Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

Hi,

I have yet to see a vacuum's brushroll actually break in two.  Does the material one is made of make a critical difference over time?

The best features I've liked about brushrolls, whether wood, metal or plastic, are those that allow easy removal and replacement of brush strips and beater bars thus doing away with the need to buy a complete new brushroll when brush wear begins to effect cleaning.

I thought the Hoover brush strips were an excellent idea. I wish they still did that today but then again there were complaints in the early 1980s of consumers who had ruined floors because of the abrasive nature of the actual metal bars which has been replaced by plastic these days.

Venson wrote:

The HOOVER upright Commercial 913 all metals with cloth bags made in England used double screw metal back rebristleable agitator brushes [similar to H-28-29 but with different center bar and end plates].  These were made for export to the USA right up thru the 80's and then ended.  No longer around, these HOOVER war horses were once the stalwarts of many commerical cleaning businesses and companies.

Carmine D.

CarmineD wrote:

The HOOVER upright Commercial 913 all metals with cloth bags made in England used double screw metal back rebristleable agitator brushes [similar to H-28-29 but with different center bar and end plates].  These were made for export to the USA right up thru the 80's and then ended.  No longer around, these HOOVER war horses were once the stalwarts of many commerical cleaning businesses and companies.

Carmine D.

Hi,

Following is a link to a page bearing the Model 912 (British version) and several other models.  Didn't download the picture itself because that would be naughty -- and because I couldn't when I tried.

http://www.vintagehoover.com/commercial.htm

Venson

Thanks Venson.  Conspicuously missing is the leather reinforcement on the bottom of the cloth bag [on the American version] to protect against wear and tear when the bag was in operation and fill.

Carmine D.

Hi Carmine,

I remember always seeing these in use in department stores like Gimble's and Macy's in New York and Philadelphia.

Venson

can a Hoover Elite or Windtunnel brush roll be re-bristled?

Carmine,

  Do you remember the oversize convertable upright that they took out to display at the stores to draw peole in? Dad had it at our house when he was a serviceman for HOOVEr in about 1955. That thing pulled the rug off of our floor into the cleaner before it blew a fuse in our house. It was quite a show piece.

                                                                             Procare

procare wrote:

Hello Procare:

Can't say I do, unless you're thinking of the HOOVER Commercial 90, 91, 913 which rsembled more the old HOOVER 60 and 61 upright models.  Up to the Convertible models [31 and 65], around 1955, HOOVER continued to sell new vacuums door-to-door and through it's own branch stores and large retail stores where it rented space for selling to vacuum customers.  After the advent of the Convertibles, HOOVER stopped it's door-to-door sales and started authorizing independents like myself as sales and service stations and warranty dealers.  HOOVER did this through its own sales representatives who made the routes to the indies for the purpose.  When HOOVER did this, the HOOVER reps provided store and window displays for its products.  Very HOOVER-ish with the iconic HOOVER emblems in abundance.  This was also the era of televisions in most households and HOOVER was advertising on some of the popular TV shows.  HOOVER reps assembled and provided cardboard and metal stands and platforms in various shapes and sizes for displaying its products like the Covertibles, constellations, sticks [lark], irons with aluminum and staniless steel soleplates, waxers, polishers etc.  Bag stands that revolved with adjustable size/spaces for all the various HOOVER products' bags.  It was the best and worse of times for HOOVER.  Large volume sales, especially in the big box stores, all too ofetn at expense of the independents, the back bone for HOOVER for its service and parts.

Carmine D.

Carmine,

  As I recall it was a Model 62. Everything on the cleaner worked. The handle when in a reclined posisition of approximately 45 degrees stood  about 8 ft tall. That was  the height of our living room. The cleaner was huge and a child could sit on the hood. The bag was said to be more than 10 times the size of a regular bag.  What I remember was the cleaner was to bring people into the local furniture store that was going to handle new HOOVERS.  It was at the end of Door to Door for Hoover and the first of the store machines- The Convetibles which I know know more about their introduction. The local Editor for the newspaper, that  lived behind us and his photgrapher came over to take a picture of the largest working vacuum cleaner and  my Dad started it up without thing and  the cleaner sucked up the living room rug and got stuck in the brushroll. Luckily it blew a fuse and Dad got it out of the brushroll without damage.  If I can locate the picture I will put it on.

  Our family has been in the vacuum cleaner business for 65 years. Of those 65 years , I celebrate my 54th year in the business.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Procare

Hello Procare:

Wonderful experience.  No doubt the reason in part for your career.  Congratulations on your many years in the business. 

Back then, an experience like yours and the wonderful giant vacuum, would be limited to regional news coverage.  Not like today with the mass media and communications.  I'm wondering if there is a connection with the giant HOOVER vacuum you know and the HOOVER play toy vacuums [model 63].  Might well be.  HOOVER gifted these minature likenesses of the H-63 with new HOOVER purchases as a Christmas promotion in early to mid 50's.  The model succession is HOOVER 60-61-62 [late 40's]-63-64 -called the Citation-[early to mid 50's] and then the Convertible models 31 and 65 [latter mid 50 into 56].

Thanks for sharing here.

Carmine D.