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Charlie Lester once posted his method for making these hoses airtight again; it involves liquid latex that comes from, I think, theatrical supply houses. It may be in the Archives, but it's around here somewhere.
The hose length for Electroluxes of that vintage was absurd. There were two things going on. First, every inch of hose costs money, so they were kept short as possible to save on costs. And second, once electrified hoses came in, the wiring made the hoses very stiff. A short hose was not as bad to handle as a long one would have been.
If I can presume to give you some advice, use that blue hose as-is for display purposes, and get a modern vinyl hose for actual use. Works very well.
