Electrolux 502S Hose Question
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rolls_rapide
Well-known member
Very probably plastic.
I had a 550 around 1987, and bought the tools as an after-sales purchase, from the Co-Operative. I am absolutely certain that 550 was NOT on the box, so it must have been previous model numbers.
Brown hand-grip, tools and tubes. The hose was a grey plasti-flex, similar to the "Turbomatic" cylinder machines. I found the hose to be rather restrictive, Hoover's double-stretch was much more usable.
I had a 550 around 1987, and bought the tools as an after-sales purchase, from the Co-Operative. I am absolutely certain that 550 was NOT on the box, so it must have been previous model numbers.
Brown hand-grip, tools and tubes. The hose was a grey plasti-flex, similar to the "Turbomatic" cylinder machines. I found the hose to be rather restrictive, Hoover's double-stretch was much more usable.
rolls_rapide
Well-known member
I think they were all twin-turbos, even if they didn't say so on the machine.
vintagerepairer
Well-known member
Hello. I just mentioned something about this on another message. The tools with the 502s were originally very basic, with tubes of metal, with a thin plastic hose, not woven. The whole kit later became all plastic. However because not all retailers sold tools with the cleaner, it is possible that tool kits from older and newer production runs were bought for the cleaner you speak of. It all depends on what the customer was sold if they bought a kit seperately. Also because by the time the 502s went on sale these cleaners had been in production for almost 10 years, there were some people who were on their second cleaner and had kept tools from the first. I know someone who had a 500 and then many years later a 550. One was kept upstairs and one downstairs, but both were used with the original 500 tools as that cleaner had been purchased with tools. The 550 hadn't.
vintagerepairer
Well-known member
Yes, that is possible as that would have been the tool kit of it's time. And very possibly the all-plastic tools. It just depends what was put with what when it was sold.
vintagerepairer
Well-known member
Also, I was reading one of your archived messages about your 1993 Philips looking like a Panasonic. Whilst I cannot say that the two companies were ever linked, I am 99% sure they weren't and certainly there were no overlaps in the cleaners. I can see though why you asked the question. It is all about fashionable designs, and the Hoover Junior De-luxe (Starlight) in the 1970's seemed to begin a trend for cleaners with the motors fitted to the bag section of the cleaner and not the cleaning head, with the controls mounted on the top of the bag unit. Other ones to do this over the years which followed were Hotpoint (which was a Bosch cleaner) and Electrolux 600 series, plus other which I would have to think about. Also many cleaners with the motors in the cleaning head also had the controls on top, like some Goblin commanders, Moulinex, Electrolux Twin Turbo. It is only the design which links your Philips to a Panasonic.
You will see that I said the Hotpoint was a Bosch cleaner. This is because Hotpoint had a 20-odd year love affair with Bosch and used Bosch cleaners and dishwashers with the Hotpoint name. Some were Bosch built and some products made under license. This was the same with your Philips cleaner, which was never made by Philips. I don't even know who made it, as the cleaner was used by no end of companies. The first I know of was Kenwood and Aqua-vac. Kenwood had two models which from memory was an electronic and none-electronic. The Aqua-vac cleaner dates back to the days before they merged with Goblin. The cleaning head was quite different from the standard head (like yours has) as it has scrubbing brushes for shampooing carpets, but the main section of the cleaner was the same. The only differece was that the Aqua-vac had a huge aeresol full of carpet shampoo stuck to the front. Note it was not a wet cleaner and the carpet cleaning method was shampooing not washing.
These cleaners were not seen for a couple of years, until Philips started buying them in for their own ranges. Next, a set of on-board tools were added and you could buy models with or without fitted tools. De-longhi also started buying these cleaners, as did some names you would never hear of again which related to specific catalouge companies. There were not a good cleaner at all and the build was poor. The handle and the chassis were prone to damage. Also there was nothing to lift the cleaning head off the carpet when using tools. This was all refelected in the lower than you would expect retail price.
You will see that I said the Hotpoint was a Bosch cleaner. This is because Hotpoint had a 20-odd year love affair with Bosch and used Bosch cleaners and dishwashers with the Hotpoint name. Some were Bosch built and some products made under license. This was the same with your Philips cleaner, which was never made by Philips. I don't even know who made it, as the cleaner was used by no end of companies. The first I know of was Kenwood and Aqua-vac. Kenwood had two models which from memory was an electronic and none-electronic. The Aqua-vac cleaner dates back to the days before they merged with Goblin. The cleaning head was quite different from the standard head (like yours has) as it has scrubbing brushes for shampooing carpets, but the main section of the cleaner was the same. The only differece was that the Aqua-vac had a huge aeresol full of carpet shampoo stuck to the front. Note it was not a wet cleaner and the carpet cleaning method was shampooing not washing.
These cleaners were not seen for a couple of years, until Philips started buying them in for their own ranges. Next, a set of on-board tools were added and you could buy models with or without fitted tools. De-longhi also started buying these cleaners, as did some names you would never hear of again which related to specific catalouge companies. There were not a good cleaner at all and the build was poor. The handle and the chassis were prone to damage. Also there was nothing to lift the cleaning head off the carpet when using tools. This was all refelected in the lower than you would expect retail price.
Well the tool kit with my 502S is a plastic hose with a metal end, the 2 in 1 tool and crevice tool, all of which are plastic.
It would have had an extension tube too but that must have went missing as the woman didn't give that to me.
It would have had an extension tube too but that must have went missing as the woman didn't give that to me.
vintagerepairer
Well-known member
Yes, that is certainly a 502s tool kit, and would have had one long metal tube. Though by 1982 the tool kit in production would almost certainly have been all plastic. It is on the cusp I suppose. Like I said, it comes down to what was given away with what at the time, and whether tools were bought as extra. It was not uncommon to know of stores which had tool kits slightly older than what would have been made at the same time as the cleaner.
Yeah my Philips certainly is a mysterious cleaner!
I guess that is a good thing though as it makes it more rare, which of course is good in a Vacuum Cleaner collection! But it isn't so rare I can't get bags or belts for it, which is good.
I really do love it for the performance and build quality.
It feels really strong and the suction is great for the 800 Watt motor it has.
The only thing that isn't as good quality as the rest of the cleaner is the catch that holds the cleaner upright, as it is starting to lean backwards a bit when in the upright position, which would indicate some wear in the mechanism, but lets face it, it isn't the first, and certainly won't be the last cleaner to have a problem with premature wear on the upright catch.
Oh, and I will have a video of it uploaded on my YouTube channel tomorrow and will post the link here if you want to see it.
I guess that is a good thing though as it makes it more rare, which of course is good in a Vacuum Cleaner collection! But it isn't so rare I can't get bags or belts for it, which is good.
I really do love it for the performance and build quality.
It feels really strong and the suction is great for the 800 Watt motor it has.
The only thing that isn't as good quality as the rest of the cleaner is the catch that holds the cleaner upright, as it is starting to lean backwards a bit when in the upright position, which would indicate some wear in the mechanism, but lets face it, it isn't the first, and certainly won't be the last cleaner to have a problem with premature wear on the upright catch.
Oh, and I will have a video of it uploaded on my YouTube channel tomorrow and will post the link here if you want to see it.
vintagerepairer
Well-known member
Hello again. It is mysterious to you as you sound too young to remember them on sale! I wish I was your age. They were widely avaliable in many stores from the later part of the 1980s onwards. They didn't hang around though as they were cheap, broke easily, and were never that nice to use, that is to say they were uncomfortable. Your handle leaning is one of the faults they had, suggesting that the chassis may eventually break. Philips always made vacuum cleaners from the 1970s onwards but by the earlier part of the 1990s the range had slimmed down from many models to just a couple of cylinders. About 1994 they did start to increase again for about two years, then died a death. It has only been in recent times that Philips decided to give the vacuum market another go.
So the U800 was popular!? Wow...
You don't happen to have any scanned copies of advertisements for them when they were on sale do you ? I'd be interested to see what Philips said about them.
They really must have all broken down seeing as I can't find another U800 on eBay on current or completed listings...
I don't think they were bad cleaners though!
The motor in mine is really quiet, has good suction, and feels good to use, as long as you make sure to set the height setting to the right one for your pile, as if you have it set too low the beater bars will cling to the carpet and make it hard to pull.
I'm pretty sure my U800 was a "back up" cleaner though, as it is in superb condition, and the motor doesn't sound like it has been used much at all.
As for the leaning back, that isn't really much of a problem, because as you can see in my avatar, I have my cleaners resting against the wall when they are not in use.
The only bad thing I have to say about the U800 is that there doesn't seem to be a handle to lift it when going down the stairs etc...
You don't happen to have any scanned copies of advertisements for them when they were on sale do you ? I'd be interested to see what Philips said about them.
They really must have all broken down seeing as I can't find another U800 on eBay on current or completed listings...
I don't think they were bad cleaners though!
The motor in mine is really quiet, has good suction, and feels good to use, as long as you make sure to set the height setting to the right one for your pile, as if you have it set too low the beater bars will cling to the carpet and make it hard to pull.
I'm pretty sure my U800 was a "back up" cleaner though, as it is in superb condition, and the motor doesn't sound like it has been used much at all.
As for the leaning back, that isn't really much of a problem, because as you can see in my avatar, I have my cleaners resting against the wall when they are not in use.
The only bad thing I have to say about the U800 is that there doesn't seem to be a handle to lift it when going down the stairs etc...
vintagerepairer
Well-known member
Well I don't know as I can say popular, what I am saying is they were on sale in many shops and I had several in for repair over the years. Also I sold the bags regularly too. But like I mentioned, there were many reasons why people did not keep them for long. They were what they were, which was a cheap cleaner that did everything and had a good name on the front. Expectations of these cleaners was generally low and they lived up to it.
vintagerepairer
Well-known member
Not sure what else to say really, sorry, I have no literature or anything as my interest in cleaners was as a business not a hobby, so I didn't ever really see the booklets. `I used to look in the electrical stores and catalouges though to keep abreast of what was happening. I only stocked rebuilt cleaners, apart from the odd Panasonic upright in the 1990s. There was a big price difference back then between a brand-new cleaner and a rebuilt one. Rebuilds were very popular with so many different types of customer. People who didn't want to pay a lot were attracted to them, as were people who had bought an expensive brand-new cleaner which had failed them long before they expected to. People trusted older cleaners, and at about 2/3 of the price of a new one, people were keen to buy.
vintagerepairer
Well-known member
Hello, no worries, not too many questions at all! Well like all cleaners, belt faliures, blockages, and damage to flexes is what kept me in business. So I have no doubt that some Philips cleaners came in for that. A lot of brands and models came in and out my store over the years, so I can only speak generally. I do recall one having a burnt out motor, I recall seeing several with broken chassis, I recall seeing them with the handle taped up. Thing is, aside from blockages and belts, on cleaners like this, anything more than the most basic repairs were not cost effective for me or the customer - so along with many repairs which were physically possible, it was often in everyones interest to reccomend a reconditioned cleaner from my mini showroom.
