Hoover Portable

Im no expert on these by any means, but i did come from the generation where the portables were in use, alot of people had them,, and ive used many of them myself.
The main problem with these vacs was/is the unusual shape, and the weight of the entire machine. While being very easy to store away in a closet, Actually using one of these to clean a home of any size is not easy because of the square shape,,it gets hung up on doorways,and furniture very easily as you are going from place to place. Dragging one of these thruout your home from room to room is very difficult.
Also if you notice, most every Portable now in existance has hose problems. Either at the hose end, or motor end, the hose is very worn. Mainly because of pulling the weight of the machine while in use.
I found the easiest way to use one of these beasts is to stand it on end, and lift it around when you need to move it.
They are excellent "Garage and Car" vacs however.
I often found the telescoping wand to be flimsy and leaked suction.
I have heard the motors of these vacs to be excellent tho, and has the exact same motor that was used in the Dial A Matic vacs at the time.
I remember a neighbor we had in the early 1970s that had an orange Dial a Matic for use on their carpet (shag of course), and the matching orange Portable for all their above the floor cleaning. Always thought that was kinda cool,,both their vacuums matched.
A favorite Aunt had a 60s yellow Portable that she would let me play with as a toddler. She would open the lid and id have a ball playing with all the attachments. She said it kept me busy for a long time! haha


Forum Topics & Rules Manuals & Literature	New users Click-here to sign-up

Post# 124211 2/6/2011 at 20:21 (4,996 days old) by 1971ss15 ()
Checkrate/Likes I got this for free from a nice thrift store I go to.Its in pretty good shape,it has the cord reel and all the attachments,the dusting brush is white,i put that there.Its a model 2204.Give me some information please!!I don't know much about the Portables...

Post# 124212 , Reply# 1 2/6/2011 at 20:22 (4,996 days old) by 1971ss15 ()
Checkrate/Likes *Inside* ..

Post# 124213 , Reply# 2 2/6/2011 at 20:36 (4,996 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon)
Checkrate/Likes The first Hoover Suitcase Portables were introduced in 1962, and I think this one is from the early 1970s. The last Suitcase Portable was produced in 1981. ~Ben

Post# 124215 , Reply# 3 2/6/2011 at 21:09 (4,996 days old) by gottahaveahoove (Pittston, Pennsylvania, 18640)
Checkrate/Likes *There was one on display in* The Luvre Museum in France. It was cited for function, style, etc. It was thr first "suitcase" appliance....great to be displayed in a museum.

Post# 124340 , Reply# 4 2/8/2011 at 12:33 (4,994 days old) by portable (Corvallis, OR)
Checkrate/Likes See today's Vacuum of the Day. Very nice...and my namesake!!

Post# 124812 , Reply# 5 2/13/2011 at 08:05 (4,990 days old) by thevacuumlover1 ()
Checkrate/Likes *brandon* Brandon wanted me to get one like this. It was MINT on ebay. i never got it. they wanted like 100 for it.

Post# 124834 , Reply# 6 2/13/2011 at 15:20 (4,989 days old) by BrianKirbyClass (Eudora Kansas)
Checkrate/Likes Im no expert on these by any means, but i did come from the generation where the portables were in use, alot of people had them,, and ive used many of them myself. The main problem with these vacs was/is the unusual shape, and the weight of the entire machine. While being very easy to store away in a closet, Actually using one of these to clean a home of any size is not easy because of the square shape,,it gets hung up on doorways,and furniture very easily as you are going from place to place. Dragging one of these thruout your home from room to room is very difficult. Also if you notice, most every Portable now in existance has hose problems. Either at the hose end, or motor end, the hose is very worn. Mainly because of pulling the weight of the machine while in use. I found the easiest way to use one of these beasts is to stand it on end, and lift it around when you need to move it. They are excellent "Garage and Car" vacs however. I often found the telescoping wand to be flimsy and leaked suction. I have heard the motors of these vacs to be excellent tho, and has the exact same motor that was used in the Dial A Matic vacs at the time. I remember a neighbor we had in the early 1970s that had an orange Dial a Matic for use on their carpet (shag of course), and the matching orange Portable for all their above the floor cleaning. Always thought that was kinda cool,,both their vacuums matched. A favorite Aunt had a 60s yellow Portable that she would let me play with as a toddler. She would open the lid and id have a ball playing with all the attachments. She said it kept me busy for a long time! haha

Post# 124855 , Reply# 7 2/13/2011 at 19:40 (4,989 days old) by portable (Corvallis, OR)
Checkrate/Likes Brian - You're right about the ackward shape. I cleaned house for a couple in the 70's, and they had a Portable as their only vacuum. It was hard work getting that thing from room to room. I begged them to buy an upright, but they never did. It was fun to operate, though. I liked the ride-along tools (that made the thing weigh 3 tons!)