When I was thinking of selling the house Owen Perkins who now runs a central vacuum business approached me about swapping out my MD Silentmaster S5 central vacuum with a top-of-the-line vintage Filtex twin cyclone TC-600 central vac that he had picked up.  This unit was always top-of-the-line in the Filtex line and I always considered Filtex to be the "Cadillac" of central vacuums.  Interesting history of Filtex.  The company was started by a lady in LA in the '30s who developed a canister vacuum.  Somewhere along the line the company was sold and they switched over to high-end central vacuums.  The twin cyclone was the high-end machine for large homes.  It drew over 21 amps, had 110" of water lift and 235 cfm.  Filtex did not have plastic inlets, they came in various metal finishes.  I installed my first one in a townhouse in Chicago.  I won't go into when that was, but it was in their heyday.  Owen and I discussed my buying my first unit from the national sales director in Chicago and installing it in a three story townhouse in Boystown.

In any event he came by today and switched out my Silentmaster with the Filtex TC-600.  He rebuilt the motors.  Here are some shots of the brochures back in the day.  Notice the push-button and light inlets and that funky decorating.

Of the brochure.

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The line up.

That electric power brush was exactly the Oreck Big Foot.  I got one of the last ones from Hesco.

On to the picture.  The unit needs a bit of dusting, but it works like a charm.  Fun!  It draws over 20 amps at 110 volts.  Owen fixed it all up.

Off to the side.

Are that the inlets are fairly standard.  A company in California sells the high-end metal inlets that resemble the old Filtex inlets.  My housekeeper uses an electric power brush (Lux and Stealth) or I can use the old Filtex tools.

Complete sets of Filtex tools.  These are beautiful.

It's not as loud as I thought it would be.  I remember the SB300 units being louder.  I'll get out the hose today and do some vacuuming!

With a cardboard collar.

The Silent Master is like a giant GE bag.  The top of the Silent Master wraps around the cloth bag.  The Filtex is like a Compact.  It fits over the top of the cloth bag..

A polyester lime green pantsuit would be appropriate.  But where in the world would I find lime green shoes and scarf to match?  I would like to get my hands on that Cougar, however.