Air Way Upright

[sheetstyler]

I went to get an Electrolux XXX today from a collector and it turned out he had another surprise for me. He gave me a Air Way upright. I have never owned one of these before. This thing is in really rough shape and will never be used in my house however it is neat to have. I was wandering are these hard to come by or rare? Also when was this made and any other information about this machine. It says on the plate that it is a model 35. Also surprisingly it still runs! I was scared to plug it in but did it anyways and I did not think it was going to run.


Also another question I found a old Hoover today at a Antique Mall I didn't get it but I was wandering if it had any value. It seemed to be in very good shape for how old it is and what model is it?

 

[tolivac]

The AirWay upright you have has the early "powernozzle" the powered floor nozzle.Beleive these are rare.Great find!!!Worth fixing up!!!You may even be able to use it!

 

[caligula]

The upright Air-Way is the model they called the Chief, I believe it came out in 1936, I'll check my info. The handle is hollow and the dial, or 'Indicator' lets you transfer suction through the handle for above the floor cleaning. A small hose, and cleaning brush went with it. As you see, the machine used disposable bags, Air-Way was the first to introduce them back in 1920 when they produced the first of the line, The Air-Way Sanitation System (shown in the picture below). What you have is the first with a rotating brush. I have one of these and they work great. They are not rare, but are hard to find as those of us who have them rarely get rid of them.

As to the Hoover, I think that's a model 541, and came out in 1926, I have one of those too.

 

[bikerray]

The Hoover is a model 541, the motor is turned 90 degrees, the switch should be on the right side when you are looking at it from the front.

 

[dysonman1]

The 541 ran from 1921 - 1926 when the 543 with beater-bar brush took over for it as the economy model.

The Air-Way Sanitary System "Chief" was the first power nozzle model (of three). They turn up from time to time on eBay but go for a small fortune when restored. It has a backwards revolving brush so it doesn't seize the fringe on area rugs. A hoovrah type c bag will work adequately in it. They were the top of the line model in 1935, so Air-Way didn't sell a ton of them (it was the Great Depression after all) - selling the 'nifty fifty' (model 50) without power nozzle by at least 4 to 1.

Here's what a model 35 "Chief" should look like when restored. I buffed it more than two decades ago, so the shine has worn off, but it's fully restored. Do Not run the machine with the beater bars in place. Remove them, or they will break off. The old rubber they are mounted on cannot take 5000 rpms on a rug today.

 

[dysonman1]

A Hoover 541 from 1922 with original sateen bag and cloth covered cord. These models were never buffed to a high shine. They were always a 'matt' finish.

 

[caligula]

I'm outta here!

I've said all I intend to on this subject!

 

[dysonman1]

Be sure to add oil to the oil cup on top of the Hoover's motor before you run it. In fact, add the oil and wait at least an hour for the oil to run to the lower bearing before operating it.

The Air-Way has four grease cups (two on the underside of the motor) and two on the power nozzle motor. Use Vaseline. The late, great Stan Kann (grandfather of the vacuum collecting hobby) always used Vaseline on his Air-Ways and they ran perfectly. Be sure to add grease before running the Air-Way - the grease cups may well be completely dried by now.