A Tri-Star find

[hoovercelebrity]

A few months ago I found this ad on Craigslist... I saw it on a Saturday, didn't call. It was still there on Tuesday, and again on Wednesday. I told myself if the ad was still posted on Thursday that I would call and inquire. Well, of course the ad was still up, and of course I called. Made plans to go get it on Friday. We drove about an hour to get it, it was in the far, far, north edge of the Minneapolis metro area. I took a look, and gave the guy $125 on the spot, and sped home anxious to give it a better look.

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Opening the box...

 

[hoovercelebrity]

It was in remarkable shape -- however despite what the CraigsList ad said, it was missing the wands and all of the attachments, except the hose and powerhead.

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Another shot of the whole shebang

 

[hoovercelebrity]

The machine was in really good shape, and was very clean. I usually never use a vacuum in the house that I haven't completely gone through and cleaned -- this didn't really need it.   So I used it for a while until some parts I ordered arrived. Then I decided to take it apart for a once over.  It was so clean that I took it apart on the living room floor... which I hardly ever do!  The powerhead was really the only thing that was even kind of dirty... so I ran a bunch of stuff through the dishwasher to give it a cleaning. Everything else, really just needed a wiping out.

[this post was last edited: 12/11/2013-21:14]

 

[hoovercelebrity]

I ended up ordering a bunch of new parts for it: wands, a set of attachments, filters, a belt, new brushroll... I even found a NOS bare floor tool on eBay. I also ordered one of the small HEPA filters for the back end, instead of the enormous one that originally came with the machine. Even though it ruins the look of the machine, It makes the machine sooooo quiet.

Here's the final product all back together. These are such simple machines to work on, and an incredibly well-performing machine. There's something about the simplicity and design of this machine that I just love.

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Last picture. I ordered new wands -- I thought I was going to get chrome wands, but I got aluminum wands, instead. I'll probably still get chrome wands at some point. They're a bit heavier, but I think they go so much nicer with the high polish of the bare floor tool.

 

[vacman117]

Beautiful!

I've always had a soft spot for Tri Stars. My uncle and aunt had a CXL (now mine) that I grew up thinking was the coolest thing. I also have a DXL that I use constantly, it can clean anything!

Congrats on an awesome find though!

 

[kirbyvertibles]

That is a hell of a deal!!! Wow

 

[dustin]

I have a Tristar CXL 2 speed, and although it works perfectly now, the motor was pretty much toast when I bought it (I think it had sucked up water), but I got a replacement motor for it and now I use it almost every day, and it has become my daily driver upstairs. I would love to get one of the exhaust filters for mine, but those things are EXPENSIVE! Mine isn't in great condition, and had a hard life (the hose and cord are both replacements, the motor was pretty much trashed and ROARED, and the paint looks bad, though I only paid $25 for it but I don't think I have a better deep cleaner.

 

[suckolux]

Amazing find and machine Fred! Congrats!!

 

[dysonman1]

Congratulations Fred. Excellent deal on a great machine.

 

[durango159]

Gorgeous!!

Wow Fred!! That thing looks amazing. I've never had the opportunity to run one of those but I've heard they're great and essentially unbeatable. Congrats on the great find and amazing you were able to find great tools that fit too.

 

[kirbylux77]

Fred, that is a terrific find you have there! Looks like someoone had buyer's remorse, stored it away & lost some of the bits & pieces over the years. How much do you have invested including the parts you ordered??

Rob

 

[hoovercelebrity]

All together, I think I spent another $150 or so on parts. The wands and the floor tool were the expensive items. The brushroll wasn't cheap, either... but I'm glad to have gotten a NOS floor tool. I also ordered extra brush inserts for the floor brush and a few other miscellaneous things. Money well spent, I'm absolutely loving this machine.

I have another slightly later version TriStar that I bought NIB about 7 years ago (it was old stock, photo below). I don't really use that one very often, as I want to keep it as pristine as possible. I think I paid $450 for that. I do however plan on using this one! I think this more recent addition to my collection was used -- it's obvious though that the owner was an older woman and she definitely took really good care of it.

 

[dutchjim]

Fred, really nice condition. You scored!

 

[suckolux]

Drooling here

 

[floor-a-matic]

<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Don't forget that U can use a Wessel Werk HEB160 mini power brush with the TriStar CXL.  Great for vacing car interiors, stairs & upholstery</span>


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<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Here's my 1985 TriStar CXL with Wessel Werk HEB160 mini power nozzle</span>


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[seamusuk]

Nice one Fred....

Hey guys
I'm lucky enough to have a couple of DXL's(they are rare beasts over here). This is a link to the 1st one I found. by the time I added a new CWP brushroll and belt ordered from the US I have roughly £40/$65 in it. The other cost me £20 and is in pretty much the same condition
Seamus

http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?21688_13~1