Canadian Hoover Model 281

[swingette]

Did the cleaner come with those flawless looking brushes or did you add them?

Smart move leaving the bag as-is.

I'm wondering how it sits on that modern carpeting swatch in the pictures when set for thick rugs??

Damn that brushroll looks nice!

 

[aeoliandave]

Brett, those are the brushroll brushes that came on it. All I've done is put on a new belt.

 

[camelotshadow]

What a classy machine

Tribute to the eternal memory of a classic lady!

 

[petek]

What a nice vacuum and really nice that the daughter followed through when she could just as easily "not been bothered"

 

[gottahaveahoove]

class all the way.

My great aunt, Genevieve had the exact same unit...same condition. She slept away, "uncle" went through the place like a bullet. He left it behind, and it was trashed. I was only 16 and powerless. Wouldn't it be nice , someday, for someone to have one of OUR machines like that?

 

[xraytech]

that is an absolutley beautiful unit. I wish I could find one like that.

 

[z30soulbrother]

hose converter

having had a late 50s uk senior which has the back slide in converter which kicks the high power switch on entry and has the metal pate attached to reach under and lift the brush roller off the carpet, i was never sure how these earlier side hose converters worked,. you say you have to push down? and is the chamber pretty sealed for suction through the hose?

si

 

[aeoliandave]

The chamber side door flap is always closed until the converter flips it up. The rear wheel carrige frame is heavily sprung with two coil springs and has a tab that blocks the side slot from being fully insertable.

Pressing the back of the machine down lifts the tab up out of the way while the converter is slid in. It's a clever 'failsafe' arrangement that lets you put in the converter with the vacuum running, if you wish. There is also a one stop toggle/height limiter.

I would say the metal to metal seal is excellent.

 

[aeoliandave]

When you release your iron grip holding the wheels down the tab rests against the converter, lifting the front 1/2" keeping the brushroll clear of the carpet or hard floor. Perhaps that is why the little girl is always pictured helping Mom - converting is more easily accomplished with a second set of hands.

A great deal if not 99% of the fan suction is diverted to the side converter.

 

[z30soulbrother]

suction

i bet thats better suction than the later senior with rear converter as thats quite a poor seal and skinnier channel to get blocked. i must look for a machine with side converter port like yours to use my toolkit on which i got from a junk shop 2 pounds and have never had a machine to try it out on!!!

si

 

[arh1953]

My sympathies to the Templeton family

What a first class lady Mrs. Templeton was, and it shows in her daughter. Everytime you use or look at that beautiful machine, you will think of her. The nostalgic color scheme and the automobile like styling work so well. I too would like to hear something about the life of Margaret Templeton. I'm so glad you got that vacuum.

 

[electroluxxxx]

The suction on the convertable vacs with the adaptor that you put on the bottom plate I think has a higher level ov suction. the 28 is on the low suction side but is very durable.

 

[myhooverco]

Dave...

Beautiful machine. I just love the maple leaf on the bag. The Hoover Historical Center has a Canadian model 150 (not sure of the model number) with the same maple leaf design bag on it. Your hose is a "Veriflex" hose from the early 1950s and is much better than the original cloth hose. It is more flexible and easier to use. I am glad that the machine is in good hands where it will be appreciated. Thanks for posting the nice photos of it.

As for the side conversion...again just my two cents...the side conversion was a little stronger than the rear conversion Convertible. However, the Convertible pulled easily along behind you unlike the side converter where you had to tug at the machine to get it to move. I guess you can't have everything. And yes, those 28s were very long lived units!

Thanks again for posting those great photos!

--Tom

 

[aeoliandave]

Thanks Tom. The Variflex hose came from the parts bin and as you can see has no tool/wand end. It goes so well with the 281. They will remain together. As for more appropriate wands & tools...

Would someone post a picture of what the tools and wands for this should look like? Maybe I have some lurking about and don't know it yet.

A suction reading at the converter inlet registers 15" but that's not what these 'Beats as it Sweeps as it Cleans' uprights were all about. Although mine has the slogan 'The HOOVER makes Rugs Last Longer' cast into the fanbelt bottom plate.

Dave

 

[hoover28]

good find

cant beat a clean one owner.



Chris

 

[camelotshadow]

That vac is too skinny

Fatten her up!

LOL

 

[aeoliandave]

The tools are coming home...

Worked a 13 hour day, came home to an email with pictures. They were found in a box at the top of a closet.

The tool set in brown bakelite with hose blower converter plate, too.

 

[aeoliandave]

Thankyou, Margaret Templeton and May.

Hose with small tape fix and the tool carryall.

Wow!

Another weekend drive to London.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

I'd like to think....

That she's looking on, very happy that the treasured machine is still being "cared for".... as she did. ...sending a prayer to her..................

 

[charles~richard]

beautiful set. btw the wands were brushed aluminum, one curved, one straight.

Hoover, ever the innovator, was one of the first companies to use aluminum for wands rather than chromed steel.

Kirby has the distinction of being the first vacuum cleaner (that I know of) to have plastic wands and attachments. But when plastics of that type were first introduced to the public in the late 1940s after World War II, these new materials were considered Wonders of the Modern Age!

I have a really neat article from "Tool Engineering Magazine" from around 1952 that shows the "all-new" Kirby attachments in gray plastic, as opposed to the former dark gray (and previously black) rubberized-fiber sets. It wasn't until quite a bit later, generally the late 1950s, that plastic became equated with cheap, due to the large and sudden influx of cheap goods from overseas.