Thread Number: 1194
New Electrolux Model F Hose! 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 12103   4/7/2007 at 03:06 (6,228 days old) by charles~richard ()        

For some time now, I have had a pair of beautiful early and late Electrolux Model Fs. (See link.) I have several original Model F hoses, including the one that came with the late F when I found it (ditto). However, none of these really matched the nearly-perfect condition of these two machines.

That changed recently. I just found a nearly flawless Model F hose -- the only blemishes being on the machine-end coupler, its being a little scraped up from having been in use.

The colors of this hose are still bright and vibrant; it's flexible yet completely airtight -- passed the Roger Proehl Hose Test with flying colors. It just makes my Fs look fabulous! See photos below of the early F (actually my favorite of the two, notwithstanding the fact that the later one was the first to feature the new Motor Driven Power Nozzle!).

An interesting point about the Model F -- it is, by a long shot, the noisest of the earlier machines. The LX, E and AE are all significantly softer-sounding when they have the rear filter installed (something that people were, later on, discouraged from using when the multi-layer bags came out - however, I still keep filters in these machines because otherwise they just don't sound "right"). The F was the first Electrolux machine not to have a rear filter. Instead, there is a "baffle chamber" back there that somewhat deflects the air flow and reduces the blower-end noise, but it's still quite a bit louder especially with the optional cord winder attached. They got that right with the G when the baffle chamber was much improved and the cord winder was integrated into the main housing, and the G is quite a bit softer-sounding than the F.

I know a guy here in L.A. who sold Electroluxes starting in 1956 and retiring 30 years later. He was a regional branch manager and won many awards during his stint with Electrolux. He has some wonderful photos of him showing off the "Brand New" Model F. One of these days I'm going to convince him to let me borrow those photos to put on my Electrolux History site.

Anyway, one day when I was talking to him I mentioned that I really like the F --- remember many of them from childhood, and always liked the understated color scheme. I said that the one thing about it that was somewhat of a turn-off was the fact that it was louder than the other Luxes.

He told me something funny -- Electrolux salesmen used that to their advantage with customers who complained about the noisier machine but were a bit gullible: The salesmen would say, "Well, yes, Mrs. Prospect, the machine is a little noisier than early models, but that's because it's so much more powerful!" SOLD!!

I asked him what they told people when the G came out and all he said was that they obviously had to change that tactic!

Anyway, just some musings about another beautiful Atomic Age vacuum cleaner!

Here's the first photo:

CLICK HERE TO GO TO charles~richard's LINK
Post# 12104 , Reply# 1   4/7/2007 at 03:11 (6,228 days old) by charles~richard ()        
New Electrolux Model F Hose

 Photo 2

One thing I have never understood is why the one bright blue stripe in this hose -- that color is not used anywhere else in the design scheme of the Model F. You'd think that maybe the Electrolux logos on the machine would have been done in that color, or the color of the ejector knob, or something!

The only thing I can figure out is that the gray and blue just looked too drab in the hose so they added this little splash of color to make it a bit festive. To me, it's always made the hose appear a bit odd and not really "fitting" somehow. But that's they way it was!

(Note that the Model R had the same touch -- the spacing and pattern of the stripes was different -- that hose has closely spaced pairs of gray and blue stripes, then each pair spaced about an inch apart -- but it did have that same splash of blue color. However, the later 1960 Model R also had other color accents -- it had the same combination dusting and floor tools as the G, so the blue accents -were- picked up!)

Post# 12105 , Reply# 2   4/7/2007 at 03:12 (6,228 days old) by charles~richard ()        
New Electrolux Model F Hose

 Photo 3

Isn't she pretty! :)

Post# 12106 , Reply# 3   4/7/2007 at 03:13 (6,228 days old) by charles~richard ()        
New Electrolux Model F Hose

 Photo 4

Post# 12107 , Reply# 4   4/7/2007 at 03:14 (6,228 days old) by charles~richard ()        
New Electrolux Model F Hose

 Photo 5

Post# 12108 , Reply# 5   4/7/2007 at 03:14 (6,228 days old) by charles~richard ()        
New Electrolux Model F Hose

 Photo 6 (last)

Post# 12125 , Reply# 6   4/7/2007 at 12:04 (6,228 days old) by vacjwt ()        
very nice

 the vacuum and hose look factory fresh

Post# 12139 , Reply# 7   4/7/2007 at 16:43 (6,227 days old) by hygiene903 (Galion, OH)        
You're so lucky

 hygiene903's profile picture
to get an original hose for your Model F in brand new condition!! Great looking hose on a great looking machine!!
Jeff

Post# 12162 , Reply# 8   4/7/2007 at 19:25 (6,227 days old) by normvac (COLUMBUS, OHIO)        
Lux Auto F

 Charles-Richard, I too have a very favorite spot for the model F lux.
I remember the Salesman coming down the street knocking on doors and leaving post cards with a picture of the machine.
I wanted to see one for real soooo bad. Finally, When I was
18 I bought a rebuilt one from a local repair shop to take up the slack of the old Air Way 66. I loved the cordrewind and
the combination tools. It went as a trade in Aug. 1970 for
our 1970 Kirby Classic. Had the lux in my first Apt. here
in columbus.
Norm

Post# 12166 , Reply# 9   4/7/2007 at 20:44 (6,227 days old) by laspirateur ()        

I think they left the blue on there, not only because it looks better, but it's a knod and an adaptation to the E and the AE, and maybe even the S.

It's interesting to start noticing what must have been some of the regional permutations of some of these Elux models. Our first Electrolux was the early Model F(no bumpers on the suction end) but it came with the newer style cord winder(my parents still use the white Electrolux cord that the salesman must have taken off of the unit when he installed the automatic cordwinder as a handy extension cord; alas, the halo was taken away) and the hose that you describe for the R. I never saw that beautiful hose you've pictured here until I saw your website. I've since acquired one, but not as nice as yours. I, too, wonder about these color choices, not only on Electrolux Vacuums but on Vintage Major Appliances, such as GE Washers and Dryers, which changed bold color combinations every year between 1957 to the late sixties.

In fact one of my lingering memories of Electroluxes is that whenever I find old ones, I always find them with the hose of the subsequent generation's model. We were always E's with F gray hoses, finding F's with G green hoses, G's with 1205 blue hoses, etc. It was always the hoses that went first, and I guess it kept our local Electrolux branch office busy replacing them. As you've indicated in some of the threads, they are probably, sadly, the least durable piece of the set.

The prettiest hose of all, I think, and my Holy Grail, is the gray and blue vinyl hose that came with the AE. I only have one and it's not in great condition. Some of the gray hoses that came with the E are so faded that it's hard to tell what unit they belong to. My prize possession, however, is a light-blue hose original to a model S. I paid a lot for that one though.

Post# 12167 , Reply# 10   4/7/2007 at 21:57 (6,227 days old) by charles~richard ()        
Permutations

 Ken, you are, I believe, quite right that changes that occurred within different iterations of the same model occurred gradually and not all at once. E.g., the newer F did not suddenly appear overnight with the donut cord winder, front cover bumpers, new-style rug/floor tool, power nozzle etc. These changes were made as the designers at Electrolux thought them up. In response to your parents' AF that had the donut cord winder but no bumpers, I have seen Fs with the old-style cord winder but WITH bumpers! "Go figure."

That's a very nice hose in your photo just above, but I don't believe it's a genuine Electrolux hose. The colors aren't quite right. The vinyl hose in that color combination was for the AE, but the gray portion of the hose was not that dark and, oddly enough, had a sort of greenish cast to it; and the contrast between the two colors was not quite that extreme. From a distance, the AE hose actually looked like it was a solid color. Plus, your hose has the handle-end from a Model G hose. Below is a photo of a real nice AE hose and you can see how the two colors tend to disappear. I'll get my camera out and take a couple of closer-up photos of a couple of AE hoses.

I do agree with you on the fading not just of E/LX hoses but XXX hoses as well. The only ones that don't fade are the ones kept out of sunlight, e.g., stored in those wonderful vinyl chests or perhaps kept in a dark closet. I've seen a couple of XXX hoses that had faded to an ugly shade of brown, with even the XXX pattern faded beyond visibility unless you look reeally closely.

Post# 12172 , Reply# 11   4/7/2007 at 22:37 (6,227 days old) by charles~richard ()        
More AE Hose Pics

 First - a "medium shot" showing the front of the machine and part of the hose:

Post# 12173 , Reply# 12   4/7/2007 at 22:38 (6,227 days old) by charles~richard ()        


Second, a close-up on the hose. These photos were hard to take because the surface of the hose is shiny. It was hard to get such close-ups without some blurriness, so I am showing two different photos.

Post# 12174 , Reply# 13   4/7/2007 at 22:39 (6,227 days old) by charles~richard ()        


Another close-up:

Post# 12175 , Reply# 14   4/7/2007 at 22:40 (6,227 days old) by charles~richard ()        
And, finally,

 a comparison of the original AE hose and a "bojack" replacement hose, I think the same hose as in Ken's photo above:

Post# 12189 , Reply# 15   4/8/2007 at 02:38 (6,227 days old) by vacjwt ()        
a bojack is beter then jack

 the hose is still nice and a bojack woven hose is much better then no woven hose and it still looks good on the vacuum and if you can use it thats grate I think that bojack hose would look grate on a model lx

Post# 12214 , Reply# 16   4/8/2007 at 11:59 (6,227 days old) by laspirateur ()        
Happy Easter to All!

 Actually, Miss Hamilton, I like BOTH of those hoses, the original and the bojack. I remember you talking about how the colors of the AE hose "popped" optically and if you look at that wonderful ad for the AE with the Xmas Tree, that hose almost looks more like your bojack version than the original. But who knows, as you say, they might have had regional little old ladies, at that point, weaving hoses for their machines all night just to fill the orders. By the numbers of E's and AE's in my own extended family, it seems that once Electrolux put wheels on their canisters and made them lighter than the the behemoth LX, they must have sold like hotcakes in the mid 50's.

If you have any sources for E and AE hoses that you would be willing to share, I'd appreciate it. I'm getting tired of ebaying.

By the way, I was told another urban legend by a local Connecticut Elux dealer near Greenwich, the site of the first US factory, that a boatload of Eluxes from Sweden sunk off the coast of CT in the late 40's and that was why Elux established a warehouse and then a factory in Greenwich from which our models came. Sounds like a story but do you corroborate?

Post# 12217 , Reply# 17   4/8/2007 at 12:17 (6,227 days old) by charles~richard ()        
"a bojack is beter then jack"

 Regarding the above comment, I wasn't meaning to criticize the replacement hose. It's really lovely and would look great on any of the earlier machines from the XXX through the AE. In fact, it probably would look really nice on a 1205. I was just pointing out that it does not appear to be an original Electrolux hose.

Re the hose where the colors pop and cause an optical illusion, that was the Model LX/LXI/E hose, not the AE. The LX/LXI/E hose was woven cloth, not saran; and when it was new the colors were very vivid. The background gray was indeed a very dark charcoal color and the tracing was bright, intense blue. Almost the colors of the "replacement" hose presented above. The colors of the original AE hose were much more subdued.

Re the story of a shipload of Electroluxes lost at sea, that indeed is true. It was told about in several different Electrolux printed materials.

See link, and scroll down to the paragraph that begins "By 1930, machines were still being imported to the US from Sweden."

CLICK HERE TO GO TO charles~richard's LINK
Post# 12225 , Reply# 18   4/8/2007 at 13:07 (6,227 days old) by danemodsandy ()        
Woven Hoses:

 Are something I miss- they were a bit of visual refinement sadly missing today, when grey (or black) vinyl is supposed to do for everything.

My Diamond Jubilee still has its factory hose, with a woven Saran cover. Sadly, its rubber carcass has split, so it's not usable. The durability of the Saran is such that the hose still LOOKS perfect, even though it's not.

I have often found myself wishing that someone would revive woven hoses, this time with a woven Saran covering and a vinyl carcass. It seems to me that such a combination would be very durable; vinyl stays flexible longer than rubber, and the Saran would protect the vinyl from the punctures that vinyl is prone to.

I'm not holding my breath- finesse is not exactly in style these days...

Post# 12226 , Reply# 19   4/8/2007 at 13:31 (6,227 days old) by charles~richard ()        


Woven hoses DO definitely add to the beauty of a machine. I wonder if there are any manufacturers at all anymore who still use woven hoses. I doubt it, since they are so much more complicated and costly to produce. It's far easier to squirt a blob of plastic into a mold than to go through all the steps necessary to put together the several layers of a woven hose.

Post# 12234 , Reply# 20   4/8/2007 at 15:00 (6,227 days old) by vacjwt ()        
I know chrales

 I just like that hose I think it is cool and have never seen one before this sory if I was a bit nasty

Post# 12239 , Reply# 21   4/8/2007 at 16:27 (6,226 days old) by charles~richard ()        
Oh, John, I didn't take your comment as nasty --

 -- you were just expressing your opinion and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. I just wanted to make sure people didn't think I was being critical of Ken's hose. It really is very pretty. I love the color combination!

Post# 12288 , Reply# 22   4/9/2007 at 00:20 (6,226 days old) by charles~richard ()        
AE Ad Showing Hose

 The colors in this ad are very true, and give a good indication of the colors of the AE hose.

Post# 12345 , Reply# 23   4/10/2007 at 00:58 (6,225 days old) by charles~richard ()        
Ken J. said,

 ... one of my lingering memories of Electroluxes is that whenever I find old ones, I always find them with the hose of the subsequent generation's model. We were always E's with F gray hoses...

"Speak of the devil" !! See link--

CLICK HERE TO GO TO charles~richard's LINK on eBay


Post# 12479 , Reply# 24   4/12/2007 at 07:59 (6,223 days old) by constellation86 (Roy, UT)        
Model F ad

 Here's an ad I found from June 1960. It shows the colors of the hose pretty well.
Nicholas


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