Compact C-8 Frustration

[vintagekitchen]

Ok, I love my Compact, and it is basically my daily driver for all above floor cleaning, but has anyone else noticed that the adapter Compact used for attaching the wands to the powerhead, combined with the generous length of their wands, makes it a bit awkward in use? Granted, I am short, (5 foot 4 inches), but it feels really awkward using such a long combination of wands with the powerhead. The Compact does as good a job or better than most uprights when the powerhead is used, but it has gotten so annoying I normally use my Kenmore twin fan as my daily driver for carpets.

Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[vacbear58]

At 6 foot 4 inches

I find my Tristar quite comfortable in use

Al

 

[vintagekitchen]

6 foot 4 inches

Lol, at that height I think your only problem would be vacs that are too short.

Maybe its just me, but when the Compact is fully assembled, between the powerhead adapter, the 2 straight wands and the curved wand on the end of the hose, it just seems like a bit much.

Standing next to it, the rubber cuff between the end of the hose and the curved wand is even with my chin. Isn't my height the about average height for a female? (god that is embarassing). How did they ever convince all those short housewives to purchase these things?

 

[vacbear58]

Size isn't everything

Actually Kevin, you raise a very interesting point and you are correct in that your height is much closer to the market that cleaners aimed at than mine.

For me Convertables, DAMs and Concepts are all fine although DAM feels close to borderline. Old style Juniors (with a fork) and "coffee cans" are also fine, later style Juniors are on the other side of border line although I have used them many times. Our Lux models are acceptable too.

Hoovers with the "classic white" floor tool are always a bit problematical for me in that, although the two wands look long enough (there was only one UK made model with a telescoping wand) the angle that the have to be held in to maintan the nozzle on the floor means I have to hold the handle with my arm almost straight down my side, which always feels wierd. Hoover models with a more angled nozzle connection have never been a problem and UK Lux cannisters have been fine as well.

Al

 

[vinvac]

Kevin,

There are many folks here that love Compact and the tools. I am one who doesn't. I am in agreement with you about the tools. I have never thought of them as being to long...but rather the angle is all wrong. Using a Compact is very hard on my back.

The bare floor tool and carpet tool are my least favorite tools. Give me Eureka tools any day.

I experience the same problem with Hoover tools. Using the bare floor tool, which is not a bad tool, but the angle is all wrong...you have to hold the wand almost straight up to use the tool...

The new Tri-Star (Compact) is not bad...I actually repaired one for a church member a few weeks ago. It seemed like a very user friendly vacuum. Tools are very Electrolux like.

Morgan

 

[vacbear58]

Morgan

If I might ask, what height are you please?

Actually I was not clear in what I wrote above - I meant the "classic white" carpet/rug nozzle not the floor nozzle. I should mention though that memory tells me that the telescoping wand is not as long and two single wands - the arrangement we are most familiar with here.

On a point of comparison I dont recall any problems using our Parnall 10/10 (late 1950s/early 1960s) which has identical tools to your Eureka models of the same era.

My Tristar is an older model identical in shape to the Compacts - I did not have any problem using that either (I only have a PN rug nozzle) - indeed I was always very impressed with its performance.

Al

 

[floor-a-matic]

Hoover rug tool

Is this the rug/floor nozzle you're refering to? This one came from my Celebrity S3187.

btw, I LOVE the Compact & TriStar vacs.

The ONLY thing I DISLIKE about the Compacts is the older hose handles are almost 'straight' instead of bent at a 45o angle; making vacing tight spaces challenging.

 

[vac-o-matic]

I hear ya!

Kevin, years ago I had a red TriStar with the setup you speak of and I also found it to be a bit tall, and I'm 5'8". It always felt like the power nozzle went on into the next room way before I did! I sold it to a fireman friend of mine who was about 6'3", he thought it was great!

 

[compactc9guy]

reply

i got a compact electra c9 and it has a plastic floor tool wich is great to use and easy on the arms to love it

 

[eurekastar]

Kevin, it sounds like you have the older Eureka made power nozzle.  It did require an adapter in order to work with Tristar/Compact wands.  You might try one of two things.  Switch to a newer style Tristar power nozzle that doesn't require the adapter.  That will shorten the overall wand length.  Or you might try buying new Eureka wands.  But if you do that, you'll need to drill an extra hole in the upper wand in order to match the position of the lock button on the Tristar/Compact hose.  Doing that will again shorten the overall wand length by also eliminating the need for that adapter. 

 

[sbakerde]

two hole wand

I have an often sell a two hole adjustable wand. The attachment end is a universal Eureka fit, Where the hose has has two button holes so its compatible with compact, NuTone, and a few others using the higher button.