Bee Vac model g
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Headwire
I'm not sure what that means.
The wheels are rough. I read in archives calem I believe is his name put a vacuum belt on the wheels to smooth them out. I'd imagine like a Kirby belt. The wiring looks very similar to my model 88 royal. If you look at HMCs recent electro hygiene post is how your wiring should look. It's basically copper wire wrapped around the posts and a gold or copper but tightened down. You could put a wire connector in a u shape. It would cover bare wire and fix that issue.
The back wheel looks like it's toast. If you bought say 3 royal vacuum wheels there almost identical to those.
I attached pic of my royal posts. It has 3 wheels. The wheels HMC or chriss electro hygiene wheels are like mine and I'm pretty sure like yours.
Nice vacuum.
Les
I'm not sure what that means.
The wheels are rough. I read in archives calem I believe is his name put a vacuum belt on the wheels to smooth them out. I'd imagine like a Kirby belt. The wiring looks very similar to my model 88 royal. If you look at HMCs recent electro hygiene post is how your wiring should look. It's basically copper wire wrapped around the posts and a gold or copper but tightened down. You could put a wire connector in a u shape. It would cover bare wire and fix that issue.
The back wheel looks like it's toast. If you bought say 3 royal vacuum wheels there almost identical to those.
I attached pic of my royal posts. It has 3 wheels. The wheels HMC or chriss electro hygiene wheels are like mine and I'm pretty sure like yours.
Nice vacuum.
Les
bikerray
Well-known member
Rewiring it is the easy part, you can get the twisted cloth covered wire on ebay for $12 to $15 for 25 feet of it. It's an 18 gauge wire.
It looks like the front wheels have a center hub. You might have to take a belt, cut it to the width and then glue it on the old wheel as a form of retread.
The motor looks like the one I have in my Federal (which used a lot of Bee Vac parts)
It looks like the front wheels have a center hub. You might have to take a belt, cut it to the width and then glue it on the old wheel as a form of retread.
The motor looks like the one I have in my Federal (which used a lot of Bee Vac parts)
sweet Federal
Only two of the wheels were really bad, so a few minutes ago I replaced them with the wheels off my parts Eureka 9. Rolls fine now although I will retread them. It definitely needs a new cord, it looks fine but is actually quite brittle. Thanks!
~K
Only two of the wheels were really bad, so a few minutes ago I replaced them with the wheels off my parts Eureka 9. Rolls fine now although I will retread them. It definitely needs a new cord, it looks fine but is actually quite brittle. Thanks!
~K
gregvacs28
Well-known member
Be careful. There may be asbestos fibers in the cord sheathing.
Rewired it
It needs to be a soft cord or it will rip right off the terminals. I have an old brown Hoover cord wired up. I will replace it eventually with one of those nice repro cloth ones, but it works for now. The original cracked and crumbled when I removed it. As I got to safely use it today, I was able to suck up the mess it made. So much suction!
~K
It needs to be a soft cord or it will rip right off the terminals. I have an old brown Hoover cord wired up. I will replace it eventually with one of those nice repro cloth ones, but it works for now. The original cracked and crumbled when I removed it. As I got to safely use it today, I was able to suck up the mess it made. So much suction!
~K
Tried to fit it, wont work for f&g. The hole in the top and the bag in general is too small. The only one I can use is type C. I had to shorten the bag by about half an inch, There were small holes in the top that were repaired with glue several decades ago. It glued both sides together. They also stuck metal in the lip, which broke. Here is the piece I clipped off. I ended up folding the lip so it could fit into the clip.
~K
~K
gregvacs28
Well-known member
There might also be asbestos in the fiber of the bag and lead paint. Plus you don't know what this vacuum was used for picking up.
I hope you aren't planning to use this daily. It's nice as a show piece but..... health wise and practicality, it's not advisable.
I certainly wouldn't turn something like that on inside your home. Anything that comes out of it you want to float away outdoors.
https://www.asbestos.net/asbestos/products/
I hope you aren't planning to use this daily. It's nice as a show piece but..... health wise and practicality, it's not advisable.
I certainly wouldn't turn something like that on inside your home. Anything that comes out of it you want to float away outdoors.
https://www.asbestos.net/asbestos/products/
bikerray
Well-known member
Here's a shot of the Federal after I replaced the twisted cloth covered cord with new cord.
nah
Its for display. I will get a lead test for the handle and bag clip(the only painted parts). I will also get one for my Eureka model 10. I am very impressed with how lightweight it is, seeing as it is all metal. It weighs about the same as my Elite 200!
~K
Its for display. I will get a lead test for the handle and bag clip(the only painted parts). I will also get one for my Eureka model 10. I am very impressed with how lightweight it is, seeing as it is all metal. It weighs about the same as my Elite 200!
~K
huskyvacs
Well-known member
Anyone concerned about health shouldn't be using a 1920's vacuum as a daily vacuum anyway. I do not see any problem with it at all. Old vacuums have to be used often to keep their motors exercised and for all the hard work you did restoring it to not go to waste, so yes they have to be run at often enough intervals to keep the parts from going bad and the grease from hardening.
The only thing you have to be careful of is the asbestos cord, don't just yank it off and heave it around. Carefully remove it and put it in a ziploc bag. I saved mine just to keep its historical value as it was the original cord. Also, lead paint is only dangerous if you eat it. Asbestos is only dangerous if it is disturned or destroyed in such a way that it causes its dust to spread. All my HVAC ducts in my house have asbestos tape on them, and I have several appliances with asbestos cords.
There is no issues with running antique vacuums indoors. For cleaning the bag, turn it inside out outdoors, just wear a simple paper mask if you are that worried, and use another vacuum to suck out the inside. The hand wash it (that's a whole another topic to learn) and it will be good to go.
No reason to be afraid of vacuums!
The only thing you have to be careful of is the asbestos cord, don't just yank it off and heave it around. Carefully remove it and put it in a ziploc bag. I saved mine just to keep its historical value as it was the original cord. Also, lead paint is only dangerous if you eat it. Asbestos is only dangerous if it is disturned or destroyed in such a way that it causes its dust to spread. All my HVAC ducts in my house have asbestos tape on them, and I have several appliances with asbestos cords.
There is no issues with running antique vacuums indoors. For cleaning the bag, turn it inside out outdoors, just wear a simple paper mask if you are that worried, and use another vacuum to suck out the inside. The hand wash it (that's a whole another topic to learn) and it will be good to go.
No reason to be afraid of vacuums!
madman
Well-known member
Second on Husky's post. Lead paint can be deadly - if you plan on eating lots of it. Don't eat paint, that's dumb. Handling it is -completely- harmless.
Asbestos will only kill you if you're breathing in massive quantities of it, EVERY day, for DECADES. No need to be afraid of a little asbestos cord. Replace it, and think no more of it.
Asbestos will only kill you if you're breathing in massive quantities of it, EVERY day, for DECADES. No need to be afraid of a little asbestos cord. Replace it, and think no more of it.
I replaced it with a 60s rubber cord. I did turn it on inside after I replaced the wheels , it gave off a small puff but nothing terrible. Yeah I'm not going to eat the paint lol. I actually have several machines and fans with their original cords. They are in good shape though. It will still be for display, although I will run it every once in awhile with my other old ones. I would use it for the area rug, but the Eureka 10 already does great with it.
~K
~K
bikerray
Well-known member
First off you had a cloth covered twisted wire cord on the vacuum and NOT a toaster cord so it wouldn't have asbestos in it.
The cords that would have asbestos in them were used for appliances that would heat up such as a toaster, iron, space heater, hot plate, etc.
Unless you are cooking eggs on you vacuum I wouldn't worry about it.
The cords that would have asbestos in them were used for appliances that would heat up such as a toaster, iron, space heater, hot plate, etc.
Unless you are cooking eggs on you vacuum I wouldn't worry about it.
huskyvacs
Well-known member
Asbestos insulation was used in all electric wiring back then, not just in heating appliances. There's some old phone cord in my house in the basement rafters that is asbestos. Remember, there was knob and tube wiring as the main electrical wiring that got hot and keeping it from burning the house down was necessary - so everything was asbestos insulated for precaution.
There is a guy on Flickr that collects asbestos product samples and asbestos products, and he has a series of images of asbestos wire samples:
My Bee Vac's cord is very stiff and not flexible but it is fiber texture, but it splits apart easily, so I don't think it's just plain cloth, it has some kind of binder in it that of course broke down and rotted over the last 70 years.
There is a guy on Flickr that collects asbestos product samples and asbestos products, and he has a series of images of asbestos wire samples:
My Bee Vac's cord is very stiff and not flexible but it is fiber texture, but it splits apart easily, so I don't think it's just plain cloth, it has some kind of binder in it that of course broke down and rotted over the last 70 years.
madman
Well-known member
Asbestos was the wonder material of yesteryear. Chemically inert, fireproof, super insulator, and cheap. It was in many things. Old wires of yore were primarily rubber insulated and braided over with cotton. Rubber usually degrades over a hundred years, and becomes brittle. Usually. The rubber plugs on my Cadillacs are still somewhat supple.
Of course, that's not to say there's no asbestos in the wires. They kind of put it in everything back then. Toaster cords I believe actually had a layer of asbestos around the wires to insulate them from heat, so those will be the more 'dangerous' ones. If there's asbestos in a normal wire, it's probably mixed with the rubber as a reinforcement, and probably not in nearly high enough quantities to be concerned with. As long as you're not pulverizing the wire insulation and snorting it through a rolled up dollar bill.
Of course, that's not to say there's no asbestos in the wires. They kind of put it in everything back then. Toaster cords I believe actually had a layer of asbestos around the wires to insulate them from heat, so those will be the more 'dangerous' ones. If there's asbestos in a normal wire, it's probably mixed with the rubber as a reinforcement, and probably not in nearly high enough quantities to be concerned with. As long as you're not pulverizing the wire insulation and snorting it through a rolled up dollar bill.
bikerray
Well-known member
The Belden Handbook I have list a regular cord as bare copper, stranded as indicated, cotton wrap 1/64" wall 30% rubber insulation, conductors cabled with cotton fillers, cotton wrap, over-all 40% rubber insulation.
It lists Heater Cord as Bare copper, stranded as indicated, wrap of cotton, 1/64" unvulcanized rubber wall, asbestos roving, two conductors twisted, over-all braid as indicated.
It only lists asbestos on cord made for items that heat and NOT on all wire.
It lists Heater Cord as Bare copper, stranded as indicated, wrap of cotton, 1/64" unvulcanized rubber wall, asbestos roving, two conductors twisted, over-all braid as indicated.
It only lists asbestos on cord made for items that heat and NOT on all wire.
