eureka 1266 B rotomatic canister vacuum cleaner

[hippiedoll]

hi all!!

this might be my first time posting on here but i mostly just read the threads.
anyway, i bought a vintage eureka canister vacuum cleaner that has the rotomatic power head nozzle with electrical connecting power hose, about 6 months ago or so.

my problem is this, after replacing the power nozzle's old inner hose (the original one had a slit/hole) and buying a replacement electrical connecting hose, bags with paper filters, replacement attachment tools, and power nozzle belt and using it a few times, it has stopped working on me??

i was using the rotomatic power nozzle yesterday, to vacuum a throw rug and all of a sudden, the canister and power nozzle turned off. so, i stepped on the power pedal a few times and nothing happened. i checked the power cord and it was still plugged into the wall. so, i pulled on the retractable power cord to make sure that there was enough cord pulled out of the canister. well when i pulled on the power cord, the vacuum powered up but died out. so i pulled on the cord again and again, it turned on but as soon as i would pull the power cord out enough to where it would stay, the vacuum would turn off again. it's like when i would pull on the power cord (having it in retracting mode) the vacuum cleaner would power up. but as soon as i got the power cord reel to a stop motion position, the vacuum cleaner would die out on me.

can somebody please tell me what is going on here? and if this is something that can be fixed? and if it can be fixed, is it something that i can easily fix myself? or would i have to take it to a repair shop? just to let you know, i am not very mechanical when it comes to working on things. i did replace the belts & hoses on my little hoover twin tub washer, and i also replaced the inner hose & belt on this eureka rotomatic power nozzle. but that's about all that i think i've done, as far as anything mechanical.

any & all help would be greatly appreciated. and THANK YOU, in advance to anyone who responds to my thread.

lovingly,
christina )

 

[briankirbyclass]

Hello, Christina and welcome! Sounds like this is an electrical problem, (obviously) which is always best left up to the professionals. Take the machine to your local favorite Vac Shop,,this is their job, so let them have at it! It may just be something out of allignment,,cord reel,,electric connection,,ect or some simple issue. Good luck and let us know what happens.

We like pics here,,please post pics of your machines,,collection,,ect if you are able. Take Care!

 

[durango159]

Agreed. My guess is that it needs a new cord and the cord winders on these machines are not readily serviceable by consumers. Take it to your local vacuum shop and they can attach meters on it to see exactly where the issue lies and how to best remedy the situation.

If it does need a new cord then most likely you will be looking at having just a stationary cord that you will be wrapping around the machine after uses. These machines are wonderful cleaners and are built to last but sadly many parts for them are not produced anymore. The original cord winders on these were not service friendly. The repair primarily comes down to a new cord system.

But this is my best guess without seeing the machine. Your local shop may have some better ideas and older working parts laying around to help.

 

[hippiedoll]

BrianKirbyClass & Durango159

THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH:

for responding to my message. i really do appreciate your opinions. and i guess it has to go to a vacuum shop to get looked over & see what's going on.

as for pictures, i will take some later on tonight & post them.

thank you again for your advice. it is greatly appreciated.

lots of love,
christina )

 

[hippiedoll]

BrianKirbyClass & Durango159 (update & pictures)...

hi guys!!!

sorry it has taken me so long to respond to this thread. but i did finally take the eureka 1266 canister vacuum cleaner to one of my local sew & vac shop, here in town. there are actually a few of them but this one was recommended by a friend & member here in the group, roger.

well, you both were right, the guy at the vac shop said it as the cord rewinder. and you guessed it, i know have a stationary power cord that i have to wrap around the canister when not in use.

i was kinda sad about it at first. but when i thought about it, when it had the automatic cord rewind, i was always worried that i would pull on the canister & the cord was going to get pulled accidentally out of the socket. now with this stationary power cord, i don't have to worry about that. and the guy at the vac shop put a longer power cord on there. which is neat cuz i don't have to worry about the canister reaching where i want to vacuum, cuz the power cord is too short.

so, the main thing is that i still have my super cute, vintage, eureka 1266 canister vacuum cleaner and on top of that, IT WORKS STILL!!! so, i'm very happy that i have my eureka 1266 still functioning. so, i am happy about that.

here are a couple of pics to show you my eurea 1266 B. but they are of just the canister. i guess i should have taken some of the rotomatic power nozzle and the metal wands for the attachments???

 

[hippiedoll]

2nd picture....

top view...

 

[hippiedoll]

i forgot to mention...

i now have the original attachments for this eureka 1266. well, not the originals, they were actually for an upright with the part that slide under the beater bar on the upright, with the hose & attachments. but the attachments that i have on my canister are eureka parts now and they fit perfectly; the crevice tool, upholstery brush, duster brush, and floor brush (+ the rotomatic power nozzle).

i will take an updated picture to share with you the image of the canister with the authentic eureka attachments placed in the tool caddy.

please stand by....

 

[durango159]

Glad it is working now! The bare floor brush that you have on the top of your canister looks like a Genuine Eureka. The dusting brush and upholstery nozzle are for a Hoover Elite styled upright. But that is a nice feature on the Eureka canisters that it is what's known as a universal fit hose end. Your machine will fit tons of tools that are slide on friction fit from various models and manufacturers such as Kenmore, Panasonic, Hoover uprights, Eureka, Dirt Devil, numerouse ones. It's best to bring your hose or another tool that you know fits with you to ensure any others you get will indeed fit.

We would still like to see the power head. I know you'll still get years left out of that machine. I imagine the vac shop gave the rest of the suction unit a check up too, so that motor should be in great shape!! They last a while. These are powerful cleaners. One of the great things is no circuit boards or fancy gimmicks to possibly break.

The attachment set up on mine is a little different along with color but other wise the suction units and cleaning power I bet is about the same. I love mine.

 

[hippiedoll]

mismatched attachments.....

the 2 pictures i posted were actually old pictures that i took of the eureka when i first got it. the attachments on the tool caddy are the only ones that the seller had & sent to me, with the vacuum. i actually had these pictures on my phone.

since then, i have purchased the eureka upright converter & attachments kit, just for the attachments and now the vacuum is rolling around with authentic eureka attachments.

i will take some pictures tomorrow during the day when there is better lighting and will post them on here, of the power nozzle, connected to the canister & a good shot of the authentic eureka attachments, so you can check it out.

i hope i get quite a few years of good service from this little eureka. i've replaced the electric vacuum hose (that connects to the canister & power nozzle) with one that is practically brand new, i've replaced the power nozzle's inner hose, i've boughten the eureka attachments, the power nozzle's belt, bags & filters, a replacement permanent filter, and now the new power cord. i know that other "things" can go wrong down the line. but i'm gonna keep my fingers crossed that it will be smooth sailing from here on out....

hey durango159, what a beautiful mean green eureka canister & power head you have there!!! i like the way it has the different shades of green stripes on it. what is the model number on your's? i think your's might have a higher amp number on it. i think my 1266B is a 9.5 amps. i'll have to check tomorrow. but i think i remember seeing 9.5 amps. and i think your's is higher amps than mine??

be on the look out for my newer pictures posted tomorrow.....

 

[eurekaprince]

Hi Christina! Your orange Eureka Power Team was part of the line up of Eureka's very first power nozzle canisters brought to market in 1973 just before Eureka Williams was bought by the Swedish Electrolux company.

In the vacuum tests done by Consumer Reports in 1974, your vac was rated as the second best power nozzle canister among the long list of vacs tested! The only one beating it for first place was a more basic Eureka power team that was listed as a Best Buy since it had a lower price but similar high test results.

Enjoy your toy!

 

[hippiedoll]

eurekaprince...

hi there!!

thank you for that GREAT & very interesting information about my eureka canister vacuum cleaner. that really made me smile & feel even better about my eureka!!!

you know, i was wondering when this particular vacuum cleaner would have been made. i know i've seen one very similar but in a harvest gold/yellow shade. if i remember correctly, everything was the same as the orange one the only difference being that the power nozzle didn't have a headlight on it. but it had the "woodgrain" trimming. i think that's what i remember seeing on the internet.

the reason i got this certain eureka vacuum cleaner is because i remember my aunt (one of my dad's sisters) having this exact vacuum cleaner. now i never used it, but i remember the dark orange color of the canister and what especially stuck in my mind was the blue & red colors of the "bag fullness" indicator window. i think i must have thought that the red & blue colors looked pretty so close together or something. or maybe when my aunt was vacuuming, i might have noticed the red part moving back & forth as she vacuumed?

everytime i look at it, it takes me back to the early 1970's, in long beach, california. and i can hear the billy swan song, "i can help" playing in the back of my mind. the whole scene & vibe was great fun times for me. man i miss them days.....

thank you again for sharing that interesting information eurekaprince.

lovingly,
christina ;o)

 

[hippiedoll]

eureka 1266 B updated pictures.....

here is the picture of both the canister with the power nozzle connected. this lil' guy is all suited up & ready to play or work!!

 

[hippiedoll]

eureka 1266 B updated pictures.....

here's a picture of the power nozzle....

 

[hippiedoll]

eureka 1266 B updated pictures.....

here's a picture of the power nozzle powered up with headlight beaming...

 

[hippiedoll]

eureka 1266 B updated pictures.....

here's the lil' guy with his "tool belt" loaded & ready to go...

 

[hippiedoll]

eureka 1266 B updated pictures.....

and this is a closer picture of the attachments, showing the textured trimming on the individual attachments that match the textured top part of the handle on the canister.

i took this one for you durango159, so you could get a good view of the attachments & let me know if these are authentic eureka. i'm not too sure about the crevice tool, cuz it is darker than the other pieces but, this is everything that came in that tool attachment kit that i told you i had boughten for the eureka upright vacuum cleaners.

 

[eurekaprince]

Hi Christina! You are very welcome! Indeed, the yellow Harvest Gold version was a more basic canister with no suction control, no dust bag indicator and no headlight on the power nozzle.

All your attachments are genuine Eureka tools, including the crevice tool. But I actually think Model 1266 originally came packaged with Eureka's "deluxe" attachments: the upholstery nozzle would be wider and the dusting brush would be square shaped and would have softer horse-hair bristles. The crevice tool you have is a later version: Eureka Williams crevice tools did not have those notches at the end of the tool - these were added by the Eureka Company in the late 1970's to prevent "suction lock" created by more powerful motors.

By the way, Eureka's design for power nozzles was quite successful: other vac makers like Tristar contracted Eureka to make these power nozzles for their canister cleaners too.

 

[hippiedoll]

eureka's "deluxe" attachments for the 1266...

hey eurekaprince!!

i was thinking that the dust brush had the softer horse-hair bristles, but after looking at it again & feeling it, i see that the bristles are made of a black nylon (i want to say). and they are very shiney, unlike real hair. and even though they were soft, they were still stiff feeling. if that makes sense? but i think you know what i'm trying to explain here. in fact, i think i have seen the square-shaped dusting brush before, but the bristles were in pretty bad shape.

oh well, i'm just glad that my eureka 1266 has authentic eureka attachments. )

but it's cool to know that this would have came with the "deluxe" attachments. maybe somewhere down the line, i'll try to find the correct attachments for my eureka. but for now, as long as my lil' guy can get the job done, i'm happy!!
hm hm.....

thank you again eurekaprince. it's great hearing from you.

 

[suckolux]

Very nice machine, time warp in my mind also, my friend had one.