GE swivel top power head models

[1926700]

hey all.....i have a slight wonder about GE swivel top power head models.....

first off how many models featured a power head? the few ive seen are few and far between...the first ive seen as a low end one piece machine...and the second machine is a high end with a weird suction control panel on the front and is chrome and hunter green....

about what years did the PN models span? and what were the different power heads like? when did GE drop the "GE" name and switch to the "premier" name?

this pic was from a old posting by Dave Kerr...

 

[1926700]

and heres....

the high end with the control panel...

ths was an old posting by louis R..

 

[kenkart]

GE....

Im not sure WHEN the powerhead came out, but I can tell you some interesting GE facts,The GE name was done away with on vacuums in 1972, becoming Premier, the powerhead that GE designed was in fact the same powerhead on many Filter Queens,they bought the rights to it from GE, also FQs cordwinder is exactly the same as GEs, they also liscense built it.

 

[kirbyvertibles]

Well I have an ad from 1963 with the 'NEW' power nozzle for the GE. It's an orangeish color and was totally different than the filter queen version. I have also seen the same machine in another ad one time from the same year.

 

[collector2]

Just as an FYI - The GE name was used on their vacuums in Canada till 1985 when it became Black and Decker. In the 80's the swivel top machines were still available as well as rebranded Regina style machines. From the mid 70's on catalogues here had at least 2 or 3 different GE models with power heads. I dont recall ever seeing a Premier machine in Canada that was newer than the 1950's so they must have discontinued using the name here around that time.

An example is the model VC751A from the mid 1970's below

Doug

 

[collector2]

another example - the model CP172C

 

[1926700]

heres.....

the first GE swivel top with power head that dates to 1963...the power head sooo reminds me of the first Lewyt PN from the late 50's
this pic is from the back page of the 2009 news letter...

Jason

 

[eurekaprince]

GE + Eureka + Sweden's Electrolux

Just an odd note to add to this thread:

At some point about 10 years ago, Walmart started selling GE branded vacuum cleaners that were also being sold as Eurekas in other stores. These were made by Sweden's Electrolux for the North American market. The canisters featured a Eureka power nozzle and electrified hose with gas pump handle. At the time, Consumer Reports actually rated it very well - it may have even been rated as a Best Buy because the price was pretty low. There was also an Electrolux-made GE clean-air upright being sold at Walmart at the time as well.

Here's a clip of the canister:

 

[vac-o-matic]

I have never seen that power nozzle on any other machine, but it does remind me of early Whirlpool/Kenmore models. That GE is gorgeous! Has anyone seen that model in person anywhere? I had a later Premier with the power nozzle, but with the FQ style power nozzle. It was a two tone celery/darker green color if I remember correctly.

 

[eurekaprince]

Performance?

Just curious.....how did these GE swivel tops perform? They seem to have been quite common in North American homes throughout the 1960's. Did they clean well? What were the problems? Were they noisy? And how well did that cool flat profile carpet tool perform?

 

[vintagecanister]

Coolio......

I love the "upright attachment" marketing for the PN.

 

[kenkart]

GE Power nozzle canister.

Michael Hays has one of these,and this power nozzle is not the one Filter Queen bought from GE that came later.

 

[kenkart]

Performance!

The GE canister is one of my all time favorite machines,it has great suction,but is somewhat noisy,the low profile rug tool , called the Twin Clean,is to me, one of the best, the earlier version with 3 rollers under it is good too, but not as good as the Twin Clean.

 

[eurekaprince]

Thanks for that Hans! Good to know!

 

[joeblow]

I have one similar to the second one in the picture with the check bag light and a FQ type power head.

From a practical standpoint, I've never thought this vacuum was that wonderful. With the power head model you lose the 360 degree "swivel" of the hose (so not to pull the power head cord out) and its therefore a bit awkward to pull around, especially on carpets. I think that they should have made them with four castors instead of three and/or they should have used the ball type castors instead of the wheel type. This improvement would have made them much more maneuverable IMHO.

Suction is good but not incredible and I think it's due to having both a cloth and paper bag inside. The paper bag is a bit cumbersome and messy to change.

The machine itself, especially with the power head is also pretty loud.

Even with it's shortcomings however, I think it's a really neat vacuum to look at!

Canadian Tire was a major retailer for GE vacuums so I think thats why they were more popular here and lasted much longer than the US. Hospitals around here also used to use GE swivel tops.

 

[15brandon]

I like the look of the old powerheads for canister vacuums they look so very different than what they do now