Thread Number: 39572  /  Tag: Pre-1950 Vacuum Cleaners
Preeeeesenting ... {{{~drum-roll~}}} ... the HYDRO-VAC!
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Post# 419723   2/8/2020 at 23:58 (1,509 days old) by electrolux137 (Los Angeles)        

electrolux137's profile picture

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I went to see the Hydro-Vac that I had posted about earlier in the week. I decided to go ahead and get it even though it's not something I'm really all that interested in. However, it is great condition and very dramatic looking -- even Arlee, who is loathe to ever admit any fondness whatsoever for vacuum cleaners -- admired it.

 

The lady I got it from, an artist, was very, very nice. She was absolutely delighted that her old vacuum cleaner was going to a collector!

 

It came with a hideous brown coiled hose that I immediately replaced with a woven hose I had stashed away many years ago that matches it perfectly. I think the hose was from a Modern Hygiene but I'm not sure. (It's times like these that I really regret having to throw stuff out ... indeed ... "I may need it someday!")

 

I'm wondering about something: On the handle is stated "BAGLESS." However, there was a bag in it of very thick and stiff material that knocked down the suction quite significantly. So, is there supposed to be a bag in it or not? I recall that the G.E. Roll Easy could be used with or without bags. Without the bag, it has quite strong suction; with it, it's pretty wimpy.

 

I like the motor sound -- it's unlike the sound of any of my other machines.

 

It's not complete -- she only had two attachments for it. It would be fun, someday-somewhere, to find the original wands and floor tools. (If you look closely at the dusting brush you'll see an image of the vacuum cleaner and the word "BAGLESS!")

 

Anyway, I'm tickled to have it!


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This post was last edited 02/09/2020 at 00:59
Post# 419725 , Reply# 1   2/9/2020 at 01:22 (1,509 days old) by bnsd60m9200 (Akron OH)        

bnsd60m9200's profile picture
looks like a private label mc allister. that may be the only one in existance. ive only seen 2 mc allisters in my years of hunting, and one was tom gasko's.

very nice and rare find


Post# 419773 , Reply# 2   2/10/2020 at 08:57 (1,507 days old) by rugsucker (Elizabethton TN)        
Hydrovac/McAllister

Amazing condition,looks great!I have seen almost no mention or any literature on these.There is about a 1949 Good Housekeeping magazine that mention it among other well known vacs.

Post# 419774 , Reply# 3   2/10/2020 at 09:12 (1,507 days old) by dysonman1 (the county)        

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My McAllister is a model R. Your HydroVac is a VR. Both are identical. The filter (bag) sucks up around the motor screen with the machine in use which keeps the dirt from going in. Technically it's "bagless". The company mentioned in their advertising (as well as in Good Housekeeping) that it could be used to 'wash and dry' upholstery. I believe they refer to the fact it can pick up suds generated by the sprayer attachment, from furniture or rugs. As it's not grounded and has no 'float valve', it would be very easy to get a shock.

Interestingly, the first Lewyt (model 40) mentioned that it too could pick up water - you were instructed to empty it out the front where the hose connects when the water line reached that far - all without taking it apart. Can you imagine that wet paper cone and the wet cloth cone? Yikes.


Post# 419812 , Reply# 4   2/10/2020 at 16:23 (1,507 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)        

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I guess their idea was that the paper filters dissolved in the water and you just dumped them out, "no fuss no mess".


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