Pics From The Vac Shop

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Thread Number: 17463
Pics From The Vac Shop

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Post# 188188 7/3/2012 at 22:43 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
Ok, I know you have all been waiting, and now that I have got rested up, and uploaded all the pics, I'm ready to share a little bit of my trip to see Jim (rugsucker). From outside everything looks so calm and unassuming...

Post# 188189 , Reply# 1 7/3/2012 at 22:45 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
Loving the red white and blue for the 4th, all on display out front

Post# 188190 , Reply# 2 7/3/2012 at 22:47 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
And who met me at the door? None other than the Pied Piper himself, our Jim. Note the ad in his hands, and brace yourself for the next 2 pics....

Post# 188192 , Reply# 3 7/3/2012 at 22:49 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
Now doesn't this look familiar? Look closely at the ad Jim is holding above. Thats right, its 1950 all over again here guys..

Post# 188194 , Reply# 4 7/3/2012 at 22:50 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
Still gazing into 1950....

Post# 188195 , Reply# 5 7/3/2012 at 22:57 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
*And now, onto "the place of which we do not speak"* OMG... Words cannot describe it.. So many vacs, so little space in my car.. And how to sort and search through them? Of course Jim knew who to call. It was time for me to meet a few of the Lost Boys.... Our first helper, (name withheld just cause I can, haha), ready willing and able to do some heavy lifting..

Post# 188196 , Reply# 6 7/3/2012 at 23:01 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
Our second helper, (yup still no name guys, na na na na na). I swear I tried to leave room for him in the car, but there were just so many vacs, lol...

Post# 188197 , Reply# 7 7/3/2012 at 23:03 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
Keep in mind boys, it's just a small taste...

Post# 188198 , Reply# 8 7/3/2012 at 23:04 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
At least one in every color I swear..

Post# 188199 , Reply# 9 7/3/2012 at 23:06 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
Next time maybe I will rent a van...

Post# 188200 , Reply# 10 7/3/2012 at 23:07 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
It just keeps going and going....

Post# 188201 , Reply# 11 7/3/2012 at 23:08 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
Multiples baby, multiples...

Post# 188202 , Reply# 12 7/3/2012 at 23:10 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
Kirby Kirby Kirby!!

Post# 188203 , Reply# 13 7/3/2012 at 23:10 (319 days old) by bagintheback (Flagstaff, Arizona)
So this is "the place of which we do not speak". I always wondered what that was. So are all the vacuums/parts for sale? Thanks for sharing. I love these types of pictures.

Post# 188204 , Reply# 14 7/3/2012 at 23:12 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
There were things I had never seen. Anyone notice whats odd about this Filterqueen?

Post# 188205 , Reply# 15 7/3/2012 at 23:14 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
Look at all the Eurekas..

Post# 188206 , Reply# 16 7/3/2012 at 23:17 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
*From here on the pics get darker, sorry guys..* The Rexair kids, lurking in the shadows

Post# 188208 , Reply# 17 7/3/2012 at 23:19 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
High and mighty, the uprights look down on their canister brethren..

Post# 188209 , Reply# 18 7/3/2012 at 23:20 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
I told you, stuff I had never seen before...

Post# 188210 , Reply# 19 7/3/2012 at 23:22 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
The Sears vacs wait patiently in line..

Post# 188211 , Reply# 20 7/3/2012 at 23:24 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
A wee Connie, hiding behind big brother...

Post# 188212 , Reply# 21 7/3/2012 at 23:26 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
You name it, I bet Jim has it..

Post# 188213 , Reply# 22 7/3/2012 at 23:29 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
Silly Wash Wizard, trying to blend in with the cool kids over on Electrolux alley...

Post# 188214 , Reply# 23 7/3/2012 at 23:31 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
Those uppity GE's always did think they were above Electrolux...

Post# 188215 , Reply# 24 7/3/2012 at 23:33 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
Last one guys, look at all the options..

Post# 188216 , Reply# 25 7/3/2012 at 23:39 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
Ok, thats all the pics for now. I will post some pics of the ones I brought home in another thread. It was an awesome trip, and between Jim and The Lost Boys I had no worries at all for a place to stay, not to mention the food and entertainment. I would be willing to go back just for fun, even if it wasnt for all the vacs, but the vacs certainly make it all the more tempting...

Post# 188219 , Reply# 26 7/3/2012 at 23:52 (319 days old) by vintagerepairer (England)
Great pictures. It reminds me of the shop I had, except of course I had UK cleaners. I have no idea why, but I never considered that Vax had been sold in the USA. Maybe because I've not seen it mentioned before. Would you mind suggesting how well received Vax was in the USA? And what is the idea of the Wash Wizard? It looks like a white Vax from the 100 range.

Post# 188220 , Reply# 27 7/4/2012 at 00:00 (319 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky)
*Vax and Wash Wizard* Truly, I know nothing at all about the Vax. I had never seen one in person before. Jim can probably add more about ts reception, since to my knowledge it wasn't sold in my area. As for the Wash Wizard, I believe it was a carpet shampooer/shop vac type set up, as best I could tell. There were so many vacs to look at that I only gave it a cursory exam before moving on.

Post# 188224 , Reply# 28 7/4/2012 at 00:11 (319 days old) by vintagerepairer (England)
Thank you for that. The Vax in the UK was a carpet washer, really it was the first of it's kind for domestic use. So much so, a good deal of the in the 1980's carried the slogan "The only one that washes" around the recovery tub. This was of course before other manufacturers bought out their own 3-in-1 machines. Vax was very well relieved in the UK. They were very big news, and were bought by many people, including those who had always had upright cleaners.

Post# 188437 , Reply# 29 7/5/2012 at 09:35 (317 days old) by rugsucker (Elizabethton TN)
*the place of which we do not speak* Kevin,Good job with pics.I couldn't have done better and as you didn't see me operate anything more advanced than a Roadmaster wagon with woodgrain you will understand.---Bagintheback,"All vacs & parts for sale"?Let's say MOST need a new home.(to repeat-The dumpster is 50 ft,the scrap yard is 1 mi,where are you?)This works best if someone,such as Kevin,drives up with a large cargo space and relatively small amount of currency.But would consider anything to get what you want to where you want it.---Vintagerepairer,The orange VAX appeared in early 90s and was marketed to vac shops who seem to have had little interest and Sears who carried it for a time.I remember walking through local Sears and seeing VAX cleaning solution on closeout table at reduced price.It then reappeared as the red Dirt Devil Cyclone.My white is labeled Wash Wizard by Vax and know nothing more.My opinion is it looked to much like shop type vac and to complicated for average customer to switch bags,tanks and filters for different jobs.Also unknown unlike the also complicated Kirby which was known for quality and power.VAX trivia-The US Life magazine had article on M Thatcher when prime minister that had a picture of visiting daughter when house was being redecorated and shows orange VAX in middle of living room.-Also book on hot air balloons shows VAX balloon.

Post# 188502 , Reply# 30 7/5/2012 at 14:38 (317 days old) by vintagerepairer (England)
Rugsucker, thank you for your information. Here in the UK we were not at all accustomed to using wet & dry cleaners to clean our homes in quite the same way that we did with uprights and cylinders machines. Because of this, Vax did very well to break down those barriers with their new machine. The size of the cleaner was enough to put people off now that I reflect on your comments, and yet whilst a good deal of people will have bought something smaller in the fullness of time, there were many who used their Vax as a dry vacuum cleaner until the very end. It was the idea that one could wet-clean carpets one's self which really got people excited over here. Vax cleaners sold and sold and sold again. From about 1983 until 1995, Vax were still 'THE' cleaner which people wanted. Whether Vax knew that people would very quickly bore of such a facility I don't know, but it was very hard work to Vax-clean carpets, not to mention a messy procedure which needed lots and lots of time to prepare the room, prepare the machine, execute the cleaning, dispose of the dirty water & clean the machine, and restore the room to it's regular state. It was the novelty of such a machine which 'sold' it, and Vax had the ultimate back-up plan built into the cleaner; you could use it as a regular dry vacuum. This mean several things and I will mention a couple if I may, one, anyone who was sitting on the fence over the purchase of a Vax could be easily persuaded that the fact the cleaner could be used dry would mean they were certain to gain their moneys worth. Two, you would be less inclined to lend it out to someone if it was your only vacuum cleaner, unlike a shampoo-only machine which would often sit in the cupboard for months -if not years- on end, waiting for someone to borrow it off of you. The Vax cleaners were well built and their only fault was that the hose on a good deal of the 121 models was very poor. For me, that was a huge bonus as I sold many replacement hoses. But the cleaners were very rugged and many of the other brands which competed with Vax were a pale imitation in my eyes.

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