Budget vacuums of the past vs today.

Well, it depends on how far you go back in time. Even budget machines used to have more metal on them--some were even made almost entirely of metal--and had no self-destructing circuit boards. The big difference of all--and the reason many of these older machines are still around decades after they left the factory--is because they were designed to be repaired, and not just chucked into the landfill after a couple of years. In fact, manufacturers have found the only way they can kill their older products off is to make sure replacement parts are no longer available for them.

By comparison, modern plasticrap vacs are basically designed to self-destruct after a few short years. Cheap plastic parts break, circuit boards burn out and are made obsolete very rapidly, and users neglect to clean the filters. Since there's no good way to repair them, they end up in the dump, which is bad for the environment. They may be a little heavier, they may belch a little dust, but because they don't add significantly to the solid waste stream beyond the occasional filter bag, they're definitely more environmentally friendly.

Can you tell I'm just a little biased towards the older machines?


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Post# 452008 4/25/2022 at 10:57 (724 days old) by mariotron (Texas )
Checkrate/Likes Just wondering how vacs usually found under 100$ (of course adjusting for inflation) were different.like was there any major differences in build quality 80s through today? I at least noticed some older machines have harder or more reinforcemeed plastics than ones today

Post# 452039 , Reply# 1 4/26/2022 at 11:46 (723 days old) by Human (Pines of Carolina)
Checkrate/Likes Well, it depends on how far you go back in time. Even budget machines used to have more metal on them--some were even made almost entirely of metal--and had no self-destructing circuit boards. The big difference of all--and the reason many of these older machines are still around decades after they left the factory--is because they were designed to be repaired, and not just chucked into the landfill after a couple of years. In fact, manufacturers have found the only way they can kill their older products off is to make sure replacement parts are no longer available for them. By comparison, modern plasticrap vacs are basically designed to self-destruct after a few short years. Cheap plastic parts break, circuit boards burn out and are made obsolete very rapidly, and users neglect to clean the filters. Since there's no good way to repair them, they end up in the dump, which is bad for the environment. They may be a little heavier, they may belch a little dust, but because they don't add significantly to the solid waste stream beyond the occasional filter bag, they're definitely more environmentally friendly. Can you tell I'm just a little biased towards the older machines?

Post# 452041 , Reply# 2 4/26/2022 at 13:09 (723 days old) by Vinvac (Dubuque IA)
Checkrate/Likes I think this a great topic! Thanks for sharing. Back in the day of good machines I can think of several items. Electrolux had their high end machine such as the 1205 but then they had the model L to be the cheaper version. Which came with the basic items at a lower cost, yet cleaned every bit as well. Then there was Hoover. All of their machines in the early convertibles had the very same motor and beater bar with the only changes being, cord length, bumpers, handle grips, headlight and possibly a smaller bag that took the same C bag as the high end model. Eureka was similar but I think their motors may have had some slight amp differences. Royal offered uprights that had different features depending on how deluxe the model was you were looking for. Kirby offered one and only model. Filter Queen may have offered just more tools to go with the basic machine, while the machine itself was standard. Just my thoughts!