Thread Number: 5592
PullMan Central Vac
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Post# 61816   3/6/2009 at 18:44 (5,501 days old) by oldappliancenut ()        

I just picked this up today anyone have a date of birth lol
model BIV-102


Post# 61826 , Reply# 1   3/6/2009 at 20:40 (5,501 days old) by centralvacs1928 (Chicagoland)        

Hard to say with those things, but that one looks from the sixties. Newer models had a little "trapdoor" on the bottom that you'd open to let the dirt fall out. The fact that this one has more of a "bucket" (plus the exposed fuse on the motor housing) says to me that it's older. Most of these Pullman units were a blue color like yours, but the ones they made in the late 80's shortly before they got out of the CVS business were cream with red lettering. Here's a picture of a newer Pullman with the 'trapdoor'. Also note the control box on the side that the fat cord from the motor unit plugs into. The box housed the relay and transformer.

Post# 61828 , Reply# 2   3/6/2009 at 20:51 (5,501 days old) by oldappliancenut ()        
works well

i have relay and transformer just didn't photo it

Post# 382326 , Reply# 3   12/8/2017 at 09:45 (2,302 days old) by alan (Glen Ellyn)        
Pullman BIV 102

I picked one of these up last year. Even though its may years old the gent I bought it from claimed it was new and never used. This appeared to be the case so I bought it.

However it did not have a relay/transformer box along with it. He may have had it but did not know it.

Is it possible to get one or a relay/transformer similar that can work on this old unit?


Post# 423682 , Reply# 4   4/17/2020 at 20:25 (1,441 days old) by drnp3030 (Missouri )        
Help

We bought a house with the same vacuum as above. Since being in the house lately I decided to finally start her up. I put in a hose upstairs and it instantly came on -yes! However there was little to no suction so I removed the hose. I went to turn it on a the main unit and noticed that it was blowing air out of the hose opening towards the top. My question is should there be something to cover this opening. Unfortunately there wasn’t a manual for this cleaner. Please and thank you

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Post# 423684 , Reply# 5   4/17/2020 at 22:21 (1,441 days old) by vacman1961 (North Babylon, New York)        

The opening that you are talking about is the exhaust from the motor, air coming out from there is normal. First thing to check is the suction on the unit, remove the grey 2" tubing from the side of the unit, turn it on, see how the suction is there. If there is strong suction, you possibly have a clog or broken pipe in the system. If the suction is weak, that means your filters need a full cleaning, to fully clean the filters, you need to unclamp the motor from the top of the unit, lift the filter assy. out of the unit, be careful, dirt will fall on the floor from it being trapped on the side of the filter. Now, remove the rubber gasket from the filter, make note on the way it is positions, so you put it back on the same way as you removed it. Once it is removed, you can take the soft dacron filter off and rinse it and than put it on the gentle or handwash cycle in the washing machine or do a hand wash in the sink, the moleskin filter and frame should be washed with some detergent and a soft brush, rinsed thoroughly and dried for a few days. Reassemble the dacron filter to the frame and moleskin filter, replace the rubber gasket on the frame holding the dacron bag into position, put filter assy back into unit and reinstall the motor unit, this will renew the proper suction on your Pullman central vacuum. Good luck.

Post# 423706 , Reply# 6   4/18/2020 at 13:27 (1,440 days old) by Drnp3030 (Missouri )        
Tubes that lead to nowhere

I found two tubes in the basement that lead to nowhere ....I still have one upstairs, the main floor, and the garage, so I guess I can just cap those off and it should work. There was very strong suction from the unit when I checked the 2” tubing and the filters do need to be cleaned also so I’m doing that also. Thanks so much !!!

Post# 466396 , Reply# 7   9/23/2023 at 20:33 (187 days old) by panasonicvac (Northern Utah)        

panasonicvac's profile picture
One of my uncles in Oregon just sent me pictures of his central vac. Very interesting looking systems. It's like having a Shop Vac on a wall lol.

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Post# 466398 , Reply# 8   9/23/2023 at 20:38 (187 days old) by panasonicvac (Northern Utah)        
And the power nozzle

panasonicvac's profile picture


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Post# 466402 , Reply# 9   9/24/2023 at 08:16 (186 days old) by Centralvacs1928 (Chicagoland)        

I have never seen that Eureka power head labeled "RUGmate" before!

Pullman centrals were based off of their cart mounted wet/dry vacs like the "Vacmobile" popular at service stations.

Early Pullman units with a bucket at the bottom are approx 1960s-early 1970s. The baby blue units with a trapdoor are 70s-early 80s, and the white units with red lettering that say "Pullman-Holt" are the newest.

I don't think Pullman-Holt (more recently a division of White Mop Wringer) kept making central vacs past the early 1990s, but they did continue making large industrial wet-dry vacuums with a similar motor head and filter design.


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