A little Kenmore Evolution

[DesertTortoise]

Not comprehensive by any means but you can see a little of the evolution of Kenmore canister vacs in my collection. First we start with the square plastic bodied vacs, which are my favorites, minus the big steel Avocado Bomber which is still apart in the ER (I picked the rebuilt motor up yesterday so there is progress). I also have my next project depicted here in it's current dirty and wheel-less state. You can see it is the same tan as the box shaped vacs and has very similar graphics. It must be the very first iteration of this new series, sold sometime around 1983 or 84. It even has brown tools.

I particularly like these old square things. I have sussed out how to HEPA filter them using HEPA bags for Numatic Henrys, Electrolux secondary filter material and I can even finagle a moder HEPA exhaust filter into them. The body is so well compartmented underneath that motor exhaust can only escape from the designated exhaust port, not out the cord opening or other spots like many later vacs. They have large bags by modern standards (Electrolux and Riccar canister bags are tiny in comparison)and the body is sturdy in ways you don't see on modern vacs. Just a great all around design. The only drawback is finding hoses for them. That is an ongoing quest. The original hoses are ten feet long and you get spoiled by them.

 

[DesertTortoise]

This is the first generation of 5055 or C bagged machines (Q bags if you want a HEPA bag). The motor is still oriented vertically but the fan faces down instead of up as was the case with earlier Kenmore canisters. Forget trying to filter the motor exhaust on these, air escapes from too many places to even try. But they are handy to use and well made. The Little Gray Mouse, my Singer DCL/Ryobi made thingie fits into this era. Same graphics and everything. The Powermate didn't come with the vac, I found it later on. The Little Gray Mouse is an ongoing project but the 4.1 is a solid working vacuum.

Now here is what is funny about Sears Parts Direct. If you notice, the old square 4.1 uses the same Powermate as the gray 4.1. You can see the tan Powermate is missing the headlight lens. In the parts breakdown for the tan Powermate that lens is shown as No Longer Available. But in the parts breakdown for it's gray twin, the part is shown being available. I have two on order and they were supposedly shipped Friday. Same part for both Powermates.

 

[DesertTortoise]

This is about the last version of the first gen 5055/C bagged machines. It has the on/off switch on the handle and a bit bigger motor, 4.5 horses. There were 4.8 and 5.1 examples sold. I lost out bidding for a rough looking 4.8 literally in the last 15 minutes of the bid (thought I had it and got complacent) and I let a 5.1 on Craigslist slide because it was just too beat up. One will come eventually. Notice the canister end of the hose doesn't spin 360 degrees. The hose is hard wired around the swivel, and you have about 120 degrees of rotation available. The 360 degree rotating hose would not arrive until this series was replaced with the Whispertone series.

I am not sure the powermate is correct for this year. It has the same graphics as one that came with a slightly newer Whispertone, also depicted. The 4.5 has the motor mounted vertically and vents between the motor cover and bag compartment cover. The Whispertone next to it has the motor laid horizontally with the fan pulling directly from the bag compartment with just the thinnest piece of open cell foam protecting the motor. I back that filter up with some modern blown glue Electrolux bulk filter material cut to fit behind the foam filter.

The "Whimpertone" has a full sized two stage Lamb motor hidden inside a thick white plastic cocoon. It really cuts the noise down compared to the white 4.5 next to it. Both vacs use the exact same bag compartment lid, tool tray underneath, furniture guard, bag holder, handle grip, tools and probably the motor too. All Panasonic did was take the design for the 4.5 and lay the motor on it's side. It is even more of an effort in futility to try to filter the motor exhaust on a Whispertone than on it's predecessor. The air vents are beneath the cord opening. The on/off switch for all the Whimpertones was out on the hose handle. It is another favorite vacuum. Just a good working machine handicapped only by the miserable short six foot hose. I cannot even buy blank hose in ten foot lengths. Ridiculous!

The Powermate with the Whimpertone came with it. I bought that whole set up and a Pet Powermate for $41. It was listed in eBay as a "Vintage Hoover". Looking at the graphics on the two Powermates I have to believe the Powermate with the 4.5 is not correct, but it's what I have. It probably should have diagonal graphics. I have seen them but the price was always too high. Maybe someday.

The blue suction only vac shares the layout of the 4.5, the bottom half of the vacuum is exactly the same as that of the 4.5 or my gray 4.1, but that particular model seems to have been produced after the Whispertone was replaced by the first series of the Progressive. The blue one is a 9 Amp model (notice the use of Amps instead of peak horsepower in the vacuums name) has a small Lamb motor, same part number as the motor in a 3.5, but my later 12 Amp version has a transparent plastic bag compartment lid and a Chinese made motor common to Progressive vacs. I modified the 12 Amp with a two prong outlet exactly like that on my 4.1 (a few of these came that way), added a powered hose and can run a Powermate with it. It is a very handy vacuum. My fiancée has it now so it wasn't available for a photo.

 

[DesertTortoise]

Here is a modern Kenmore Progressive and it's silly system of tools. It was open box stock with a couple of battle scars so I bought it cheap. I wanted to see if it's a bad as reader comments on Consumer Reports and a couple of other places seem to indicate. It is plasticky in the bad meaning of the term. The tools are unique to this vac, and maybe not as useful as I am accustomed to. Worse yet, the hose end and wands on this vac are not shared by any other Kenmore so you cannot use tools or the wands from an Intuition vac, or any of you old tools from other Kenmore vacs in the collection.

You can see from the images that the tools are unusual. Kenmore was darn stingy with bristles on both the dusting brush and the floor brush. If you had an old brush with bristles that short you would throw it out and buy a new one! This is a brand new vacuum. I haven't figured out why there is a big plastic foreskin that slides down and over the dusting brush. Maybe the scraping action loosens dirt? I dunno.

The gray slotted attachment I think is supposed to be a fabric brush? Not sure. The crevice tool slots into the hose end or the wand end, not outside them as one expects. I do like how it snaps into the bottom of the handle, at least until something plastic breaks. Then I guess you put it in your back pocket. The wands and hose end openings are both huge, but that makes sucking hair and lint off the tools harder to do than I am used to. I end up having to pluck the hair and lint off the bristles and feed them into the airstream.

The vacuum is great for carpeted floors, not so great for hard floors due to the chintzy floor brush (or using the Powermate with the brush off) and it is really bad at reaching the tops of book cases or cabinets. The brushes are not all that good at getting up fine dust and I would not use them on fine furniture like I use the beautiful horse hair brushes on my older Kenmores. With this vac I have to use a feather duster on wooden furnishings. Also the lack of angle on the attachments and the shape of the hose handle making using this vac for dusting hard. If what you are vacuuming is at any height you have to carry the vac in your hand to get enough hose up to get an angle on what you want to vacuum. Kind of a kludge really. We'll see if this thing lasts like my older Kenmore canisters. Don't hold your breath.

 

[super-sweeper]

Looks great, DT! Here's an update on my 2.5:


 


I tried it out on carpets with the 4.1's power nozzle, and then the rainbow' s power nozzle. It didn't do the best on the carpet, but both powered nozzles brushes were worn. It unplugging the power-nozzle rig, so I broke-out the lovely Heritage II to finish the house. I tried it to vacuum the car, and it didn't do the best. It couldn't spin a turbo-brush to power rpm, and didn't do the best suction-wise.Oh well, what could you expect from a 2.5 horsepower motor. I broke out the HOOVER Dimension 1000 canister, the only vacuum out there that uses circuit boards in a good way. That Hoover could suck chrome off a bumper at full power, and still be quiet enough to talk over. That Hoover turbo-brush went on a marathon when it was plugged in to the Dimension! For the rugs I used a certain vacuum that starts with C and ends in clean carpets, the Hoover Convertible! Even with that CWP brush, the grit came bubbling right up! It put quite the dent in that fresh and genuine Hoover bag!


 


Ok, enough giving John his daily Hoover fix, on a scale of Dyson to Kirby (with Dyson being 'why on earth did I waste my money on this' and Kirby being 'golly gee I should've bought this 21 years, 5 months, 24 days, 9 minutes and 17 seconds ago!!') ,I rate this Kenmore at a 4.7, which is capable of average vacuuming with few exceptions.

 

[suckolux]

Interest tidbits, thanks for the timeline

 

[marks_here]

So that's what you were doing all day Alex..lol

 

[DesertTortoise]

Alex, I think Merry Maids is easier and less costly than your Sunday was.

 

[portable]

<span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Desert Tortoise:</span>


 


<span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I have that same modern Progressive and HATE most of the dusting function, for the reasons you've stated. That large, clunky dusting brush is compromised because of its huge opening - air rushes around it and doesn't concentrate the suction well. And, that silly horsehoof slotted upholstery thingie is not very effective, and not easy to attach and remove. My biggest problem is the size of the dusting brush, though. I have narrow windowsills, and it is very hard to get the brush into and around the ledges. It doesn't fit easily into many smaller spaces like the great old horsehair brush version does.</span>


 


<span style="font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I do like the bare floor tool, though. Though the number of bristles looks wimpy, it actually picks ups well, and the swivel function is useful. As a rug cleaner, this model is very effective. The brushroll is great. But, as an above-the-floor machine, it is pretty much useless. There are actually a few other Progressives with this same attachment set-up. I hope they deep-six this idea very fast, because it is not Kenmore's most brilliant design. Like you, I got it at a bargain. I would've been very mad if I had paid full price.</span>

 

[DesertTortoise]

Btw, did I read your post right and you damaged the power plug unplugging the Powermate?

"It unplugging the power-nozzle rig, so I broke-out the lovely Heritage II to finish the house."

I think here is a word missing so it's ambiguous.

Hey, if you liked the 2.5 there's a Panasonic Jet Flow on eBay you might like too. Just sayin' .......

 

[marks_here]

Merry maids use depends that way they don't have to stop to use the restroom..how do I know this?? I seen them in line with their uniforms on buying some & I made that comment also from a while back they discriminate against hiring men to clean.

 

[DesertTortoise]

Sad thing is that Kenmore had great tools before this iteration of the Progressive came out. There is a angled brush from the Intuition series that is wonderful for dusting high shelves, book case or cabinet tops and it fits on all the old wands, but not the current version of the Progressive. Even the orange vacuum, their cheapie, has the better traditional tools.

Their traditional horse hair dusting brush is one of the best on any vacuum, or was until they ditched if for that two in one dusting and upholstery toy tool on the Intuition. I would trade the pet tool for a good set of standard tools any day.

 

[super-sweeper]

Oh no, tortoise guy! The hose wouldn't go into the vacuum all the way, due to me not having a proper 5042 bag (I was using a 5011 due to me needing to go to the vacuum store!!!!). If it didn't unplug there, it would unplug where the power-nozzle plugs in. The rainbow hose end fits snugly on the Kenmore wand, and the rainbow has a power-nozzle cord that runs along the exterior of the hose. The power-nozzle plug then easily plugs into the Kenmore's unusual plug.


 


I wouldn't let Merry Maids clean for me,I would have nowhere to vacuum!! 'That's not a wet-vac, that's my Kirby!! (Except the model 557!!)', ' you thought the WHAT was trash!?'. Oh it would be hectic! 


 


Kenmore did have awesome tools,I love the tools on my Duo-Power! I'll be honest, I used KIRBY tools on the Kenmore, AND the Hoover! Give me an hour warning before John sees this thread, need to get to the bunker!! 

 

[DesertTortoise]

If you find a source of 5042 bags let me know, ok? I need the same bag for my Singer DLC/Ryobi/Kenmore thingie. I can't even find a cross reference to anything.

I thought Eureka V bags were the right substitute but no joy, the carboard end is much to big and if you try to cut it down you get into the bag. A Kenmore C/Q bag fits the holder with some minor trimming but the hole in the bag is about twice the diameter as the hose end so nothing seals. I have some Numatic HEPA bags coming for my old 5023/5033 bagged machines. I guess I will try one of those for giggles.

Wonder what bag that Panasonic Jet Flow someone is selling on eBay uses?

 

[fan-of-fans]

I too have a current Progressive and agree the tools are not as good. The first gen Progressives had the best attachments, as they used the full size set from the first 5055 bag and Whispertone canisters. On the second gen they started to cheapen a bit, the dusting brush and fabric brush were just a single combo tool, but still decent. The crevice tool was a bit shorter and the floor brush was the same as older sets.

Out of the tools on my Progressive, I like the crevice tool least. The vents on the side cause it to have very little suction. My dusting brush has horsehair bristles that are a bit fuller than on the white and blueberry models, so it's a little better. It is impossible to vacuum tight spaces though because it is so big. I actually think the floor brush is better than on the older models, as it tilts and has that felt pad to keep from scraping. And mine at least, has horsehair bristles.

The attachments on the lime and orange canisters, the crevice tool is a little better. The combo brush is the same as on the uprights and is IMO, awful. Short scratchy bristles and the brush is too small. The floor brush is the older style that goes back to 1983, but the bristles are very stiff on these newer ones. It least it has the metal end hose still so can use any 1-1/4" attachments such as the dusting brush.

Will a 5045/H bag fit the Singer made Kenmore? Seems like it might work, maybe if the cardboard was trimmed a bit.

 

[DesertTortoise]

Not sure about the 5045 bag. Whatever bag I go with will have to have a rubber seal to seal around the hose end. I am thinking a Riccar V bag might work.

I wonder how much Kenmore saves per vacuum coming up with these new "tools" (more like impediments to good cleaning. With the tooling paid off eons ago one would almost think it less expensive to keep making the traditional tools rather than exert the effort to design new cheaper versions.

Funny too that the dusting brush on the Progressive is too big for many situations while the combo dusting/upholstery brush on the Intuition is too small. No happy medium. At least with the Intuition you can stick the old tools its wands. The tube diameter is too great on the Progressives to let you do that. I'm sure the wands were sized to maximize the flow through the motor, but still ........

 

[Gr8DaneDad]

Kenmore saves nothing... Kenmore doesn't make anything. All Kenmore products are made by other companies, and unlike in the distant past, Sears has almost no influence over basics of design, they do specify features, but it's up to the manufacturers to implement them. All Kenmore labeled products are the same as other offerings from those vendors under the skin, Sears may get a special name for a feature or a unique to them twist, but it's not what it once was.

 

[bnsd60m9200]

kenmore vacs started to go crap after whirlpool left in 84

 

[DesertTortoise]

bnsd60m9200, Matsushita Electric made most Kenmore canister vacs and all of their best canisters going back at least to 1971. The first Kenmore 5055 bagged machines in the mid 1980's had Panasonic branded counterparts. Look at Panasonics old V series canisters and you will see the same exact vacuums as the first 5055 bagged machines and the Whispertone series. There were some oddballs along the way, Singer designs license produced in South Carolina by Ryobi and branded Kenmore circa the late 1980's. I have one of these.

I have an e-mail directly from Sears telling me that my "Heather Green" 1971 Kenmore 116.29971, a steel bodied beast with a plastic lid, is a Matsushita product. They ought to know. The same e-mail states that two more boxy cream colored plastic canisters, a two speed 3.9 model 116.22997 and a 1982 vintage 4.1 with an infinitely adjustable speed motor model 116.2399182 were likewise Matsushita products. You can look those vacuums up on Sears Parts Direct using those model numbers to see what they looked like. Those were not Whirlpool products as is so often inaccurately alleged. Matsushita made some of Kenmore's best vacuums and more recently some of their worst. Matsushita started making consumer goods in the US around 1961.

If you look at Panasonics current offerings, you see canister vacs that have features of the current Intuition models and others that are much more like the previous generation of the Progressive, but right now at least Panasonic does not offer a model identical to the current Progressive with it's one-off wands and tool system, and the Panasonic analogy to the Intuition vacuum does not have the same powered floor brush with an unpowered brush built into the top. All of their vacs use previous generation wands and powered brushes and have thoroughly conventional tools. So while Panasonic makes Sears canister vacuums, they make unique models for Sears that are not shared in their own model line.