Thread Number: 42227
/ Tag: 50s/60s/70s Vacuum Cleaners
Eureka Sweet Sixteen Canisters |
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Post# 444631   8/10/2021 at 19:23 (988 days old) by portable (Corvallis, OR)   |   | |
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Here are scans of 3 Eureka Sweet Sixteen canister spec sheets, for Models 1640, 1660 and 1680 (front and back). First up: Model 1640 (dig the 70s costume get-ups):
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Post# 444632 , Reply# 1   8/10/2021 at 19:25 (988 days old) by portable (Corvallis, OR)   |   | |
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Post# 444633 , Reply# 2   8/10/2021 at 19:27 (988 days old) by portable (Corvallis, OR)   |   | |
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Post# 444635 , Reply# 3   8/10/2021 at 20:39 (988 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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Wow! Eureka Williams at its best! Sleek, understated, confident industrial design - wish I could find out the names of the designers who created these classic cleaners!
The art director doing these spec sheets made a few minor errors on the front side of the 1660 and 1680 documents: the front pic of the 1660 should show a Vibra-Beat carpet nozzle in the Tool Pak, and the front pic of the 1680 should show Eureka’s deluxe, wider upholstery nozzle. The back sides of the spec sheets show the correct tools on the canister. I think these vacs are circa 1970. They debuted after the Empress II FastVacs from 1967. I think the canister bodies went from sky blue to burnt orange and harvest gold in 1972. EUREKA. The very best in vacuum cleaners. A few decades ago….. |
Post# 444636 , Reply# 4   8/10/2021 at 20:43 (988 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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And here is Eureka’s TV commercial for the Sweet Sixteens - produced by Young & Rubicam if I remember correctly….see link below….
CLICK HERE TO GO TO eurekaprince's LINK |
Post# 444637 , Reply# 5   8/10/2021 at 20:59 (988 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
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Post# 444638 , Reply# 6   8/10/2021 at 21:07 (988 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
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Post# 444641 , Reply# 7   8/10/2021 at 21:32 (988 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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I actually think there was a fourth model in the line-up: the 1620 was a budget version with no CordAway cord reel, if I remember correctly. The series was launched at the National Housewares Show at McCormick Place in Chicago, and Home Furnishings Daily had their special NHMA show edition which had a print ad from Eureka showing the 4 models: 1620, 1640, 1660 and 1680.
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Post# 444642 , Reply# 8   8/10/2021 at 21:38 (988 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
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Cool 😎, I do use it, pretty colors. When I saw it I was thinking 68 to 71 maybe those were popular colors then for the cars. Mine is in I would say very good condition with all of the tools but no tool rack it just wasn't there elderly owner. I'm guessing the exhaust vent on the bottom is to allow for better air flow and cooling but I don't really care for the sound of it with it open.
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Post# 444643 , Reply# 9   8/11/2021 at 01:30 (988 days old) by portable (Corvallis, OR)   |   | |
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Wow, Eurekaprince, good catch. I didn't notice the omissions in the pictures. I personally never cared for the Vibra-Beat attachment. It always seemed gimmicky and noisy. In '72, I bought a new Model 1260 Power Team. I liked the cord reel and electrified hose, though you had to string the leader wire up the channel behind the extension wands. Great machine.
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Post# 444645 , Reply# 10   8/11/2021 at 08:18 (988 days old) by gottahaveahoove (Pittston, Pennsylvania, 18640)   |   | |
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Post# 444651 , Reply# 11   8/11/2021 at 11:41 (988 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)   |   | |
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Post# 444655 , Reply# 12   8/11/2021 at 14:24 (988 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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Post# 448743 , Reply# 15   12/20/2021 at 19:11 (856 days old) by keither (California )   |   | |
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I have the Eureka E1860 from this series.
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This post was last edited 12/20/2021 at 22:08 |
Post# 448745 , Reply# 16   12/20/2021 at 19:47 (856 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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Post# 448746 , Reply# 17   12/20/2021 at 19:57 (856 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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Hi Mike,
Here is a YouTube clip showing a Eureka Model 1630. The ratings on the spec sheet go by horsepower and each of the models in the series had slightly more powerful motors as you went up the range. This 1630 may have a 1 and 1/2 hp motor…you can distinctly hear the motor sound in this clip as the user cleans a piece of upholstered furniture with an upholstery nozzle…. CLICK HERE TO GO TO eurekaprince's LINK |
Post# 448747 , Reply# 18   12/20/2021 at 20:23 (856 days old) by giannh (California)   |   | |
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The sound of the 1630A (thanks to YouTube link provided by @eurekaprince) is identical to that made by my mother's 1640. |
Post# 448750 , Reply# 19   12/20/2021 at 22:10 (856 days old) by keither (California )   |   | |
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Post# 448751 , Reply# 20   12/21/2021 at 05:12 (856 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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Post# 448760 , Reply# 21   12/21/2021 at 15:48 (856 days old) by Keither (California )   |   | |
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Post# 448766 , Reply# 22   12/22/2021 at 05:52 (855 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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Post# 448785 , Reply# 23   12/23/2021 at 15:48 (854 days old) by Keither (California )   |   | |
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@ Brian: Thanks so much for the kind words Brian! I appreciate you very much!
Another Department store brand version of the Eureka vacs was Grants. They carried the Bradford rebadged Eurekas back in the early 70s. This post was last edited 12/23/2021 at 17:08 |
Post# 448787 , Reply# 24   12/23/2021 at 17:13 (853 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
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Post# 448792 , Reply# 25   12/23/2021 at 19:49 (853 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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Post# 448802 , Reply# 27   12/24/2021 at 16:46 (852 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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Hi Mike,
I have a theory about why power nozzle canisters by Eureka and Hoover did not appear before 1973. In about 1969, Consumer Reports rated the Electrolux 1205 as the top canister because of its excellent carpet cleaning ability. I can't remember if any Kenmore power nozzle cleaners rated well in that report. It could be that once popular Electrolux grabbed the top spot in the ratings, Hoover and Eureka figured it was time they created a power nozzle canister. Especially since Consumer Reports tests showed that Eureka's Vibra Beat carpet nozzle did not really improve carpet cleaning: I remember that the report said the racket the Vibra Beat created was "much ado about nothing"!!!! |
Post# 448841 , Reply# 28   12/26/2021 at 15:09 (851 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
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Another thought, although obviously I could be very wrong! I always thought that the Hoover and Eureka back in the day, they had some models starting at let's say a beginning household's budget and then fancied up and more powerful from there, where adding a power head would almost double that price. Again it's just a theory but I think you're more expensive door to door and such it wouldn't have been such a shock to their average buyer. Maybe! Using my sweet 16 today!!!
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Post# 448849 , Reply# 29   12/26/2021 at 20:02 (850 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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Still, when you look at the chronological history of canister vacs in North America, there were at least 3 manufacturers offering a deluxe power nozzle canister by 1960: Electrolux, Lewyt and Whirlpool. Singer and Sunbeam were offering deluxe canisters with air-driven turbo nozzles by that time. The question was: why did Hoover and Eureka wait until 1973 to offer a power nozzle with a canister vac? My guess would be that Eureka thought they were offering a comparible cleaning solution with the Vibra-Beat carpet nozzle all through the 1960’s. And it could be that Hoover thought of itself as the inventor of the upright vacuum - why bother adding a power nozzle to a canister if the consumer was willing to buy a separate upright just for carpets?
So my theory is by 1970, after Consumer Reports showed that the Vibra Beat nozzle was providing “much ado about nothing”, Eureka realized the Vibra Beat could not offer a comparably clean carpet and they decided to replace it with an electrified power nozzle to compete with the better performers being made by Electrolux and Kenmore (Whirlpool). Once Eureka started selling very good power nozzle canisters, Hoover needed to keep up with the competition. I think the PowerMatic nozzles came out a year later in 1974. |
Post# 448850 , Reply# 30   12/26/2021 at 20:29 (850 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
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Post# 448852 , Reply# 31   12/26/2021 at 21:11 (850 days old) by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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