Electrolux

[1930]

Hello First post and hopefully I get this correct. I purchased this cleaner from e-bay recently with the intention of using it for home clean-up.

Most of the house is tile and I find that it works very well on this floor but I need to find wheels as the skates will scratch the tile, were these ever avail for this model, surely if not than people have adapted something that will work.

I would prefer to not have to modify the machine to make a set of casters work.

Secondly we do have 1 room that is carpeted, and a couple of throw down rugs, it does not seem to do such a great job, I have read on another site ( which I can no longer find ) that there was a special attachment for this cleaner designed for carpet, I have no idea what it looks like, this machine did come with a carpet attachment but again it works poorly at best to pick up the cat hair ect.

Does anyone here have any idea of what attachment I may need or suggestions to make what I do have work better. Suction seems OK, would be nice if it were stronger, maybe there is something I need to look for that is faulty within the machine?

Thanks for any help/suggestions

 

[caligula]

Hi 1930.

Welcome to our club.

What you have is the grandaddy of Electrolux's. Perhaps the top of the line, and a real collectors item. That is the model XXX (30) and was the first American made Electrolux, prior to that they were made in Stockholm, Sweeden. The model XXX ran from December 1937 until October of 1952 when it was replaced by the model LX (60), which was the first Electrolux to use paper bags.

There are several things that might make it run slow. Have you checked the filter in the rear of the machine? Remove the cord winder by turning the thumb screw, the cord winder will lift off, simply lay it to one side. Now there are two thumb screws on the back cover, loosen them and the blower cover will come off. There should be a filter there, but the machine runs fine without it. My guess is that the filter has been there for years. Remove the filter, and reassenble the Electrolux. Test for suction. Also, the motor may need a tune up, after all it must be 60+ years old. I say that because the cord winder attatchment was introduced in 1948, making that machine 65 years old.

Later I'll send you a history of this machine as it's quite interesting. Aside from having the vaporizor on top of the machine, it is set to correctly. The only things not original are the hose and wands. The wands were actually steel, those go to a later model lik the G, or 1205.

So give this treasure a well deserved tune up, and don't let anybody try to take it away from you. That is a classic Electrolux. Enjoy it. Hire is mine, and the following picture is the model LX of 1952.

Alex Taber,
founder of the
V.C.C.C.

 

[caligula]

Hi 1930.

Here is the model LX of 1952.

By the way, check out the instruction book for the XXX on our web page. Perhaps one of our Electrolux collectors can post the page on the replacement of the filter of the XXX.

Alex Taber.

 

[caligula]

1930.

Here are some of my Electrolux's.

 

[suckolux]

I wonder does the rug gleaner work on that brush? that helps a lot with hair

 

[caligula]

Hi suckolux

1930's right, that rug tool's not good for removal of pet fur! But the problem's not the tool, rather it's the carpets. In 1937, when that tool was designed carpets were paper thin, and the Electrolux factory had a cat named Sarah, that used to roll on the test carpet, and her fur was vacuumed up. It worked great back then. Today however, this tool's unable to get pet fur, and the gleaner's no help either. I use the bare floor brush, or a rug/floor tool from a 1205. As a last ditch effort, use the upholstry tool on the end of the wands.

The P.N. would work, but I wouldn't want to see him alter that great XXX. Once that machine's polished it'll look great. We need to give him a look at the instruction book.

Alex Taber.

 

[1930]

Thanks for the replies, so I take it at this point wheels are out of the question unless I were to modify the machine? I admire your fine collection of cleaners, we were hoping to use this vacuum on a weekly basis and with that trying to make it as user friendly as possible which would mean wheels so that my wife can pull it along.

Thanks again

 

[caligula]

Hi 1930

No, wheels are not out of the question, just hard to locate. Look at the Electrolux's in my collection. Those are on one of my machines. Right now however, they're in storage in Indiana. As it happens I'm bringing that stuff back here in the end of April. But post a thread asking if anybody has them.

Those wheels were optional with the model LX, and fit onto the runners by the cord winder. The user lifted up the hose and used the wheels to steer the Electrolux around the room.

Good luck with the search, and I'll see what I can do on this end.

Alex Taber.

 

[rugsucker]

Model XXX wheels

There was an after market wheel dolly sold by vac stores for these.It had a wire frame the vac rested on and 2 wheels at rear on axle with swivel wheel in front center.I have had 1 that was rusty with loose wheel.Probably discarded.Could be remade by someone with welding and wire bending skills.Another idea would be to attach wood strips to runners with clamps or hooks that would do no damage and fasten wheels to them.--As above this is a Classic vac.Should be little problem with parts,repair or attachments.-Happy Vacuuming.

 

[caligula]

Thanks rugsucker.

I know that there were at least two sets of removable wheels for the model LX, and I have both. What's pictured in my cut-away model LXI are two seperate wheels that fit over the runners. These would fit the models XX (20) and XXX, as well as LX, but not sure about the XI, or XII, that would depend on the runners. There's a simple screw with wing nut to hold them in place. The ones I used to use on my Electrolux LX, which was my daily driver till I got the Kirby Classic 111, has two wheels on a long bar and the two brackets all as one piece. On the later LXI's the plastic tube used to hold 3 wrappers (bags) was removed and a swivle caster was used.

As I said in a previous post, somebody must have a set of wheels that 1930 can use on his runners.

Thanks again, and watch out for April Fool's day jokes. Personally, I don't like them, nor do I find them funny.

Alex Taber.

 

[odle53]

Adapting sled runners to work on tile floors

I have a XXX, which I exclusively use on laminate floors and for dusting. It was purchased by my grandmother (who died long before I was born) in 1941 (a week after the outbreak of WWII,) and handed down to my mother. I got it when Mom went into assisted living. So it's 71 years old, and still works acceptably.

I have not had a problem with scratching on laminate or linoleum, even with kicking the canister around. However, if you're really concerned, an alternative to wheels might be to get some surgical rubber tubing, slice it lengthwise, and pad the runners with it. That wouldn't destroy the aesthetics of the machine.

Because today's carpets are so dense, it's not great at picking up pet hair. It can handle most other debris, though. I'm thinking it would probably work well on short pile carpets, such as commercial carpets or oriental style rugs as well. The only way mine got pet hair up well was to use the bare floor brush attachment and pull back very slowly, thus increasing the airflow. Unfortunately, I have a bad back, and this enterprise was a killer. Because of my back, it also took a couple of hours, broken down into ten minute sessions, to vacuum approximately 1000 square yards of wall to wall sculpted loop carpet. Naturally, vacuuming didn't get done too often at that rate (but dusting went quickly.) I finally capitulated and bought an 8 lb direct air upright which I can manage without injury.

For filter replacement, here's what I did: I used the top of a plastic sherbet container to trace a template of the filter, and then bought a sheet of Filtrete at the vacuum store. I traced the template onto the Filtrete, and cut out the circle, replacing the absolutely filthy old filter (which was not an original Electrolux filter anyways.) I'm sorry, but "vintage grunge" doesn't hold any sentimental value to me!

 

[rugsucker]

Found-

-the wheel dolly on a shelf of Rexair atts.The one found is good with loose wheel.Will try to fit a retainer clip.Will be available.

 

[cheapswede]

model XXX Wheels

I got my XXX from a thrift store. A previous owner had clamped a home made skateboard to the runners.
Skateboard looks to be very old wood with very old tiny metal wheels. A pretty clever modification that doesn't do any damage to the unit.

 

[rugsucker]

found,listed

on EBay (vintage vacuum or leisurelady65) in good condition.I also still have the worse one with no front wheel(cheap or free if shipping paid before it goes on scrap metal pile).