Thread Number: 43413  /  Tag: 50s/60s/70s Vacuum Cleaners
Can anyone discern what year these 2 Luxes of mine were purchased, based on the customer's serial #? 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 453452   6/7/2022 at 09:23 (681 days old) by WoodJ99 (Massachusetts, USA)        

They were both purchased by my grandparents.

Model L (blue): L-96961-L
Super J: K-59087-T

I know there's no way to decipher date codes by the product serial number, but can you do it from the Customer's Exclusive Serial Number? I've listed those for both vacuums above. My Diamond J, Grand Marquise/Legacy, and Ambassador 3 don't have those. Just the oldest 2.

Post# 453491 , Reply# 1   6/7/2022 at 23:01 (681 days old) by Paul (USA)        

To my knowledge the product serial number and customer exclusive serial number are one in the same. You may be thinking of the salespersons' product codes, which I don't think had anything to do with the production time.

I've made several attempts at decoding the digits, but have concluded that they are only the production numbers. The 2-letter series is most likely how they were time coded, but the distribution lists were never published for public use and branch offices likely didn't keep them. The first letter usually stayed the same during a model's run, while the second likely changed after every 99,999 produced. Further, the corporate records from the early years to the 1980s were apparently discarded when the Old Greenwich factory was shuttered in 1985. I called corporate several years ago and requested the production times for the vintage cleaners but was told that it had no electronic records of the serial numbers prior to the 1980s. Even so, an Aerus dealer informed me that the electronic records only tell them the original sales date. So a cleaner may have been manufactured in one year but not sold until the next; resulting in skewed data.

It would be awesome if an Aerus franchisee would upload the lists. There's probably at least a half dozen of them that have kept their records and either don't realize it, don't care, or don't appreciate how it would promote customer interest and loyalty to the Aerus (Electrolux) brand.


Post# 453671 , Reply# 2   6/10/2022 at 18:37 (678 days old) by Jo (Dallas,TX)        
Here’s the answer

 Last summer I was at my Mom’s local Aerus branch in NJ and he told me they don’t have records before 2003 anymore. Once the new computer system was implemented they did away with the any old records and also you must realize that businesses didn’t really use computers before the early to mid 1990s so any records would have been on paper in a filing cabinet and long since been chucked. Once the machine are out of warranty there was no need to keep records anyway. Now they do have records because of the computers but again, it’s only for machines after 2003.

I was also specifically told that the serial numbers are not date coded at all.

The production date versus in service date are also two different things. Often times a chunk of machines are delivered and not input in the system until they are “checked out” by the branch and this could be before they are sold to a customer.

For an older model you’d really have to go by the fine details on the main unit itself as changes were made over time. For example early blue L’s sis not have the electric shock warning stamped into the switch plate nor the words on and off, later blue L’s did. Also the plug in cords were different during the run as strain reliefs were added to them..first in the female end then later on the male end.

Also those “customer exclusive” decals which had the serial numbers on them were not on all machines….that was started sometime during the run of the L I believe and it was just a repeat of the actual serial number stamped into the body of the machine.

Now….with the current system When a machine is checked out by the branch salesperson and then sold to a customer that info is input into the system and then when any service is done on the machine it is also input on that serial number.

Also records are kept by customer name. For example, my Mom is in the system by name and he looked her up and saw that she had purchased bags and a hose in recent years which was correct.

Jon

Post# 453678 , Reply# 3   6/10/2022 at 20:47 (678 days old) by OldCrankman (Lawrenceburg, Indiana)        
Short answer

 oldcrankman's profile picture
Model L was made in 1969
Super J was made in 1990

Post# 453712 , Reply# 4   6/11/2022 at 15:57 (677 days old) by WoodJ99 (Massachusetts, USA)        

@OldCraankmam

SJs weren’t still in production in 1990. They were discontinued in the late 70s, when the Olympia appeared. Perhaps they bought it used? I also have a Grand Marquise/Legacy/Ultralux from them, and 1990 is about right for that one.

69 sounds right for the L though.


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