is also quite noisy. Sounds just like my Shop-Vacs with a moderately "whiny" motor.

The absolute loudest vacuum I have, however, is the Eureka 102 electric broom from the 70's, shown below...has the highest-pitched whine I've ever heard. Anyone who has used one of these will know where I'm coming from. Someone mentioned on AW.org that this used the same "blender" motor as the 1400-series uprights.

My Electrolux Super J is very quiet. Especially after I took it apart and cleaned the fans. Kenmore's Magic Blue vacuum is also a very quiet running vacuum. My Miele upright has variable speeds. When it is on low it is extremely quiet. The loudest vacuum I have ever used is probably a Dirt Devil Feather Lite. That is one screaming machine. Orecks are also way too loud. Tim

I noticed in the other thread and in this one how some said that Kirbys tend to lean toward the noisy side as well. However, even though they're not whisper-quiet, I don't think mine (1983 ComVac 1300, 1988 Heritage II/Legend, 1998 G5) are ultra-loud either and have a pleasant sound to them. Especially the ComVac with its Sanitronic-style body; reminds me a lot of the early models.

Fred, interesting how you mention the Classic "big nozzle" series being louder than most. I had a 1980 Tradition for a while (nicknamed it "Jaws" like in Mr. Mom) that just ROARED, even though there were no broken fan blades and it ran smoothly. After the height was lowered properly and the nozzle "stuck" to the carpet it did muffle the noise a little bit.

Filter Queen Model 31

My 31

The G's are pretty quiet especially the Hospital G

Mark Turbyfill and Evan Rogers want to know if it's on!

Here a pic of mine andf it was brand new in the box with all attachments

I have to agree on the Lux G. Also, the AE and 30 are really quiet, too, as well as the Filter Queen 350 and the Electro-Hygiene 966. Connies are fairly quiet, but not as quiet as the others I've mentioned.
On the noisy side, in addition to Kirbys, I've seen some GEs and Eurekas that are among the noisiest vacs I've seen.

Nasty Bissells ROAR as do the Riccar Supralites,though the Riccar is great in performance.

Nobody has yet mentioned the old Singer twin fan uprights, expecially the all plastic ones of the later 70's and 80's made for Sears and under the "Singer System" name. They were screamers!
I'd also add the Hoover Concept One and Elite to that list, as well as the Windtunnel for noisy machines.

For quiet I'd have to say Electrolux tanks are good(their uprights are noisy) and for a quiet upright a well tuned Hoover Convertible is positiveliy musical to listen to!

I have to agree with the majority the lux G is the quietest of all vacuums

Skip...

"for a quiet upright a well tuned Hoover Convertible is positiveliy musical to listen to!"

I'll second that. As a child, the only Convertibles I had experienced were well-used plastic versions which roared.

I'll never forget when I was in my late teens and I put new bearings in a metal Convertible from the 60's, and I just couldn't stop using it, because I loved the sweet purring noise it made.

Of course my vote goes to the Lux G as well!!

I wish these vacuum companies would start considering noise as a factor when building their new vacuums. I would think a 4 amp motor would be much cheaper to produce than a 12 amp. We all know that 4 amps on an upright is plently to clean a rug or bare floor, why do they insist on pushing these screaming 12 ampers? A 7 amp canister with good insulation around the motor would purr and clean just as well as these new 12 amps. I sure wish they would reconsider?

By the way, do any of you know if there is any material that can be used to insulate an Oreck motor to make it quieter?
Tim

How about the Modern Hygene tank from the early '50's. My grandmother had one and I remember how very quiet it was!


Best to all,

Bob

I have a Modern Hygiene and don't think it's particularly quiet! The louvers on the back end do diffuse the sound somewhat but since there is no rear filter or cover back there, the sound of the motor is pretty clear and direct. It's a gorgeous machine though!

Of course, since it's really just a Royal in "fancy dress," that's exactly what it sounds like -- a contemporaneous Royal tank machine.

My little Simplcity Prowler canister was very quiet. All I could hear was the air moving..

The new Mieles and Boschs are very quiet espically on the lower speeds. Even the lux Renny is quiet compared to a current Hoover, Kirby, Royal or Dyson.

Excuse my Simplicity remark. Here I am talking about newer machines in the vintage forum. Sorry! That's just what a little Attention Deficit Disorder and vacuum cleaners do to me.
As for quiet vintage machines, The SaniWay Mark IV gets my vote. I had a chance to buy one and I could kick myself for passing it up!

No question, the Model G is exceptionally quiet; but so is the Model XXX. I would say the XXX and the G, even the Hospital G are about on par. I would say that they are the quietest.

I would also have to agree that the Convertable...the older models..well tuned....have a distinctive and wonderful sound - and though not the quietest, they are not the least bit annoying.

Also the Kirby 516 through to the Sanitronic, while certaily not quiet, have a very powerful sound that is almost musical.

No Kirby since then has come close to the sound of that later 500 series even though the later ones...especially the Legend and the G series do have a lot more suction.

...forgot to add...

The Kirby sound I'm talking about is most apparent in the later 500 series with the hose attached and not the rug nozzle. No Kirby since then has reproduced this altogether distinctive sound.

Bruce

... gets my vote for the loudest. Don't know about the Centurion, but the Mark I and Mark II can scream with the best of 'em. But the rheostat control makes it fun. Start on low, then ramp up, and your neighbors will swear there's a 707 taking off.

As for the Kirbys, no, they're not the quietest, but I find their lower pitch a lot less annoying than screamers like most Dirt Devils. The Kirby sounds more like a good quality power tool instead of a rabid kitchen appliance.

The new Areos "Lux" Guardian canister sounds like a B-52 taking off in your living room compared to the older quieter model "G".I like the throaty roar of the Kirbys and Royals-and many other direct air machines.they use the smaller motors-they don't need 12A motors-the clean air machines do because they have to pull air thru all of those filters as well as the bag.Would like to find a Bison to compare with Kirbys and Royals.Still hunting for one.They sound like nice machines-would have been good competition to kirby.Kirby is the ONLY DTD upright vacuum.I have new canister vacs from Meile,Sebo and Riccar that are quiet.The motor mounts are a good thing that quiets them down.Otherwise the plastic bodies make a great sounding board for noisey motors to further amplify their sound.

I have to agree that the Aerus 9000 (similiar to the Guardian) is very loud even compared to the Lux 6500 SR. I have a Lux 89 and it is super quiet. The Kirby is loudy but bearable and still quieter than the Aerus 9000.

Yes, of course, I completely forgot about the Canadian Electroluxes. They ALL are quieter than their American cousins!

The ZB30 and ZB55 [et al] hum merrily along even quieter than the XXX; and the ZB88 and ZB89 are basically the same machine as the American G but with the LX/E/AE-style filter pad in the rear which makes those machines about as quiet as a Hospital G. Amazingly sweet sound!

pretty, eh!

Another Canadian beauty!

(And that's an old photo - when I had hair and more belly hahaha!)