Eureka Power Team - Model 1514-A

[paul]

I'm glad vintage vacs don't go into hiding like groundhogs who see their shadows like Punxsutawney Phil did today as I saw this Brandywine bugger at a thrift store and purchased it for $14 (50% off day). The color is quite stunning, and it's in fairly good shape for its age with minor scratches on the lid (with metal latch), working wheels (with the classic triangle cutouts) a pliable hose with no cracks, smooth-sounding motors, and a good condition VGII brush roll that really grabs the carpet well along with the pull of the 3.0-PHP suction motor. In fact, I'm basing this on a partially-filled bag.

The hose attachments are missing, so I'll have to hunt some down, but that shouldn't be too difficult. Embossed graphics on the Tool-Pak show a dusting brush, an upholstery tool, a floor brush, and crevice tool.

I do wish it were equipped with rubber feet on the back - allowing it to easily fit on stairs and be stored more compactly. Nonetheless it seems to be an apt household servant, and I like its classic '60s design.

I'd not heard of a vintage Eureka '1500 Series', so I checked online - including a contact to Hesco - and came up short; so I'm thinking it was a special sales model. I did see a Model 1514-D online, so it must have been around awhile. I know the Brandywine line was launched at the end of 1977, but when was it discontinued?

Here are some photos.

 

[eurekaprince]

These “low rise, flat top” budget Princesses seem to have made their debut in the early 1980’s. The suction only versions seem to have 3300 model designations, and now I see that the power nozzle version seems to have the 1500 model designation.

If you compare an earlier 700 series Eureka Princess or Prince to these later 3300/1500 canisters, you can see some obvious differences:
1. the earlier 700 series are taller which allowed them to accommodate either a tool storage tray or a CordAway cord reel inside the canister. The 3300/1500 series is very low and flat and simple and has no room for a cord reel.
2. The earlier 700 series had rear wheels that stuck out from under the canister - this allowed the cleaner to be stood on end for storage and stair cleaning. The newer series has wheels that don’t stick out - the back of the cleaner is very flat and when stood upright for storage, it just sits fully on its backside.
3. The earlier 700 series had a plastic foot on the back that doubled as a cord storage hook. On the newer 3300/1500 series you don’t have this extra piece - I guess you just have to wrap the cord around the canister body itself.
4. The earlier 700 series had a large plastic latch on the back that you grabbed to open the top of the canister for bag changing. This also doubled as an exhaust diffuser so that the vacuum did not blow exhaust directly out the back, and so that the motor could still blow out exhaust air unimpeded when the canister was stood on end for stair cleaning. The newer 1980’s 3300/1500 series only has a small metal hood latch on the back.

 

[kirbylux77]

Paul

Nice little Eureka there! I actually had one and sold it to a neighbour long ago. That brushroll isn't a VGII, if it were it would be metal with replaceable strips and 3 bumps on each side to be the "beater bar". That's just the basic Disturbulator brushroll. Still good though. If you ever have to replace the brushroll, look up on Ebay for the TriStar black generic brushroll, they are what's used on Eureka RotoMatic powerheads as well.

But listen here, no more talk of Punxsutawney Phil or Shubenacadie Sam! Wiarton Willie DID come out and predicted a early spring, and I am looking forward to it.

 

[paul]

Thanks a lot, Brian, for the comparisons with the 700 series and 3300/1500 series! That's the type of information I seek to help me try to put the Eureka puzzle together.

Btw, the cord wraps around the handle and Tool-Pak.

I thought all Princess canisters had the inside tool compartment. So did the Princess label have a variety of styles?

_____

I appreciate your feedback, Kirbylux77! I did figure out last night that I goofed in naming the brush roll but didn't realize that it was a Disturbulator. I'd thought it was a VGI. My Eureka learning curve is pretty high, so I need all the help I can get.

Thanks for the TriStar info.

Finally, I guess my Canada learning curve is pretty high, too, because I'd never heard of Shubenacadie Sam or Wiarton Willie! I'll take the latter's prediction over Phil's for sure!

 

[eurekaprince]

You’re welcome Paul!

In the 700 series, there was no room for both the inside tool tray and CordAway (a play on the word corduroy or the French “cord du roi”). So when Eureka Williams added the CordAway on a Princess canister, they had to put the Tool Pak on top of the canister. There is a beautiful 1971 Christmas ad showing the two different avocado green Princesses - one with the inside tool tray, the other with the top-side Tool Pak and CordAway.

When it comes to naming vacs, EW either put the name right on the machine, or only on the dealer spec sheet, or on both. This gave them flexibility in their marketing and advertising campaigns. Most often, the model name (like Vanguard or MobileAire or Prince) appears directly on the first or second version of the model). Then in subsequent years, EW drops the name completely and it disappears into the history books.

 

[huskyvacs]

Much of Eureka's model line has not been well documented with full visuals (someone needs to make a pictographic guide) and the little letter subtypes they added to the model name to denote a model change doesn't help either.

 

[eurekaprince]

Correction: the Eureka print ad that shows the two avocado green Princess canisters was a Mother’s Day ad from 1970…..not a Christmas ad….

 

[kirbylux77]

Well, glad you learned a bit about Canada, Paul. Apparently, there was also another groundhog in Quebec, Fred la Marmotte, who just recently passed away. And in Nova Scotia there is also Lucy the Lobster, who is still making predictions at 31 years old.

I have to wonder if this is a Eastern Canada thing though? I have yet to hear of another groundhog in Western Canada making weather predictions.

 

[paul]

@ eurekaprince - Very interesting - thanks, Brian. I have to admit that I fail to understand why Eureka didn't keep its model names in use like Hoover from beginning to end. I would have thought that doing so would have built more familiarity and loyalty. Btw, I checked for the May 1970 Eureka Princess ad in my library's newspaper database (not newspapers.com) but was unsuccessful in finding it.

@ huskyvacs - I agree. Several of us are attempting to put together a Eureka timeline, but it's a daunting task. There don't seem to be as many Eureka fans as Hoover fans - at least not online; so that adds to the challenge along with the plethora of model numbers and types. A vintage service manual would be an asset, but none of us has access to one.

@kirbylux77 - You Canadians are smart in getting multiple opinions! I only know of Phil's in the U.S., because he gets so much national attention; although there are likely others.

 

[paul]

Dust Bag Leaks

I did some Eureka canister research and found VL thread 1838 that mentioned the common issue of dust bag leaks increasing motor wear and premature failure.

A couple suggestions were to protect the motor with an auto polisher terry cloth bonnet and to line the inside of the hose inlet with felt.

What do you think?

 

[paul]

May 1985 ad

From the May 22, 1985, edition of the DESERT SUN I located an ad for the 1514! Not sure what type was advertised, but it's later than my Type A due to the Helvetica logotype that Eureka began using on its cleaners in 1983. I did figure out that the 1500 series was the PowerTeam version of the 3300-3400 series. Btw, the 1240 Series, in the design of the 3200 series, included 6 PowerTeam models; so Eureka made sure to cover its customers' budget preferences.

Other Eurekas featured in the ad are models: 3326 straight suction canister, 84-A Mini Mite, 1470 4-amp D-a-N, 2062 ESP-6.5-amp D-a-N, 3120 Mighty Mite, 1945 5-amp D-a-N, & 5047 SP 5.2-amp Rugulator

 

[human]

That Eureka brought back memories of my red/orange Princess that I had from the mid '90s-early 2000s that my grandmother had owned. It was the first power nozzle canister I'd ever used and made me decide I liked those better than uprights. In many ways, I still do. I wish I still had the thing. In about 2003, my then-step-daughter decided to use it as a shop vac to suck up some spilled dry cat food, but a piece got stuck somewhere in the motor and was making a terrible racket. When I couldn't fix it in five minutes, my (now ex-)wife pronounced it "ruined" and made me dump it off at Goodwill. After we split, I had no vacuum cleaner, other than a crappy little shop vac, so I replaced the Eureka with an Electrolux 1205, equipped with a PN-1 power nozzle.

I eventually found a Eureka 1571 "Ironsides" canister for $10 at a thrift store, with just an electric hose that I was able to adapt to work with an old Electrolux power wand (teal with 'pigtails' at both ends), and now I run it with an Electrolux PN-4A power nozzle. I still miss my orange Princess, and even though I'm not actively seeking out any more vacuums, I'd grab one of those in a hot second, if I saw one complete with the power nozzle.

 

[paul]

Reference Schematic - Model 1510-A

For some reason, Hesco, Inc. has no record of Eureka's 1500 Series; maybe because it was so small - I have only found three models mentioned online: 1510-A, 1514-A, and 1546-A.

Anyway, here's the schematic for the 1510-A, which I would think would be the same or similar to the other models in the series, in case someone else is interested.

 

[paul]

Re: Reply 11

Human,

Too bad about your grandma's Power Team but glad you got another version.

According to Hesco's schematics list, though, your 1751 (guessing you switched the digits) is not an Ironsides - made in the late '80s to early '90s. Those models are: 1739, 1789, 1799. I wonder if they have a different power nozzle or brush roll - or some other update of earlier versions?

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Paul

Paul,

I wonder if the combo floor tool that came out with the Mighty Mite 3120A in late 1982 first made its debut in '80 or '81?

I remember the 3720A still had the older version.

~Ben

 

[paul]

Hi Ben,

According to the September 1982 ad below, the original Mighty Mite was equipped with the new style combo floor tool:

 

[paul]

Btw, the new style floor combo tool made its debut in the spring of 1981. It appears that the elbow connector was retired at this time, too.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Paul

Paul,

Thank you very much!

I do remember the very first Mighty Mites did have the new-style combo floor tool with the former '60s (Eureka-Williams era) logotype on it (as is shown in the ad you posted, and in pictures 1-2 in this reply), but I think by the fall of '83 (when the Mighty Mite 3100s still ended with type letter A, i.e. 3120A) it changed to the then-current Eureka wordmark (pictures 3-4).

Since neither the 3332, 3336 nor the 3712 had come out until 1985-86, then that means the black combo floor tool bearing the '60s logotype would be extremely rare.

~Ben[this post was last edited: 10/25/2023-22:55]

 

[paul]

Hi Ben,

You bet! Glad to help.

Is that 3120-A yours? If so, I like the color scheme! I like the styling of both the 1956 classic style floor combo tool and the 1981 contemporary one. Didn't know that the black ones were rare. Good to know if I ever run across one for sale locally.

Thanks for the photos and info.