Calling All Lewyt Experts

[charles~richard]

I have just found a really nice Lewyt Model 40 - actually got it on eBay for around $15 - no one but me bid on it.

I already have a beautiful Model 44 (see link), but this one looked too nice to pass up. Well, it came today and nice isn't the word for it -- other than being a little dusty, it's practically in mint condition! It has the original hose and attachments (but missing the dusting brush and the crevice tool is cracked) and original cord.

There are a few little differences that I can see right off between the two and I am wondering if there are others.

A/B Comparison chart:

A. Model 40
B. Model 44

A. Gray hammertone canister, red trim on top
B. Gray hammertone canister, red trim on top

A. Black cord w/ generic molded end (not Belden), black strain relief on motor end
B. Bluish-gray cord with Lewyt logo on plug, red plastic cord clip, bluish-gray strain relief on motor end

A. Gasket between two halves of canister black rubber
B. Gasket between two halves of canister gray rubber

A. Interior top has pointy shaped metal cone like Filter Queen
B. Interior top is flat with red plaid cloth dust cover

A. Gray woven cloth hose with red XXX pattern
B. Gray woven cloth hose with red XXX pattern

A. Chromed steel wands with thin red gasket inserts inside lip
B. Aluminum wands with rubber collars & locking levers

A. Paint sprayer has hammertone metal top
B. Paint sprayer has black bakelite top

A. Upholstery tool hammertone gray metal
B. Upholstery tool gray plastic

A. Bare floor tool hammertone gray with black bumper
B. Bare floor tool gray plastic with gray bumper

A. Rug nozzle hammertone gray with black bumper
B. Rug nozzle hammertone gray with gray bumper

A. Purple plastic "snufficator" (moth killer)
B. Purple plastic "snufficator"

A. Dusting brush missing
B. Gray rubber dusting brush

A. Dark blue plastic crevice tool
B. Dark blue plastic crevice tool

I think that's all the things I noticed. Are there any differences mechanically - e.g., motor etc.?

A last point on the wands that came with the 40 --- I may have to take photos if this description is not clear. I am wondering if they are the original wands as they are completely different from the ones with the 44.

As I said, they are chromed steel. The top end has a lip kind of like the Electrolux wand except that it's open on the inside. Inside the lip is a thin round-edged gasket of red rubber - very very thin, maybe 1/32" in diameter. Really, really thin. There are 4 or 6 short grooves about an inch long going down from the lipped end - not slits like the Electrolux - just slightly raised lines. Does this sound like an original Lewyt wand?

The Lewyt is one of those old machines that's just fun to use. It has a pleasant, quiet, muffled tone that is quite pleasing to the ear. The suction is very good but, granted, nothing like modern plastic machines. But, then, it doesn't have their screech either! And I am sure it belches out dust like mad, but what the heck ... that just means I get to vacuum again!

Oh, and what are the manufacture years for these two models? They must be very close as they are so similar; obviously the 40 is earlier.

I think someone who knows a lot about the Lewyt should do a write-up on it. I don't think anyone ever has.



http://www.137.com/lewyt

 

[charles~richard]

Another Lewyt question

(not that anyone has answered the other ones I asked, *ahem*)

The pointy cone thing inside the canister is covered with some sort of very tight form-fitting felt covering. It's filthy and I want to remove it and clean it before I turn the machine on, but I am wondering if it is removeable. If I take it off, will I be able to get it back on again? It seems to be held very tightly in place not just at the top where its ring attaches but the entire covering. It almost looks like it was glued to the metal form inside - that's how tight it is.

There is, or was, also a paper Filter Queen-type cone inside the machine. I threw it out when I dumped the dirt out of the canister. Now I wonder if I shouldda saved it, if it was an original Lewyt cone! Maybe I'd better go look in the trash can, haha!

I am not real big on my Lewyt history, but it seeeeems to me this was an area of patent infringement that got Mr. Lewyt in a boatload of trouble with Filter Queen, and isn't that why the models thereafter took a sack-type bag instead of the cones?

Incidentally, in the paperwork that came with the model 40 (all the original documentation, and some other stuff), is a still sealed package of bojack bags "to fit Lewyt" -- these bags have a round hole with a rubber gasket to affix them to the suction hole inside instead of just lining the canister, which does seem like a better idea. As with other makes that use a dump-out system, when I dumped the canister into the trash, stuff went flying every which-a-way.

Which leads me to wonder, why oh why when people sell vacuums on eBay can't they take 30 seconds to remove the dirt first?!

 

[petek]

(not that anyone has answered the other ones I asked, *ahem*

Just that they're ascared to say anything now LOL

Can't help you out..if it was a Big WheelLewyt I could have sent you some bags though.

 

[charles~richard]

Okay, someone better answer my questions or my persecution c

Here's another one...

I did go to the trash can and retrieve the paper cone I had thrown out of the Model 40. Yes, now you know how obsessive I really am.

It IS a genuine Lewyt cone but I am very puzzled about it.

Printed on two sides is "Warning - Beware of imitation filters which will damage your motor. Ask for GENUINE LEWYT FILTERS ...etc."

But on the other side is printed "Ask to see the Amazing New LEWYT Electronic VACUUM CLEANER with Motorized Beater Sweeper" and a line illustration of, hm, the Model 88 I believe it was - the first Lewyt with a power nozzle. And below that illustration, "A revolutionary Scientific Advance in Home Cleaning."

SOOOOOOOOOOOO ... IF Alex Lewyt was sued by Filter Queen, how could these Lewyt bags still have been made in the late 1950s? Didn't that "electronic" model come out in 1959? One would assume he would have been sued when the Lewyt cones first came out, presumably with the Model 40. Did it really take, like, nearly 20 years for Filter Queen to file suit? Or, did that never happen at all - is my befuddled mind just making it all up?

The cone is gray with blue printing btw.

 

[swingette]

pete...

and WHAT exactly are trying to suggest? Meow.. HISSS! (lol)

Charles, why not post a pic, that seems to wake people up sometimes.

 

[charles~richard]

Ignoring the cheap shots and continuing on my merry way,

I got out both Lewyts and have to make some corrections to the "comparison chart" above. The newer model is a 55 not a 44. So, I have a 40 and a 55. I did take a bunch of photos, when I get back home tonight I'll post them.

Meanwhile, another question if someone other than the kitty cats might care to address it --- when was the first Lewyt model introduced, and what was the model number designation?

Thanks to you all for aspiring to the spirit of comraderie and mutual respect that we all have pledged to uphold! That, after all, is what makes the Club and this web site such a treasure to us all ... right?!

 

[eluxomarty]

Charlie

My excuse for not answering sooner is that i've been held hostage at the hospital for the last two days. To possibly answer the Lewyt filter cone question. Lewyt had to continue to provide cones for the vacuums previously but also no longer made vacuums using the cone system. In other words Lewyt stopped producing the vacuums using the cones and went to the bag syatem but for those people who still had the cone system, Lewyt still had to make the filter cones available, hence the advertising for any later models on the paper cone. That's my guess anyway.

Marty

 

[charles~richard]

Thanks Marty

That would explain it I guess, but if one company sued another for patent infringement, wouldn't a successful legal action, just by its virtue, enjoin the guilty party from continuing to make the infringing product? Any lawyers in our midst?!

 

[sukething]

Hey Charlie...

I to am sorry for not responding sooner but not sure I can help much. The only thing I can remember is what people have been telling me,like Billy Lipman and few others over the years. That the actual Lewyt cones are a rarity and that Filter Queen cone filters will fit just the same. I do have a Lewyt with the bag but they are very hard to find as well especially with the little clear plastic window on the bag to show you how full you have your bag. I do remember Billy telling me about the lawsuit but do not have anymore info.

David

 

[ohio_tuec]

Somewhere, I have an owner's manual for a late Lewyt canister (they had already merged with Shetland at this time) where they discuss those bags. They're called See-thru Speed Sacs. I've seen bojack Hoover Type A bags with that same dust window. Personally, I think it's a pretty good idea.

 

[hygiene903]

Hi Charles,

I also have a model 40 Lewyt. Everything is just as you described it, except I am missing the wands and sprayer. I am somewhat new to Lewyts myself, so can't tell you much about their history, but I do know that the 40 and 44 were the only models that used the cones, and anything after that used bags. I would guess mid to late 40's for a mfg. date, as they were building the square, big wheel models by the mid 50's.
You might want to talk to Mike Hays. Lewyts are his favorite and he probably knows more about them than anyone (or at least HAS more of them than anyone!)
Jeff