Kenmore Whispertone upright

[justjunque]

Well...y'all went and made me do it!
Some of you made this Kenmore sound like such a good machine, that it triggered my fomo, and I had to go back and get it.
I'm posting it in Vintage, because I'm guessing it's probably at least twenty years old.
I think it will clean up nicely, and it seems very complete. I usually just take my chances with thrift store vacuums, and I don't test them before I buy. This time, since the outlet was right next to where the vacuum was sitting, I plugged it in and switched it on. To me, it sounds great!
My main concern is that bag compartment door. Someone, maybe panasonicvac, thought it would be an easy fix. I'm hoping he's right! If anyone has this type, and could post a picture or two of what the latch is supposed to look like, I can try to compare to mine, and see if something is missing.
Here's a few pictures, just as it arrived in my basement.
We can talk about that extra hose that came with it at some point. I personally don't think it goes to this machine. But, maybe I'm just being stupid. Wouldn't be the first time!

 

[vinvac]

Great Vacuum. Looks to be in good shape. You can use the cloth hepa bags that fit Panasonic and Sears.

 

[justjunque]

Thank you, Morgan!
I have some HEPA bags that say Panasonic U, U3, and U6. Would that be the right ones?
That would be great, if I already have the right ones on hand!

 

[panasonicvac]

I did say that

They are easy to fix. I have one myself and this is what it looks like inside the bag compartment.

 

[vinvac]

Barry,

Those should work fine. The Sears brand is expensive, I get them off ebay and I think I it the DVC brand. Seem to be as good.

Morgan

 

[panasonicvac]

This is from a parts diagram. You can see how very simple the bag latch design is. It's very likely you have a piece that needs to be glued back on. Or in a less likely scenario is that it'd need some epoxy for the other part. There's also a less likely chance that parts are still available today but if all else fails, 3D printing would be your best shot at replacing them. Overall, as long as the bag door stays sealed and shut when the vacuum is on, you'll be just fine. Panasonic type U bags will fit on your machine since that's who made your Kenmore.

https://www.appliancefactoryparts.com/vacuumcleaners/brands/panasonic/mc-v300.html

 

[justjunque]

Thanks, guys!
Alex; here's a picture of mine, from a similar angle. Do you see anything obviously broken or missing?
It just flat out doesn't engage.

Edit:
I'm just looking at mine in person, and trying to compare to your picture.
I wonder if it's possible that the grey plastic piece, on top of my bag door, somehow got installed backwards. It almost looks and feels like there's a piece that should catch onto the little tab on the vacuum, but it's facing away from the tab.

 

[panasonicvac]

Yours is definitely on backwards, should be very easy to switch around.

 

[justjunque]

Woo hoo!

We have success!
I can't, for the life of me, figure out how or why that piece got turned around. But, that was the problem!
The door latches perfectly now!
And the previous owner resigned themselves to holding the door on with duct tape. When a dolt like me was able to spot and correct the problem. And, it took less than a minute to fix it!
Granted, Alex, your picture helped me. Thank you for that!
Now, let's hope that was the biggest thing wrong with this one!

 

[panasonicvac]

Glad to have helped Also if for whatever reason in the future you'd be downsizing your collection and if that Kenmore is one of the vacuums you'd end up not keeping, I'd be interested in taking it off your hands!

 

[justjunque]

Now, for the hose:

This is the extra hose that I got with the vacuum.
To me, it doesn't seem like it belongs to this machine.
Can anyone tell me for sure?
If it doesn't go to this one, can you identify what it does go to? That one end seems pretty unique.

 

[panasonicvac]

That's a hose that belongs on a Hoover Elite.

 

[justjunque]

Yup. I believe you're right! I found one on eBay, and it has that same end.
I was just starting to give the Kenmore its preliminary wipe-down with sanitizing wipes.
It sure looks like it will clean up nice! I'm going to have to put some extra elbow grease into this one! Looks like a good find!
Of course, I'm going strictly on cosmetic appearance. There could still end up being mechanical issues; although, I really hope not.
I'm still hoping someone can narrow down the age of it for me.

 

[huskyvacs]

Sears used internal product codes for their stores, and in such a way there wasnt a date code or if it is, it's hidden somewhere.

Only option really is to try and find it in an ad, and then go through Sears catalogs to try and pinpoint it.

This ad from 1997 here I think might be this specific model; https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/158634833/

 

[kirbyklekter]

I've seen whispertone's that go back to '93-'94 and they could go back even further.There's a website that has all the sears catalogues from before WWII to whenever they stopped printing them.I got the name of the sight from over at A.Washers and I can't remember the name now. I'll get it and let you know.

I used to have a whispertone,gave it away and wish I hadn't.What I have now is a Sears Progressive which I believe came later. It seems like they sold both models for a year or two as I've seen the same date applied to both,like around late '90's.

The hose on my progressive is the kind that stretches and coils back. There's an extra section of the same type that you can add. I don't really care for this as it is always pulling back,so you're always fighting with that tension. The one plus is the hose is in perfect condition.

The hose can only be removed at the base for attachments, the other end is fixed in place at the center on back of the machine,below the handle. I was just curious how your hose is configured,can both ends be removed from the machine? For clog removal.

 

[justjunque]

Hi Billy,
I actually haven't gotten that far into mine yet. Maybe someone else, who knows them better will chime in.
I know mine can be removed from the base end, and there's a telescoping wand on board that you can add to it. But, the hose, while it does stretch, seems pretty short to me. Granted, I haven't tried to actually use it.
The end that ataches to the back of the machine looks a lot like on my older (1980s) Panasonic; with the little trap door port to add an auxiliary hose. The difference being, that port swivels on my Kenmore.
I'm hoping there's a way to remove the hose at both ends, because I'd like to take it off and give it a bath.
If nobody else comments on it, I'll report back with my findings when I get to that part.
I also have to figure out how the nozzle comes apart on this one. Unlike some that I've seen in videos, my bottom cover appears to be held on with Philips screws.

 

[panasonicvac]

This is likely from the early 2000's because I can tell that the decals are silver. If the decals were gold then it would've for certain been from the late 90's.

You can technically remove the hose off from the machine, it's held in by four clamps. However I wouldn't bother about it, the clamps can easily break. I've washed my Panasonic dust compartments with the hoses still in tact and never had any issues. I usually do them during the warmer seasons so that they'd dry alot more quicker.

 

[justjunque]

Thanks!
I was guessing probably early 2000s; making it right around the twenty year mark. That’s why I wasn’t sure where to post it.
Just a little bit ago, I finally got around to removing the bag that came with it, and getting my first look inside the bag compartment. I’m kind of surprised at how dirty it is in there! The little foam filter at the bottom of the compartment is caked with about a quarter of an inch of packed crud. There couldn’t have been much air flowing through there!
As far as removing the hose, I was just hoping to be able to soak it in some soapy water to get it good and clean. But, I definitely don’t want to risk damaging the tabs, or whatever holds it on. Just feeling around in there, it feels like a brittle type of plastic.

Can someone tell me what that circular area at the bottom left of the compartment is? There’s something blue in there.

 

[panasonicvac]

That is a air relief valve. It's designed that if you were to get a full bag or a clog, it opens up to where air can still get into the motor so you don't overheat it.