"Improvements"

[vac_whisperer]

I had a hard time deciding whether this should go in the vintage or contemporary forum, so: Have you ever made an "improvement" on a vacuum of any sort to make it better of easier to use? The only one ive ever done is whenever i got my Kirby G5, it came with a whole box of kirby attachments for classic III, classic Omega, D80, and of course G5, and a few attachments that werent Kirby. It also included a cord for a Classic III. I just now realized what to do with that cord! I was looking at the end of the cord that you plug into the machine, and, DING DING DING!I connected it to the cord on my oreck XL2600 to make it 20 feet longer! The oreck is my dailey use vacuum and i get tired of plugging it in three different times, and this worked! What "improvements" have you made?

VW

 

[twocvbloke]

I'm always improving on my vacs, like with my Juniors and fitting them with VibraGroomerII brush strips, aswell as higher-filtration bags....

Also updating my Kirbys to use Polypropylene bags, especially the Tradition seeing as the original filltube on the Trad was too narrow and restricted airflow, aswell as the ClassicIII so it had disposable bags...

And my Electrolux Slimline Z1185, I modified that so I could use a Eureka Rotomatic PN on it, once converted to 240v of course, though that never really improved it much...

My Tristar came pre-modified by it's former owner, with the 4-row VGII fitted with VGIII brush strips, excellent modification I must say, really works well, especially on our commercial carpet in the living room, not to mention the motor in the vac is more powerful than the original, so it is even better than it was before...

My Kirby G5, I fitted that with a Sentria LED headlight circuit board, didn't really improve the light output compared to the incandescent bulb, but I liked it...

The Sanitaire has been upgraded so it has a headlight, using the headlight bracket and chrome hood from an S670/677, again from the tristar's former owner, and it uses smaller Hoover Senior belts as it just burns proper Eureka RD belts, cos it's just a power house...

I think that's about it, not done anything to the miele, cos I just use it like a shop-vac with a teeny weeny tiny bag (the main gripe I have with Miele, tiny bags, high price!!), and I've not done anything to the Victor either (Can't improve on perfection!!)...

 

[djtaylor]

upgrades

I have not done anything major to any of my vacuums. I have fitted some of my kirbys with Heritage II mini emtpers and use HEPA bags in them.The machines I have upgraded are my Tradition, two D50's, 561, Super Vac 180 and a couple of Kirbys I no longer have. I am using a Lux PN6 on my Lux 1205, only because the proper PN was lost in the move to smaller quarters. I have a D4 SE hose on my Rainbow D3. And I have been using Kenmore 50557 HEPA bags in my Fairfax(due to the extra room in the Fairfax canister I have put in a small box to the bag had something to put up against). And I fitted my Oreck 9200 with an outer bag and bag docking system from a junked 3710.
That's about it. Nothing drastic.
Justin

 

[luxlife]

About 14 year ago I acquired a Lux Rennaissance. I used my Dremel to cut into the housing around the motor so that the area was wider and would hold a motor with a larger armature. I then salvaged an Ametek 10 amp motor from a Kenmore canister and installed it. I used spray foam insulation to seal the gaps around the motor so the filtration wouldn't be compromised. When I was finished, I had a Lux Renny with really great suction.

I also tried this in plastic bodied model like the Epic 6500 (the one with the big round knob and the kick switch on top). It was easier to fit the the motor in this model, but I wasn't for what happens after you crack open the "clamshell" body. All of the wires came loose from harness attached to the contacts on the switch. It took forever to determine exactly which wire goes, and I didn't have a diagram.

 

[eurekaprince]

I don't know if this counts as a "modification,"

I use a really nice soft Kenmore horse-hair dusting brush with my Hoover Constellation since the brush that came with the vac is not as soft and gentle on surfaces. It makes a great improvement to cleaning furniture with my Connie!

 

[eurekastar]

I've upgraded the bag assembly on my Tradition so that it would accept the newer HEPA bags. It required a little drilling and the use of an Em-tor collar from a Heritage I, along with an F-Style bag adapter. I also "southern engineered" a Kirby HEPA bag to fit over the motor on my Hoover Celebrity in an attempt to improve its filtration.

 

[dogdiva]

FANTOM upgrade

I may be in the wrong place, I am a newbie
I am trying to find where i can send my Fantom to have it cleaned up and fix a few minor things. I have had it for 19 years and absolutely LOVE my Fantom....It runs good and is wonderful picking up dog hair but it needs as check=up. ANY ADVISE as to where to send it....I know there are parts like the HEPA filter, belts, but i need the hose to the wand replaced and the on/off switch fixed
I was devistated when I found out they are not in business anymore....This is the best cleasner I have ever had

 

[suckolux]

Minor upgrades is about it.Better sealing, longer cord, ect.

 

[alaskabob]

i got new modern hoses
for both by vintage luxs
i consider this an upgrade

the hoses are easier to use
than the stiff originals
and im sure they leak air
but they display well

i got a bunch of dvc
made to fit tank vac bags
few years ago and i use them
in the lux XXX

 

[vac_whisperer]

Welcome to the forum, DogDiva!!!

VW