Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Dyson is in the news frequently and so a dedicated thread.

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Thanks for your opinion on the WESTINGHOUSE.

WRT ball bearings and wheels, the only I recall on HOOVER uprights are the 90,91, 913: The heavy Commercials which were made, as you might well know, in Great Britain and exported to the USA.

Carmine D.

Earlier Hoover commercial models 961, 972, 900 and 925 had ball-bearing wheels as well. One of the few Hoover commercial model not to have ball-bearing wheels was UK Model 960, which didn't require them; it was far lighter than the machines which came before and after it. We didn't get the Model 90-style of machine in the UK until 1949, but versions of it were on sale into the early 1990s! Coincidentally, early Model 91s were actually built in North Canton, but production switched to the UK very soon after production began. I know the later machines in the series were UK-built also, but I couldn't say for sure about Model 90.

CarmineD wrote:

Hi Carmine,

There was a model of the Air-Way upright that had a revolving brush.  It was for a intent and purpose a stick vac with power nozzle.  This was way, way back in the day and I have always wondered why it took so long, maybe twenty or so years later, for the power nozzle to come to mind again.

As for the GE upright, sandalwood beige beauty that it was, it employed a floating brushroll to compensate for it lack of a carpet height adjustment -- same as Singer's oldie.  I think here too there wasn't enough of a downward force to make even a revolving brush of much worth cleaning-wise.  The beauty of it was that it was sleek, low design and that it could be hung flat on a wall for storage.  Do you remember the model number?

Thanks,

Venson

Venson wrote:

Hello Venson:

Yes, I believe it to be the V12 U1, if memory serves me correctly. 

Carmine D.

Back again Venson:

The brush roll on this particular GE upright reminds me more of a brush bar to use dyson's terminology.  GE scrubbed the brush bar in favor of a more industry standard brush roll in subsequent upright models which also employed rug height adjustments.

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:
Hi,

That's true but GE moved back to more conventional upright design.  Though GE continuallly manufactured canisters wasn't there laspe in upright manufacture before it started producing the external beg models with the suction port at the back of the base or were both on the market?

Venson

Hi Venson:

If memory serves me correctly, GE produced both ups/canns thru the time that it sold all the vacuum rights to Premier, probably mid-late 70's.  Had stick/brooms too.  We tend to think, myself included, that GE went to canns only.  Why?  HOOVER and EUREKA owned the upright market then.  GE's and most other uprights couldn't compete and stopped trying.  Especially with the big box stores selling the EUREKA and HOOVER brands while the GE brands were sold primarily through GE and appliance dealers.

Carmine D.

DysonInventsBig wrote:
Model2 wrote:
Model2,

 I have seen two vacuums in the United States Patent Office, that use a manipulating handle (1. a swivel and 2. a gimbal) both from the 1930’s (early and mid). These two vacuums are the obvious forerunners in function to the Miela S7 and alike.  If there is a vacuum that rides on a DC18 type roller it is not in the US patent office (I’m 95% sure).  I’d like to see this vacuum, do you have anything illustrating it that you can post?

 I have a love/hate for wiper blades under vacuums. It may be a good consumer element but it’s not the best way to vacuum a hard surface as you know. I’ve yet to see a broom that uses a wiper blade.  The Dyson blades cut into fingers as you pointed out certainly have more benefits than a straight edged blade. I too think the DC18 has some benefits unlike the DC25. I assumed moving the motor, HEPA and all the housing from the DC18 handle and into the DC25 Ball would have lightened up the DC25 handle weight considerably, which it did not. I found this to be disappointing.

DIB

P.S.  The vacuum [wand] swivel dates back to 1909.

Hi DIB,

Please take a look at the following link -- http://www.137.com/museum/airway.htm

You will be led to an image of one of the ealiest innovation in electric vacuum cleaners.  It is the Air-Way upright vacuum that I mentioned in an earlier post. I believe.  This Air-Way vacuum originally began with just a straight suction nozzle but all, the way back in the late 1920s somebody got the idea to make what had to be the first electric power nozzle.

This idea did not seem to validate itself until the very latter 1950s.  Imagine an Electrolux XXX or Hoover Aerodyne tank-type fitted with one of these.  Then again  . . . To everything there is a season  . . .

In the nearer past Hoover produced a PN for am series of canisters that that allowed you to lowerr an actual brush strip for cleaning bare floors. They also supplied for one stick vac model.  'Tis true I -- I owned one.

Someone please correct me if my memory has failed but I believe circa 1970-something Panasonic canisters used a plastic blade on its PNs. 

Plastic or rubber blades in in the past 50 years in general have usually only been used for "squeegee" tools meant to remove fluids from hard flooring.  Pardon my presumptuousness, but the standard for hard floor cleaning has been either natural or synthetic bristle used to compose brush strips intended to aid vacuum cleaning hard flooring.  In my opinion, plain old plastic strips tend to moreso push whatever is loose on a dry floor that dislodge adherent matter as well as a for real brush strips do.

Venson

Hi DIB,

the Airway vacuum I refer to doesn't ride on a roller or a ball; in comparing it to the Slim, I referred to more general similarities between the two machines:

• they both have rear wheels for stability which aren't used when vacuuming - the Slims retract automatically, the Air-Ways are clear of the floor when you're holding it for use
• they're both slim-profile, lightweight uprights
• the Air-Way rides on a floorhead which has two wheels, meaning it is possible to steer the cleaner more easily than a conventional, 4-wheeled upright. The swivel-neck means the cleaner can be turned on its side for doing underneath low furniture
• they both have change-over valves which divert suction down the handle for 'above-floor' cleaning - the Air-Ways being a round celluloid dial you turn manually; the Dysons being automatic. The Air-Way has a wide, hollow handle, which you can affix a hose to for 'above floor' cleaning
• stylistically the floorhead on the Slim is VERY reminiscent of the one used on the Air-Way twin-motor models

The biggest difference between the Airway and the Slim is that Airway introduced disposable bags, and Dyson introduced a system which made them obsolete! When I first saw the Slim, my impression was that the Dyson designers and engineers had looked at the innovative Air-Way, and updated it for the new millennium, taking its overall design and features and making them more user-friendly. Here's a set of pictures of my Air-Way 'Fleetwood Special':