I'm back to doing refurbishing, resaling and thrifting!!

[durango159]

Well I've been quite quiet and essentially vacant from this site lately but I am still around and kicking!

With income issues, harsh winter, household issues and the like then times get ahead of themselves and months pass like days. Can't believe it's already May!!

Things are looking better now. I have a bunch more cleaning and lawn maintenance clients. I've also started getting back into more thrifting and resaling. I'll be work on posting all of them over the next few days to this thread, so stay posted!!

The 1st I'm posting is this filthy Eureka Powerline upright. This was a $5 thrift find! I'm posting it first because its the only one left in the house that isn't cleaned up yet. It seems I go to the store and sometimes find a machine that I want to work on but I never take pictures of the BEFORE my servicing. So here are photos of how it was when I received it from the store.

I think it will turn out very nice once done. It has no paper bag installed currently but I did turn it on at the store and the motor surprisingly sounded very good with no bearing screeches which was common of Eureka motors!

The dusting brush and combo dusting/ upholstery nozzle is not currently attached the machine in this photo as those parts have already been fully cleaned and are in sitting in my finished basement waiting on the rest of the unit!!

 

[durango159]

This one is already with its new owner!

A Hoover Windtunnel Bagged upright. Very similar to a Windtunnel Supreme but it's a non-stretch hose and no Dirt Finder feature. Otherwise it's in great shape. The attachment door has some cracking in it but it still functions just fine for storing tools and locking shut. I was very happy that it still had an original Hoover styled brush roll. I haven't had luck with CWP items in this household on any of the models I've tried yet!

Interestingly this Hoover Windtunnel was sold factory refurbished machine. I didn't have to do anything real major to it. But filters, belt, and bag did need replacing. I also replaced brush roll bearings. A fine worker now!!

It is now home to my Brother's fiances sister. She has an apartment now and needed a solid cleaner as she has a 1 yr old and a 1 month old. So with 2 male infants in the house what better choice than a gorgeous Navy Blue Hoover!!

**Since this photo, that brush roll was rewashed again as well and came out better!!

 

[durango159]

What to do with this Gem??

I usually don't purchase anything but uprights or full sized canisters. But I made an exception for this one due to its condition, package and what it was!!

This is a Royal Princess Hand Vac Model 501.

It came complete with box, tools, paperwork, spare bags and spare belt. It does have a hose that looks essentially never or rarely used, it just missed the picture due to my negligence!

As I had 2 Dirt Devil hands I'm still not sure what to do with this hand vac. I originally intention was to resell it to try to make a little bit of money off it.

It is amazingly quiet!! What really stunned me were the differences between this and Dirt Devil hand vacs. With except for the metal, from the outside they look like very similar units. When you take off the bag on the Royal though and see a completely different bag setup than a Dirt Devil and a giant motor appearing- let's just say I was puzzled for 1st half hour when I took it off!!

[this post was last edited: 5/5/2015-11:17]

 

[durango159]

As I stated above- I had 2 Dirt Devil style hand vacs

.....UNTIL TODAY!!! Thanks to my "darling" Pitt Bull!

We'll just keep referring to her as Darling right now. So I was cleaning a few mats in the basement and she went into one of her running fits where she goes nuts. She sneaks around from behind me, bashes me in the face while I'm vacuuming a door mat, the cord gets kicked around. After I went to calm my very sore nose now and calm down DARLING, I come back to find what looks half of my delicate Dirt Devil handle on the floor!!

I already knew this hand vac wasn't long for. The plastic is very brittle on this one. Not sure how it got so delicate so quick. Once I 1st got it, a small piece inside the housing broke while cleaning. I had to reglue the nozzle screw housing supports into place.

I knew up until now that when the belt stretches or I have to remove that bottom plate from this gorgeous green hand vac again, that I may not be able to re- glue it again. Also my power switch has been acting up. I did not expect the vacuum to be flipped out of my hands during usage though with the handle split off!!!!!

There's a picture of Darling below as well! She's cute but troublesome. She gets a mood to her and has some aggressive tendencies. Listening skills aren't a forte either-- they're worse than mine!![this post was last edited: 5/5/2015-11:19]

 

[durango159]

All of my hand vacs.

This picture was taken Monday night before my WONDERFUL Pittbull finished off my green hand vac.

Prior to the handle breaking I was really thinking of selling the Royal hand vac. But:

It does clean very very well!!
It's very quiet!
It's solidly built

&
my green Dirt Devil hand vac has a bad switch that doesn't stay on and plastic is so brittle, the next time it would require a belt change it is probably the end!

Luckily my Royal Pro Series navy blue hand vac is in great shape.

Oh what to do with the new Royal Princess???

 

[vacuumlover]

Very nice finds

 

[durango159]

Facebook Vac groups aren't happy that I picked this up!!

Thoughts and opinions are More than welcome!! This Dirt Devil Vision Turbo M088300 was $5.

I thrifted this machine for $5. I was told these were awful after posting pictures of it online on some vacuum groups!

I've never used this model before but have used other Dirt Devils. I think the styling looks cool. I like the front hood. But the dirt cup with filter in middle isn't a "ME" thing. I don't like bagless designs too much.

When I got this the height adjuster wheels were flipped towards the back and I thought this machine actually had 3 sets of wheels in the store. The brush roll was very stiff to rotate and I got that working smoother.

I know this Dirt Devil is loud. I'm not happy that the schematics online don't show any parts missing which might restrain the front height adjuster wheels from staying forward once lifted off the ground. Not sure why this machine is so hated??? It's loud but I anticipated that from a Dirt Devil.

Had a big issue getting the brush roll end caps off. The one is now broken and needs to be replaced. Additionally I need a Dirt Devil Style 10 belt and an upholstery nozzle still. Otherwise machine runs loud but is clean.

 

[durango159]

A lightweight Goody!

Riccar SupraLite RSL3

I've heard these are very good. When I first tried it, I was unimpressed. But it had a Kenmore bag instead of a Riccar bag and a very very overstretched belt.

Since being repaired with proper parts, this loud, but powerful machine pulls itself across the room when machine is on and handle is in upright position.

Significantly better than Orecks I've used. This machine is very lightweight but seems to clean better and maneuver much better. For some reason I've had many Orecks move stiffly across rugs like the wheels or housing gets stuck on rugs.

This Riccar is nice and very clean!

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Nice job, Rob!

I'm sure you'll make the other one sing as well.

Do you REAlly CARE "what others think"? I USED to. But, the people who care about me would never talk like that. SOOOOOOOOO,, who really gives a s***!
Some are just jealous. Some are just mean. THey hate that you have something, or how you got it, or how much you did OR didn't pay for it.
Never really worry what the others think. I let go of most of that long ago.
Nice to see you back among the living. Now, about that dog: Have you tried boarding school? Get her a nice plaid jacket.....and a suitcase.
John

 

[durango159]

Thanks John!! I appreciate the advice.

I guess buy into a lot of it as the ones down grading actually own vacuum shops and I'm curious of all of the issues that these vacuums had and why they weren't liked so much!

 

[electrikbroomgu]

Hey Rob!

Glad to hear things are on the up and up and I too can't believe May is already upon us. Enjoyed the pictures of the Hoover, Bravo and the DD/Royal hand vacs. I too have a Pro series, several of the teal green ones and roughly 4 Royals of which one is nearly new in box. Also have many red ones and black ones. I need to post some pics! They are great little hand held vacs.
I have rebuilt well over 100 of those Eureka Bravos so have quite the experience with those. If your going to keep or use it I would highly recommend pulling the brush roll end caps off and greasing the bearings. I would also pull the motor apart if your really feeling adventurous and grease those two bearings. If you decide to do that and need assistance let me know. Or bring her to the next mini meet and I'll happily assist.

Have a good one,

Joel

 

[durango159]

Hoover Caddy Vac

Here's my most recent refurb!

Just finished this on Tuesday night. It's a Hoover Caddy Vac Runabout Ultra U5133-900. Manufactured March 2001.

Years ago when I was in college a roommate of mine in our Fraternity house had one of these. I had tried it and didn't like it too much at the time. That prompted to eBay search and I got a Factory Refurbished S3607 Hoover PowerMax Deluxe canister at the time.

Anyways...
This was at my local Goodwill about 2 weeks with no attachments or tool caddy. I turned it on at the store and it sounded quite loud but overall it sounded good. I didn't catch any awkward bearing sounds or otherwise.

It's been thoroughly cleaned-- except for the new dirt since testing. New belt.

Does anyone know when Hoover eliminated the 38528-027 belt and changed it to the 38528-040 belt and what prompted that? Just curious!!

Enjoy the photos. The machine runs really good now. It has good pull and feel when running over the carpet and is much quieter than it was when I got it from Goodwill!!

I don't have any regular headlight bulbs which I thought I did, but I found a blue one in the house. I'll have to take a better photo with it utilizing the blue headlight bulb! Overall a very pleasant to use Hoover upright!!

 

[durango159]

Hoover Windtunnel Bagless Electronic Canister

Here's one I did a couple months ago.

Hoover Windtunnel Bagless Electronic S3765.

Very powerful air flow with variable speed on this unit. The filter is small and I've heard they clog up quick but my experience so far with it contradicts that. I've done some vacuuming and testing with it and find this unit actually works very well. It has tons of airflow!!! Paired with Hoovers powerful, high torque 1st generation Windtunnel power nozzle it will do an excellent cleaning job in any home I'm sure.

The attachments are mediocre I'd say. The crevice tool is very small. The dusting brush bristles seem a little harsh to me for their intended purpose as it's a combo dusting brush with removable bristle head for upholstery nozzle. At least it's a Hoover though and has great power!!

 

[durango159]

Kenmore Magic Blue Canister vac

I refurbed this a while back. It was $15 at my local Goodwill a couple of months ago.

Kenmore Magic Blue canister vacuum cleaner with variable speed and all controls at user finger tips on handle.

Prior to bringing this home from my local Goodwill I've never used one of these before. I wasn't even really interested but my brother thought I should get it and perhaps we could make a few extra dollars off from what Goodwill was selling it for.

It's a very powerful machine. Lots of suction and airflow. It has a full assortment of attachments with crevice tool, combo upholstery/ dusting tool, turbine brush rug tool and a combo carpet/ bare floor nozzle.

Overall I found this machine very powerful and good for bare floors. I don't like the air powered turbine tool for carpets, I found its performance very poor. Additionally it's the loudest canister vacuum in my house at this moment!! It's louder than my 2 Celebrity units, louder than my Eureka Rotomatic power team. Despite loving canister vacs, I don't love this Kenmore Magic Blue.

On a positive note:
It follows user around fairly easily due to its compact size, all power options are on hose handle and it's blue!!

 

[durango159]

Panasonic Quick Draw/ EZ Bare Floor Upright

Another Refurb I did recently.

It's interesting how many Panasonics don't really have brand names, they just list features. This is a Panasonic MC-V7312. It features Quick Draw hose, EZ Bare floor switch.

My most expensive refurb I've had in a while!! It was $19 at a local thrift shop which for a Panasonic seemed good and it looked like it was in great shape. It had a Kenmore bag in it, the belt was WAAYYY over stretched. The worst part was the agitator. Bristles were actually in fairly good shape. Problem was it was warped and the wood body of the brush roll was rubbing on housing and bottom plate causing unnecessary vibration and louder noise. Additionally the vacuum was missing an exhaust filter and cover to keep the exhaust filter in place.

Now in great shape, it already has a new owner. I gave this to my brothers fiances mom as she needed a lighterweight easier to use vacuum. Her vacuum was a Eureka Smart Vac pet lovers edition which I got for her about a year ago and now neither of us like the Smart Vac. It's very heavy to push around, heavy to carry, handle is awkward, just an awkward machine in general.

This Panasonic runs smoothly. The new brush roll is unimpressive. I looked at many vendors online and what I received was different from the picture but it fits the machine. It's a shame online sites can't match picture to what you're going to receive!! It has no bristles on end around belt and bristles don't extend to end caps on either side.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Nice job, Rob!

I just got the same windtunnel bagless. It needs to be cleaned up a bit. I'm not a fan of baglss, so, not sure what I'll do with it. I might use it in the basement.
John.

 

[suckolux]

Interesting, my earlier Blue Magic is very quiet!