G.E. Electric "Carpet Sweeper"

[electrolux~137]

 


 


 


<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">I have one of those G.E. electric carpet sweepers shown in today's POD. I've never actually used it but have run it a bit. Seems like a silly thing, really, much like that plastic manual-action carpet shampooer discussed in another thread. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with one of these machines, whether or not it actually works, etc. etc. I don't ever remember seeing one whcn I was a kid.</span>

 

[reginafan]

I remember my grandparents having one but it was labeled a Premiere. I don't know what ever happened to it, certainly wish I had it now.

 

[uprightman]

I DO have one - and yeah, it works!

Picked one up at a garage sale just because the idea of a motorized carpet sweeper was interesting to me - as well as the GE "automatic" clothes brush that I also got from this same garage sale. Both items in great condition. GE must have had some marketing department - taking "manual" items and attaching an electrical cord to it, but I guess that was their racket.

It came with a bag - an SV-1 bag. So, I took it home and tried it in my foyer, and I was actually surprised at how well it worked. I've since found bags on eBay, although it took a while before anyone put them up for bid. The bags are interesting to me as well. They are designed to be re-useable. They have an opening on the side where they can be dumped, fold the end over, and clamp it with two flexible tabs.

I had actually forgotten about this carpet sweeper until I was cleaning out a closet this past winter. The timing was perfect. Since we had more snow than usual, that meant shoveling and salting. I was tracking a lot of salt in the house, and this little machine did a fine job of picking it up.

It's pretty good at picking up stuff from the door-mats too.

The brush is soft enough that it is safe on linoleum; and it does an okay-plus job on really low nap rugs (and doormats)as well.

There might have been two different models, as the eBay deal that I had included two bags of SV bags - the SV-1, and an SV-1A (I think) which were longer.

I don't think that I would have run out and bought one when they were originally available, but for two bucks at a garage sale, I'm glad that I picked it up.

 

[red_october]

Just the other day I saw the modern version of such a sweeper at work in a restaurant. It was pretty quiet, which is probably why they were using it -it could be used around customers without being disturbing. Of course it wasn't as visually interesting as the old GE, but it proves the concept is more than just "Stick electric motors in random things".

 

[funvacfan]

I've got two of them...

The electric motor inside actually provides suction to pull in the dirt and fluff into the paper bag.

Works just fine...of course, not a deep cleaner!

Guy

 

[eurekaprince]

I think that odd-looking "Eureka Easy-Glide" upright we see in that "groovy" 1960's advertisement (see Ebay listing below) uses the same concept: a little motor with a little bag and brush roll all under one hood the size of a carpet sweeper. Not quite sure why Eureka had this cord-reel looking structure on the handle, but the concept is the same as the GE Electric Carpet Sweeper.

I've always wondered why one of the vac-makers did not make a rechargeable "Swivel Sweeper" carpet nozzle to attach to their canisters!

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Eureka-Vacu...684?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20ba2b88ac

 

[briankirbyclass]

Reminds me of the song " I yust go nuts at Christmas",,there is a line in the song that goes, " I vent shopping for a nightgown for my vife, the kind thats trimmed in red. But they dont have her size and so, she'll get a carpet sveeper instead!"

 

[tolivac]

does the electric GE Carpet sweeper have a fan for suction-or is it just only the sweeping action of the brushroll that does the work?I have never seen one of these machines.I have only seen the push powered "Hokie" type sweepers.Think my Grandmom had one when I was a child used to like pushing it around and seeing what stuff it would pick up. she used it in the kitchen.

 

[uprightman]

tolivac:

Yes, there is a small motor and it does provide suction. As stated above, it may not be considered a "deep cleaner", but it does pick up well.

 

[super-sweeper]

any pictures please?

 

[tolivac]

Would like to see the mechanism of the electric GE sweeper.

 

[electrolux~137]

 


 


<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">I've got mine taken apart to clean it up because I'm thinking about putting it on eBay. It's not really something I have any burning interest in; I just picked it up because it was a curiosity. While I've got it disassembled I'll take a few photos for you, maybe tomorrow if I can get to it.</span>

 

[tolivac]

GREAT! was wondering just what is in those machines!My curiosity was getting the best of me.You know it almost sounds like a canister powernozzle without the vacuum?

 

[electrolux~137]

 


 


 


<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">Okay, as promised, here are some photos. I'll take more of them after I get it all cleaned up and purty.</span>

<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">The first photo shows the machine face-down. The second through sixth photos show the machine right-side-up, then a couple photos of the exterior of the machine and then the bag.</span>

<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">You can see that this sweeper does have suction. On one side of the motor casing is a golden mesh screen covering suction and blowing openings, one on top of the other.</span>

<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">At the other end, on top of the motor casing, there's a cooling fan that is exposed to the exterior of the housing-base. When the cover is closed, the louvered panel lines up inside a rectangular hole in the cover and vents out of the top. The dirt that's collected in the bag is spewed into it by the agitator brush -- the same action as a Bissell type carpet sweeper, only the brush revolves more rapidly and thus obviously would pick up more schmutz.</span>

<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms,geneva; font-size: medium;">n.b., one stupid design aspect is that the large wrap-around bumper around the bottom of the housing does not come off! On the back side, there's a metal plate over the bumper that's permanently riveted to the motor housing. Dummmmm!!</span>


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[this post was last edited: 6/21/2011-15:23]

 

[electrolux~137]

 


 


 


 


 

 

[electrolux~137]

 


 


 


 

 

[red_october]

That's a nice little machine there.
Are belts and bags still available?

 

[tolivac]

thanks for the excellent pictures now I lknow what goes on in the guts of that GE sweeper-so it would be considered a vacuum cleaner of sorts-like a broom vac.Like how the motor has two fans-one for the suction-the other for cooling.Cute and clever design-and the small bag-Guess this machine was intended to pick up crumbs and spilled "cheerios" off a kitchen floor.Could this unit star in a "Monster" vacuum in VCCC tests?