Thread Number: 26562
Swamp Creature
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Post# 297415   9/7/2014 at 12:37 (3,490 days old) by DesertTortoise ()        

The KHDRC recently bought two very inexpensive early 1980's Kenmore canister vacuums intending to use the most cosmetically challenged vac as a parts source and the more attractive of the two would be re-motored with a modern Ametek_Lamb two stage Advantek series motor to make a real suction monster Frankenvac.

One of the two vacuums was what the center expected, a full sized cream colored 3.5 with a pedal off/on switch and no tool holder. The second had an interesting lid with the tools recessed into the front. The center thought that lid would go on the Frankenvac even if that vac turned out to be the roughest looking otherwise.

To the centers great surprise, the second vac was a variant the center had never seen. It is quite a bit smaller than a full size vac, but because the vac follows the shape and proportions of the larger vacs, this fact was not apparent in the Craigslist ad. Also included was a good original hose (worth the price paid for the whole thing) and an unusual 12 inch wide Powermate the center was previously unaware of. It was exciting to receive this happy surprise, but the glee was tempered by the fact that the handle was broken off the body of the canister on the left side and there were two fractures to the base of the Powermate.

The vacuum was also badly corroded. The fan housing was bright orange from rust, requiring a good sanding, the brush holder skeleton on the motor was covered in exfoliation (flaky white corrosion) requiring treatment with a wire brush and the motor compartment cover and screws were badly rusted.

As luck would have it, Sears still has the base available for the Powermate and the center expects to receive one next week. Repairing the handle was not so easy. None of the many glues the center tried would hold. It became apparent it would not be possible to repair this handle and keep the appearance 100% original. The center cut some plastic out of bulk they have on hand sized to fit the slot on the underside of the handle bridging the fracture. The handle was joined with 24 hour dry time epoxy, and the pieces of plastic were epoxied across the fracture inside the handle to provide the necessary strength. Even still, after drying a week the center notices there is a little flex if enough force is applied to the handle. This ultimately may not be a permanent repair. Time will tell.

Hiding the crack, at least on the outside surfaces of the handle became the next challenge. The center eventually settled on filling the crack with auto body spotting putty followed by dabbing a paint brush endwise on the putty to create some texture and hide the repair. It took several attempts to get a half way satisfactory result. While repainting the motor cover after a good wet sanding, the center discovered that Rustoleum 2X Primer and Paint in Navajo White matched the color of the plastic exactly and was this paint was fogged over the repair.

Even still, it took a half dozen more times adding putty, dabbing it with a paint brush, shooting some Navajo White paint on the repair and even dabbing that with a brush end to keep the texture intact and the result was not satisfactory. Because the rusty motor compartment cover had created rust stains in the plastic that could not be cleaned, the center chose to repaint the entire lower half of the vacuum. This finally yielded a satisfactory result and the vacuum was reassembled today. Stainless steel screws are used to secure the refinished motor compartment cover.

There is no exhaust filtration on these, just a hole out the back. Secondary filter media was missing from the vacuum. The center cut some Electrolux filter media to fit the filter grid, but it is too thick to allow the upper cover to turn and lock in place. The center will try to make a secondary filter from open cell foam when a shipment ordered last week arrives from Israel.

The vac runs and sounds good but being a one stage motor of an old design, lacks the suction of the centers 4.1 also completed today. The director thinks it would be a hoot to find another one of these and plop a modern Ametek-Lamb Advantek series motor in it, as they have 5.1 and 5.7 inch single stage tapered fan Adventek motors with upwards of 480-490 air watts. This vacuum, however, remains 100% original. It still requires a Retrobrite treatment for the lid and the filter media mentioned earlier. It does run well and the original hose has a good connection to a power mate and no leaks or cracks anywhere. This has been the centers second toughest repair so far after the Avocado Bomber.


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Post# 297418 , Reply# 1   9/7/2014 at 12:44 (3,490 days old) by DesertTortoise ()        

Here are the after photos. Included is an image of the centers holdings of Kenmore vacuums, minus three that are in active use and thus not stored with the restored vacuums. There is a dark blue Whispertone in the far corner between a white 4.5 and a white Whispertone. Isn't it surprising how much smaller the Avocado Bomber on the far right is compared to the more modern vacuums to its left. The center is trying to obtain a correct Powermate for the A-B.

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Post# 297424 , Reply# 2   9/7/2014 at 13:16 (3,490 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)        

suckolux's profile picture
Sweet!


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