Hi Carmine,
Wow, that's a new one for me. Did the owner only change the bag every leap year for the blockage to develop?
Best,
Venson
Hi Venson:
Based on experience, some vacuum users change bags once in a blue moon.
With the old fashioned HOOVER Convertible design, the dirt in the bottom fill bag would fall down into the bag tube/bellows after the vacuum was turned off and stored. This was especially the case if boot leg paper bags were used. Over time a huge dust pack [dirt clog] would build up in the bag tube/bellows [even motor housing] until the vacuum had no suction. In fact, dirt would shoot out of the vacuum. A condition called 'negative suction.' The above technique, that your friend wisely used too for her cloth bag, was a quick and dirty fix until the vacuum could be disassembled and repaired correctly.
Oftentimes, the dust pack built up so much in the fan housing, that the motor would not run. Just hum. Then, the disassembly was a must to repair correctly.
HOOVER, after many years of the Convertible run, made a top fill paper [like the old fashioned F&G bags]. This was also available to retro fit on the bottom fill Convertibles. This cured the problem for the most part.
Carmine D.
This message was modified Sep 8, 2008 by CarmineD