Kenmore Whispertone Canisters. Not late 1990's.

The Whispertone canister came out in later 1989 I believe. It was distinguished from the rest of the canisters by its long cord rewind bar and lack of vents between the bag cover and the motor cover, and the bumper which continued around the back side.

Linked is a catalog page from 1991 showing it. Each year, I believe there was only one Whispertone in the lineup, representing the top of the line machine. Typically they had variable speed controls and Power Mate Jr, but I don't believe there was ever a dirt sensor or a yellow model. Performance indicator lights and controls on the hose handle were also standard. Colors included dark gray, white, blue, hunter green, etc.

I think the Progressive canister came out about 1998 or so, and the Whispertone became a lesser model. We bought a hunter green Whispertone in 1999, and it did not have the variable speed control or performance indictor light (only a slider performance indicator). The manual shows these as options, so perhaps higher models still had them. The same body design was then used on lower end canisters, but did not have the sound insulating material, so they did not carry the Whispertone name, only those with the insulation did.

Around 2001 I think the round body Whispertones came out. They were still used with the 90s Panasonic style Power Mate. Again, the sound insulated models were named Whispertone, while the cheaper ones had no name. Colors included hunter green, blue, purple, etc.

Eventually the Whispertone name was dropped (don't know when) and the rounded canisters became BOL models. The last ones I recall were around 2008. The BOL was bright green and had the curved headlight Progressive Power Mate with no quick release, and the better model was blue and had quick release Power Mate and bag full indicator. These were then replaced by the current tangerine and aqua models.

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Post# 174219 3/20/2012 at 19:32 (4,417 days old) by tjhooverman ()
Checkrate/Likes I know some infomation on Kenmore Whispertone Canisters. Can anyone tell what their packaging looked like? I am not talking about the late 1990'S. I am talking about the Early and Mid 1990's. And did they have brochures? I I am wondering about a possibilty of a Whispertone version the Kenmore Progressive, yellow. How rare was a Kenmore Whisertone Canister with Variable Speed, Dirt Sensor, and Power Mate Jr? What colors was it? I would like to know what it looked like, and photo scan of the Sears Catalog page it was on. I wondering about the Kenmore Whisertone Canister that had Variable Speed, Dirt Sensor, and Power Mate Jr. and the rest of the Whispertone Canister line, before the late 1990's.

Post# 174226 , Reply# 1 3/20/2012 at 19:58 (4,417 days old) by venson ()
Checkrate/Likes *@tjhooverman . . .* You're best bet is to a search for "whispertone" under vacuum cleaners at eBay's site. You should also click on canister for style. You'll find lots usually. If you make note of a machine's COMPLETE model number you may be able to see some exploded diagrams at: CLICK HERE TO GO TO venson's LINK

Post# 174253 , Reply# 2 3/21/2012 at 06:59 (4,417 days old) by fan-of-fans (USA)
Checkrate/Likes The Whispertone canister came out in later 1989 I believe. It was distinguished from the rest of the canisters by its long cord rewind bar and lack of vents between the bag cover and the motor cover, and the bumper which continued around the back side. Linked is a catalog page from 1991 showing it. Each year, I believe there was only one Whispertone in the lineup, representing the top of the line machine. Typically they had variable speed controls and Power Mate Jr, but I don't believe there was ever a dirt sensor or a yellow model. Performance indicator lights and controls on the hose handle were also standard. Colors included dark gray, white, blue, hunter green, etc. I think the Progressive canister came out about 1998 or so, and the Whispertone became a lesser model. We bought a hunter green Whispertone in 1999, and it did not have the variable speed control or performance indictor light (only a slider performance indicator). The manual shows these as options, so perhaps higher models still had them. The same body design was then used on lower end canisters, but did not have the sound insulating material, so they did not carry the Whispertone name, only those with the insulation did. Around 2001 I think the round body Whispertones came out. They were still used with the 90s Panasonic style Power Mate. Again, the sound insulated models were named Whispertone, while the cheaper ones had no name. Colors included hunter green, blue, purple, etc. Eventually the Whispertone name was dropped (don't know when) and the rounded canisters became BOL models. The last ones I recall were around 2008. The BOL was bright green and had the curved headlight Progressive Power Mate with no quick release, and the better model was blue and had quick release Power Mate and bag full indicator. These were then replaced by the current tangerine and aqua models. CLICK HERE TO GO TO fan-of-fans's LINK

Post# 174316 , Reply# 3 3/21/2012 at 22:21 (4,416 days old) by tjhooverman ()
Checkrate/Likes Thank You. I thought there was a Kenmore Whispertone similar to the yellow Progressive. That gray one likes like this hoover to me. Exhibit 1

Post# 174318 , Reply# 4 3/21/2012 at 22:22 (4,416 days old) by tjhooverman ()
Checkrate/Likes Exhibit 2

Post# 174319 , Reply# 5 3/21/2012 at 22:23 (4,416 days old) by tjhooverman ()
Checkrate/Likes Exhibit 3

Post# 174320 , Reply# 6 3/21/2012 at 22:26 (4,416 days old) by tjhooverman ()
Checkrate/Likes Oh! I meant it looks like this Hoover to me. Sorry for mispelling. By the way was there brochure for this Hoover?

Post# 174378 , Reply# 7 3/22/2012 at 13:49 (4,415 days old) by kenkart ()
Checkrate/Likes *I hate to tell you!* But the Lady Kenmore Whispertone was introduced in the fall of 1960 as a 61 model, especially for Sears 75th anniversary, It was the first cleaner ever to have a pistol grip hose as well as a L shaped powerhead. very advanced, also it had a direct connect hose with no exposed wires, and of course, it was very quiet hence the name...oh yeah, two speed also!So the Whispertone name is a re run!

Post# 174406 , Reply# 8 3/22/2012 at 17:55 (4,415 days old) by fan-of-fans (USA)
Checkrate/Likes I am sorry for saying the Whispertone came out in 1989. I should have meant that model of Whispertone. I know it was simply a reuse of the name from the original Whispertone of the '60s. Sorry about that, Kencart.

Post# 174657 , Reply# 9 3/24/2012 at 06:49 (4,414 days old) by kenkart ()
Checkrate/Likes *I didnt mean!* To sound like a know it all, but some of the younger guys really dont know these things!! Hans

Post# 174675 , Reply# 10 3/24/2012 at 09:21 (4,414 days old) by fan-of-fans (USA)
Checkrate/Likes I didn't know about the original Whispertone either until I joined this forum. Love those Kenmore canisters, both older and newer! :)