Eureka Empress II Refurbished

[keither]

Well I did it! My Eureka Empress II has undergone a nearly complete transformation and it runs and feels like it just rolled off of the vintage Eureka production line! The new color choices ( previously harvest gold ) were chosen to compliment its Canadian cousin the Viking Roto-matic Powerteam! Enjoy the pics , and please , no thread hijacking , or adding Ebay posts to this thread. Thanks!

 

[gsheen]

Wow Keith this is such a stunning machine, I have always been a Upright guy and I think its because we never got canister machines like this locally. 


Colour choice is amazing 


Great Job 

 

[kirbylux77]

Beautiful job on restoring your Eureka Empress II there, Keith. Now that's one machine you can be proud of!

Rob

 

[eurekaprince]

Wow! Gorgeous! Well done Keith!

EUREKA - The very best in vacuum cleaners.

 

[eurekaprince]

Keith - one question: does the hose swivel 360 degrees? I keep forgetting if Eureka fixed that problem. Consumer Reports loved the other Roto Matic Power Teams in 1974, but rated the Empress II model “unacceptable” because if you rotated the hose all the way clockwise, the power nozzle cord was pulled out of the electric socket on the canister. My apologies if I already asked you this question….

 

[paul]

Looks sharp, Keith! What is the model-type and color name?

Also, what is the story of the Empress II? I'm guessing the Empress I succeeded the original canned hams? How does it compare/contrast to other Eureka canisters besides the body styling? What are its performance spec's?

 

[eurekaprince]

The Empress One was a deluxe version of the original Mobile-Aire canned ham 1000 series vacs. It debuted in 1965 and featured a combo Vibra-Vac carpet nozzle that allowed the user to switch between Vibra-Beat mode and regular suction only mode. Nice white braided hose and deluxe white tools in a separate carrying case.

The Empress II “Fast Vacs” debuted a few years later…maybe 1968…and were marketed as a “faster” vacuuming experience: on-board Tool Pak, large rear wheels for better traction on deep shag carpets, upfront Control Panel with “radio buttons” to control the suction, nice large upfront power pedal. These were the 1800 series canisters (1820, 1840, 1860, deluxe 1880).

With the arrival of the Roto Matic Power Teams in 1973 (1200 series), Eureka chose three of their canisters to marry with the new power nozzles: a basic 1600 Sweet Sixteen, a deluxe 1600 Sweet Sixteen and a deluxe Empress II Fast Vac in cream green colour.

 

[paul]

Great info, Brian; thanks!

More queries ...

So how do the Sweet 16s compare/contrast to the Empress II Fast Vacs?

Do the power nozzles have model numbers like Aerus-labeled ones?

Does "Roto Matic" mean w/Power nozzle? Wasn't there also a small Roto Matic canister made in the '40s & '50s?

Did these canister series' colors represent production spans like Electrolux USA's or did they vary like Hoover's?

 

[gottahaveahoove]

again, Keith..

BRAVO!    no pun intended.


 

 

[eurekaprince]

Hi Paul…would love to answer your questions, but best start another thread for that. We don’t want to hijack Keith’s thread and take the focus away from his wonderful restoration.

 

[keither]

You guys are awesome I was hoping you all would like the” new look “ of the Eureka! Thanks for the kind words and feedback!

@ Brian: the hose does not have a full 360 degree swivel capacity. Thx for chiming in and sharing the history with Paul. I was about to reach out to you to ask! Also thanks for suggesting the start of a new thread to open further discussions around the naming conventions, models, and color schemes.

 

[dysonman1]

I’m so happy you got one too.

 

[eurekaprince]

You are very welcome Keith! Your restorations are so beautiful- you could really open up your very own museum!

Do you have a special display room for these restored cleaners?

 

[paul]

Sorry if I hijacked your thread, Keith; that was not my intent. I thought 'hijacking' was changing the subject completely.

 

[keither]

@ Paul: Your fine -your questions are totally related but I believe the level of details surrounding the origins of this particular model would justify the creation of a separate thread.

 

[paul]

Comprende, Keith.

 

[robsmith1977]

Stunning

Keith this looks like a Eureka I would have to use every day! I'm not lying. The color scheme is perfect and compliments even today's styling... I love that you added in the rug tool and the extra wands to show all of the machine's tools. And the advertisement is VERY COOL. Back then they thought that those machines were expensive but when you put these up against even a central vac, the power and performance are neck and neck.

 

[keither]

@ Rob and everyone : I really appreciate the compliments!

I'm glad you like it! Before the machine was restored, I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. Well I'm glad I moved forward with the decision to refurbish it because it turned out better than I expected I don’t have a display room ( yet ) I don’t think I could open a museum because I wouldn’t want the public touching my machines [this post was last edited: 6/10/2022-19:21]

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Wise move, Keith.

You DO have beautiful things.