Thread Number: 36313  /  Tag: 50s/60s/70s Vacuum Cleaners
The Lewyt Electronic, Hans Craig, and Mike Hays
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Post# 389381   3/29/2018 at 11:50 (2,190 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

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This past weekend, I had the bittersweet task of going to South Carolina to help the late Clay Floyd's sister clean out his house. We had to distribute his entire vacuum collection. My husband Donnie, and I, met up with Hans and his husband Donald, as well as Evan Rogers and Adam Mercer. Two new vacuum collectors also drove 13 hours to be there.

Hans and I had arranged a trade, a few vacuums from the Museum's collection traded for a few EXTREMELY rare machines. First up is a machine from the late Mike Hays' collection - the Lewyt model 121 in Chrome.

I also traded Hans for a Lewyt Electronic in green, a Haley's Comet in butt ugly Kmart spray paint gold, and the "World's Most Powerful Home Cleaner" - the Apex Strato Cleaner. More on these in another thread.

And YES, the Lewyt does run, and NO, I did not get a shock.


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Post# 389382 , Reply# 1   3/29/2018 at 11:51 (2,190 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        
nameplate

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I just love the logo and the copper background finish.

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Post# 389383 , Reply# 2   3/29/2018 at 11:52 (2,190 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

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Lewyt called the power nozzle the "Beater Sweeper" as well as the "Electric Upright".

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Post# 389384 , Reply# 3   3/29/2018 at 11:53 (2,190 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

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Works like a charm

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Post# 389385 , Reply# 4   3/29/2018 at 11:55 (2,190 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

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The Electronic can now take its place of honor at the Vacuum Cleaner Museum in St. James where it's on display for our thousands of guests who come all during the year for a fun stop along Route 66.

Thanks again Hans for facilitating this trade and for making sure the Vacuum Museum has the world's best cleaners on display.


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Post# 389388 , Reply# 5   3/29/2018 at 14:37 (2,190 days old) by kenkart ()        
As most know

I don't really get into power nozzles that much, and these are rare and should be seen by everyone, I'm glad that my friend Tom has them now, As a tribute to Mike Hays now everyone will know about them.

Post# 389398 , Reply# 6   3/29/2018 at 17:41 (2,190 days old) by vacuumdevil (Vacuum Hell )        

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That is by far the sexiest thing I've seen posted on here in a long time.

Post# 389399 , Reply# 7   3/29/2018 at 18:12 (2,190 days old) by compactc9guy (Bathurst NB)        
question

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are the wires for the power head in the hose i dont see a pigtail.?

Post# 389442 , Reply# 8   3/30/2018 at 09:15 (2,189 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

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The wires for the power nozzle begin with the motor. Two turn of the field coil are used for low voltage direct current power. This is transmitted to the hose, which has wires in it. From the hose, it's transmitted through the hose handle, down the bare copper tubes, to the wand receptacle on the power nozzle. It's all done with low voltage, which the user cannot feel. Until they touch a metal sink while not wearing shoes - plus the bag has to be full and the motor quite hot. Then, under the right circumstances, the user will get 120 volts AC through their body. Hence the lawsuits which are the reason there is no more Lewyt company today.

Post# 389445 , Reply# 9   3/30/2018 at 09:19 (2,189 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

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I also got the model 111 from Hans, which also used to be Mike Hays' machine. It runs perfectly. It's in the process of a spa treatment, but I thought I'd share some 'pre cleaning' pics.



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Post# 389446 , Reply# 10   3/30/2018 at 09:20 (2,189 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        
The Lewyt Electronic Upright

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Logo on top of machine. So cool.

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Post# 389454 , Reply# 11   3/30/2018 at 11:45 (2,189 days old) by frostyvac (Missouri, USA)        
WOW!

Those are awesome! I can't wait to stop back by the museum to see!

Post# 389527 , Reply# 12   3/31/2018 at 12:58 (2,188 days old) by Dysonman1 (the county)        

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Here are all three of the power nozzle Lewyt machines. The green one as well as the chrome one are "zapper" models.

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Post# 389534 , Reply# 13   3/31/2018 at 14:28 (2,188 days old) by 2011hoover700 (owosso michigan)        

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@dysonman1 while you're at it can I have some information on the approximate era the lawsuit that got lewyt out of business took place?
Hopefully I'll be getting things that I happen to have that you want.
Damien


Post# 389538 , Reply# 14   3/31/2018 at 16:51 (2,188 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

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I'm betting most of the lawsuits were filed either in 1961 or 1962. Certain things had to happen first before anyone got a shock, like the field coil windings fusing together through the melting of the varnish from a full bag causing excessive motor heat, the user being grounded at the same time, etc.

Post# 389543 , Reply# 15   3/31/2018 at 18:45 (2,188 days old) by kenkart ()        
What I want

Is the very last real Lewyt that looked totally different and had a gE style hose connector on the very top!

Post# 389545 , Reply# 16   3/31/2018 at 18:49 (2,188 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)        

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Interesting machines, they don't melt my butter, but fascinated!

Post# 389552 , Reply# 17   3/31/2018 at 21:21 (2,188 days old) by FantomFan (Rochester, New York)        
I used to have that Lewyt Electronic

fantomfan's profile picture
It too is all chrome. Mine is now in the hands of Greg Palmer. It’s a little rough and there is no power nozzle for it.

Post# 389557 , Reply# 18   3/31/2018 at 22:30 (2,188 days old) by Collector2 (Moose Jaw, Sk)        

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Hey Hans - Like this one? (my model 210) If I remember correctly there were also two other models of this style.

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Post# 389572 , Reply# 19   4/1/2018 at 09:14 (2,187 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)        
can't wait to try those

Looking forward to trying that one at the convention in June. It is interesting that several things had to happen for the user to get a shock, I bet if everyone emptied their bags when they should have it may have never happened. I'm guessing that this probably also destroyed the power nozzle since it was designed to run on low voltage. Wasn't their slogan "do it with a Lewyt?" Because of what happened I would say lewyt blew it, lol. I do think the zapper nick name is appropriate, kind of amusing but unfortunately true.
Mike


Post# 389584 , Reply# 20   4/1/2018 at 15:52 (2,187 days old) by kenkart ()        
YES Doug!!

That's it, Have never seen but one!

Post# 389621 , Reply# 21   4/2/2018 at 10:13 (2,186 days old) by Dysonman1 (the county)        

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In 1959, consumer reports said “we could find nothing electronic about it”.

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Post# 389677 , Reply# 22   4/2/2018 at 22:40 (2,186 days old) by Kirbyvertibles (Independence, KS)        
My 3 models

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Post# 389697 , Reply# 23   4/3/2018 at 08:28 (2,185 days old) by kirbyvertibles (Independence, KS)        

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Tom,
Is that the original hose on your 107? Mine has a plain grey crush proof hose that looks like an after-market but it has a molded rubber cord clip on it for the power nozzle cord.


Post# 389698 , Reply# 24   4/3/2018 at 08:29 (2,185 days old) by kirbyvertibles (Independence, KS)        

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could be cream colored not grey?

Post# 389700 , Reply# 25   4/3/2018 at 09:59 (2,185 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

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That's the hose I got from Hans, who got it from Mike Hays. More than a decade ago, when I was a member of the old VCCC, Mike brought the 107 and that hose to the convention in Louisville where we were fimed for the CBS Sunday Morning News. There's pictures and video of him running it during the REAL cleaning contest that we used to hold each year. There's a little hook to hold the power nozzle cord just back of the curved handle end. That was the hose Mike used when he brought the machine to the convention and entered it in the cleaning contest.

Post# 389702 , Reply# 26   4/3/2018 at 10:04 (2,185 days old) by Collector2 (Moose Jaw, Sk)        

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The original hose for the 107 is white. That green one is from the model 88.

Post# 389704 , Reply# 27   4/3/2018 at 10:08 (2,185 days old) by Collector2 (Moose Jaw, Sk)        

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The wands shown with the 107 are also from a model 77. It should have had the same style of wands as the 105 pictured here.

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Post# 389705 , Reply# 28   4/3/2018 at 10:13 (2,185 days old) by Collector2 (Moose Jaw, Sk)        

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The original hose for the 107. Note he long sleeve on the handgrip end and the cord clip and locking piece on the handgrip.

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Post# 389815 , Reply# 29   4/4/2018 at 14:54 (2,184 days old) by Ultralux88 (Denver, Colorado)        

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I’ve wanted one of these in the worst way for years now. I’d say I’ll likely never find one, but I said the same thing about the KenKart machine, and we all know how that ended up...

Post# 389828 , Reply# 30   4/4/2018 at 19:15 (2,184 days old) by kenkart ()        
Istill have

A big box of Sears central stuff for you Reggie, Wish you could come for a visit, you might find something else you want, Mike really had a ton of stuff.

Post# 389871 , Reply# 31   4/5/2018 at 16:22 (2,183 days old) by Ultralux88 (Denver, Colorado)        

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Hans, you're on my list of backlogged visits I need to make, preferably sooner rather than later! We have the same horrid sense of humor, and it was always fun to see you at the conventions, its been way too long...


Post# 389879 , Reply# 32   4/5/2018 at 16:48 (2,183 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        
Reggie

dysonman1's profile picture
You should come to the Vacuum Collectors Convention in June, 14th through 16th, at the Vacuum Museum in St. James, MO Everyone who is anyone will be there.

Post# 389889 , Reply# 33   4/5/2018 at 19:29 (2,183 days old) by n0oxy (Saint Louis Missouri, United States)        
can't wait

Can't wait for the convention, it will be my third one, going to bring several of my water vacs and maybe bring back some more canisters if anyone is selling any this year, I'm a canister only person, don't like uprights, there are definitely some canisters I want to see this year that the museum hopefully has, the Apex Stratocleaner, a Eureka 800 series canister, a Eureka 900 series canister, the Haily's comet, and probably some others that I am forgetting.
Mike


Post# 391025 , Reply# 34   4/25/2018 at 14:29 (2,163 days old) by lux14 (Leawood Kansas)        

Hi, I would really like to come to the convention June 14th through the 16th. I have read about it through this blog for the past several years and want to make the trip. Looking for recomondations on hotels. Does one need to register or anything? I would also like to spend a day at the museum with all the wonderful machines. Perhaps I would arrive a day early. I assume the musuem is open to the public daily. If anyone has any thoughts on all of this it would be appreciated.

Thanks, Richard.


Post# 391084 , Reply# 35   4/26/2018 at 09:29 (2,162 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

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Hi Richard:
You should try to come to the Vacuum Collectors Convention, June 14 - 16. There is NO fee to attend, NO registration fee, and you don't have to be a 'member' of anything to join us.

The Vacuum Cleaner Museum is open to the public during these days (as well as all year long). Most people arrive on Thursday sometime during the day. Friday is a full day at the Museum, where we learn about the machines on display - and can get them down from the display shelves and actually use them. Saturday is where we go through the Museum's store room - parts are available as well as hoses, wands, and attachments. Vintage bags too.

Saturday evening is a cocktail party at my home. That's where we get to explore the machine brought to the gathering by others. Mike is bringing his collection of water-filtration vacuums - many of them never seen by most people. Looking forward to seeing and trying the Ritello and Quantum water vacs. I'll provide appetizers and mixers for every one coming over on Saturday evening.

Some folks stay in St. James at the Greenstay Inn. Others stay one exit away in Rolla, MO. There are many places in Rolla to stay, most stay at the Super 8.

Please feel free to join us.


Post# 391112 , Reply# 36   4/26/2018 at 21:13 (2,162 days old) by lux14 (Leawood Kansas)        

Hi Tom,

I think this you you. :-) Thanks so much for th reply. Made my night. I am really going to try and make it. Sounds like a great opportunity to learn, meet new people, finally get to see that amazing museum and have fun!

Thanks again! Richard.




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