Thread Number: 45496
/ Tag: 80s/90s Vacuum Cleaners
Eureka Bravo II Widetrack models |
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Post# 470832   4/23/2024 at 15:27 by DoraTheExplorer (Virginia, USA)   |   | |
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Hello there, Vacuumlanders! One of my favorite vacuum lineups is the Bravo II lineup from Eureka. My childhood machine as well as the very machine that got me interested in vacuum cleaners as a little girl was my parents' 1998 Eureka The Boss Special Edition. They bought it new from Kmart I believe when they moved into the smell single wide we lived in from then until 2019, and they had it until it burned up in late 2011 or so, possibly due to bearing failure.
Anyways, because of that, I love the widetrack models in particular although they are unfortunately pretty rare as they seemed to be sold by only a few retailers from what I can tell and they were on the higher end of the price spectrum for direct air machines at the time. With that being said, if you have or had one, feel free to post pictures of it! Also, if you are trying to get rid of one let me know because I would love to have another! |
Post# 470833 , Reply# 1   4/23/2024 at 15:50 by Hoover300 (Kentucky)   |   | |
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Post# 470835 , Reply# 2   4/23/2024 at 16:15 by DoraTheExplorer (Virginia, USA)   |   | |
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Luckily after many years of searching, I finally found someone that was selling one back last September and he had TWO! Sold me the better of the two (right one) and I am currently replacing the bearings in it as the front one is really messed up and would squeal horrifically on startup and intermittently during use when I first got it. I will post a picture of mine once I get the motor restored and get it cleaned up!
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Post# 470836 , Reply# 3   4/23/2024 at 16:18 by panasonicvac (Northern Utah)   |   | |
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I believe there are four variants of those machines, at least from what I've seen so far. You got The Boss Special edition soft case which I'm pretty sure was the more common one and my personal favorite. There's a blue Bravo II with a hard case. Two World Vacs that are both hard case, one maroon and one green. And if this one counts, there's a black Ultra Boss hard case but it's like the Bravo III version.
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Post# 470839 , Reply# 5   4/23/2024 at 18:10 by DoraTheExplorer (Virginia, USA)   |   | |
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Yep, plus there are two others I know of. A bare bones soft bag model that Old Crankman posted on here last year and there's also a World Vac Widetrack model that had the "Dirt Alert" lights and dual speed motor that's probably the rarest model along with that one Old Crankman posted that I didn't know existed until then. I'd love to get either the blue Bravo II hardcase or the maroon World Vac in particular, that maroon looks so good on these!
Anyways, here is all of the pictures I have of various Widetrack models besides mine which I posted above: |
Post# 470840 , Reply# 6   4/23/2024 at 18:19 by Paul (USA)   |   | |
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Post# 470842 , Reply# 7   4/23/2024 at 19:11 by Paul (USA)   |   | |
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There is also a Model 7821 Boss Special Edition soft bag (video) and the Model 7822 Brovo II soft bag originally posted by Scott (OldCrankman).
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Post# 470844 , Reply# 8   4/23/2024 at 19:33 by DoraTheExplorer (Virginia, USA)   |   | |
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Post# 470848 , Reply# 11   4/23/2024 at 21:59 by DoraTheExplorer (Virginia, USA)   |   | |
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For the first one: You're fine, everyone has their own preferences regarding vacuums collecting and therefore their own areas of expertise on certain brands/models/years etc. I had already figured you weren't aware of the differences between the Bravo II and Victory units and frankly I didn't mind you putting a few extra pictures of Victory and other Eureka model materials anyways. But yes, the 7800 Bravo II series is my favorite entry from Eureka, specifically the widetrack models (7820 and 7890 series).
Regarding the "The BOSS" name/moniker, it's mostly nothing more than a model name that became Eureka's popular leading name of the 90s, similar to the Tempo and Windtunnel names from Hoover and how they were reused many times on many models, you can find that Eureka put the "The Boss" name on many machines from the 90s through the early 2010s on both ends of the price spectrum including machines that in my opinion, didn't qualify to be called such. Post 2: Note that those brushrolls also fit certain Bravo machines as well as those odd Mega Boss/Gen 1 Smartvac machines I believe and not just the widetrack Bravo IIs. However there are a lot of 7820 and 7890 models on that list I have never seen which are Bravo IIs. |
Post# 470867 , Reply# 13   4/24/2024 at 11:53 by DoraTheExplorer (Virginia, USA)   |   | |
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Nice, love how that manual shows both the standard 12 inch base as well as the Widetrack base. I'd also love to find such a reference chart as the only ones I have found are for mid 80s and older models.
As far as differences between the Bravo! (sometimes referred to as the Bravo I from us collectors) and Bravo II models- The Bravo! line debuted in 1992 I believe as Eureka's direct competitor to Hoover's Elite lineup that was quickly growing in popularity at the time. Now I have never had one or worked on one, but from my understanding, the main differences on the Bravo "I" versus the Bravo II were the bases, hoods, the hoses, tools, and the design of the spine and how the tools were stored on it. As far as I know, the motors are very similar if not thd same in later Bravo models towards the end of the line at least. Also, to my knowledge there was never a Widetrack Bravo I nor was there a model that had a built in hose with the selector like the WT Bravo IIs did, but I could be wrong and have simply never seen one. In 1996, the Bravo II line debuted, with a different hood, maybe a slightly updated motor, and with some models with a Widetrack base and built in hose of course. Common nameplates for the Bravo II line are: The Boss (incl. Plus and SE models) Powerline World Vac Precision Lite |
Post# 470880 , Reply# 14   4/24/2024 at 20:41 by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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Welcome to Vacuumland Sofia!
I think in order to help you find more Bravo Twos, we need to differentiate two very different Eureka model names here. The Bravo II (like the Bravo One before it) was Eureka’s answer to the Hoover Elite and it featured a side-facing fan which allowed the other side of the motor to be used to drive the brush roll. Other similarities between the Bravo and Elite were: motor integrated into the bottom of the handle with an integrated dirt path to the dirt bag within the handle itself. Both models featured a front-mounted soft dust bag or hard dust bag compartment. The “Boss” terminology was used by Eureka to brand a lot of vacuum designs including uprights, canisters, stick vacs and hand vacs. I was never quite sure of Eureka’s marketing strategy in using the word Boss, but they would often select one basic, no frills model in a certain line-up to market as a basic powerful “I mean business” machine with not a lot of bells and whistles and extra features. Boss models were always coloured black. There were definitely some black Bravos that were branded with the Boss name, but not a lot. It’s important for us to focus on the words Bravo Two here, and ignore other Eurekas that had the Boss name branded on them. Just my two amps worth to keep us focused on what I think Sofia is really looking for. 😀 |
Post# 470881 , Reply# 15   4/24/2024 at 20:54 by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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I actually owned a basic, no headlight, soft bag Bravo One in the early 1990’s. It had a much sleeker hood than the Bravo II and the provision for a sleek, low profile headlight was at the very front of the motor head. The Bravo Twos I find to be less attractive - with the boxy headlight installed at the very back of the motor hood.
Consumer Reports gave excellent carpet cleaning scores to the Bravo when it first came out. I even think it received the coveted “Best Buy” label as it only cost about USD$80 in the stores at the time. One thing I remember is that Eureka’s Bravo had a much larger bag than the Hoover Elite. |
Post# 470882 , Reply# 16   4/24/2024 at 21:29 by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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Post# 470888 , Reply# 18   4/25/2024 at 11:43 by eurekaprince (Montreal, Canada)   |   | |
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Hi Paul,
Thanks for the compliment! 😀 I wish I had the time and cash to simply buy up those old binders of Eureka spec sheets that appear on eBay from time to time. Then I could at my leasure just create a computer database of all models. The spec sheets really do provide all the detail you need to create a proper history of the company’s beautiful products. There are even some YouTube clips of posters slowly leafing through these binders of spec sheets, and if you slow down the video clip, you can glean a lot of information. Re my dark blue basic no-frills Bravo upright: it really is an amazing carpet cleaner! The pros = lightweight, huge dust bag, sleek design and superb deep carpet cleaning for only US$80! The cons = quite noisy, short power cord and a partial furniture bumper that stopped halfway down the sides of the motor head - the end of the bumper used to catch on corners of walls and furniture. I actually got it for about CAD$120 at a Canadian Tire hardware/housewares store in Toronto. Lots of “suck for the buck”!!!! 🤣 |
Post# 470954 , Reply# 20   4/28/2024 at 15:53 by DoraTheExplorer (Virginia, USA)   |   | |
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Got a new handle release spring as the first one disappeared when I took it apart somehow, new belts, plus some NOS parts including a brushroll, scroll assembly that contains the front bearing, and carbon brushes as I accidentally shattered one of the originals by forgetting to pull it away from the center in my excitement when I went to tap the shaft into place. As of now, the motor is almost back together- new brushes are wired in, I just have to adjust the shaft so the metal cooling fan will stop rubbing on the windings, set the CBs in place, verify that it is spinning freely and everything looks right before putting the case back on and reinstalling it into he machine.
Meanwhile, I will also wash the hood, attachments, hose, and spine/bag and lastly the base itself before letting everything dry this week. Next weekend, I will put it back together and hopefully it will finally run correctly again! Stay tuned for the pics when I get done, too! |
Post# 470970 , Reply# 21   4/29/2024 at 13:20 by Paul (USA)   |   | |
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Glad you found a bunch of NOS parts and in the process of getting everything ship-shape. Looking forward to the photos of the resto! |
Post# 471193 , Reply# 22   5/9/2024 at 20:20 by DoraTheExplorer (Virginia, USA)   |   | |
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Finished the motor rebuild on my own widetrack Bravo II, a '99 Eureka The Boss Special Edition with a NOS scroll assembly and carbon brushes, put it back together and it runs like it is 1999 again! Just have to let the hose dry and put it back on, then find my wax so I can polish the hood. Videos of the first test run plus a video of it in use when it is complete will be posted to my YouTube channel "Princess Sofia".
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Post# 471204 , Reply# 23   5/10/2024 at 13:48 by Paul (USA)   |   | |
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Phat! So are you "gonna party like it's 1999"? |
Post# 471207 , Reply# 24   5/10/2024 at 16:00 by DoraTheExplorer (Virginia, USA)   |   | |
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