Thread Number: 26541
Sometimes Sears really comes through |
[Down to Last] |
Post# 297191 , Reply# 1   9/5/2014 at 17:57 (3,492 days old) by bagintheback (Flagstaff, Arizona)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
It's always nice to hear stories of finding obscure and rare parts. It seems Kenmore, or maybe at least in their past, has had good track record for keeping parts available for their older models. The same goes for Kirby and Aerus. That is how you should try to keep customers! I wish Hoover wasn't so keen on discontinuing important parts. |
Post# 297194 , Reply# 3   9/5/2014 at 18:14 (3,492 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
|
Post# 297196 , Reply# 4   9/5/2014 at 18:29 (3,492 days old) by fan-of-fans (USA)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
I've seen the Power Mate you're talking about on very BOL canisters from the early 80s. The center belt design makes me think the base could still be used on the newer headlight-less Power Mates of the 90s, which are still available on BOL Power Mate canisters in Canada, such as this model:
www.sears.ca/product/kenmore-md-1... |
Post# 297197 , Reply# 5   9/5/2014 at 18:35 (3,492 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
|
Post# 297312 , Reply# 10   9/6/2014 at 20:52 (3,491 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
I would still like to see proof that Matsushita had some contract with Sears to manufacture Kenmore vacs or power nozzles before 1991. Compare the looks of Panasonic vacs sold in North America in the 1980's and Kenmore vacs sold in the same decade and you will not see any similarities. Any Kenmore vacs made by Japanese companies from that decade (like Sanyo's compact "Let's Clean") would say Made in Japan. I would like to see the address of the Matsushita plant in the USA that had a production line for vacuum cleaners or power nozzles in the 1980's. I don't think such a thing ever existed.
|
Post# 297388 , Reply# 13   9/7/2014 at 07:35 (3,490 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Looking at some Sears Catalogues from the 1980's, it indeed appears that Panasonic in New Jersey started making Kenmore vacs. The changeover from Whirlpool must have happened after around 1980. The newer Matsushita Kenmores all have swivels where the hose meets the canister. Whirlpool's Kenmores from the 1970's don't - like your Avocado Bomber. As well, the Panasonic-made Kenmores in the 1980's no longer include the wonderful Whirlpool crevice tool with the off-side channel and flared end...a sure sign that it's from a new supplier. Would be interesting to see a Sears catalogue that shows both sources of manufacture: Whirlpool and Matsushita. I know that at some point in the late 1980's Whirlpool made a short-lived comeback with a line of their own canisters and uprights and these were sold at Sears right along side those Kenmores made by Panasonic.
One thing is certain, Matsushita did not make any Kenmores in the 1970's when they had their successful series of Made in Japan Jet-Flo vacs. |
Post# 297444 , Reply# 15   9/7/2014 at 16:28 (3,490 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Fascinating.
I wonder which Kenmores were made by Whirlpool in the 1970's? Unless Whirlpool did not make Kenmores at all between 1971 and 1991. I will begin researching old trade articles to see where Matsushita-made vacs were assembled before being sold on the North American market....trade mags always reported on these developments. This should solve the mystery. I don't really trust a letter from a Sears Customer Service rep these days. I would trust a letter from a Panasonic historian more. :-) |
Post# 297452 , Reply# 17   9/7/2014 at 17:33 (3,490 days old) by DesertTortoise ()   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
Do you still have old paper Sears catalogs you reference or is there a site where all those old catalogs are searchable? |
Post# 297459 , Reply# 18   9/7/2014 at 18:31 (3,490 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
|
Post# 297474 , Reply# 20   9/7/2014 at 20:22 (3,490 days old) by kenkart ()   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
If you look close and find FSP somewhere that should tell you its a Whirlpool product, if not found, it probably is another maker..FSP = Factory Specified Part. |
Post# 297477 , Reply# 21   9/7/2014 at 20:36 (3,490 days old) by DesertTortoise ()   |   | |
Checkrate/Likes
 
     
I have only seen FSP on the plastics of the Avocado Bomber. |