Compact Vacuum Model C-6

[gmerkt]

Okay, this machine isn't exactly my cup of tea but it came my way so here it is. To be honest, I'd never heard of Compact Vacuum before. It's in pretty good condition and works fine but the original hose is deformed near where it attached to the metal wand. The name badge on the right hand side has a chunk out of the "C" in Compact. Some of the inscriptions on it are decals, like on the left hand side where it says "Anniversary Model" and on the bottom where it says, "Only Compact is on the Ball." This is a sturdy little sucker, made of (I guess) cast aluminum with a turquoise wrinkle paint finish. The name of the manufacturer is cast right into the housing, no name plate. It says "Anaheim, Calif." with no Zip Code so that may date it to before 1963 or 1964.

That reminds me of a story. My first job out of high school in 1968 was delivering Lincoln and Mercury cars to customers for a L-M service department. One day, I delivered a car to a lady and somehow the mention of Zip Code came up. She said her daughter refused to use it, because she thought it was a Communist conspiracy. The old saying, "It takes all kinds" applies here.

 

[gmerkt]

Sorry, I forgot to resize my first picture. Here's another of the Compact C-6:

 

[gmerkt]

More Compact C-6:

 

[gmerkt]

Underside of Compact C-6:

 

[aeoliandave]

Compact by IEC - Interstate Engineering Corporation.

Excellent find. It's a keeper, Gary. Decals relatively intact, unbroken/not missing exhaust flap and plastic catch, paint in fine condition and of course, the turquoise ball casters.

Unfortunately the chromed plastic Campact logo is often damaged as it would catch easily as it passed by upholstered furniture and walls and snap the bits off. Count yourself lucky you only lost the upper C tip.

It would have been so much better had IEC vcast the logo script in metal like car makers did.

btw, the body is cast magnesium - lighter than aluminum and strong as an egg shape. You can toss a Compact off a truck at interstate speeds and all it does is bounce.

Relatively easy to cut off the 4" section of damaged hose and re-attach to the wand handle...to save that luscious woven hose.

Dave

Go read up on the fantabulous Compact at Charles' site:

http://www.137.com/compact/

 

[luxg]

Gary, your Compact looks to be in great shape. Do you have any of the other attachments for it? If you have the floor brush this machine will do an awesome job on hard surface flooring! You will love it.

 

[electrolux~137]

I agree with the others that the Compact is a real gem. I used to think they were ugly -- the over-the-top design and colors took a bit of getting used to after the more restrained aesthetics of Electroluxes! But after I got over the garish appearance, I discovered that they're really terrific machines and practically indestructible. I've been using mine lately, a C7.

There used to be a Compact dealer here in Los Angeles, an old geezer named Sol Levinson. Well, he was an old geezer by the time I met him, anyway. He's gone on to his glory now, but in his glory days of selling Compacts, he was very successful, winning many sales awards over the years.

Anyhow, one day he showed me something really amazing. After slamming Electrolux for how quickly they lose suction because the bag gets "clogged up," he showed me the Compact's reading on a suck-o-meter. It almost blew the needle out of the glass!

Then he filled a Compact cloth bag 3/4 full of dry sand, turned the machine on again, showed me the suction reading and it was the still the same! Despite the bag being filled with sand, the machine did not lose any power.

Then he shut the machine off off and opened the bag hatch. The sand had been swirled around one side of the bag because of the "cyclonic action" of the Compact. (Other brands claim this action as well now, but I believe Compact was the first.)

btw the claim about Electrolux bags clogging up is only half true -- Electroluxes do not lose suction "because the dirt gets sucked to the back of the bag" as some competitors claim. At least, not the older (pre 1205) models. Electroluxes lose suction because the bags are too small.

If you turn an Electrolux on with the hose removed, you can hear the contents of the bag swirling around inside. Electrolux machines had a sort of cyclonic action as well that was created by the bag chamber which was perforated on all five sides. When the Electrolux is running, the stuff in the bag is constantly in motion.

(I don't know if the newer models, which did away with the perforated bag chamber), still do this or not.)

 

[electrolux~137]

btw speaking of zip codes and conspiracies, imagine my fundamentalist Aunt and Uncle's reaction when they were assigned their zip code in Hampton, Virginia: it's 23666.

{{{*oooooooEEEooooooo*}}}

 

[kenkart]

What I wouldnt give!!!!

For the first Compact shown in those pics!!!!Charles has sure found some gems!!!!

 

[electrolux~137]

Some of those gems are no longer in my "jewelry box" and this is one of them. I sacrificed it a long time ago in a [yet another] period of great financial crisis.

Sometimes, much as I loathe the idea of getting shoved into a cubicle in some huge corporation and working =9=to=5= (or, these days it seems, =5=to=9= & with no overtime pay), when another spell of great impoverishment falls upon me because of unpredictable -- and, these days, ever sparser -- freelance work opportunities, one of those cubicles [with their regular work hours and regular income] starts looking kinda attractive.

Especially when I have to start "selling off the children."

The Compact C1 is a loss I particularly regret because some very hard feelings arose around my decision to sell it. I can only hope that someday the "offended parties" will come to understand that sometimes "you just gotta do what you just gotta do."

And So It Goes.

 

[kenkart]

Dont feel bad!!!!!

We all have had to do things we didnt want to!!!! I got rid of some things several years ago that I sure didnt want to,but...they made others happy,and I have my share of stuff,but I have a lot of good memories and a lot of good friends,and that means more than all the stuff in the world!!