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.

Hello Venson:

They do break, metal and/or wood.  Even HOOVER's mighty metal agitators have been known to crack and break in the belt ride groove.

Carmine D.

Hi Carmine,

What does it?  A fault in the material, improper belt placement or is there that that brushroll every now and then that turns out to be a lemon?

Venson

Venson wrote:

Hi Venson:

Wear and tear.  Back in the day, the wooden brush rolls would split from poor rebristling techniques.  Yes, we actually rebristled rather than throw away and sell/buy new [early 50's].  Metals were much better for rebristling.  The old HOOVER agits cracked and wore in the belt guide due to a combination of reasons.  Too tight belts.  Bad agitator bearings.  etc.  Rare but it did happen.  Never ever did I see a beater bar fail, come loose or undone. 

Carmine D.

Thanks Carmine.  I didn't know about rebristling.

Venson

We still have that facility in the UK - if you still own Hoover's classic models like the Junior or Senior (Convertible in the U.S, I think) where you can get brush strips to replace existing ones. Of course Sebo also do this with their commercial BS36 and 46 series.

vacmanuk wrote:

Hi vacmanuk,

If I recall correctly Hoover had that facility for years prior the Convertible.  Though they didn't slide in and out, removable cast metal plates that the brush tufts were anchored in could be removed from the metal drum of Hoover's brushroll and replaced with newly purchased ones.

If I'm correct, "rebristling" would the actual extraction of permanently inserted but worn brush tufts from a brush roll, more than likely made of wood, along with the insertion of new brush tufts.  That said, I'd think the process a bit complicated as there'd probably have to be some trimming of the bristles as well.

I'm curious to know if there was a substantial saving by rebristling as opposed to buying a new brushroll.

Venson

Venson wrote:

Hi Venson:

Vacmanuk makes an excellent point about HOOVER agitator brushes and rebristling.  For many years, I dealt in rebristled HOOVER agitator brushes for repairs and new for over the counter sales to customers who were do-it-yourself-ers.  Gave customers the option.  Rebristling required the metal strip backs for exchange, so it was a likely and ecologically efficient transaction.  Cost for rebristling was initially much less than buying and selling new outright from HOOVER.  But, alas it became a lost art and too expensive.  Went the way of most all other things in the vacuum industry: Gone and forgotten.  To my knowledge the last USA brush rebristler went out of business in the 70's.   

PS:  The new brush inserts were twisted and wired into the brush back strips through holes.  Even the old lux 30 floor brushes and round brushes had brush strips/inserts that could be replaced rather than buying a whole new tool. 

Carmine D. 

CarmineD wrote:

Hi Carmine,

Got it but was I incorrect in assuming rebristling was also done for wooden brushrolls with brush tufts embedded?

Were these metal strips on early Hoover Convertible models.  I only recall the replaceable plastic brush strips.  You twisted off the ends of the brushroll slid out the worn brush strips and replaced them with new ones.

Thanks,

Venson

Venson wrote:

Hi Venson:

Wooden brush rebristlers were extremely rare because the wooden rolls lent themselves to splitting in the process.  More common and widespread were the metal brush rebristlers.  HOOVER brush strips were always metal backed up to the Convertibles in the mid 50's which were plastic backed.   These plastic backs had no option for rebristling.  Had to buy and replace these new.  But the old fashioned rebristlers were still available for all the other HOOVER metal backed brush strips until the cost was too prohibitive for the fall off in demand.  if I recall the last of the USA rebristlers bit the dust [no pun intended] in the late 70's. 

Carmine D.

Thanks Carmine.

Venson

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.