Thread Number: 37033
/ Tag: 80s/90s Vacuum Cleaners
A Hose by any other name... |
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Post# 395791   7/29/2018 at 16:18 (2,069 days old) by completenutt (West Hollywood, California)   |   | |
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After getting bitten by the Electrolux bug and suffering a slight fever, I am back in action!
I bought an HPR (after much discussion, it's probably a Super J) on eBay a few months ago, and it quickly became my favorite to use almost daily. It came with the original braided hose which was in decent condition and very clean, but, of course, I noticed as most of us do, that the suction was seriously affected at the hose end due to it's age. Even by putting your hand around any area of the hose, you could clearly feel the slight breeze around your fingers.
The reason I hesitated until now to get a new hose is that the original seemed to fit the "era" of the vacuum and the handle and other parts matched exactly the color of the vacuum body, and I viewed that as linear and charming with it's old fashioned knobs and mini-dial suction control, etc. So, I just thought I'd get used to it and enjoy it for how it was performing instead of how it could perform.
I decided to jump in and get a new OEM hose for it... and OMG, what a difference! The obvious difference is the hose material and handle configuration. I'm not sure if it's made by the company that I read on VL was a subsidiary of Lux called Laurence Manufacturing (Post#395499, reply #9) but it does look and feel exactly like the "rubbery" hose that came with my early 2000's Aerus Lux Legacy that I recently found at a Thrift Store. Either way, the color matches almost perfectly!
I know you were all mentioning that the hose made a difference, but I had no idea how perceptible!
It's like re-discovering the machine all over again!
The sound of all that air being sucked through the entire length of the braided hose is gone, and now somehow the motor itself seems more muted and smooth sounding. The predominant sound is massive airflow/suction from the tools, especially the hard floor tool, where I had never heard such a wonderful strong sound coming from the tools since hearing it for the first time with my Dyson DC39. The Dyson was quiet enough, while other vacuums in my collection were so loud that the airflow sound was imperceptible. My HPR hums like a Rolls Royce (not that I really know what that sounds like, but I presume it's powerful and quiet!), and I can now clearly hear the suction louder than the machine, and louder than I can on the DC39! I got a whole new awareness of why Electrolux became such an iconic brand. The wonderful experience using the machine now actually gives me energy to continue cleaning and even look for things that I might not have thought of vacuuming before in order to just continue using the machine!
The question is... are original braided hoses worth saving? When selling a machine, or just displaying it with it's hose, will still having an (albeit compromised original) hose add to the value, or is it just an obsolete part that won't afford the user of the amazing performance results of the machine and therefore becomes un-necessary to keep. CLICK HERE TO GO TO completenutt's LINK on eBay This post was last edited 07/29/2018 at 16:46 |
Post# 395792 , Reply# 1   7/29/2018 at 16:45 (2,069 days old) by compactc9guy (Bathurst NB)   |   | |
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Post# 395795 , Reply# 2   7/29/2018 at 17:22 (2,069 days old) by electrolux137 (Los Angeles)   |   | |
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~ The later braided electric hoses have many detriments other than leakage -- they're stiff, heavy and too short. However, they are beautiful, far more so than the plain-looking vinyl hoses. So when I am displaying -- or "play vacuuming" with -- one of my Electroluxes, I use the original hose. Then for "real vacuuming" I use a replacement hose. |
Post# 395796 , Reply# 3   7/29/2018 at 17:41 (2,069 days old) by vacuumlad1650 (Wauponsee, IL)   |   | |
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That's a decent generic replacement hose. The genuine ones blow them out of the water for day to day use, but the generic ones are nice. I use one on my vac for cleaning out the car since it gets banged around so much.
I keep a few braided hoses for looks as long as they aren't dropping rubber dingleberries all over my floor. Most of the ones I hang onto are in good enough shape to maintain some suction. |
Post# 395800 , Reply# 4   7/29/2018 at 18:54 (2,069 days old) by compactc9guy (Bathurst NB)   |   | |
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Post# 395805 , Reply# 5   7/29/2018 at 21:18 (2,068 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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I have a generic hose just like that. It came with my Diamond Jubilee machine that I got at Goodwill a couple of years ago for $10. The hose has a $76 price sticker from a local vacuum store. The generic hose works just fine except with a Sidekick hooked up to it. The electrical connection between the isn't completely secure.
But any vinyl hose will indeed vastly improve an Electrolux canister's performance over that of a leaky woven hose. I've got a 1205 that my dad rescued from a neighbor's curb and then I rescued from their attic about 35 years later. It was always a lackluster performer until I stuck a vinyl hose on it. The improvement was significant enough that I decided to clean it up, replace the broken handle and add it to my active fleet instead of consign it to the barn as a parts donor, as I had originally thought of doing. |