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Thread Number: 3320
Yay for Estate Sales |
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Post# 37233 4/5/2008 at 12:30 (5,858 days old) by unimatic1140  (Minneapolis) |
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Post# 37234 , Reply# 1 4/5/2008 at 12:30 (5,858 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Post# 37235 , Reply# 2 4/5/2008 at 12:32 (5,858 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Yay for Window Lids | ||
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Post# 37236 , Reply# 3 4/5/2008 at 12:32 (5,858 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Post# 37237 , Reply# 4 4/5/2008 at 12:33 (5,858 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Post# 37238 , Reply# 5 4/5/2008 at 12:34 (5,858 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Post# 37239 , Reply# 6 4/5/2008 at 12:34 (5,858 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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| Post# 37240 , Reply# 7 4/5/2008 at 12:37 (5,858 days old) by hoovercelebrity (Germany) | ||
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*****Faints***** Bring me the Smelling Salts! That's beeeeeeeautiful! Congratulations Even if you don't find the "Beater Sweeper" powerhead, that's a rare machine... and you'll turn up attachments somewhere ~ | ||
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Post# 37241 , Reply# 8 4/5/2008 at 12:42 (5,858 days old) by arh1953 ( River Park, in Port St. Lucie, Florida) |
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Post# 37243 , Reply# 9 4/5/2008 at 12:43 (5,858 days old) by compactelectra (Palm Springs) |
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Uncle Peter!!!!
My smelling salts! Yay Robert!! I am pretty sure that that is a verrrry rare machine. You must go back and see if you can find the attachments and power head. There is a story about the Lewyt Electronic. The wiring was screwy and it caused so many problems, that it was what put the company out of business Fred | ||
| Post# 37244 , Reply# 10 4/5/2008 at 12:48 (5,858 days old) by hamiltonbeachbo (Milwaukee ) | ||
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Thrifting Karma Strikes Again!! Wow Robert, spectacular find! Absolutely beautiful! It appears in great shape How does the motor sound? And like Fred said, the electronic no less Love the Lewyts! Enjoy! Pat | ||
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Post# 37248 , Reply# 11 4/5/2008 at 13:41 (5,858 days old) by compactelectra (Palm Springs) |
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Calling Mike Hays!! Emergency - come right away! | ||
| Post# 37251 , Reply# 12 4/5/2008 at 14:55 (5,858 days old) by hoover1060 () | ||
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Nice find Nice find Robert, those old Lewyts are very rare machines. Nice to finally see one of the (in)famous Electronic models too. I hope you are able to find the rest of the parts What kind of washer did you find? | ||
| Post# 37260 , Reply# 15 4/5/2008 at 17:45 (5,858 days old) by normvac (COLUMBUS, OHIO) | ||
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Wow! what an awesome find. Enjoy, it is a rare machine. I remember looking at the magazine adv. back in the da and wondering how those beater brushes worked? Had seen a few machines and used a one or two. Always liked the power they had and the carpet nozzle. Norm | ||
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Post# 37261 , Reply# 16 4/5/2008 at 17:48 (5,858 days old) by compactelectra (Palm Springs) |
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I seem to remember | ||
| Post# 37265 , Reply# 17 4/5/2008 at 18:32 (5,857 days old) by camelotshadow (Valley Village) | ||
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wOW, THAT IS A THING OF BEAUTY! | ||
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Post# 37266 , Reply# 18 4/5/2008 at 18:48 (5,857 days old) by arh1953 ( River Park, in Port St. Lucie, Florida) |
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Lotsa Luck | ||
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Post# 37268 , Reply# 20 4/5/2008 at 19:14 (5,857 days old) by compactelectra (Palm Springs) |
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Heard Back From Mike Hays
Fred, Holy crap, thats f------ gorgeous!!! I have 14 Lewyt's, three of them being the electronic. The two of them with the electric wiring in the hose and wands do not work. the third one, the power nozzle plugs into the front of the cleaner. I have won two blue ribbons with it in the cleaning competition. The low voltage thingy is inpossible to repair. Hope Robert finds the power head and it works. Hope you all are having a grand weekend!!! Best regards, Michael ________________________________________ PS - I am charging my camera batteries to photograph my Lewyt Big Wheels. Fred S. and others helped me restore it. It is a great vacuum. Fred | ||
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Post# 37269 , Reply# 21 4/5/2008 at 19:18 (5,857 days old) by compactelectra (Palm Springs) |
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BTW Robert | ||
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Post# 37270 , Reply# 22 4/5/2008 at 19:34 (5,857 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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The cliffhanger
Hmmm, who knew? Well thanks for all the info and excitement everyone! So tomorrow when I go back to that house to pick up the washer, I'm gonna go through that whole house looking for the power nozzel. I didn't go through the bedrooms or the attic, the Lewyt was in the basement. So everyone keep your fingers crossed that I find it tomorrow! I'll keep everyone posted. | ||
| Post# 37276 , Reply# 23 4/5/2008 at 23:54 (5,857 days old) by hygiene903 (Galion, OH) | ||
Beautiful Lewyt, Robert!
Congratulations on a wonderful find! My Lewyt knowledge is limited, but I think the Electronic models with the Beater-Sweeper brush were the last square big wheel models made, probably in the late 50's or early 60's. Doug Smith could tell you a lot more about them. I have 2 Lewyts myself, one being the model 40 that uses cones like a Filter Queen (and was actually sued by Healthmor because of it!), and the other is a model 90, otherwise known as the "Golden Lewyt," made in 1957. Jeff | ||
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Post# 37302 , Reply# 25 4/6/2008 at 11:32 (5,857 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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***Sniff***
So I went back to the sale to get the washer. I scoured the entire house and the only thing I found for the Lewit was the dusing brush **wipes away tears***. Oh well it would have been fun to have found the Beater-Sweeper brush. What does it look like???? But while I was upstairs I did happen to find this for $2... 
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Post# 37303 , Reply# 26 4/6/2008 at 11:33 (5,857 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Post# 37309 , Reply# 27 4/6/2008 at 14:11 (5,857 days old) by dial-a-nap (Omaha - the home of the TV Dinner) |
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| Post# 37318 , Reply# 29 4/6/2008 at 17:34 (5,857 days old) by petek (Ontario) | ||
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I have a spare bag of bojack big wheel bags sans the dirt viewing strip on them. You might want to keep those originals for special occasion show and tell authenticity. Send me an email. | ||
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Post# 37325 , Reply# 30 4/6/2008 at 20:01 (5,856 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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AC not DC
I've just taken some power measurements on the Lewty. It seems that there is 3.2 volts AC of power going into the beginning of the hose and 2.6 volts AC coming out at the end of the wands. I would expect the voltage to drop 0.8 down since it is so low and has to travel around the entire hose and down the wands, so this should be normal. The power being generated is AC not DC, in order for the power to be DC, they would have had to install a transformer which would have been very costly at that time and it probably would have needed a glass vacuum tube. Unless of course there is something I'm missing in my head. Does anyone know what the voltage should be to run the beater? 24 volts AC would be way to high to run down exposed wands, but 2.6 volts would be generally safe, but is that enough to run the power head? What did this power head look like??? By the way I was able to get the wands to generate a spark by touching a probe from the meter onto the lead and wand at the same time. No Lilt Home Permenants needed for our housewives with this baby! Oh and Electrolux tank bags fit this cleaner just fine, albeit smaller than the Lewyt bags. | ||
| Post# 37333 , Reply# 32 4/6/2008 at 21:16 (5,856 days old) by hoovercelebrity (Germany) | ||
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These are pictures of pictures... so they're not completely crisp... but you get the idea.  | ||
| Post# 37334 , Reply# 33 4/6/2008 at 21:17 (5,856 days old) by hoovercelebrity (Germany) | ||
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Powerhead taken apart. Here it is, taken apart. What's unique about this is the lack of a belt... It's gear driven, baby! 
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| Post# 37335 , Reply# 34 4/6/2008 at 21:21 (5,856 days old) by collector2 (Moose Jaw, Sk) | ||
Hi Everyone I'm out of town at the moment so not checking in very often. You needed information on the Lewyt Electronics so here goes what little I have so far. Lewyt produced two models of electronics - the model 111 - green - which I have (also without power head) and the model 121 - blue - which you have. The model 11 was out in 1959 and the 121 in 1960. I've never actually found out the voltage for the powerhead but the machine's motor had a secondary winding on it that produced the lower voltage, as an isolated circuit, to run it. Unfortunately Lewyt chose to use the machine body and wands as one pole of the contact. The insulation on the winding was poor and, in the course of running broke down, causing the 110 volts to short through. This in turn gave alot of people shocks as they came in contact with the now, no longer isolated, and charged with 110 Volts parts of the wand and machine. This resulted in a number of lawsuits which, in 1961 or 62, bankrupted the company. Because the secondary winding is a non removable part of the motor it is pretty much impossible to repair. I have toyed with the idea of putting in a plain motor and a transformer but, again, I dont know the voltage required and, with limited space, it would be hard to get a transformer to fit that was also large enough to provide a sufficient current for the power head motor. The molds for the attachments and rights to the Lewyt name were purchased by the Shetland Mfg. Corp and the patents and molds for the big wheels machines were purchased by Holland Electro (Which continued to produce them into the 80's in Europe - without the power heads :) ) The power head did run on AC to my knowledge. All the parts for both machines were white and the attachment set should include dusting brush, small nozzle, crevice tool and floor brush. Hope that helps (If anyone finds a Green powerhead I need one too :) ) Doug | ||
| Post# 37336 , Reply# 35 4/6/2008 at 21:25 (5,856 days old) by collector2 (Moose Jaw, Sk) | ||
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Post# 37349 , Reply# 36 4/6/2008 at 22:30 (5,856 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Doug, thank you for the explanation, now it all makes sense about what's going on in there. I cannot believe they did that, this vacuum is very dangerous. I should probably open it up and temporarily disconnect the connection between the secondary windings and the hose nozzle port. Correct me if I'm wrong but couldn't you just use the same motor and disconnect the connection to the secondary windings. Then take a power resistor (of significant ohms) and branch off of the hot side of the power cord to bring down the voltage to what ever the requirements of the power nozzle are? Then connect a wire from the output of the resistor to the metal nozzle port. The only problem here is that the power cord isn't polarized, so if you plug it in the wrong way you will get zero voltage to the hose, but then you would simply pull the plug out of the wall socket and turn it around and re-plug it back in. So anyway, I was vacuuming with the Lewyt tonight using the dusting brush and I was turning it on and off as I moved things around to be dusted. So after about five or so of these on/offs I switched it back and nothing, now power. Hmmmm. So I measured the power at the wands with the switch on suddenly its 23 volts AC, yikes! Looks like this baby is gonna head downstairs to the workshop and get in line with everything else lol. | ||
| Post# 37350 , Reply# 37 4/6/2008 at 22:34 (5,856 days old) by hoovercelebrity (Germany) | ||
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"Looks like this baby is gonna head downstairs to the w ...Welcome to my world... :-) | ||
| Post# 37360 , Reply# 38 4/7/2008 at 06:56 (5,856 days old) by collector2 (Moose Jaw, Sk) | ||
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Hi again: If your planning on using it disconnecting the secondary wouldnt be a bad idea. A resistor, however wouldnt work very well for the PN. To begin with you would have to have an extremely large one to handle the current that a low voltage motor would require. At the same time you would be creating a non isolated circuit so, by merely plugging in the machine with the wrong side of the plug in the hot connection, you have now charged the body of the machine with 120 V. All it would take is for you to accidentally touch something that is grounded and you would get a hell of a shock at the least. Basically it would be creating the same conditions that the shorted winding did. The safest way would be to use an isolating transformer. LOL - It seems to me that I remember someone saying at one time that 24 Volts was the proper voltage for the powerhead. Seems your motor may have quit but the secondary is now working properly. Figures | ||
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Post# 37364 , Reply# 39 4/7/2008 at 08:31 (5,856 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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You're right Doug, I was only thinking about one side of the line. I suppose it would work if I installed a polorized plug. I was thinking a dropping power resistor because this still would be smaller than trying to fit an isolating step down transformer inside the body of the vacuum. But I totaly agree, using a transformer would be the safest way to go. So this morning the Lewyt powers up again, but now there are 44 volts on the wands! ouch LOL. Something tells me I better not be vacuuming the cement workshop floor barefoot next to a leaking washer with this baby. | ||
| Post# 37366 , Reply# 40 4/7/2008 at 09:43 (5,856 days old) by collector2 (Moose Jaw, Sk) | ||
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| Post# 37401 , Reply# 43 4/7/2008 at 18:13 (5,856 days old) by vacuumkid3 () | ||
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Oh...I forgot to mention. Maybe you could replace the motor with an older Lewyt motor and just put in a transformer. That'd probably be the best to get it to work correctly. Good luck! ~~K~~, future E.E.! :-) | ||
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Post# 37421 , Reply# 44 4/7/2008 at 20:37 (5,855 days old) by compactelectra (Palm Springs) |
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OK - My Lewyt
I got this machine complete from Charles Richard Lester. One of the first of my collection. Tania and Fred S. helped me restore it. It does not have an original hose or cord (I still have them), but the machine is beautiful. I have all the original attachments somewhere, I just have to find them. Here is a glam shot. Luckily (or unluckily, it is not the Electronic, so it doesn't shock you) but not a bad vacuum! We'll have to trot this out this weekend. Those machine hose ends rotted and became useless (they were held in by the suction.) Luckily we found a good one!
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Post# 37424 , Reply# 45 4/7/2008 at 20:39 (5,855 days old) by compactelectra (Palm Springs) |
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Inside | ||
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Post# 37425 , Reply# 46 4/7/2008 at 20:40 (5,855 days old) by compactelectra (Palm Springs) |
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Finally | ||
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Post# 37426 , Reply# 47 4/7/2008 at 20:51 (5,855 days old) by compactelectra (Palm Springs) |
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I also have | ||
| Post# 37432 , Reply# 48 4/7/2008 at 22:06 (5,855 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada) | ||
Lewyt 105 Manual
Found my February 9 Lewyt 120 post in the archives to add to this really enjoyable thread. Bring on the Big Wheels, folks. CLICK HERE TO GO TO aeoliandave's LINK 
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| Post# 37433 , Reply# 49 4/7/2008 at 22:07 (5,855 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada) | ||
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| Post# 37434 , Reply# 50 4/7/2008 at 22:08 (5,855 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada) | ||
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| Post# 37435 , Reply# 51 4/7/2008 at 22:10 (5,855 days old) by aeoliandave (Stratford Ontario Canada) | ||
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Post# 37617 , Reply# 52 4/10/2008 at 13:16 (5,853 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Sad news, it appears that Alex Lewyt died last month, sorry if you guys posted this already and I missed it, but here is the NYT obit... Apparently he was quoted as saying in 1955 "Nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners will probably be a reality in 10 years." CLICK HERE TO GO TO unimatic1140's LINK | ||
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Post# 37620 , Reply# 53 4/10/2008 at 13:25 (5,853 days old) by arh1953 ( River Park, in Port St. Lucie, Florida) |
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Thanks for posting this but.......... | ||
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Post# 37622 , Reply# 54 4/10/2008 at 13:30 (5,853 days old) by unimatic1140 (Minneapolis) |
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Oh never mind, LOL, my bad The article is date "Published: March 21, 1988", I saw 1988 and my mind read "2008". lol, whoops. But anyway, check this out, its all the technical information on how the Lewit Electronic works CLICK HERE TO GO TO unimatic1140's LINK | ||
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Post# 37623 , Reply# 55 4/10/2008 at 13:45 (5,853 days old) by arh1953 ( River Park, in Port St. Lucie, Florida) |
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| Post# 37664 , Reply# 56 4/11/2008 at 15:40 (5,852 days old) by classiccaprice () | ||
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beautiful vacuum! You are so lucky! | ||
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Post# 37689 , Reply# 57 4/12/2008 at 03:15 (5,851 days old) by chestermikeuk (Rainhill (Birthplace of the Railway),England, UK.) |
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Solid & Robust
Another great find there Robert, soon have as many vacs as washers!! this looks a really solid machine, love the hammerite blue... Those Lewyt Speed Sacs where also used over here in the Bylock Table Vac, dont know how the tie between these two companies came to be.. Fred , is red inner lining of the lid a "Fabric" or paint?? Cheers, Mike | ||
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