Favourite Vintage Brand and Why ?

[kirbysthebest]

Well Kirby

Of course,
BTW--Bill that is the most beautiful collection of Kirbys I have ever seen.

Please remember me fondly in your will, or at Christmas, or Easter, or birthdays, or . . .

 

[kirbybag]

has to be kirby

kirby i think its number one great vacuum.

 

[beerad]

Filter queen and Electrolux.

Filter queen, because of the power, longevity, durability, and diversity what it can be used for.

Electrolux, because of the beautiful hummmmm of their motors, iconness, beauty, memories, quality, and conversation pieces.

 

[papasvacs]

Well, , I hesitate to say this, but...

<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">I grew up in an Electrolux home/family. That was 60 years ago. </span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">My Mom's uncle was an Electrolux salesman.  She had an XXX, Grandma had an XXX.  Aunts had LX usually.  That was the newest models for my family.  After the XXX, Mom went to Sears with a PN.  That did not last long, though.  A Hoover Convertible followed with a Lux tank for dusting and floors.</span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Paternal Grandma had a "gorgeous" Kenmore Commander.  I have one like it today!</span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">After the LX's, relatives went to compact.  A couple had Eureks.  Not very brand loyal, were they?  Oh well.... "variety is the spice of life..."</span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">When I was older, I had a variety of Hoovers.  We always had a Lux tank in there too.</span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Now I have a collection of brands.</span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Greg F.</span>

 

[gottahaveahoove]

hmmmmmmmmmmm

a family that just couldn't 'commit'. I've heard about that sort of thing. That's too bad.
My late father's side ,(lived in the South), had Electrolux, Mummy's side all had HOOVER. Some of them have 'strayed'...in numerous aspects. But, not I.. in ANY aspect.

 

[richardlxixxx]

John

<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif; color: #0000ff;">I am quite sure you have strayed!!!  Strayed far!!!! Far from the straight and narrow.  LOL.  Like I haven't!! huge LOL</span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif; color: #0000ff;">Richard</span>

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Richard!

hmmm, define 'straight and narrow'.... I can guarantee, from CERTAIN things, I've never strayed.

 

[briankirbyclass]

Richard in Florida,i agree and see your point, but i have to agree to disagree that the last best Lux was the Olympia.
I have a 1984 Silverado that has been going strong ever since it was brand new, and to this day (July of 2012) is going as strong as ever, and It has had VERY heavy use over the years.
There is no bearing noise in the motor,, no whinning in the wind down, the Automatic Control works perfectly, the Cord Winder is still tight, and there has NEVER been a problem with it. Its never seen a repair bench. The suction power is as strong as when the machine was brand new.
I did buy a new saran hose for it in around 2000.
Those short braided hoses were definatly a problem.
Other than that, absolutely no problems with that Silverado whatsoever.
I would have to say that after almost 30 yrs of heavy use,and still going strong,especially with it never having had to be serviced in any way, you cant get much better than that. (in my opinion anyway)

The PN 5 is still going strong too,,never been serviced, same belt and brush roll as was installed at the factory.
Looks like i may have to replace the brush roll in the near future, but there aqain, after almost 30 yrs of heavy use,,i say AMEN!

 

[richardlxixxx]

Silverado

Bridan,


 


You are correct.  I did make a mistake.  The Silverado was the last great Electrolux.  It was basically a newer version of the Olympia.  After the Silverado, Electrolux started to use a smaller motor with fans that spun at a higher rpm.  The old motors were much better and less problematic.  I am very partial to my Olympia.  Bought it brand new, still have it, and it is pristine.  I retired the Olympia several years ago and replaced it with a modern Miele S5 Champagne.  I wanted Hepa filtration, superior suction, and a quiet vacuum.  The Miele delivers on all that.  If Electrolux had just improved on the Olympia/Silverado, I would still be using an Electrolux.  The new Aerus vacuums are expensive, ultra noisy, ineffiencent vacuums that are simply not worth the money. 


 


Stay well,


 


Richard

 

[vintagerepairer]

I think there are a good deal of brands where I could say I had a favourite. One thing which I feel I can safely say is that we've always had such a huge choice in the UK and regardless of what one's home is like and what needs to be cleaned, there would be a vacuum cleaner to match it, more or less. My mother had two Hoover cleaners across a 35 year period, the first being a 370 which she sold in the early 1950's to buy the 262. Both were 2nd hand and neither were chosen by her as there was no choice really; they were offered to her as private sales and she could only say yes or no. But she did like them both. When she used an Electrolux upright in the later part of the 1960's she was converted forever.

It needs to be remembered that although the Hoover Turbopower was of a build quality which was inferior to the likes of the Junior and Senior, it was still reasonably robust and Hoover had already blotted their copy books in respect of reliability and build quality when they made the Starlight, Junior Deluxe, and later High Power Compact. All of those tended to fall to pieces one way or another. I always thought the Turbopower was designed to only be strong 'enough'. It had Aurelius built in deliberately. Time and again I would have a Turbopower bought in for repair for one thing, usually a fault which brought the cleaner to a halt, be it loss of power or loss of suction, and I'd end up finding half a dozen other problems with it. The trick was to second-guess what the customer was willing to pay, try to fix as much of it as I could, and try to avoid having the cleaner sent back to me in 3 months time by someone who thought I was somehow to blame for the latest problem.

In that respect, Juniors and Seniors, plus many of the Electrolux cleaners were easy to repair as stocks of 2nd hand parts were in great supply. The likes of Philips and Hitachi were very good machines, but difficult to repair in many cases as there were few donor cleaners around and / or new parts were very expensive. So for ease of repair, I'd have to list Hoover and Electrolux as my top two.

 

[2011hoover700]

For uprights mine are hoover, I personally had more each for thair own reason do what I like in an upright vacuum than others I have. For canisters I don't have a favorate, I like all of mine for their own reasons.

 

[vintagerepairer]

Aurelius? I wrote failure built in. I have no idea why it says Aurelius.

 

[hygiene903]

Favorites!

I have several favorite vintage vacuums and will post a few of them here. For starters, a model 903 Electro-Hygiene, shown here with attachments and the extra accessories Kit. Built in Feb. 1983, this was one of the last Electro-Hygienes made. As Morgan said, their suction with attachments is outstanding.
Jeff

 

[hygiene903]

Another Electro-Hygiene

This one is a model 2-230. One of the last of the straight suction models, it was built around 1953-1954. Shown here with attachments but unfortunately it is missing the wands, floor brush, and crevice tool.

 

[hygiene903]

Now a Hoover

The model 28 has always been one of my favorite Hoover uprights, and is one of the vacs I always felt EVERY collector should own. Here it is with attachments, instructions, and box.

 

[vacu-finder]

Bill,......
The Kirby is truly a fine peice of equipment. I would put the Kirb at the top for Favourite Vintage Brand.

Why...? THe metal of course, the gleaming metal in all it's glory.

 

[hygiene903]

Or a Hoover 825

Always wanted one of these and now I have one! This one was one of the machines I received last year, and is all original except for the bag, and it is a genuine Hoover replacement.

 

[vacumaniac]

Bill your Kirby collection is STELLAR!!!!! LOVE IT!!!

 

[bagintheback]

For awhile I really liked Eurekas, simply because of their large F&G bag in the back. I've since learned Hoover is the way to go. After using competing machines, Hoover is almost always better. My favorites are their models from the late-70s to the late-90s.

 

[motojoejo]

I love classic Hoover - convertibles, connies and dial-a-matics. The colors and the designs with some being ahead of their time. I still use my gramma's convertible since it cleans well and doesn't hurt my sensitive ears~ it's actually pleasant to hear.