Thread Number: 13298
Hello UK Members! I need your help, please. |
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Post# 141607   6/30/2011 at 21:15 (4,681 days old) by tazcatsdad (Buffalo, NY)   |   | |
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I am doing some research now on one of the machines in my collection so that I can make a video about it, and no matter where I look I cannot find much of anything useful.
The machine in question is a Hitachi CV-785DC "PowerHouse Exclusive" upright. I'm looking to know what time frame this machine was made in and who or what it was "exclusive" to. Any information available would be greatly appreciated!
Bill W. |
Post# 141638 , Reply# 2   7/1/2011 at 03:09 (4,681 days old) by vacbear58 (Sutton In Ashfield & London)   |   | |
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Bill,
It would have been a special (or not all that special as 2CV indicates) for a chain of stores called "Powerhouse". You have maybe seen references from UK members of the electricity board showrooms (electricity boards being regional, although publically owned, electricity supply companies) where you would set up accounts, pay bills and could buy appliances. I believe that the Powerhouse chain was derived from this showroom network once the supply companies were privatised (which means basically inducing people to buy what they already owned) and, with direct bank payments, the need for somewhere to go and pay the bill dramatically declined. However, my recollection is that they were not particulalrly competitavly priced and they did not last very long - I would estimate they operated between 1995 & 2005. Al |
Post# 141671 , Reply# 3   7/1/2011 at 10:06 (4,681 days old) by tazcatsdad (Buffalo, NY)   |   | |
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Al,
That's exactly the information I was looking for. I wasn't aware of the Powerhouse firm, personally -- I only knew of Currys, Dixons, and Comet from previous research so I had no idea that they even existed -- so I thought that the "powerhouse" name on the machine was Hitachi's name for the range, just like "Senior" and "Turbopower" were names of Hoover ranges.
And, you were close -- very close, might I say -- on the timeline! After reading your reply I looked up Powerhouse on Wikipedia: they say that the company was formed in 1992 and finally entered receivership (or what we'd call bankruptcy) in 2006. I had figured the machine to be a '90s model, and judging by this information I see that my estimate wouldn't have been that far off.
BTW, 2CV thanks for your two cents' worth as well: I don't know if it still goes on today but a lot of manufacturers here in the USA did the same thing with their product lines, so the exclusivity concept is very familiar. A fine example is some of the wonderful models of the "Convertible" (aka the "Senior") that Hoover US made for the retailer "K-Mart".
So thanks again to both of you ... it's great to belong to such a well-informed and helpful group of people!
Bill W. |
Post# 141942 , Reply# 4   7/4/2011 at 02:50 (4,678 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill (Birthplace of the Railway),England, UK.)   |   | |
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Post# 142156 , Reply# 6   7/6/2011 at 12:58 (4,676 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)   |   | |
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Post# 142166 , Reply# 7   7/6/2011 at 15:37 (4,676 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)   |   | |
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Having done some digging, the CV700 series were the later Hitachi uprights - I believe the first by Hitachi with on-board tools. Launched somewhere around 95/96 and ran well into the early 2000's. That's all I've got so far, but I'll keep looking. There were hundreds of "Powerhouse" machines in that style though, so it might take me a bit lol
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Post# 142412 , Reply# 9   7/8/2011 at 20:02 (4,673 days old) by tazcatsdad (Buffalo, NY)   |   | |
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Post# 142415 , Reply# 10   7/8/2011 at 20:25 (4,673 days old) by tazcatsdad (Buffalo, NY)   |   | |
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Post# 142416 , Reply# 11   7/8/2011 at 20:27 (4,673 days old) by tazcatsdad (Buffalo, NY)   |   | |
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Post# 142417 , Reply# 12   7/8/2011 at 20:29 (4,673 days old) by tazcatsdad (Buffalo, NY)   |   | |
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Post# 142418 , Reply# 13   7/8/2011 at 20:31 (4,673 days old) by tazcatsdad (Buffalo, NY)   |   | |
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Post# 142419 , Reply# 14   7/8/2011 at 20:33 (4,673 days old) by tazcatsdad (Buffalo, NY)   |   | |
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Post# 142530 , Reply# 15   7/9/2011 at 18:40 (4,672 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)   |   | |
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