Eureka Brandywine Canned ham Canister TOL 1980 Model 1289 A

[rugmaster37]

Just prior to Christmas I had a very good longtime Miele customer call and ask If I could dispose of his mothers "old style' vacuum cleaner for him. Most of us have gotten that type of call before, and fear the worst beat up damaged Kirby, or a Hoover Convertible that's so banged up you cant even recognize it..I get these calls alot, but he sad to me in the call, "The machine was fairly TOL at that time for Eureka".

I said, sure bring it in, we'd love to dispose of it for you...

I waited a few days and in he came, carrying several foam wrapped up with tape bundles that wee tied up inside trash bags, and the last part, the Canister was in a large box filed with foam peanuts. It too was wrapped in a trash bag...

He said, my mom never did like this vacuum, and used it very little. She saved it in an upstairs closet and I haven't seen it since my siblings and I got it for her in 1980.

She like this ratty old Electrolux better. Apparently the daughter wanted to KEEP the E-lux.. I thought.."fine by me"...

He left, and I began to open up these package/ bundles. My mind as I opened up the power head package/ bundle shifted my mind to a well read and still loved mini-flyer showing the complete Brandywine line of vacuums for 1980. And here in front of me on my bench I began to open what you see here....

Enjoy, I've made it into a slideshow for you to see via Photobucket.....

Chad

http://s217.photobucket.com/albums/...reka Brandywine Canister/?albumview=slideshow

 

[petek]

Now that's a keeper, everything about it is nice and the color is absolutely the best.

 

[vinvac]

One of my DREAM Machines...before they went to one set of wands and used the three peice wand set.


Morgan

 

[xraytech]

Chad,
Another beautiful Eureka. The brandywine series is special to me, Grandma Rose had the next to TOL Brandywine Canister with the Powerhead like yours, very well used, it was always the on I used while vacuuming all 3 floors and the veranda of her Victorian home, unfortunately it died and she threw it out last year. Oh how I miss that vacuum and wish to find another brandywine Eureka.

Sam

 

[normvac]

Those were awsome Eureka cans. If I recall they wholesaled for 189/199 dollars. Then were retailed them at 379,389,359
with a trade of a lux, rainbow,compact or any door to door cleaner.
The one that Sam is talking about grandmother having. We sold
day in and day out at 179/189 retail. Remembering that this was the 80's and lux's were pushing 459, Kirbys were 6/7 hundred dollars with a trade in! They were a good match to the current line of Sears cans. As they were plastic and selling near the top at 299. Especially with the Eureka's being all steel cans! Plus that VG I, was awesome to sell.
I maybe off a few bucks but fairly close !
Norm

 

[kenmore81]

Congrats!

Another great find Chad.
Kenny

 

[camelotshadow]

sweet eureka did make some great vacs

 

[hoover28]

wow good find

I have had some customers do the same thing. I had an older man bring in a near mint hoover 25 for me. I am glad he thout of me beacuse it was on its way to the dump if I did not take it.

Chris

 

[eurekaprince]

Love these Eureka "Empress II" Power Teams!

I don't know what it is about the industrial designers at Eureka - they produced some of the coolest looking designs and graphics. Very sleek, modern, understated and "solid" looking. They really stand out as so different in style from most of the other machines on the market in the 1970's. Too bad they leaked dust so much and were not the best performers. Mind you, the first Eureka vacs with the Roto-Matic power nozzle were top-rated by Consumer Reports in the early 1970's - the basic red Princess with basic RM power-nozzle was even top-rated as a Best Buy.

 

[rugmaster37]

Brian,

You're right about the dust leakage issue. Unlike later cleaners which incorporated a neck the went into the actual bag cavity, Eureka just used a huge rubber doughnut gasket. In theroy you'd think it'd work, but in practice, not so hot..

The few Empress machines I have ever found usually have a half an inch of crud, like hair, fuzz, dust and lint packed on top of the little round filter, an din many cases that's why these machines have NOT survived in great numbers. Becasue the motors burned out early on from simple lack of maintenence from the end user.

This one however escaped the ravages of the daily household cleaning grind, and sat literally unused in a closet for the better part of almost a full three decades, before it was unearthed in a house cleanout. And now it sits in my collection used sparingly ( I like to use all my machines if I can), and every time I'm done I brush the crud off the filter.

Glad you like it tho.. Now I have an early series 1974, and a later series 1980.

It's definitly a pice of art, and yeah the designers back when Eureka was Eureka, and wasn't some corporate congolmerate nad still had it's own pulse and soul, definitly put out some of the most merorable vacs in the industy...

Chad

Ann Arbor Michigan

 

[briankirbyclass]

Chad, thank you so much for posting this,,,i always thought these machines were very cool.
An Aunt of mine bought an Orange Eureka Rotomatic in 1975, that had the suction dial, and bag indicator, and Tool pac on the top,, and i kind of remember a fake woodgrain? (not sure),i do remember using it often and remember it having tremendious power,,,and one time in the mid 80s opened it up to see what the problem was,,, the bag had burst,or there had been a leak,,,of course the compartment was totally full to the brim too,,,who knows how long she had used it that way.
I know thats what killed off the machine early. Of course she was totally oblivious to her vacuum cleaner.
She let me just take it then, and i did save the attachments, wands, and PN. Of course the hose was shot and breaking off at the attachment end,, and the motor was shot,,darn it. Sure Was an awsome machine in its prime.
I remember the powernozzle would absolutely GRAB and hold tight to the floor on short nap carpet,,you had to reduce the suction or else you could not push or pull the PN at all,,even with a new belt.
I also remember that PN was excellent on hi piled thick shag carpet,,,and groomed the carpet beautifully.

Remember the REALLY HI piled thick shag that you had to RAKE!?
HAHA,,Rake,Vacuum, and Rake again! Looked beautiful, until someone walked across it!

 

[methodistbill]

I Wonder . . .

if those Vibra Groomer brushrolls are still available for canisters.

 

[kirbyultimateg]

Hi Chad.
The 1980 Eureka Brandywine models are one of my favorites! I especially like the 2087 ESP upright and the 1458 upright!
Could you post the upright section of the brochure? Thanks.
Rob Gwisdala

 

[rugmaster37]

Rob,

Unfortunately the brochure only covers the canisters for that year in the brandywine color scheme. I will tell you this tho..I really do wish I had the upright brochure. A long time ago in a place far away, I visited Jeff Parker in Chicago, and we went to the large outdoor Flea-Market in Alsip Illinois, and there I found the TOL Brandywine Upright, which had the boxtop bag, "making it's last appearance", and the Cordaway system, the Rugulator and the VibraGroomer I.

Suffice to say I have the complete TOL machine set from Eureka in 1980. I'm going to, when I have a minute take a few shots of that machine as well, to put up here for everyone to enjoy.

Sorry man. Otherwise you know I'd do my best to get that brochure up here...

Chad

 

[kirbyultimateg]

Thank you Chad.