Hoover Vs, Eureka

[henry200]

Oh heck, John,

I for one enjoy the way you "go on!"  By the way, the house is looking mighty nice there, and is a great classic backdrop to all your wonderful classic Hoovers!


 


Neil

 

[vacuumfreak]

Yes, It is the "canton red" one that I am looking for a picture of. In a youtube video it looked like candy apple red, but I love that red bag and hood Still waiting for my future convertible to come Ill get one sometime or later

 

[eurekaprince]

Of course I am biased......being in love with Eureka since t

But I have to say that there were two main factors that may have always made Eureka uprights clean better than Hoover uprights in the 1960's and 1970's. One was of course Eureka's top-fill F&G bag that kept dirt away from the air path (in the 40 years I have changed F&G bags, I have never had the paper dirt tube rip or tear). The other factor I think was that the nozzle height adjustment on Eurekas from the late 1960's forward was based on adjusting the front wheels, not the rear wheels as the Hoover Convertibles had. Adjusting the height of the front end of the cleaner keeps the suction "window" flatter on the carpet and retains the suction seal better on all heights of carpet.

Consumer Reports consistently rated the Dial-A-Nap and Rugulator uprights as better performers than the Convertibles - probably for these two reasons. The playing field levelled out a bit when Hoover introduced their top fill bags with that really easy to use replacement system based on that tall plastic fill-tube.

Truth be told, I liked the colours and the designs of many of the Convertibles over the years. The only Convertible design I never liked was the series of models where the motor hood has no headlight and yet there is a pair of extraneous forms piled one on top of the other for no reason. This motor hood design always seemed to me to be "much ado about nothing" - especially since Hoover already had produced some very sleek, simple Convertible hoods with a headlight in the early 1960's. An example of this design which I never liked can be seen in John's upright display above - it's the "headlightless" turquoise Convertible on the rug in the center of one of the photos above.

Did you guys every pit an "F&G Bag" Eureka against a "C Bag" Hoover Convertible at any of the conventions?

 

[henry200]

It's a toss-up for me at least for sentimental/memory re

Hoover Convertibles (65, 66, 67, 68, 31, 33) out-numbered Eurekas in the neighborhood where I grew up but the Eureka 260 our next door neighbor had was and is one of my all-time favorites.  As a toddler the Hoovers with their bright colors and stretchy hoses were a big draw.  There was something about the unique sound of the Eureka though, plus the cream and green color, metallic gold trim and even the ridiculously gadgety hose converter which held me spellbound. 


 


Many years later I learned how great Eurekas are at deep-cleaning a carpet.  When I moved into my first house I had a Rainbow D2, Electrolux 1205 (with PN4) a Kirby Omega and a Pannasonic Jet-flow.  After about 6 months of scrupulous daily vacuuming and a go around with a Rug Doctor it seemed like I had removed whatever dirt remained in the carpeting from the previous residents.  I picked up an old Montgomery Ward/Eureka one day.  I'm not sure of the model but it had the rectangular bag top, disturbulator brush roll and a 3.5 amp motor.  After installing a new belt and paper bag I took it for a test spin and was absolutely stunned to hear what sounded like a dump truck full of dirt hurling into the bag.  I proceeded to vacuum up at least a pint or so of gritty filth in a short time.  I never had the chance to pit the Eureka against a Hoover but man, I was impressed!

 

[gsheen]

I just noticed something , Your convertables had switches in the handles wereas ours right up to the last models had them in the base as with the origional.


 


This is the last convertable we got


 


Note  switch on top right side of hood Orange 

 

[fan-of-fans]

I guess my favorite is the Hoover Convertible, but really, I haven't used one of the Eurekas. They just didn't seem to be common.

My mother used to clean a clubhouse for extra money when I was little, and in the closet they had a tan plastic Hoover Convertible without headlight. There was a plastic grocery bag hanging on the handle with belts, bags, and the manual.

She never used the Convertible because she had her own vacuum to use, so if she was really busy, I would get out the Convertible and run it. I seem to recall it was very quiet and made a low grumbling sound.

Another time I saw a Convertible in the thrift store, and later saw what seemed to be the exact machine in someone's trash. I picked it up, but was too scared to plug it in. I'm having trouble remembering the details. I want to say it had an orange hood, but I think it used type A bags. Maybe it was one of the last models that were red, and it was much newer than I thought.

I did see an older Eureka in the trash too, but it was missing the bag. I took it apart for fun.

I haven't really seen either type in about 10 years or so.

 

[guardsman69]

as a lifelong hoover dealer for over 35 years....and a studient of the Hoover Convertible in all its forms.........i must say that listening or reading all your entries about hoovers vs eureka ....if hoover created it ....eureka would copy it....it would be copied in such a way that had beauty in its own right .....but if there was no hoover and henry dryfuss and the awesome men designers who had the artistic flair they had for they were proud of who and what they were yet held in the hoover tradition of doing things ....who would eureka have to compete with.... to force eureka to push the envelope to create beautiful printed bags and hoover shaped hoods and beautiful color schemes......i have sold thousands of hoover convertibles both residential and commercial....there is a lot to be said for the original.....but by the same token .....i have serviced thousands of hooveresque eurekas as well and restored them box new for my customers as well...both brands in my client base and even in the same house coexist very compatibly no matter what floor they are cleaning.....it reminds me of judisim (hoover) and catholicism (eureka) but everything originated with hoover....original u7033 hoover guardsmans and todays sanitaires....imitation is the sincerest form of flattery....celebrate them both..you can see my collection on my web site at sweepercentral . com and go to the marquee hit the commercial catagory and there are two videos to watch....i hope you all enjoy them ....especially the top one....

 

[gsheen]

Nice Vid John, I really like your shop, Its nice to see another vac shop owner that displays there collectibles in there shop.


 


I am amazed at the difference between the USA and rest of the world Hoovers even though they look the same, or similar. 


 


I have a Hoover 638 looks just like your model 60 but i has a foot operated handle release, seriously powerful though.


I also have a Hoover 262 which is my oldest hoover with all Its  attachments in a box never used 

 

[guardsman69]

i am absolutely in love with that green south african convertible.....please post more photos of south african hoovers....they are facinating.....i am so happy you enjoyed the videos on my web site.....i just had it redone....john

 

[floor-a-matic]

Hover vs. Eureka

I love both! I had the following

Hoover:
33
68
U4119
U4381
U4393

Eureka:
1934A
2011 ESP?
Rugulator
SC888 (Sanitaire)

 

[vac_whisperer]

This is a really hard one. Since Ive never owned (or used haha) either of these, I really dont know.


I would have to imagine they would have to clean just about the same.


 

 

[floor-a-matic]

Convertibles

The green U4393 was the one I learned to walk with (only as a walking aid, NOT to vacuum) back in mid/late 1982; I first used the vacuum to ACTUALLY VACUUM in 1983. It looked something like this.

Photo courtesy VL 2011 Vintage archive (kirbyvertibles)

 

[vinvac]

I like them all!!!

However, I have always felt that a Eureka Upright, even with the low end brushroll (wood-plastic beater bar) would out clean a Hoover any time.

Add the Vibra Groomer 1 or 2 and move it up a notch...the old Disturbulator, as Hans Craig would say "would tear up a rug".

Personally, I have never liked Hoover cleaning tools. Eureka in my opinion always had good tools until the new models came out.

There was discussion about bags...Eureka's F&G bags have always amazed me.. and were way ahead of Hoover at the time..top fill..once Hoover started using A bags it got much better. I have never had a fill tube tear on a F&G bag...howeever, I did have one explode at church..the bag was full to the brim..and I hit a corner of the pew with it....let's just say...I had to re-vacuum and dust everything! That was not the bags fault...it was me being tight...needless to say I never did that again and I was only 17 at the time. Now you can get the fill tube and use the new S&T cloth filtrete bags...they work wonderfully.

Morgan

 

[vacuumfreak]

I've never heard of the S&T bags before... Where can I find them?

Daniel

 

[twocvbloke]

It's not "S&T", it's "ST", they're available in many places these days, and older Eurekas (so long as they have an original bag) can have a new filltube fitted to take ST bags...



http://www.vacland.com/proddetail.php?prod=sanitaire-77491

 

[thevacuumman]

not entirely true the original bag for my Eureka 1458A wouldn't accept the filltube thats why i put a sanitaire bag on it

 

[electroluxxxx]

this was a childhood machine of mine and what started me off on collecting machines 

 

[floor-a-matic]

My Convertible 1060 shakes out the dirt from carpet very well; it even outcleaned my Commercial Soft Guard

 

[tolivac]

BOTH are fine for me!

 

[kenkart]

Both are good

But a 250 ,255 or 260 Eureka is easier to push, and the Disturbulator brush is more aggressive, and to my way of thinking ,is the very best at deep cleaning, I hear so many brag on Sanitaires, the problem with them is they nosedive when pulled backwards, I have never used one yet that stays flat on the carpet like the older machines, as for a Hoover, a 61, 62 or 63 is to me, far better than any convertible.