As of this morning I own a VERY rare Hoover...

[joe22]

AWESOME HOOVER !!!

 

[gottahaveahoove]

it is

"fab"

 

[74simon]

Well found!

Great to see it, that bag looks in great condition, and hey, it is the most modern of the coffee can machines!

I can only hope that we're that well preserved when we hit 70/1!

 

[akabent]

Fascinating!

I've never seen a 'Coffee Can' with a bakelite top. Clearly near the end of that era. How very cool, what a great find and what great condition, too! Congrats!
Rick

 

[samotronic]

Odd Question

but from the US so bare with me. Did British electricity change from the 30s to now. I noticed the photo where you mentioned the two pin plug which looks like our plugs, particularly ones from that era. And the switch is on the handle as opposed to a foot switch which I thought I read was a requirement on later British vacuums due to the current. just curious. Chris

 

[seamusuk]

UK Wiring.....

Hey Chris

Until the early 60s the UK voltage could vary between 100-250V depending on where you were in the country. When ordering an electrical appliance you had to specify the voltage it was to run on. Same with the plug- the current 13A plug and socket were introduced in the late 40s but didnt become "standard" until some 20 years later. Hoover fitted their cleaners with a 2 round pin/prong plug until about 1962- this was designed to fit most 5/15A round pin sockets.If you needed to use the Hoover from a light fitting(quite common until the 70s!!)you asked for a bayonet adaptor. If you had 13A 3 pin sockets you removed the 2 pin plug and fitted the appropiate plug to fit your sockets.

For this reason its not unusual to find cleaners(especially pre war models) that have had their motors replaced/rewound for a different voltage to that for which they were initially supplied- this is indicated by the rating plate being filed/restamped with the new voltage details.

Seamus

 

[vintagehoover]

...and if you go even further back, Hoover made cleaners with motors suited for currents as low as 32v!

 

[seamusuk]

Jack

I totally forgot about the 32V thing over here- I know it was availiable in the US though, am I imagining things or was it known as "farm current" ??

 

[vintagehoover]

Yep - rural areas not yet connected to the national grid sometimes had generators to provide their electricity, with outputs as low as 32v.

Here's a fascinating short film called 'Singing Wires', about a farm finally being hooked up to the grid. And yes, there is a Hoover (with the lettering on the bag concealed!) featured in it! It shows really well how much easier life could be with 'the magic of electricity'!

When you get to the clip of the Hoover, notice she starts off faking it, pushing back and forth it with the cleaner switched off, then turns it on! Bizarre!