Delco Vacumatic

[vacfanatic]

I got this in Lincoln, NE today from a referral I had. The owner I believe found this in an old farm house, so she took it. It is in very good shape, and the motor runs very nice for it's age. The wheel is broken in half, but it's a very clean break, and I'll be able to glue it back on. Since this won't see any heavy use, it will hold just fine. As usual, I'll share some post cleanup photos once I get around to this. Still working on my Kirby Sanitronic.

 

[vacfanatic]

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[brandon_w_t]

ahhh

So you saved it! It looks cool. Nice find. It sure is in beautiful shape.

 

[vacfanatic]

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[brandon_w_t]

did you take

the rainbow as well?

 

[vacfanatic]

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[collector2]

Nice - and a 32 Volt machine to boot. It was probably sold by the same store that sold the 32 Volt Delco power plants for farms. Definately a farm machine.

(LOL - just dont go plugging it into 120 V )

 

[vintagehoover]

WOW - We'll have to talk about this one later!

Aren't you glad I bullied you into saving it now?! A 32v FARM CURRENT model - that's even rarer than I thought; most would have been scrapped or rewound many, many years ago!

I'm interested to see that they used the same manual for both the straight-suction and revolving brush versions.

See what I mean about the row of holes along the front of the nozzle? They were supposed to help agitate the dirt out of the rug, whilst keeping the brush free from lint, hair etc.

 

[vintagehoover]

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[vintagehoover]

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[vacfanatic]

DC or AC

Nice drawings of the cleaner Jack! Thanks!!! I'm really unsure if the motor was rewound or whatever they do when they convert them to 120 volts. The previous owner stated it ran fine before I even got it, so I didn't even think to look @ the rating plate before I plugged it in and fired it up. It sounds normal to me, but I'm guessing that it might have been running faster than it should have. I only had it on for a short moment anyway. Until I can figure out how to really tell if the motor has been converted to 120 AC or not, I won't be running it again. I'm going to start cleaning it up, and polishing it today I think.

If anyone knows how I can tell if the motor has been retrofitted to AC, in spite of the rating label still showing DC 32 volts, let me know. I'm also trying to figure out where I can find a 120v AC to 32v DC converter, if in fact it has not been retrofitted for AC.

Andrew

 

[andy]

Great find! That's a rare machine, and for it to be in such good shape is even better! Looks like the owner also had an Air-Way at some point in time.

 

[vacfanatic]

Floor Brush

Yea now that you mention it, I see that the brush attachment is actually to a different machine. I didn't even notice that last night when I got it home, but it was pretty late by the time I snuck yet another vacuum in the house... best time to prevent being scolded for dragging another dirty cleaner in the house. "You just bought that $1000 Miele, what the hell do you need all these old ugly ones for?" says the boyfriend... BLAH!

 

[vacfanatic]

Bag Washing

The bag was full of vintage chicken feathers, probably from some farm near here... I was sad to not find any chicken bones though. I vacuumed out the inside of the bag with the Hoover GUV, which is so much nicer to do in the garage, vs in the house. That can be a dirty mess! Then I washed the bag in warm water with Woolite by hand, and then rinsed it in some fabric softener also to give the bag a darker, unfaded look. Here is the after photo, I just need to get the final bits of cat fur off it with a lint roller.

 

[hygiene903]

Nice Find, Andrew!

Not only is it a beautiful machine, but I'm sure it's a rare one as well! And I'm sure it will be even more beautiful when you're finished with it, the bag looks better already! Congrats!
Jeff

 

[methodistbill]

It think

I read in one of the threads that rinsing in fabric softener also helps the bag breath and filter better.

 

[brandon_w_t]

Im scared to do it to my 518 bag.

I dont want to wash off the perfect kirby logo. but your delco bag looks just fine after a rinse.

 

[vacfanatic]

Almost Done

I still have to polish the motor housing as it has some deep stains and really needs the bench polisher. I finished all of the other metal pieces today so I was too anxious to throw it together for some "almost done" photos. Hope you guys like it!

 

[vacfanatic]

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