Electro-Hygiene model 401

[kate]

I have this vacuum - wondering what year it is and if it's worth taking somewhere for cleaning/service. It's been sitting in my dry basement for years, and although the cords look fine I'm hesitant to even plug it in - I have weird "it will explode" issues - ha.

What prompted me to consider getting it serviced is that I need a new vacuum and everything made these days in my $300 price range seems to be crap*. I have hardwood floors, a few area rugs, and 2 short-hair dogs who shed a fair amount.

*If I got a new vac, the Kenmore Elite upright looks promising.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[hoover300]

Definitely worth a service! The cord is an off brand Kirby cord, and can easily be replaced with a standard extension cord via the small white pigtail cord coming out of the motor. Do you have a hose? If so, make sure it is rubber or vinyl. Cloth ones tend to develop leaks over time. A vac shop can put a vinyl hose on the original hose ends, if need be.

As for year, maybe late 60s? I'm not an expert on PA Geier vacs.

The only thing to watch out for are those wheels. If you have genuine hardwood, they will scratch if they aren't rubber. I recommend gluing some felt on them, I've done it on an old Eureka canister and it works well.

 

[lesinutah]

The

Vacuum is an excellent vacuum. It will clean your house great. Here is a couple odd suggestions for the wheels rubber bands, duct tape dip wheels in plastic dip put vacuum belts from a hand vacuum on the.. the easiest and quickest is probably duct tape.
I don't know if the vacuum would need serviced. I'm pretty sure they take royal type j bags. The bags in the link come with a new filter. Throw awY the old filter wash the bag with the metal ring and air dry. Put dried bag in then the type j bag and your done. There not really going to do much more than that.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Royal-Tank...2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0

 

[kate]

Thanks,

I don't have the hose unfortunately. Since I posted I've been looking on eBay. I'm thinking I might be better off buying one that has everything including the power head. I'm not looking for perfection cosmetically, just one in good running condition. I hear the 1205 Electrolux is good, but probably overkill for my small house? For this shape canister vac, what do you recommend? By shape I mean I don't care for the round squatty ones like the Filter Queen.

I know I'm all over the place about this...I have been shopping for a new vac for a week and I'm on overload!

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Kate

Kate,

What you have is a 1969-70 Electro-Hygiene model 401 Pony.

The reason I start at 1969 is that was when the nameplate changed the name of the manufacturer from "P. A. Geier Company" (what Royal had traded as until 1949) to "Royal Appliance Mfg. Co." (its formal name since 1953).

Oddly, the reason Royal continued using the name "P. A. Geier" from 1949 to 1968 on their Electro-Hygienes was in order to establish Electro-Hygiene as its own brand.

~Ben

 

[huskyvacs]

Just your standard motor service will be all it needs, it's in great condition as it is.

If you're not interested in making it a museum piece taking it back to as it left the assembly line, the cord on there is fine and is in good shape. Looks like it was recently done. That plug looks like it's from one of those new fancy power strips with the decorative fabric cords. I wouldn't change it. Any extension cord would look horribly hideous, way too long, and be way too heavy to lug around. The only thing that would concern me is the prongs overheating at the adapter connection, but this vacuum doesn't draw that much amperage so it should be okay.

You can mask off the wheel face front and back and coat the wheel rim in flexSeal to give yourself a rubberized tread for your floors, unless you don't care about scratches in the varnish, then in that case leave it as is.

You can go to a vacuum shop and see if you can get a reproduction hose and tool kit to fit on there and a motorized universal power nozzle (Riccar Volt) to make it a powerhead cleaner if you want to. But this machine was made when people had hardwood floors so a basic toolkit would do you just fine. You might be able to get away with using some Electrolux tools in blue to match the vacuum's color if they cooperate with the hose diameter as well. Just know it's a simple no frills cleaner, how it used to be, don't expect gold from a coal mine. You get one option, on or off, that's it. If you don;t see yourself needing any more than that, go for it. It will outlive you, your house, and everyone else if taken care of.

 

[kate]

KirbyClassic & Huskyvacs

KirbyClassic: Thanks for identifying the year.

Huskyvacs: I appreciate your advice. As mentioned in my last post, I'm now thinking of finding a canister vac with all the attachments - it would probably be cheaper in the long run to do that instead of trying to piece this one together. I'm still studying!

 

[tylerhawkins84]

They are great vacuums!

Royal used this basic design all the way up to 2002 so newer parts are readily available on the used market. The Royal vinyl hoses will work with this unit as will the attachments. I don't know if you are wanting to get a power nozzle but you would have to either get the rare Manta Ray or the more common Filter Queen style nozzles without the headlight Royal used with your cord set-up.

 

[human]

No-lose decision...

Whether you get a hose and tools for your Electro-Hygiene or you go for a fully kitted out Electrolux canister, you really can't go wrong. They're both great options and will give you far more vacuum for the money than any newer plasticrap machine.

One thought if you decided to go the Electrolux route, you could always sell the Electro-Hygiene here on the 'Super Market' forum, put that money toward what you want and be comfortable in the knowledge that whoever ends up with it will take good care of it.

One place you might check is shopgoodwill.com. I recently got a Kirby Classic III from there for less than $30 shipped.

 

[kate]

Thanks!

tylerhawkins84: Thanks for that valuable information. I do want a power nozzle for my area rugs.

human: I'm definitely going with a fully kitted canister. Electrolux or my newly acquired obsession: Hoover Celebrity. I LOVE chrome, and those models look so cool! I would love a blue or green one. The way the vac bag fits in is a bit odd, but apparently they work fine.

Great idea about selling my Electro Hygiene here.