questions about Hoover dial-a-matic automatic power drive

Hi again! The Dial-A-Matic was part of Hoover's finest hour. Every upright in your local Wal-Mart owe many thanks to the Dial-A-Matic for one reason: the Dial-A-Matic was the world's FIRST bypass upright. Dirt goes to the bag first, then the fan. Every upright that preceded it was fan first, then bag.

Glad to see you're set on the original bags! With them, you should have no leaks in dust, true HOOVER quality! There's not much needed to keep these old workhorses in running order. You've got the bag and belt replaced, that's step one! If your machine in the ad above is a Power-Drive model, you are likely to need a new belt for it, too! Did you replace it as well with the drive belt? With a fresh belt, Hoover's infamous 'Herky-Jerky' Power-Drive comes to life! Be a bit careful around furniture, but I advise that with any self-propelled machine. Unless you have allergies, those green Type D bags will serve you well. If you do, you should be able to buy bulk filter material to cut to size. I tend to use HEPA synthetic bags for this,I can just toss out a custom filter and make a new one!

I'm not sure if they made them for the Type D setup, but the only bag that can beat the original Green bags is the N.O.S Allergen bags! I run the Type A versions in my Concept I, I LOVE those bags!

Glad to see you're going for the hose, it's much more user-friendly then those horrible things they put on modern vacuums! There's not much advice to give, just twist-in the hose and 'Dial' in the suction power you want! That hose takes Hoover's legendary snap-and-lock style of tools. They have a small plastic stub on them for the handle to either snap onto or twist on. Your future hose is a twisting version. Simply turn the plastic collar on the end of the hose, it's easy to use, you'll see when it arrives! The tools that fit the hose are phenomenal, especially the upholstery nozzle with its rubber finger-thingies! GREAT on pet hair!

Oh, and almost forgot! Take a sheet of paper and place it over the brush intake. Hopefully the bristles extend out enough to barely exit the nozzle. That will ensure optimum performance!

You sound just like me, all my stuff is older than I am!

Here's a pic of the tools you'd want to look for, good luck with you D.A.M!


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Post# 295545 8/26/2014 at 20:11 (3,527 days old) by oldstuff (NORFOLK)
Checkrate/Likes It looks pretty much like the one in my link to the Ebay picture. I would like to clean and fix it up. I've used it, and found the bags and belts that fit it. It works fine, however, it appears that there was more to this vacuum than what I have. There is an opening in the back for attaching a hose and other attachments. I see pieces and parts on Ebay and other sites, but I have no idea which ones fit what. The only number I can find is 0044807 Can anyone help me figure out what attachments might go with it, and where I can get them? Also, it's pretty dirty, what should I use to clean it? This forum has fascinated me for a long time - at first I couldn't believe my eyes, then I realized I had what some of you might consider "treasures" and resolved to find out more. Life interfered with my intentions, but now I'd like to start my project. Thanks for any help. Linda CLICK HERE TO GO TO oldstuff's LINK on eBay

Post# 295547 , Reply# 1 8/26/2014 at 21:16 (3,527 days old) by super-sweeper (KSSRC Refurbishment Center)
Checkrate/Likes Welcome! And good for you to keep an old HOOVER running strong! The hose below is what you'll need, you can get a new, non-matching one for $30 if you really want to! Be sure to use genuine bags, and I don't mean those white-paper new ones that day 'genuine Hoover'. Your best bet is to find old-stock, quality green bags on eBay. I buy them senseless whenever I see them in thrift stores! CLICK HERE TO GO TO super-sweeper's LINK on eBay

Post# 295661 , Reply# 2 8/27/2014 at 11:24 (3,527 days old) by oldstuff (NORFOLK)
Checkrate/Likes Thanks! I did find bunches of bags and belts for all my vacuums from some retailer who buys up old stock. That's what I was looking for the day I found this site, a few years ago. Lots of interesting info and I love all the pictures. My family thinks I'm crazy! I have minor collections of old stuff, nothing that would win any awards, just old stuff that still works. I love it! I'll snag the hose. Any suggestions on tool attachments or cleaning? Some of the dirt is ordinary dirt from use, but is there anything that needs special treatment to keep this big boy in good running order? Thanks again.

Post# 295853 , Reply# 3 8/28/2014 at 16:04 (3,525 days old) by super-sweeper (KSSRC Refurbishment Center)
Checkrate/Likes Hi again! The Dial-A-Matic was part of Hoover's finest hour. Every upright in your local Wal-Mart owe many thanks to the Dial-A-Matic for one reason: the Dial-A-Matic was the world's FIRST bypass upright. Dirt goes to the bag first, then the fan. Every upright that preceded it was fan first, then bag. Glad to see you're set on the original bags! With them, you should have no leaks in dust, true HOOVER quality! There's not much needed to keep these old workhorses in running order. You've got the bag and belt replaced, that's step one! If your machine in the ad above is a Power-Drive model, you are likely to need a new belt for it, too! Did you replace it as well with the drive belt? With a fresh belt, Hoover's infamous 'Herky-Jerky' Power-Drive comes to life! Be a bit careful around furniture, but I advise that with any self-propelled machine. Unless you have allergies, those green Type D bags will serve you well. If you do, you should be able to buy bulk filter material to cut to size. I tend to use HEPA synthetic bags for this,I can just toss out a custom filter and make a new one! I'm not sure if they made them for the Type D setup, but the only bag that can beat the original Green bags is the N.O.S Allergen bags! I run the Type A versions in my Concept I, I LOVE those bags! Glad to see you're going for the hose, it's much more user-friendly then those horrible things they put on modern vacuums! There's not much advice to give, just twist-in the hose and 'Dial' in the suction power you want! That hose takes Hoover's legendary snap-and-lock style of tools. They have a small plastic stub on them for the handle to either snap onto or twist on. Your future hose is a twisting version. Simply turn the plastic collar on the end of the hose, it's easy to use, you'll see when it arrives! The tools that fit the hose are phenomenal, especially the upholstery nozzle with its rubber finger-thingies! GREAT on pet hair! Oh, and almost forgot! Take a sheet of paper and place it over the brush intake. Hopefully the bristles extend out enough to barely exit the nozzle. That will ensure optimum performance! You sound just like me, all my stuff is older than I am! Here's a pic of the tools you'd want to look for, good luck with you D.A.M!

Post# 296139 , Reply# 4 8/30/2014 at 16:06 (3,523 days old) by oldstuff (NORFOLK)
Checkrate/Likes Thank you! I got the hose this morning, and I'm looking for the attachments/tools now. I'm not sure if I replaced both belts, I do know the brush stopped turning, and I replaced that one when it broke. I can look and see when i'm cleaning it out, and I'll stock up on belts, since I'm sure they do break from time to time. I'm not allergic, but I'll keep the hepa filter ideas in mind if I ever need them. Someone has the power drive handle on Ebay right now. I'm wondering if it would be something to keep on hand, just for parts. AFA the tools, I do have an old Eureka canister with tools, etc. But there's a dent in the cover that I think may be causing a problem. The motor whistles as if the filter or some other air intake part were clogged, but nothing is clogged. It's heavy but it's powerful and way better than the screaming shark hand vac I thought was going to be so wonderful - the 2" cup is worthless. sigh. I'll get pics of my vintage floor cleaners in the garage. I've used one - just has brush/pads and it's dheavy and powerful. The other one has a tank that you fill with cleaner and water and can automatically wet the floor to scrub it. It's not working, and I haven't tried to fix it. I really just inhefited it because people give me thing they know have some valued, but they aren't sure what to do with them. :D Thanks for all the help. I hope some of you enjoy helping an amateur's feeble attempts to restore some old stuff. I really do better work with old potato mashers, tin flour sifters, and hut choppers, but I do get seduced into using the food processor at times. :D Oh, I had one of those old canisters that look like a planet in orbit. It didn't work right, but I know it was a collector's item. I hope no one threw it out when cleaning out some corners of the garage.

Post# 296199 , Reply# 5 8/31/2014 at 01:42 (3,523 days old) by super-sweeper (KSSRC Refurbishment Center)
Checkrate/Likes You must mean the Hoover Constellation, that was one of the coolest canisters of the source space-race! Be sure to grab pictures of your Dial-A-Matic and Eureka, too!

Post# 296670 , Reply# 6 9/2/2014 at 13:43 (3,520 days old) by oldstuff (NORFOLK)
Checkrate/Likes Yes, it was a constellation. Haven't found it do far. The Eureka is sick (not well). The cover had a big dent that I thought was blocking the air flow, so I used an old phone book and hammer to beat it back away from the round thingy inside. But it still makes a whiney noise after it has run for a about 30 seconds, then repeats every 15-30 seconds. I played it over the phone for my engineer brother and he couldn't hear it well enough to say. Waiting for the Hoover attachments. Thanks for the help.

Post# 296705 , Reply# 7 9/2/2014 at 18:17 (3,520 days old) by super-sweeper (KSSRC Refurbishment Center)
Checkrate/Likes No problem, I'll look forward to the pictures! P.S-my phone is from 1984, I'm sure it would have no problem with interpreting sounds!

Post# 298459 , Reply# 8 9/15/2014 at 14:33 (3,507 days old) by oldstuff (NORFOLK)
Checkrate/Likes Brother was here, he said lubricate the bearing, right in the middle. Well, I guess I can squirt some oil in the middle and hope that's it. Still haven't found the constellation - he said he might have it. I did get one of the scrubber/buffer things out of the corner, and it's an Electrolux B6 - linked a picture - it's the green one. Dirty and the wire is taped up, but it runs - I've used it before. Since then the splash guard has dry-rotted. I know I have one set of brushes, and I think I have others back in the same corner. The other scrubber with the tank is also Electrolux, the handle comes up on both sides, and the tank is the larger one of the models I've seen, but I have to dig further back in that corner to see what model it is. The Hoover has 2 hoses, one bare floor attachment, and it's still dirty, too busy using it. I used the hose on some space bags - it's good. Still looking for the other attachments a little bit each day. ebay is too addictive. CLICK HERE TO GO TO oldstuff's LINK