Hi all,
Like many of you on here, I had a bit of a rude shock a few months ago when I discovered that dust bags for the Electrolux 300 series (officially the Electrolux ‘E4’ bag) were no longer available – I had assumed that due to the popularity and ubiquity of these machines that bags would always be available, but apparently not.
I scoured the web trying to find any old stock bags using the dozen or so various part numbers for different bag manufacturers – at one point I found an electrical wholesaler here in Aus who apparently had 50 packets of bags in stock – but when I tried to order them, they informed me that their website was incorrect and they also had no stock.
So what to do? The way I see it, these are the options.
Search my local thrift shops, facebook marketplace, ebay and other places trying to find bags? Good luck – I saw one packet of bags listed on ebay for as much as $80!! There were also a few people on facebook marketplace posting wanted ads looking for bags. One facebook seller was selling bags at $10 each. No thanks.
Use the vacuum without a paper bag and just the cloth bag? Definitely not ideal – I think the reason these vacuums last so long is that the cloth bag was always that extra layer of filtration and would act as a ‘disaster filter’ if the paper bag ever broke. Compare how long these Z series machines last to the later Volta 200 series or Electrolux D720 onwards where there was no secondary cloth bag.
Basic or cheaper model Electrolux vacuums used open-ended paper bags and a plastic bag ring – but these are also no longer available and are prone to breakage. They also don’t seem to seal as well as the original bags and tend to let more dust into the cloth bag.
I have approx.. 20 of these vacuum cleaners awaiting restoration which would be a bit tricky to try and sell without any bags. Seeing that there are a few other people who were looking for bags and knowing that there must still be a bit of demand for these, I decided to take the plunge and start reproducing bags myself.
So I’ve ordered some machinery and a bunch of cardboard cutting dies which have just arrived. I found that there are in fact some bags available for US market Electrolux uprights – the type ‘U’ bag which has similar dimensions and crucially has the same ‘self sealing’ opening with rubber membrane. I’ve imported a bulk lot of these from the USA and using my cutting dies, I can first trim the square edges of the bag and then cut a new circular cardboard ring that is then glued onto the face of the bag.
Here's the result – the first 3 bags that I’ve produced yesterday. Still need to set up the press and die cutters and calibrate things a bit but I now have a source of bags that fit perfectly and meet/exceed the OE Electrolux specs. These bags are 4 layer, and the final result looks pretty close to the original bags.
For those of you who are stateside, it would be very easy for you to order in some U bags and then just trim the corners, cut out a cardboard circle and glue/staple it in place to make your own bags (if you’re only doing it for your own machines then you probably don’t need to order cutting dies and machinery like I have!).
I have a full time job so not looking to start producing these in massive numbers, but want to at least make enough so that anyone locally or on here has the option to buy new bags so that they can keep using their machines without having to pay through the nose or compromise on the filtration or efficiency of their machines.
Would anyone else be interested in buying some bags once I start production? Leave a reply below or send me a PM. Depending on the level of interest I might buy some more equipment so that I can produce bags with a greater economy of scale etc.
Also interested to hear what others have been doing in regard to finding replacement or alternative bags etc. I know there is a seller on ebay selling new re-usable cloth bags, but unsure if this is to be used in addition to the original cloth bag or if it replaces it?
Like many of you on here, I had a bit of a rude shock a few months ago when I discovered that dust bags for the Electrolux 300 series (officially the Electrolux ‘E4’ bag) were no longer available – I had assumed that due to the popularity and ubiquity of these machines that bags would always be available, but apparently not.
I scoured the web trying to find any old stock bags using the dozen or so various part numbers for different bag manufacturers – at one point I found an electrical wholesaler here in Aus who apparently had 50 packets of bags in stock – but when I tried to order them, they informed me that their website was incorrect and they also had no stock.
So what to do? The way I see it, these are the options.
Search my local thrift shops, facebook marketplace, ebay and other places trying to find bags? Good luck – I saw one packet of bags listed on ebay for as much as $80!! There were also a few people on facebook marketplace posting wanted ads looking for bags. One facebook seller was selling bags at $10 each. No thanks.
Use the vacuum without a paper bag and just the cloth bag? Definitely not ideal – I think the reason these vacuums last so long is that the cloth bag was always that extra layer of filtration and would act as a ‘disaster filter’ if the paper bag ever broke. Compare how long these Z series machines last to the later Volta 200 series or Electrolux D720 onwards where there was no secondary cloth bag.
Basic or cheaper model Electrolux vacuums used open-ended paper bags and a plastic bag ring – but these are also no longer available and are prone to breakage. They also don’t seem to seal as well as the original bags and tend to let more dust into the cloth bag.
I have approx.. 20 of these vacuum cleaners awaiting restoration which would be a bit tricky to try and sell without any bags. Seeing that there are a few other people who were looking for bags and knowing that there must still be a bit of demand for these, I decided to take the plunge and start reproducing bags myself.
So I’ve ordered some machinery and a bunch of cardboard cutting dies which have just arrived. I found that there are in fact some bags available for US market Electrolux uprights – the type ‘U’ bag which has similar dimensions and crucially has the same ‘self sealing’ opening with rubber membrane. I’ve imported a bulk lot of these from the USA and using my cutting dies, I can first trim the square edges of the bag and then cut a new circular cardboard ring that is then glued onto the face of the bag.
Here's the result – the first 3 bags that I’ve produced yesterday. Still need to set up the press and die cutters and calibrate things a bit but I now have a source of bags that fit perfectly and meet/exceed the OE Electrolux specs. These bags are 4 layer, and the final result looks pretty close to the original bags.
For those of you who are stateside, it would be very easy for you to order in some U bags and then just trim the corners, cut out a cardboard circle and glue/staple it in place to make your own bags (if you’re only doing it for your own machines then you probably don’t need to order cutting dies and machinery like I have!).
I have a full time job so not looking to start producing these in massive numbers, but want to at least make enough so that anyone locally or on here has the option to buy new bags so that they can keep using their machines without having to pay through the nose or compromise on the filtration or efficiency of their machines.
Would anyone else be interested in buying some bags once I start production? Leave a reply below or send me a PM. Depending on the level of interest I might buy some more equipment so that I can produce bags with a greater economy of scale etc.
Also interested to hear what others have been doing in regard to finding replacement or alternative bags etc. I know there is a seller on ebay selling new re-usable cloth bags, but unsure if this is to be used in addition to the original cloth bag or if it replaces it?
