Filter Queen and other vintage machinery

[reo580]

This week I bought a Filter Queen at a thrift shop. I found a rather shopworn Filter Queen model 33. The machine had several packages of cones, a newer brown replacement straight suction hose and the S-wands with a nozzle. I hesitated, then decided the the 15.00 price was a good deal considering that a pack of FQ cones cost more than that.

I cut the ends off the hose the 33 came with and spliced them on to an after market brown 15' FQ hose I bought last year. The 15' hose itself is perfect, the aftermarket ends were horrible. The machine end would pull off the inlet anytime I moved the vacuum no matter how I adjusted it. Now that I spliced the genuine FQ ends on to the 15'hose and cemented them in place, you couldn't tell that it is not an original. I matched this "new" 15' hose to my brown 1987 Filter Queen Model D31x that my grandparents bought new.

On that note, I can still vividly recall when they traded their Kirby Omega in for the Filter Queen. I was 7 years old at the time. I remember finding the Filter Queen in the closet. My grandparents told me that they bought a new vacuum and I had to see for myself. I opened the closet door and there it was, the chrome gleaming, bright and shiny. It smelled like a brand new car, the new metal, rubber and plastic. It absolutely reeked of the new car scent. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I remember my grandparents asking me "How do you like our new vacuum?" I pulled it out of the closet. "It's beautiful!" I exclaimed. "I love it! A brand New Filter Queen! It's so beautiful!" I remember they thought it was funny that a 7 year old kid would be so excited over a vacuum cleaner.I remember taking the exhaust cap off and turning the motor on and off over and over listening to the motor wind-down. That sound has been permanently etched in my memory.

In 2006 I overhauled it. At that time I worked at a vacuum cleaner repair center that used to be a Filter Queen Dealer. I raided the stock room and found NOS filter Queen ball bearings, the metal ones, not the plastic sealed drop bearings used today, the real ones. After I rebuilt the motor I turned it on and off a few times with the exhaust cap removed. My coworker looked at me with a puzzled expression and asked me if I was feeling alright today. I told him the story of when it was new and how I would turn it on and off. I wanted to make sure that it sounded exactly the same it did now as it did then. He rolled his eyes and went back to work. He laughed and told me that God broke the mold after I was made.

I polished up all the chrome and built a new batting using the FQ batting and Panasonic HEPA strips. I placed the strips of the HEPA filter around the inside of the motor housing and then stuffed the batting inside. I then placed the cardboard support in the housing. This setup muffled the sound of the FQ and made it sound the way I remember when it was new. I replaced the rear ribbed chrome decal on the dirt container and did a few repairs and adjustments to make it just like new. I also took off the heat shield so that it had a shiny chrome top.

Now I have the Filter Queen, the same Model D31x that I discovered in the back closet in 1987. This morning I used it to vacuum. I have to say that it still fascinates me. I have 3 Mieles, I like them but they do not have the chrome plated charm that my FQ does. The Mieles are easier to use and take down but I have to say: there is something about that Filter Queen that still fascinates me.

Do you have the same fondness of a particular cleaner regardless of brand? A cleaner that while not as convenient as a modern machine, just has an appeal to it? An aesthetic appeal such as the silent operation, or a childhood memory or design characteristic? If you do comment.

 

[reo580]

The Filter Queen and its "new" hose

Taken this morning

 

[kenkart]

For!

Plain old day to day use they are hard to beat!

 

[kirbyrama]

My childhood memories

...are of my parents' 519 model Kirby. I am now 52, but still remember as far back as the early 60's when I was very small- my parents using this vacuum and seeing that grayish- blue bag with the red and silver silk screened logo puff up like a giant balloon. All those red attachments would fascinate me and I use to play with them ..At around 3 years old I remember playing with the hose and dragging it around like a toy. Sometimes the noise the vacuum made would scare me. As a small child ; I was thrilled by all the different functions this machine could transform into. There have been several cloth bag replacements over the years as well as other parts, but My father used this vacuum as late as 1995-when a well known repairman sold him a used Classic I for $50.00. Subsequently, over the next several years, this vacuum was used by my aunt, then periodically sat stored unused in closets or disassembled in a plastic storage crate for long periods of time. In the late 90's my brother and his then fiance had borrowed it in their apartment , but were not satisfied by its 'performance. Today ,I have this machine and it does not look much like it originally did; the rug nozzle having been replaced in 1993 with a Sanitronic style one - as well as so many other replacements. It sits in my finished basement rec room being used occasionally---whether to just clean down there or to polish or remove rust from something metal, or to even spray semi-gloss paint diluted with some water in the spray gun to some old furniture.
After more than half a century, this Kirby has quite a long history and still comes in handy. After I am dead and gone , this will probably be someones' antique find. An old Kirby vacuum as a family heirloom!

 

[djtaylor]

My childhood memories...

When I was little, age 4 or 5, my grandparents got the 'joy' of baby-sitting me very often. At that time they did not have many neighbors(now the farm house is surrounded by '80's built houses) and no kids at all. When grandpa was tired of playing with me he would get out the Kirby D50, put a shirt with wire hanger on it and I had an instant play-mate. Somewhere I have a picture of me, laying on the floor for a nap with my arm around the Kirby. It was soooo cute. Many years later grandpa gave me the Kirby... my best childhood friend. That Kirby was a great friend, it always let me have MY WAY, never had to go home for lunch and we never fought over things.
Ahh, memories.
Justin

 

[beerad]

Derek

That is a beautiful Filter Queen! Thank you for sharing your story,,I was very excited as I read on. My fav vac is a Filter Queen and as a child I was, and am still fascinated by these machines. I have an all chrome FQ from 1939.I could email you a few pics of it if you want.

Brad.

 

[tolivac]

Seems like Kirbys and Filter Queens are childhood favorites--how bout 'Lux or Rainbow and Compact-TriStars,Hoover,Eureka,-mine would be Kirby.We used to have a Kirby that was bought the year I was born-guess a 511-(1951)?It was used until it got lost in the Rapid City flood of 1972-it still worked when it was lost-it too,went thru a couple of replacement cloth bags and and many brushrolls.Looking for a 511 today.Wouyld like to find one with all of the "trimmings".-and of course the orig METAL not crappy plastic replacement fans.

 

[venson]

@reo580

I always liked Filter Queen because it was the forerunner regarding air filtration plus the so-called "sealed system" and even cyclonics in portable vacuum cleaners. Yes, Rexair had its claims to air cleaning but never quite lived up them.

I at one point had collected two or more model 200s and also had a model 500 back in the day. As well, I purchased the first model they released back in the 70's with a power nozzle AND a cord reel. It was more or less a jerry-rigged after thought than a piece actually designed for the machine That first PN was an import from Germany I think with barely a 10" cleaning swath at best. It had a connector neck that pivoted up and down and attached to the end of the bottom curved wand. The standard FQ power nozzle with the dial at the back for height adjust -- also eventually shared by Royal -- came later.

What I like about FQ is it's dust collection capacity and the near miraculous way those celluloid filter cones let no discernible levels of dust escape the collection bin. I can stand on that as I'd often remove the metal cone that kept filter cones in place to check but never found dust collecting on the motor unit's casing. Up top at the blower outlet, the most I ever saw was a slight film of carbon dust which I assumed the muffler ring's material caught. The first time I went in for a peek was when I discovered the machine actually had a secondary filter for motor protection.

Though the power nozzles FQ has employed have never much impressed me, I always felt the FQ was par excellence as a straight suction cleaner. The slanted mount of the floating bush on the rug nozzle is not for nothing. It was a great aid in getting up litter and pet hair. Overall attachment design was awesome and sturdy.

However, I can't understand why the wheel sets with the cord reel were abandoned. I thought it was a boon.

My only problem with FQ was that it took a bit of work -- and travel -- to track down genuine filter cones when you ran out even in New York City and emptying was always a bit on the messy side.

As for other brands I like, if I had to face doing really dirty work, I'd happily go at it with a Filter Queen, a Miracle Mate or Schoettler's Patriot or Air Storm. All are my idea of the "mean machine".

 

[countryguy]

Growing up there were 2 Filter Queens in our family. The first was from the 50s and was still in the house in 2001 when we were cleaning out the house after my mom died. The 2nd one was purchased new in 1972 because we had just gotten wall to wall carpet and my mom wanted the power nozzle version. My sister has that vac now. unfortunately for me. I don't recall anyone else having a FQ...all my mom's friends had Lux, Rainbow, Hoover, GE, Lewyt and Sunbeam.

Gary

 

[venson]

On the south side of the lake . . .

In Niagara County in western New York state we had a lot of followers but not many venturous types. Difference on all levels was sometimes hard to come across.

Electrolux and Hoover reigned. The Model XXX was everywhere and when the G arrived, despite the facility for disposable bags, some owners opted for a permanent bag. Lewyt appeared to relatively popular and AirWay was well known but not seen everywhere nor were Rexair, Kirby and Filter Queen. The most Lewyt models I saw were at the home of a schoolmate whose mother could kill any vacuum made within six months of purchase.

There was a slight change in the program when Interstate Compact passed through our way. Salesmen were claiming you could throw the Compact off your roof and it would still run after you dragged it back in from off your lawn. Don't know if anyone ever tried but the sales pitch apparently worked to some degree. Being a thrifty sort, a number of people bought them but stored them away until the day came that the machines they were presently using burned out.

Has anyone here made a record of what door-to-door brands sold for during the mid- to late-50s, early 1960s?

 

[rugsucker]

throw the vac off your roof

I was told by an AirWay salesman,now dead,that when he started in the 50s they had a salesman who would go to small farm houses in the warm months and if the people were outside he would talk with them and look around the house and check out the layout of the back yard.He would then take an AirWay and much like an Olympian he would throw it over the house and then say if that AirWay wont run I will give you one.They would then move inside for the demo which would almost always result in a sale.He was said to be a big,strong guy.Many nice houses at the time were small,maybe 4 rooms,and these customers could afford the latest household goods.

 

[briankirbyclass]

Ive noticed that people in rural areas tend to buy from the door to door salesmen more so than city people,,,they like the fact that you bothered to come all the way out to their place!,,and if you sold for a company like Electrolux, that came out to service the machine and/or sell bags, filters, ect. on a regular basis, That was a REALLY good deal! Most all rural/farm/country people know what good service is!

Comming from a rural farming community, We had an older guy that sold for Electrolux for MANY yrs that would come out to every farm and rural area. Some salesmen would have to drive a couple hundered miles out from the city, just to service and sell, but they did it,,they knew they would make money too!
That old guy drove a station wagon with the Electrolux logo on the side,,and kept record of every address and farm he sold to,(which was most everybody),and would make the rounds every so often servicing the machines he had already sold, sell bags,shampoo,ect,,and of course the newest machines.
I remember him stopping at my Grandparents a few times,but i was ordered to stay away while the grown ups talked,,kids were seen and not heard in those days when there was business to tend to!

I remember He had a large tool set, and everything he needed to service a machine,all the tools, and replacement parts, ect, right there in the back of his station wagon.
He could install a new motor, switch, anything that needed replaced or fixed.
Of course many of the replacement parts were NOT the right color,,,but at least it was a new part.
This is one of the reasons nowadays you will see a Model G (for instance) with 3 blue wheels and one brown!,,or a Golden J with a brown power nozzle. ect.
He also had several of the new machines and polishers in their boxes, ready for delivery, cases of bags, filters, extra hoses, PNs, attachments,,ect. All in this station wagon.
Of course, back in those days a station wagon was a HUGE car!,,not like the station wagons of today.

I remember when the (GASP!) KIRBY man came calling in this same area one time, and talked a few of the farmers into trading their Electrolux in for a KIRBY,,the Electrolux guy was NOT exactly thrilled,,,,until the farmers wives all started belly aching about how HEAVY that Kirby was to push, hard to use, ect,,and they wanted their ELECTROLUX back! Every wife in the area agreed, and most all got NEW Electrolux's eventually.

My Grandma was one of them,,,ill never forget the day she got her new Electrolux Golden Jubilee!,,,all the neighbors had to come and check it out!

 

[venson]

Rural vacuum buying . . .

Though we can be quite fussy about it now, I don't recall hearing great complaint about vacuum weight when I was a kid. It appeared taken as a given that a vacuum would have a little weight to it. That weight may have also seemed an indication of substance and sturdiness. And . . .

Come to think of it, I can't remember any vacuums that were light from '55 into the "60s. Electrolux XXX and LXs were basically heavy but even heavier with the attachment saddles in place. The same applied for Filter Queen and AirWay. Rexairs were always heavy due to the water required and worse I guess if you opted for the wheeled 4-quart water pan. I always have a laugh when I hear someone say a 17-pound vac is too heavy.

Nonetheless, country women were usually in no way your shrinking violet type and took such matters in stride. The world ran quite smoothly despite there being no bread machines or microwave ovens as many were still transitioning from the wringer washer to the automatic kind as individual economic situations allowed.

Also during that time, we didn't bother with Cadillacs but having a vacuum of reputable brand was sort of a status thing. However, door-to-door salesman were more trusted then because the product they sold lasted and you usually had the word of a neighbor down the road who'd bought the brand to prove it.

 

[Davinator1977]

Filter Queen Power Nozzle kit for Central Vac

Since we are on the subject of Filter Queen I thought I would share this. Does anyone know when they started making central vacs? I thought it was when the majestic came out but from getting this I was obviously wrong.

 

[goadie12]

WOW that filer queen central vac is really cool I have never seen anything like that I only thought they made them during the majestic is there any chance you have the main power unit fot that thanks for sharing too cool thanks. Zach

 

[kirbylux77]

Well, if it's a brown PN & hose & tools....I would have to think late 70's at the very least, Dave.

Rob

 

[Davinator1977]

Re: Zach

I do not have the power unit but I have seen it. It looks like the majestic but beige with a brown trim