First images of my NIB Electrolux model L!

[mjhoshaw]

Hello all, I just became the proud owner of a NIB Electrolux model L It's never been used, the original electric hose is airtight, and all accessories are as they came from the factory. The seller didn't have a new cordwinder, so he repainted one that was otherwise in excellent condition. I also got a nearly new, matching PN-1. As the story goes, the prior owner didn't like using it, so it was swapped for a non-electric hose and regular floor tool. The attached images were taken by the seller and are used by permission.  I'll add my own images to this thread in the coming days. This is the first and will be the only brand-new vintage vacuum in my modest collection. Having one was on my bucket list, and this was a logical choice for me.


 


I've liked the L since I first saw one in 1977, and the teal version is my favorite.  I never thought of buying one new after I was on my own and they were still in production. In retrospect I wish I had, but better late than never. I will use this vac sparingly with a 'lux vinyl pigtail hose and my 1205's attachments, so the L's will remain pristine.


 


Joel


 

 

[human]

Wow....

...and you beat Keither to it ;-) Nice catch for sure! I guess it's true that good things come to those who wait. So cool that you found your bucket list machine. Enjoy!

 

[vacman1961]

FYI Keither has a few of them, we bought them all together. LOL

 

[keither]

Did someone call?

My Electrolux sonar picked up some strong activity out here so I guess I chimed in at just the right moment! Welcome to the Elux Model L club Joel! I’m certain your going to enjoy your new vintage machine now and for many years to come! What a beautiful and complete machine! I love the sound of the model L motor! I’m very happy for you! Dam ..box and everything!!! That’s what’s up!

 

[mjhoshaw]

Keither, good to "meet you"

I've always loved the sound of the L motor too, especially when there's a cordwinder because the exhaust door louvers change the sound to pretty much just rushing air. I listen to it and try to imagine how quiet a hospital G is. I have other Electroluxes that are more powerful, but I often reach for my gold L because its sound is so pleasing to my ears. Now I have this beauty.


 


Joel

 

[huskyvacs]

Wow what a great find!

That also confirms they were serialized from the factory. I always thought the vacuum dealer/salesmen put those stickers on the vacs once they were unboxed and made the sale.

I have a model L myself in good condition but not new new. It has some age wear and storage damage from the elements, but looks like someone barely used it. Mine has the manual cord winder though, no automatic one.

A lot of times I see these come up for sale people are selling them as a "Model E" because of the "E" logo on the handle.

 

[jo]

Nice

Nice to have a model L nice and new. This one is a mid run real version because of it still having a PN-1 but it has the second generation electric hose. Also it’s a mid run because of the manual. It was changed later. What year is the copyright on the manual? That should give you an idea of the actual purchase year. Also the serial number stickers didn’t start getting added until some time during the run of the L. The serial numbers are embossed on the metal of the machine as well but the stickers made it easier for the service rep to see it…Also after a number of years they would fall off. The cordwinder was always an “option” and the salesman would take away the cord halo and standard cord when the customer opted for the cordwinder.

A few drawbacks with the cordwinders is that they add extra weight to the machine really taking away that “World’s lightest weight heavy duty vacuum cleaner” feature. I obtained a cordwinder for my Moms and she liked it for a while for the convenience but then as she got older started complaining the machine was heavy and I told her the cordwinder was the culprit and when I told her we still had the original cord and chrome ring she said “let’s go back” to the standard cord and immediately said “oh that’s much better” when she picked it up after converting back. Now that I have a herniated disk in my lower back, I took prefer no cordwinder. It’s just generally easier to use and pull along and pickup the machine without the cordwinder attachment. Second drawback is sometimes the cordwinders on Electrolux’s are annoying too because if the cord gets pulled a bit it becomes unlocked and then starts retracting when not desired.

We have 4 L’s in the family…two at a vacation home…an older teal one that was a find now has the cordwinder on it and is used for the basement level. Mom ‘s original with no cordwinder for the second floor of the house. In her primary home we have a White L which was a find and I added a cordwinder from a F that died which was from a neighbor. Since ths vac had to go on the trash I figured I’d save the cordwinder. This vac serves the basement at her primary house which portions of the basement are finished out. I just recently added an external wire wrap vinyl hose for this L since there is carpet in some of the basement and since we had an extra power nozzle and wand amongst everything.

Finally the forth L is a gold version which my Sister has and was swapped to us from an Electrolux man who was trying to help me obtain fans for a model E that needed fans. They just were not available. The older motors use slightly wider and slightly smaller fans. So in frustration of continually getting the wrong size ordered in he took me out to the garage where he had all sorts of traded machines and said let’s pick out a good L for you to fix this problem. That was back in the early 90s and then we have the L to my Sister so she would have a second Electrolux for her two story home. She still has the L today and is quite fond of it, but mostly uses it did the cars and the garage rugs and basement.

The one thing I never cared fir on the model L was it’s tendency to tip over…they did away with the swiveling wheel which was a nice feature of the model E which is very similar to the L. Though there were issues even with the E and tipping as well….ultimately the G’s 5 wheel system was the best of all but not perfect either and changing the L to the 1453 design in 1980 solved the tipping problem altogether by now also abandoning the vertical bag orientation in favor of the 1205 improvement of the horizontal bag shaped machine. The 1453 used the Olympia/Silverado/Diamond Jubilee body design but had a squared cord halo and no automatic control, a simpler switch and top design and was made so a cordwinder conversion would continue to be “plug and play” by unplugging the basic cord and unscrewing the cord halo and plugging in and screwing on the cordwinder.

Today’s version of the model L would be the Aerus Lux classic. A nice design with standard cordwinder and after filtration.

Joel…did your machine come with the combination dusting brush/upholstery tool? I don’t see it in your photos.

Later teal L’s came with the chrome Golden Jubilee era PN -2 power nozzle and then the chrome PN-4a during the Golden Jubilee and finally Super J eras.

Now…as far as motor sounds. I’ve used a LOT of model L’s over time and most are quiet but I’ve run into some that have a louder sound than others…and I’ve found 3 different varieties. Our white L and my friend’s teal L seem to have this other distinctive tone to them and then the Gold L my Sister has sounds differently too..almost as if the bag is somewhat full. Maybe there was just something slightly different that gave some of them these different sounds. All of them however…Sound pleasant. While growing up my Mom had the L…my Aunt had the 1205 and I always liked that the 1205 was quieter than the L and this is likely due to the design of rhe 1205’s body and exhaust design baffling the sound of the machine much more.

Jon

 

[mjhoshaw]

Copyright date and motor changes

Jon, the owner's manual is dated 1971. Regarding motors and their sounds, I've observed that the early L's sound significantly different from the later ones. I've been inside at least one early L with the same 14-pole, 28-bar armature as the G motor of the period. Later L motors had the same 22-pole, 22-bar armature as the 1205 motors. I will speculate that Electrolux changed the L to the new motor when they introduced the teal version in 1968, the same year the 1205 came out. It makes sense that they would use the same motor (except for the mounting plate, of course) in both the L and the 1205, and end production of the older motor.


 


Funny memory, sometime in the fall of 1968 when I went with my dad to get bags, the salesman was talking up the new motor in the 1205 with its bigger carbon brushes. I don't recall his mentioning any other upgrades, and I remember thinking that upgrading only the brushes wouldn't accomplish a thing.


 


It hadn't occurred to me that the L with a cordwinder is today's Lux Classic. Having recently acquired a Lux Classic, I see your point.  Both are basic, no-frills machines that get the job done. I sure do like my Classic's N115V power nozzle. This is my first L-shaped one, and it's a big improvement over my PN-1's, PN-2, and PN-4a.


 


Joel

 

[rugsucker]

Model L

Very nice ! and amazingly complete !I sold every nice L I could find and still have those customers return for bags.As above I would remove cordwinders to reduce weight.
Serial number sticker-These were meant to be removed by salesman and placed on contract along with handwritten ser no.The 'Warning-do not pick up liquid--"sticker inside bag door also has ser no on back side.
Above floor tool-This would be in the cardboard behind cord.

 

[woodj99]

WOW! New in box! I'm just speechless.

 

[mjhoshaw]

RIP factory box

Sad to say, the factory box was badly damaged in transit. One whole corner of it was torn open. The corners are reinforced, so it wasn't a minor bump. Fortunately the vacuum was double boxed and none of the contents was damaged. Since the factory box is holds part of the value of the unit, one could argue that I could make a damage claim. But I think it would be difficult to place a value on the box, and a waste of time to try to get FedEx to pay anything. I can hear them laughing at me.


 


Question for collectors: should I attempt to repair the box, or leave it as-is? I ask because in vintage model train collecting circles, boxes add considerably to a model's value, sometimes fetching prices higher than the model itself. There are strict standards for repairing boxes, using archival tape and so on. I'd need something a bit stronger to repair this box! Even though I can no safely longer transport the vacuum in it, I will not throw it away.


 


Rugsucker, I have since removed the above floor tool from its packaging and attached it to the storage clip. The above images were taken by the seller, who didn't unpack every piece. Because I have a cordwinder, I haven't unwrapped the cord and don't plan to. The cordwinder isn't original to the vacuum; I just like their convenience, and to me the vacuum looks more complete with it. This won't be a DD, so the extra weight isn't a factor.


 

 

[aerusluxfan]

Wow awesome find! I would definitely say keep the original box if you can.. they are far and few between at this point.

 

[huskyvacs]

Definitely keep the box, and the box does add some value to the vacuum if you were to sell it, but as far as the damage I don't think it will matter. I'd see if you can line up the box as best you can and use some kind of strong packaging tape, maybe something glue based with the little reenforcements in it like some shippers use, and put it across the inner seams of the box. Probably then get a shipping box and cut the sides to fit the factory box height and then slip it inside the vacuum box as a liner to make it stronger.

 

[mjhoshaw]

Huskyvacs, thanks!

I hadn't thought of using reinforced glue-based paper tape to shore up the factory box from the inside, but it seems made-to-order for this purpose. I'll look for it at my local stores. Surely someone will have it. If not a hardware store or home center, an office supply store.


 


Joel

 

[armandjc]

Awesome!!

WOW! Awesome vac! That was my grandmother's machine until about 2003! Bought it from the door to door salesman brand new, she was always mad at my grandfather for being too cheap to buy her the cord winder But she definitely got her moneys worth!

 

[jo]

Long live the model L

These are amongst Aerus/Electrolux’s longest lasting models because of their simplicity…so little to go wrong and easy to fix if anything goes wrong…switch…easy fix…wheels…still available aftermarket…handle…can be replaced via a leather strap or old belt cut to fit with holes for screws drilled or punched into it. Cord…plug and play simply “unplugs” from back end to replace. Electric hose…well those are becoming rare and the generics are still made but prices have gone up since apparently Aerus has stopped making them. Non-electric hoses…still available and lots of inexpensive generics. An external wire wrap can be added or transferred from one hose to another if that style is used for the electrics for the power nozzle.. All attachments and power nozzle…still available from Aerus as the new L shaped power nozzle from the Lux Classic will work with this machine. Aside from the motor dying…not much else can go wrong with this machine!

My Mom had a model S that was her Mom’s which she gave her when she got married in 1960…it too was a very simple model…motor finally went bad this year….replaced switch twice and hose twice in the 64 years it lasted! I kept the original excellent condition barely used matching combination dusting brush/upholstery tool! We also have the rug and floor tool and the stainless steel wands and the cloth dust bag.

Jon