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Just noticed Al, the machine just below the National with the wooden handgrip interests me; is it a Premier Duplex by any chance? Stephen

James, that's the machine that I was talking about, which I thought Al had and which is similar to the one of mine which is buried in the depths of my garage. The green cylinder machine is a Vactric Silent Q and was made in the UK just before WWII. I own a couple of them, one of which is...

Unusual geared height-adjuster The front wheel axle sports an unusual and somewhat over-engineered geared height adjuster mechanism.

showing badge - rear of motor Here's the badge at the rear, sorry it hasn't come out too well..

Here's another view. Showing a view from further back

picture of badge on cord reel Here's the badge on the Westinghouse cord reel

Showing holes in rear of motor Here are the holes in the back of the motor. I placed a screwdriver through one of these to jam the armature. Now I suspect there's an easier way - just lever the backplate out! Note the rear oil (sleeve) bearing. Stephen

Showing name plate Here's the nameplate on the motor. The last patent date is from January 1919 but I suspect that the machine may date from 1922, since the armature is stamped 2 22.

Showing inside of motor & backplate Here's what the inside of the motor looks like with armature and field coils in-situ.

Showing front of the machine Here's the front casing. Do you recognise it now?

Showing rear of fan Here's the back of the fan. It's hard to tell from the picture but it's flat,unlike on some other machines. The torch and motor can be seen on the ground.

Showing motor with fan removed & oxy propane torch There's possibly 88 years of filth behind the fan!

Finally, it comes off! Just got the fan off the Apex today. I warmed up the fan a little with the oxy-propane torch, then poured some plus gas releasing fluid onto the shaft. I eventually unlocked the armature from the fan by jamming a screwdriver through the rear of the motor casing into one...

That's one possibility Hi Doug, What you say makes perfect sense i.e maybe Re-New used to rely on a source of trade-in cleaners from dealers and manufacturers, who took them in part-exchange for new machines, which they sold. I was thinking that perhaps the government had imposed some sort of...

Mine was robbed! I had a two-tone brown one, which I picked up on the market for about £10. I can't now remember if it had the hose or any attachments...but in any case it disappeared after a garage break-in in 2004.. It was circa 1960s. Stephen

Hi Doug, As far as I'm aware Re-New always specialised in the rebuilding of old cleaners and the supply of spare parts, some of which would have been new...but it doesn't look like they sold new cleaners. I'm going off what it says on the first page of their 1943 catalogue, which states...

Thanks Walter! I've not yet seen a straight-suction GEC upright in the UK, though I have a straight-suction GEC from the US. There's a lot of variation in design between machines, so I'm not sure if your friend's GEC will be similar. Usually, it's a simple matter of unscrewing a nut or belt...

Here's another ad' Rick, glad you like the ad' Here's another one - 'Start a big profit making business in your basement' It seems that during WWII, the sale of rebuilt machines was not allowed and that instead, the firm made its money selling parts for and repairing customers' existing...

Does anyone know what happened to this company after 1950? ..only I have one of their spare parts catalogues from 1943, which has proved informative and interesting, as it illustrates a range of parts for different makes and models of cleaners. Apparently, the company had been in business since...

It's here...but now I need to get the armature out.. This early straight-suction Apex machine is currently partially dismantled, since I can't get any electrical continuity through the motor or switch. However, it's difficult to hold the armature still in the normal way, whilst attempting to...