Curb-picked Eureka Upright

VacuumLand – Vintage & Modern Vacuum Enthusiasts

Help Support VacuumLand:

C

CW

Member
Joined
Jan 21, 2012
Messages
17
Found this sitting in a pile of trash on the curb this afternoon. The sticker on the bottom claims it's a model J 424 e. The motor runs, the light works, but it's in desperate need of a good cleaning, and the outer vinyl bag zipper is missing several teeth toward the bottom, so that will need replacing. Surprisingly, the underside of the machine is pretty clean, it's just the top that's covered in filth. The brushroll is wooden with two red plastic beater bars and two brushes. My plan is to clean the thing up and give it to my parents.

Any ideas on where I could find a suitable replacement bag? Also, what size belt does this take? It looks like it's a bit longer than the belt my Hoover Convertible takes.

cw++5-14-2012-16-52-47.jpg
 
Oh, and the belts are "Type RD", if a Hoover belt won't fit on there (E.G.too tight to reach the pulley), then use the RD belts... :)
 
But didn't you say that belts from the Senior/Convertible would work David ? Or was that another Vacuum Cleaner...
 
Yeah, on some older Eurekas, the Hoover Senior/Convertible belts are too tight, and must use RD belts, but for some reason, later models the RD belts are much slacker, and that's where the Hoover belts come into play.... :)
 
OK!!!!!

IF IVE SAID THIS ONCE IVE SAID IT A THOUSAND TIMES!!!!!! DO NOT USE A CONVERTIBLE BELT!!!!! IT WILL PUT TO MUCH STRAIN ON THE MOTOR!!!! ANY AND ALL EUREKAS USE A EUREKA RD BELT!!!! PERIOD!!!!......
 
CW

Cool Find! I love those dial-a-nap uprights.

The belt type is "RD" and the bag type will be F&G.

By looking at the picture I see a round metal stretch bag retainer ring that hold the bag to the plastic chute inside the vinyl bag. It's hanging on the handle near the top cord hook.

Vinyl outer bags can be bought at vacuum stores or on line, also try ebay.

It's a great vacuum, congratulations.
 
Okay Cher!

Put down that pump girl before you put someone's eye out!!

LOL! Seriously Jason, I myself never use convertible belts in Eureka uprights, but what are your thoughts about using RD belts on the older coffee can hoover uprights? I do because the belt shaft is farther back from teh brush roll on the old coffee cans than the convertibles.
 
also....on a lighter note CW>.....

thats is a late 70's model.....why dont u keep it as collection???....that particular model is not that common....(and just to clear up CW, that was not meant for you on the belt).....=)
 
I don't know much about Eurekas, my thought was that my parents need a decent vacuum cleaner as they've gone through about 3 or 4 plastic walmart wonders in the past few years. Maybe after I've fixed this one up I'll decide to give them my Hoover U4053 instead (1 speed Convertible, orange hood, no headlight, old vinyl bag replaced with an orange bag from some Hoover Commercial upright, converted to use type A bags). I guessed the model wasn't very common since a Google search brought up absolutely nothing, not even some website claiming to sell bags and belts.

Thanks for the tip on the belts, I will order some Eureka RD belts and F&G bags. As for the bag, if I could find a decent condition one like the one that's on it now I suppose I'd do that to keep it original looking, otherwise I'll probably go for a cloth bag, maybe a red one since that should roughly match the base.
 
or might i also suggest.....

i am able to sew new zippers in original bags......if you might want to send the bag to me , id gladley do that for you...
 
Thanks

I'll consider that. I want to clean the bag up and make sure it's in decent shape first though. I'd imagine you don't really want to come home one afternoon to find a dirty vacuum cleaner bag in the mail anyhow ;-)
 
That is almost one of my childhood vacuums! My grandpa had one in his basement. He never used it. It wasn't until recently that I got to turn it on, and the motor was stuck. It was in bad shape by then.


The machine always scared me. It was missing the lens, so all I saw was the black hole. IT was a slightly older model with the more rounded front and lens, with the orange plastic bars on the cover. The hood was vented. Not sure on yours, can't tell.

The bag was a little different.
 
Well marty for ......

that porpuos i dont think thats a complete crime. i was once told from another collector that a streched convertible from a machine, that is used and worn is qite suffecint. i find the Eureka belts, even on a pre Covertible Hoover to be a bit loose. just my opnion. im kinda particualr about things like belts
 
Hoover belts DO work on later Sanitaires and Eurekas despite some rather illogical claims on this forum, they're best used on the Pancake type motor rather than the Blender type motor...

Anyone who claims otherwise is either a fool or ill-informed...

After all, I have three Sanitaires, all using those Hoover belts, and not one has been damaged, the belts, once they do a couple of revolutions round the pulleys and warm up, are sufficiently stretched out (one of the wonderful properties or the rubber used, stretching to fit with the application of heat and tension), but remain tight unlike the RD belts which start to slip after a few uses which cause the pulleys to overheat and the brushroll to be ineffective...

Believe me, I have used both types of belt, and the Hoover belt works a lot better, but like I say, they're best used on Pancake motors...
 
Not a fool.....But,

Just so that I'm informed, what is the difference between a blender motor and a pancake motor? I've heard these references before but just wasn't sure which model machines these applied to.

When using these references, are you talking about Eureka uprights only or both Eurekas and Convertibles.

Marty
 
The blender motors are usually the smaller, lower amperage motors, usually encased in a "tin can" setup, they generally go into the plastic-hooded models (with the vents in the top, rather than the side), they're not as strong as the pancake motors, so they wouldn't take too kindly to the Hoover belts, ruining the bearings pretty quickly...

The Pancake motors, those are the flatter, wider motors, and produce a unique whine sound and generally go into metal-hooded models (with the vents in the sides), these are the ones that usually need the Hoover belts as they're pretty torquey motors, so they can make the RD belts wear out faster as they don't stall as easily as the Blenders, so they require tighter belts to keep the brushroll spinning... :)

As for the belts slipping references, I mean Pancake powered Eurekas & Sanitaires, if the RD belts slip in those, then they're never going to work in a Senior or Convertible (and I did try when I had my 652, and yeah, RD belts do not work in Hoovers!!!)... :)
 
Thanks for explaining that David, I never did know what you meant by Pancake and Blender motors, but I do now!

It is strange that Eureka would make a belt that is obviously ill suited to the Vacuum Cleaner!
 
"It is strange that Eureka would make a belt that is obv

That's the thing, the belt is right for much older models, and fits tightly, but for later models, they must have changed something that loosened the fit, my guess is the groove in the brushroll on VGI and VGII brushrolls is a smaller diameter than the older wooden Distribulator brushrolls, but not having had an older model than my C12 to experiment with, I don't really know... :&#92
 
And the groove being smaller would pinch the belt more and wear it quicker, right ?

Sorry if I'm appearing thick, it comes naturally to me!
 
No, the smaller diameter would mean the belt is not as tight as it should be, so the pulley on the motor would slip more and cause the belt to overheat and lose more tension, ultimately resulting in the belt failing... :)

This is more prevalent on the Pancakes as like I say, they have a bit more torque behind them, so they don't stall as easily as the Blenders, so while a blender motor can stall if you lower it too far or if it catches the edge of a rug, the Pancake will keep on going until the belt gives out... :)

It is odd that they do that, but, there you go... :&#92
 
Ah, I get you now.

That's the thing I hate about modern Vacuum Cleaners opposed to the "oldies", if you run over something, like a cable or a sock and it jams the brush roll, the belt will snap in an instant because the motor doesn't slow down at all, at least an older motor slows down to give you the split second you need to cut the power.
 
The pancake motor design is actually old, but they just kept upping the amps over they years, so the highest amp models (the 7 Amp@120v) tend to go through belts like I go through cola, but the lowest (I think 3.5Amp@120v) tend to last longer... :)

There is the issue of them using round belts though, if they used flat belts they'd probably last a lot longer, but still, it's a well-tested design that has lasted well... :)
 
Yep, that's always the way.

You up the amps (or wattage as us Brits would term it) and the motor is going to spin faster. The motor spins faster - The rubber belt rotating the brush roll will wear quicker due to heating more and thus stretching more. Unless of course, it was made using threads like the other belt you mentioned.
 
The reason for modern vacuums having higher wattage motors is because they're usually single-stage motors, so to get more air through, they have to spin faster, but two-stage motors, like in my Tristar, can be lower powered and draw more air through, but it's more expensive to design to fit in most modern vacs, so they compromise and use the cheaper motors at the expense of the user's electricity bill... :&#92
 
I thought two-stage motors were motors with two wattage settings, but I take it that isn't correct.

What exactly is it then ?
 
Nah, what you're thinking of is a 2-speed, which needs no explanation... :)

A two-stage is basically a motor with two fans, one up front, that feeds through a set of vanes to the next fan that then goes through another set of vanes then finally out through the motor's back end, this helps to create more suction and airflow with less power used... :)

You can see the motor design in the first episode of "The secret life of machines" here:

 

Similar threads

T
Hoover U4313 curb save - fix or scrap?
Replies
5
Views
484
texaskirbyguy
T
J
Free Royal 2075
Replies
3
Views
220
2011hoover700
2011hoover700
human
Sending a Kirby to Church!
Replies
2
Views
165
paul
P
fan-of-fans
Craftsman 16 Gallon Wet/Dry Curb Find
Replies
5
Views
509
thevacomaticiec
thevacomaticiec
C
To many restorations in 2 months
Replies
24
Views
2K
cheesewonton
C

Latest posts

Back
Top