Hoover Holi-daze!

[hoovercelebrity]

Today was a particularly good day at the sales -- I couldn't even believe what I was standing in front of when I saw this Hoover Holiday model 415.  I'm still in a daze from finding it...


 


This is the only Hoover tank that I have been missing from my collection -- and I honestly never thought I would find one.  They're extremely rare; I only know of 3 others that are in people's collections.  What makes this particularly rare is that it was made in England and imported to the US.  I don't much other history on this, if these were sold through a particular channel -- department stores, door to door, or through Hoover stores.  There were only 185,000 or so made between 1953 and 1954.  The box has a manufacture date of 8/53.


 


It's definitely not a 10; but it came with its original hose, most of the tools, and an extremely tattered box.  The cord is original and it sounds just lovely when it runs.  The machine itself isn't in bad shape, not major dents or scratches -- so it will clean up rather nicely. The hose is original, but doesn't hold any air -- so I'll be on the lookout for a suitable replacement.


 


I'm off to tear it apart and give it a spa day -- but I wanted to post some before shots!  More to come...

 

[hoovercelebrity]

The tank..

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Data plate...

 

[kenkart]

You are the!

Luckiest thing!!!I have never even seen but one or two of these!!!Beautiful!!

 

[suckolux]

Very happy for you Fred! Enjoy

 

[dysonman1]

The Holiday was a machine NOT sold by the Hoover door to door salesmen. It was sold, along with Hoover Iron and the Hoover factory rebuilt models, through retail stores. R.J.Vanik has a collection of yearly Hoover Magazines that were sent to share holders. In the 1949 edition, they talked about the iron and the factory rebuilt models being 'tested' at retail locations. The success of these models in retail locations is one of the major reasons Hoover discontinued door to door sales in 1958.
There was a lot of dissent within the ranks when the Holiday was launched through retail stores.

 

[kenkart]

Good information!

Thanks Tom, Fred, how much suction does it have???good or wimpy? it sure is pretty, I may get interested in Hoovers yet, LOL!

 

[durango159]

Awesome find Fred!!!

Very cool looking Hoover. Hope you enjoy. The pictures look great, so I can only imagine how much better it will be after you work your "Magic" on it!! Enjoy and thanks for sharing!!

Happy Hoovering!

 

[portable]

<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Fred,</span>


<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Hoover did something that they had never done before when they marketed the Holiday. They hired an outside firm (other than their own PR firm) to do marketing, IIRC. There were some distribution problems. I have the original "launch" article from Electrical Merchandising magazine somewhere, and I will dig it out. </span>


<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: medium;">The experiment was a flop, which is a crying shame, because the Holiday is the closest thing we have to the British Hoover canisters. Quite intriguing. Like finding Hens' Teeth. - JL</span>

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Wow!

Thanks for the great information Tom and John!  Really neat to know that!  I hope you can find that article, John -- sounds absolutely fascinating! 


 


I started taking the Holiday apart and gave everything a bath.  This motor is essentially the same thing as what's in models 42, 50, 53, 55, and Constellations.  While it's sort-of the same, being British made, it's built slightly different.  Differences are subtle, however this motor doesn't quite look like a Constellation when comparing them side by side.  I'll take a picture of this next to a Constellation motor when I get it back together.  I did turn it on before taking it apart and even seeing the motor... It sounded just like a US built motor.  Without seeing the motor removed, I would have wagered that it was the same thing.  And I would have lost. 

 


Back end open...

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Cool fiberglass filter that was at the very end of the cleaner.  Looks to have been pretty effective in catching the carbon dust.  I'll likely replace it with some HEPA bag material.

 

[kenkart]

LOOK!!!

At that terminal block!! You sure wont find that quality today!

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Here's one shot of the motor completely removed.  The field coil and rear motor housing are completely different than American built motor.

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Another shot of the motor turned on its side. On second thought, it looks taller than the American counterpart.  I'll be curious to compare the two.

 

[hoovercelebrity]

This is how the field coil is held in place.  Again, not at all what I'm used to when taking a Tank/Constellation motor apart.


 


That's all for tonight...

 

[kenkart]

That is

More like an upright motor isnt it???

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Yes Hans -- the shape and the way the field coil sits in there, is similar to how a field coil looks on say a Convertible when the motor is taken apart. 

 

[kenkart]

It is

bound to sound different than most tanks!

 

[hoovercelebrity]

I got the Holiday all taken apart, gave everything a bath and polished it up a bit.  I'm pleased with the final product!

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Before I put the back cover on, I took some HEPA bag material and cut out a new filter for behind the motor.

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Back end of the machine; sorry for the crappy picture.  Looked better on the screen of my phone.


 


I was really able to get the bare floor tool shined up nicely.  I gave it a good scrub with some Brasso, then polished it up with Armor-All.

 

[hoovercelebrity]

I'm so giddy about the original cord.. It's nice and pliable -- I used a bunch of Armor-All on this as well. 

 

[hoovercelebrity]

The original hose is shot.  It's really pretty, so that saddens me... I may try giving it a scrub with some upholstery shampoo to get some of the dirt off.  If I find a nice replacement hose in shades of red and white, I may consider cutting it up and transferring the ends to a different hose.  But for now I'll use one of the brown vinyl Veriflex hoses from one of my other Hoover tank cleaners and keep it for show.

 

[hoovercelebrity]

This end had tape around it, presumably to keep the handle from swiveling.  It left a bunch of tape guck that may need some elbow grease to get off.

 

[hoovercelebrity]

It came with two identical dusting brushes, which I find odd... the rubber is still pretty pliable on both, but one was in considerably better shape than the other.  So it has had a few treatments of Armor-All and is looking much better.  I still need to take soap and water to it, but I am hopeful. 


 


I think the Crevice tool is what was used most.. it's obviously the most tattered...

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Here's the brush insert.  I'm hoping that a modern replacement from a fit-all brush will work.  This original horsehair one sheds bristles as soon as you touch it. 

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Better picture of the dusting brushes.  Again, it's odd that there are two and that they are identical.  That's just going to be one of those questions that won't ever get answered.


 


There was not upholstery tool with it, and am pretty sure that it came with a real plain red no-frills upholstery tool.

 

[hoovercelebrity]

Aaaand of course, I forgot to take a picture of the Holiday motor next to a Constellation motor. Oh well.


 


The motors in all of the tank cleaners are measured in watts.  I did a comparison of motor wattage among all 7 models of Hoover tank cleaners.. I then converted the watts to amps for a bit more relevancy.  It's interesting.  Certainly very powerful by today's standards!


 


Model 50:  415 Watts = 3.5 amps


 


Model 41:  445 Watts = 3.7 amps


Model 51:  445 Watts = 3.7 amps


 


Model 42:  620 Watts = 5.166 amps


Model 53:  620 Watts = 5.166 amps


Model 55:  620 Watts = 5.166 amps


 


Model 415:  500 Watts = 4.16 amps


 


Also for comparison - all Constellations were 750 Watts which is  equal to 6.25 amps

 

[electrolux137]

Robert, it would be too bad if you had to cut the ends off that hose to make a good one. You should at least try the liquid latex treatment and see if that works. Check the archives here for the details. The sticky goop on the end may come off with Goo-Gone.

http://googone.com/About-GooGone