Hello everyone!
I would like to show off something very special, well actually its not that special but its pretty special to me! It is my Hoover Turbopower Freedom from sometime in the early 90s. The reason this one is 'special' is because it has been converted to bagged. I don't know how many were converted back in the day but this is the only one I have seen around to have been converted properly with the genuine Hoover Turbopower Freedom Conversion Kit. Anyone who is familiar with the Turbopowers, or 'Soverign' in the US, will know that all the Turbopower cleaners were bagged apart from this one, as this was one of Hoovers early attempts at a bagless system. It was known to be so awful that even Hoover themselves deemed it a failure and offered conversion kits to convert these machines to take paper bags like the other models in the range did. I don't think most people did though, I think the machines just got binned or people came up with their own way of converting them instrad of paying for the proper hoover converting kit. These cleaners are dirty fan and the permabag bagless chamber on the Freedoms used to put half the dust back into the room so things were often more dusty than before the room was cleaned. The early shake out cloth bag cleaners scored better in filtration tests than the Freedom cleaners. I found a Turbopower Freedom last year at my local tip and when I got it home and had a look at it somebody had fitted a H1 type paper bag inside the permabag and tied the paper bag to what was supposed to be the permabag fill tube with an elastic band in an attempt to convert the cleaner to bagged to improve filtration. I think lots of people would have done things like this as the machine was almost unusable with the permabag system installed. I actually managed to sell that machine on ebay for £70 which if you ask me was way more than it was worth, all the tools were missing, the cable was full of paint, the bottom cord hook had snapped off and the permabag had been destroyed by someone trying to fit a paper bag inside it. Oh well. Over and done with. Was a shame because I liked the colour and metallic finish. So fast forward a year, and a Turbopower Freedom comes up on facebook marketplace. I had already lost interest when I read the word 'freedom' as I knew it was bagless and therefore would be no good. I had a look at the pictures anyway and noticed it had a proper matching bag door and not the permabag system. I thought thats strange, and immediatly grew more interested. It had all its tools and was in good condition apart from a snapped off bottom cord hook but apart from that it was alright. Then I saw a photo of the inside with the bag door opened, and it WAS bagged! I thought great, I will have that! The seller obviousley knew what he had though as in the description he mentioned it was a very rare freedom as it had been converted to bagged, and the price was £80 so I thought no way I can't justify it, plus it was an hour away from me which put me off even more. A few days went by with it on my mind and then after that it disappeared from marketplace so I thought someone had bought it. Fast forward ANOTHER year, and the same machine from the same seller is back on marketplace with the price reduced to £20! I didn't mind doing the hours drive as I knew I had a bargain with a bagged Freedom for £20. I bought it and got back home with it and it looks so shiney like its just been polished! It must have seen a fair bit of use though as there are a few scratches on the hoid but that doesnt bother me as I will be using it too. I put a new cord hook on to replace the broken one, its not the right colour but im just glad I can wrap the cord up neatly how its supposed to go now. It needed a new belt too as the agitator was stopping when it came into contact with the carpet but that is easily fixed as you all know and know it works like a charm with a genuine bag in it! Only other problems I have noticed is the headlight lens is yellowed (not really a problem just a tad annoying) and the baseplate has a crack in it. Apart from that its great. Here are a few pictures if your interested.
Thanks for reading, Jake
I would like to show off something very special, well actually its not that special but its pretty special to me! It is my Hoover Turbopower Freedom from sometime in the early 90s. The reason this one is 'special' is because it has been converted to bagged. I don't know how many were converted back in the day but this is the only one I have seen around to have been converted properly with the genuine Hoover Turbopower Freedom Conversion Kit. Anyone who is familiar with the Turbopowers, or 'Soverign' in the US, will know that all the Turbopower cleaners were bagged apart from this one, as this was one of Hoovers early attempts at a bagless system. It was known to be so awful that even Hoover themselves deemed it a failure and offered conversion kits to convert these machines to take paper bags like the other models in the range did. I don't think most people did though, I think the machines just got binned or people came up with their own way of converting them instrad of paying for the proper hoover converting kit. These cleaners are dirty fan and the permabag bagless chamber on the Freedoms used to put half the dust back into the room so things were often more dusty than before the room was cleaned. The early shake out cloth bag cleaners scored better in filtration tests than the Freedom cleaners. I found a Turbopower Freedom last year at my local tip and when I got it home and had a look at it somebody had fitted a H1 type paper bag inside the permabag and tied the paper bag to what was supposed to be the permabag fill tube with an elastic band in an attempt to convert the cleaner to bagged to improve filtration. I think lots of people would have done things like this as the machine was almost unusable with the permabag system installed. I actually managed to sell that machine on ebay for £70 which if you ask me was way more than it was worth, all the tools were missing, the cable was full of paint, the bottom cord hook had snapped off and the permabag had been destroyed by someone trying to fit a paper bag inside it. Oh well. Over and done with. Was a shame because I liked the colour and metallic finish. So fast forward a year, and a Turbopower Freedom comes up on facebook marketplace. I had already lost interest when I read the word 'freedom' as I knew it was bagless and therefore would be no good. I had a look at the pictures anyway and noticed it had a proper matching bag door and not the permabag system. I thought thats strange, and immediatly grew more interested. It had all its tools and was in good condition apart from a snapped off bottom cord hook but apart from that it was alright. Then I saw a photo of the inside with the bag door opened, and it WAS bagged! I thought great, I will have that! The seller obviousley knew what he had though as in the description he mentioned it was a very rare freedom as it had been converted to bagged, and the price was £80 so I thought no way I can't justify it, plus it was an hour away from me which put me off even more. A few days went by with it on my mind and then after that it disappeared from marketplace so I thought someone had bought it. Fast forward ANOTHER year, and the same machine from the same seller is back on marketplace with the price reduced to £20! I didn't mind doing the hours drive as I knew I had a bargain with a bagged Freedom for £20. I bought it and got back home with it and it looks so shiney like its just been polished! It must have seen a fair bit of use though as there are a few scratches on the hoid but that doesnt bother me as I will be using it too. I put a new cord hook on to replace the broken one, its not the right colour but im just glad I can wrap the cord up neatly how its supposed to go now. It needed a new belt too as the agitator was stopping when it came into contact with the carpet but that is easily fixed as you all know and know it works like a charm with a genuine bag in it! Only other problems I have noticed is the headlight lens is yellowed (not really a problem just a tad annoying) and the baseplate has a crack in it. Apart from that its great. Here are a few pictures if your interested.
Thanks for reading, Jake
