Thread Number: 21321
Just picked up one of my all time favourite cleaners :D :D :D
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Post# 238609   7/2/2013 at 15:39 (3,921 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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Rewind to 1993.
My childminder, Jean, her Hoover Turbopower Junior U1220 had broken. She had a U1104 Junior on loan but wasn't liking it. I still remember quite clearly sitting on the sofa in her living room, whilst she was vacuuming with the Junior and telling me "I'm getting a new vacuum tomorrow!".

The new vacuum was a Hitachi CV760D. I loved it. I vacuumed her whole living room from top to bottom with it, and at 3 years old that was a lot of vacuuming.

She replaced it in about 1999, but the memories of it always stuck with me. Once I started collecting, it was top of my hit list.

Fast forward 20 years and I find this right on my door step. My very own Hitachi Powerhouse CV760D.


Post# 238610 , Reply# 1   7/2/2013 at 15:40 (3,921 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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The rear. Sadly, with a broken cord hook, but this was very common with these

Post# 238611 , Reply# 2   7/2/2013 at 15:41 (3,921 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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the hose port

Post# 238612 , Reply# 3   7/2/2013 at 15:42 (3,921 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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the soleplate

Post# 238613 , Reply# 4   7/2/2013 at 15:43 (3,921 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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In hose mode. Much easier to convert than the dirty fan cleaners of the time

Post# 238614 , Reply# 5   7/2/2013 at 15:44 (3,921 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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My full Hitachi line up

Post# 238615 , Reply# 6   7/2/2013 at 15:47 (3,921 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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A bit of background.

The CV50D pictured on the far right of the picture above was the first Hitachi upright from 1980. I have a lovely brochure for the CV50 which I will post later. This was replaced in 1986 by the first of the newer style, the CV60D and CV60DP (pictured below).

In all honesty, the CV50D and CV60D are virtually the same cleaner in operation. Same motor, same brushroll but just a more modern looking design.


Post# 238616 , Reply# 7   7/2/2013 at 15:49 (3,921 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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The newer style went through a few changes. They went black in 1988 when the CV460 was launched

Post# 238617 , Reply# 8   7/2/2013 at 15:50 (3,921 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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and then finally, this style arrived in 1990. It went through a few changes and there were models with different features, but by 1994, only the CV760D was left

Post# 238619 , Reply# 9   7/2/2013 at 15:53 (3,921 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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Hitachi seemed to have the advantage. They had a lot of features that were not commonly found in uprights, such as cord rewind and brushroll on/off switches. Plus, they were relatively inexpensive and certainly a lot sturdier than the Hoover Turbopowers of the time.

I remember Hitachi uprights being everywhere when I was a kid. On my street alone, there were 3 - a CV460D, CV760D and CV60. A few people I went to school with had them as well. But sadly, not many seem to be around these days. Such a shame as they're great machines. I am so happy to have finally got one. Now, on with the vacuuming!


Post# 238628 , Reply# 10   7/2/2013 at 17:55 (3,921 days old) by kirbymodel2c (Nottingham, England)        
Hi

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Hi Chris. Glad you got it. It's great when you finally get a vacuum you've been after for years.

It's a shame the cord hook is broke. The one on mine has gone as well. In fact thinking about it I don't think I've seen one with a cord hook intact.

I still have the black version of this cleaner as well with the cord rewind.

Hope you enjoy using it:o)

James:o)


Post# 238633 , Reply# 11   7/2/2013 at 18:09 (3,921 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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Hi James,

Yup, same old story with the weak lower cord hook. I've only ever seen 2 with them, but they were both brand new.

I'm loving it so far, will hopefully get a video done soon.

Chris


Post# 238639 , Reply# 12   7/2/2013 at 19:02 (3,921 days old) by beko1987 (Stokenchurch, United Kingdom)        

I remember always seeing Hitachi cleaners when I was a kid. My gran had a dark blue or black powerhouse cylinder, I used that a lot
nice lineup!


Post# 238691 , Reply# 13   7/3/2013 at 02:39 (3,921 days old) by vintagerepairer (England)        

One of the reasons Hitachi cleaners did not survive the test of time was because they could be almost impossible to repair. Hitachi were on of the first manufacturers to use security screws, which on some cleaners were recessed so deeply into the cleaner that it was impossible to remove it without the right tool.

Parts for all models were, at that time, difficult to source and on top of that were very expensive. It is of course all different now, what with the internet, but to "rewind to 1993" the only way of getting a Hitachi cleaner repaired and / or parts supplied was via an independent shop like mine. Well, apart from a blockage or a new belt, we wouldn't touch them. Even replacing a mains lead could be difficult on some models. Our time spent messing about trying to get the cleaners repaired was in excess of what the customer would want to pay, especially when one considers the low retail price of Hitachi cleaners.

Having said that, I did think that Hitachi cleaners were well built, performed well, and of course were superb value for money. It was keeping them going which was not cost effective.


Post# 238694 , Reply# 14   7/3/2013 at 04:01 (3,921 days old) by Turbo500 (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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Benny, thanks very much for your input. As always, much appreciated. Good point about the security screws making repairs difficult. I noticed the security screw on my friends CV460DP when the cord winder failed and we were trying to open the machine up to get a look at it.

The CV50D is one of the easiest vacuums I've ever taken apart, so the security screws must have arrived with the CV60 style cleaners.

Thankfully, with the CV760D being a base model, there seems to be far less to go wrong on it.


Post# 238702 , Reply# 15   7/3/2013 at 05:45 (3,921 days old) by madabouthoovers ()        
Throwaway society

The security screws and high parts prices were all heralding the start of the modern age throwaway society, where manufacturers no longer wanted their products to last, and made it so that the consumer just threw away the appliance and went and bought a new one from them, thus increasing their profits and shareholder dividends. This all started in the 1980's, along with privatisations and no longer was the customer top priority - making profit was.
On my Hitachi Powerhouse, I had to damage the casing to open it, due to the fitment of a deep recessed security screw.


Post# 238709 , Reply# 16   7/3/2013 at 07:43 (3,921 days old) by Ultimatevacman ( Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK)        

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Hi Chris,

Great find, there's nothing better than getting a vac that you grew up with, it brings back such great memories, and also if you've been hunting for it for a while, it pays off. :)

Enjoy!

Joe


Post# 238715 , Reply# 17   7/3/2013 at 09:38 (3,920 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)        

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Really nice

Post# 238735 , Reply# 18   7/3/2013 at 12:53 (3,920 days old) by uksausage (eastbourne east sussex UK)        
the brushroll

ive always like the hitachi vacuums the only down fall i think was the bearings on the brush roll, i saw quite a few with dodgey bearings
congrats on the find


Post# 238798 , Reply# 19   7/3/2013 at 16:56 (3,920 days old) by hi-loswitch98 ()        
That looks professional

I do remember seeing loads of Hitachi cleaners in catalogues when I was little but not so anymore - much like Argos not selling Electrolux vacuums anymore

Post# 238803 , Reply# 20   7/3/2013 at 17:20 (3,920 days old) by vintagerepairer (England)        

Hitachi -like many companies- made other products of course, but again like many others, they kept their ranges slim. It may have appeared that they did many different types of cleaner, but in fact they must have only had about six on sale at any one time. After the original Cv-50 upright, Hitachi always sold a standard, autoflex, and autoflex-electronic upright, but that was it. The cylinders typically comprised two or three bagged cleaners, and a bagless alternative, but never anything over the top or very expensive.

I suppose Hitachi saw a place for a vacuum cleaner bearing their name in the UK market, but played it safe by limiting the ranges and keeping prices low. Moulinex did exactly the same, as did Goblin and, not withstanding price, Electrolux, for a good deal of years. It is a very sensible strategy in many ways.


Post# 238999 , Reply# 21   7/5/2013 at 08:33 (3,918 days old) by gwillim ()        

Nice chris..We had a hitachi powerhouse Cylinder in grey when i was growing up. The bagless one. Can't remember the Exact model but it came apart in two sections. Dust compartment and motor compartment.It replaced the Grey goblin solo that my parents had before that. It went on for many many years then in 2000 it gave up the go and remember my mum replaced it with a Hitachi cv 790. Almost Identical apart from it was dark blue and it only packed in about 2 years ago. Great machines. My parents have a Electrolux powerlite now.:-)

Post# 239128 , Reply# 22   7/6/2013 at 10:08 (3,917 days old) by jmurray01 (Scotland)        

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That's brilliant you managed to find yet another Hitachi.

It is fantastic to finally get your hands on a vacuum you've waited years to procure.

Hope to see a video on YouTube soon!

As for the 1990s heralding the start of a throwaway society - that may be true in some instances but not with the Hoover Turbopower 2 ranges. When the motor in my Turbopower 1000 blew last year I managed to replace it very easily as everything came apart with the removal of screws.

I suppose you got what you paid for and since the Hitachis were budget vacuums they weren't designed to be repaired, whilst the more expensive Hoovers et cetera could be.

That all ended once we got into the 2000s though and even the most expensive vacuums (especially the most expensive in some cases) were useless once a fault occurred.

At least for us collectors we needn't worry about "putting up" with modern cleaners as most of us use older machines for our daily cleaning.





Post# 239142 , Reply# 23   7/6/2013 at 12:53 (3,917 days old) by sebo_fan (Scotland, UK, member AKA ukvacfan, & Nar2)        

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Um.. the 1990s was not the start of the throwaway period but rather where production costs started to get more expensive in the UK not just for the buyer but to maintain the products. One reason alone to why Electrolux shifted production to other European countries such as Hungary and Poland. The answer lies in supercapitalism. See link to an old news report regarding this.

To quote some of this report, super capitalism:

"...The economic logic is impeccable: the goods are made in countries where labour costs are low, while repairs have to be carried out here, where costs are high. But even when goods don't need repairing, we still throw them away. Supercapitalism's brilliant answer to increasing durability is to elaborate and refine so that goods feel obsolete almost as soon as you buy them. Even environmentalism has been turned to supercapitalism's advantage: always buy a new machine, you are told, because it will be more energy-efficient than the old one..."

Jamie I would love to know of the "high expensive" vacuums that you refer to. Is there a brand that you have experience of where it can't be repaired?



CLICK HERE TO GO TO sebo_fan's LINK



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