Thread Number: 29748  /  Tag: 50s/60s/70s Vacuum Cleaners
my visit to the vacuum museum 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 331390   8/10/2015 at 11:00 (3,175 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)        

Hey everyone, well, I was able to spend last Saturday at the vacuum museum. Tom, I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. It was so awesome looking at all the vacuums and hearing what they sounded like. For anyone who has not seen the museum, I would suggest paying it a visit, it was awesome.
I wanted to mention some vacuums of the past that really stood out for me. Tom, I'm doing this all from memory, so feel free to correct anything I get wrong. I'm more of a canister buff, so that's mainly what I will be focusing on, but I'll mention some uprights along the way too.
One of the early vacuums that was really interesting was an airway upright, but you could actually turn a valve and get the suction to come out the other end, I don't think any vacuum made today does that.
There were a couple of hoovers that still require you to oil them, this was before ball barings.
Moving in to the 1930's, one vacuum I was really interested in was the Electrolux XXX, this vacuum was very popular for several years, and I can understand why. The vacuum is very quiet, I'm trying to remember how many amps the motor was, I want to say either 3 or 5, again, trying to write this all from memory. I wish I would have taken my digital recorder with me and recorded all this, since I'm a blind person, I don't get much out of pictures, but digital recordings are awesome. Anyway, another vacuum from this time frame was a Kenmore, though the motor on this vacuum was a much harsher sound than the Electrolux.
Because of the war, there wasn't much that happened in the 1940's, so let's move on to the 1950's, and there's a lot to mention! I would say the 1950's was the decade of the canister revolution. Kenmore had an interesting canister vacuum, called the ken cart. It was a canister vacuum, and it was actually mounted on a cart. The motor on this model sounded much better than the kenmore model from the 1930's. There were several canister vacuums that used a particular ametek motor, and I can understand why. It was very quiet, I think it was 7 amps, and provided enough suction to clean hard floors and probably some carpets from back then as well. Models that used this motor were the eureka canned ham, a very interesting name, it actually provided an air driven attachment that worked like a jack hammer to crush any hard dirt, the sound of the attachment was quite annoying though. Another vacuum that used this motor was made by airway, and was a stand up canister. It looked kind of like a wet dri vac, but the idea was, you would put the vacuum in the middle of the room, and then clean around the room in a circle. I think there was one more vacuum that used this motor as well, but can't remember the name, perhaps Tom can fill that in. Electrolux had a new model in 1954, I think it was called the LX, it would actually turn off and eject the bag when it was full, and it's quite interesting to watch. There's actually a couple of youtube videos showing this, do a search for electrolux ejecting bag and you will find them. Eureka had another model, I can't remember the name of it, but it ended with matic. It was one of the first vacuums where the hose would actually swivel. There's one more vacuum I want to mention from the 1950's, and it's quite a beast. It was made by Sunbeam, and it had an 11 amp motor, which was probably the most powerful motor back then. That vacuum had some power! I would be willing to bet that it could clean better than some vacuums that are made today. It literally took 10 or 15 seconds for the motor to turn off completely. That sunbeam vacuum was awesome. Hoover had the constelation canister which was also really nice, they also had come out with an upright, I can't remember what that one was called though. Like I said, the 1950's brought us some great canisters.
Ok, moving on to the 1960's, Electrolux had the model G for home use, and they also had a version of this vacuum for hospitals, because of the large filter on the hospital version, I don't think it had quite as much suction as the home version. There was another vacuum, I can't remember what it was called, but it had some design problems where the power nozzle would actually electricute people, I think that company no longer exists, but the vacuum itself seemed like it would clean well.
Kenmore really made itself known in the 1960's. There was a Kenmore model from 1960, this thing was huge, and it was the first model with the powermate power nozzle. I had always heard that the powermate was a great powerhead, and now I understand why. It is one of the quietest power nozzles I have ever heard. You could hear the carpet vibrating, but you barely heard the motor in the attachment. And then there was the Kenmore from 1969, it was interesting to see how things changed in those 9 years, and they did change. The suction power definitely increased. Again, the 1969 kenmore had a very quiet power nozzle as well.
Ok, moving on to the 1970's, Tom, I will need your help here because I can't remember what model this was. There were 2 models that used the same motor, but the second one had much more suction, because they used really good rubber seals, and you could definitely tell!. Hoover introduced a canister unit in 1974 with a power nozzle that was really good, and they also introduced the first upright in 1978 that could propel itself. One of my favorites from the 1970's was another Kenmore. I actually think my aunt and uncle may have had this model. It came out in 1978, had really good suction and a great powerhead. The motor on this one had a great sound too.
Again, I'm writing all of this completely from memory, so I'm sure it's not perfect, but hopefully I got most of it right. This museum really is awesome, hopefully at some point I can make it back there and actually get some recordings of some of these vacuums, it's definitely worth visiting. I did pick up a new Riccar Prima as well, and will be writing a full review of it once I use it a bit more. If anyone else has seen the vacuums I mentioned here, would love to get your thoughts on them.

Post# 331450 , Reply# 1   8/11/2015 at 02:20 (3,174 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

Very good description of what you encountered at the museum!!

Post# 331460 , Reply# 2   8/11/2015 at 09:09 (3,174 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)        
another vacuum I forgot to mention

 I remembered another one from the 1970's. I believe it was made by compact, had a really good ametek motor. I may actually be back that way in November again, my girl friend may want to pay the winery another visit, perhaps I can stop there and get a recording of the sound of those vacuums, that would be awesome!

Post# 331465 , Reply# 3   8/11/2015 at 11:38 (3,174 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

dysonman1's profile picture
It was awesome seeing you on Saturday. We had a blast checking out the vacuums. I'm so glad you had a chance to visit.

The Kenmore Commander from the late 30's was a lot louder then the KenKart of the 1950's. Ametek (the Lamb Motor division) made the motor for a lot of cleaners in the 1950's - such as the Eureka RotoMatic, the Filter Queen, the Compact, and the Lewyt.

The pink Lady Kenmore from 1960 used the same motor as the Eureka "canned ham" from the late 1950's. By 1969, the Kenmore Power Mate (2 speed) used a "G.S." motor, which is why it was more powerful.

In the 1970's room, you were impressed with the suction of the Filter Queen over the Compact, even though they used the exact same motor (the Filter Queen had really good seals).

Hope you enjoy your Prima. I am looking forward to seeing you again at the end of the year. You're always welcome to visit - after all - it's the only Vacuum Cleaner Museum in America. And you live only an hour away. I would love for you to meet the other St. Louis vacuum collectors and go to dinner with us. We always have a great time.

Post# 331471 , Reply# 4   8/11/2015 at 13:32 (3,174 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)        

suckolux's profile picture
The XXX by Electrolux is a very nice machine to listen to, very calming to me. I think mine is around 525 watts? 48 model I believe.

Post# 331472 , Reply# 5   8/11/2015 at 14:42 (3,174 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

dysonman1's profile picture
The one in the Museum is the 1937 model with the 475 watt motor. It has a unique exhaust filter (kind of like a cup - not flat at all) which really helps to quiet it down.

Post# 331505 , Reply# 6   8/11/2015 at 20:41 (3,174 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)        
dinner with the other collectors

 Sure, would love to have dinner when the collectors get together in St. Louis. Just let me know when something is planned and I'll see what I can do about getting there. These older vacuums definitely prove that you don't have to have 12 amp motors to clean well. Fan design, type of bag, and other factors make a big difference.

Post# 331585 , Reply# 7   8/12/2015 at 21:09 (3,173 days old) by hydralique (Los Angeles)        

So true: These older vacuums definitely prove that you don't have to have 12 amp motors to clean well.


I found the comment on the Filter Queen vs. the Compact very interesting. Tom, do you find that in general the FQ has significantly better suction than the Compact with the same motor, or was this particular to the two examples you had on hand? To me the Compact body generally seems more rigid and better made but FQ clearly thought a lot about the hose and attachment connections and I can believe they leak less.
Post# 331606 , Reply# 8   8/13/2015 at 01:47 (3,172 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

The Filter Queens are basically nice machines---BUT they need a LONGER cord!

Post# 331629 , Reply# 9   8/13/2015 at 13:01 (3,172 days old) by Kirbysthebest (Midwest)        
Tolivac

 I agree with the FilterQueen needing a longer cord.

I wrote an email to Filter Queen recently regarding the dislike of their short cord. I explained that I was a vacuum collector, and though I have many favorites, I really like the FQ.

I was surprised Monday when I got home from vacation to find a package from FilterQueen (Healthmore) in my mail box. In the package was a new Medipure filter with a handwritten thank you note expressing their thanks that I would take the time to write regarding their machine and that they have forwarded my suggestion to the research and design department for future improvements to their cleaning system.

Opps! sorry for the hijack.

I was very impressed that they took the time to acknowledge my message, as well as a hand written note with a gift. Now if they ever put a longer cord on their machines that will remain to be seen.


Post# 331640 , Reply# 10   8/13/2015 at 15:20 (3,172 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

dysonman1's profile picture
The cord MUST fit under the attachment crown for storage - so I doubt it will ever be any longer.

Post# 331650 , Reply# 11   8/13/2015 at 16:35 (3,172 days old) by Kirbysthebest (Midwest)        

It doesn't have to fit under the attachment crown, they could design something else.  But I doubt it will happen either. 
Post# 331681 , Reply# 12   8/14/2015 at 03:46 (3,171 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

The cord could be wrapped around the tank----or put a larger flange on the edge of the tool crown.We may have solved their cord problems.I have a FQ machine that has a long defunct cordwinder-the owner put a long cord on the machine splicing past the old cordwinder.But---the Machine smells like a dog 10Ft tall-put it aside.The top inner filter will need replacing-just haven't gotten around to it.Glad FQ liked the suggestion and gave you an extra Medi-Pure cone!The machine I have came from a former trade in pile.


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