It's so hideous...

[electrolux~137]

yet so fabulous.......



http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360290528566

 

[briankirbyclass]

HAHA, yes, it sure is! Oh man, i remember REALLY wanting one of these back in the 70s. We had an Ardan's (Service Master type)showroom store close by,,and they had these for sale. Seems like i remember a PN version also?
Certainly they are rare birds now,,are bags still avalible?

 

[electrolux~137]

I doubt very much if you can get bags anymore. The couple of guys I know of who have Sunbeam tank vacuum cleaners stock up on bags whenever they find them in thrift stores or vac shops.

 

[eurekastar]

And some people say the Kirby Dual Sanitronic 80 is over the top!

 

[vinvac]

I have that very same vacuum. Mine is in much better shape. Electrolux bags will work, if you turn them sideways. It is one of the most powerful vacuums I have ever used.

Morgan

 

[westingman123]

You've got that right!

My Aunt Mildred had one of those (identical, actually) and it would suck the paint off the walls!

 

[aeoliandave]

Ah yes, the Elphaba of Cylinder Vacuums

Good tip about substitute bags, Morgan...I was just about to say. Genuine bags are scarce so yes, we covet them when found.

I notice that this eBay one has the 'lesser' floor tool without wheels. I'm not sure the later Challenger had a power nozzle and since Doug Smith's site is temporarily down I can't check his Sunbeam pictures.

A shame about the fractured crevice tool and the 'Efficiency Indicator' has rotted away as usual - it is nothing more than a white rubber dome communicating with the 5-level sliding suction controller. It serves no purpose other than as a visual reference and of course is under constant near collapse strain which hastens the degradation. Once the rubber dome busts open it allows even less 'vacuum' to be available to the dust bag compartment...and this is one powerful muther vacuum cleaner! You can replace the dome with something similar fashioned from a large eyedropper bulb, or in the case of mine where the dome is largely intact insert a back-liner of saran wrap to seal it up again.

The vinyl used for the spectacular green hose has a tendency to stiffen over time and exude a sticky surface substance. But at least this one has the full hose - I had to shorten mine a few inches.

I luve me them vile bile green vacuums...

Dave

 

[vac-o-matic]

I have one of these in a woodtone with beige trim. Luckily I have some bags someone gave me. Would it be earlier or later than the green one? Anyone know?

 

[vinvac]

I think the wood tone is later and the wood tone also came with a powerhead. Ardan's carried the wood tone machine.

Morgan

 

[aeoliandave]

I suspect the green one was the debut model. Flaming green not being to everyone's taste (and to help recoup the tooling costs) the Sunbeam Challenger was issued in a more subdued genuine mac-tac woodgrain textured vinyl with dark brown trim and later the plastic trims were changed to an off white against a lighter shade of woodgrain.

And yes, it did come with an electric hose and PN. This is a Doug Smith photo.

Dave

 

[aeoliandave]

better view of the pn.

 

[electrolux~137]

Strangely, I find the white and woodgrain even uglier! At least the avocado-green model had that bit of whimsy going for it. This one, with "genuine woodgrain contact paper" and all that white plastic....... well yessssh! uglier than a two-headed cockroach!

 

[briankirbyclass]

YES!!! The woodgrain one is the model i remember seeing at the Ardan's showroom. And yes, thats the PN i remember seeing too.
HA, sheesh,,this had to have been about 1978,79? Could have been as late as 1980, but not sure.

 

[kenkart]

I remember !!!

These well, lots of them were sold at home, as well as Regina canisters!!

 

[powertank]

My eyes! My eyes! Ouch.

Seriously, I drive a car with woodgrain on it and it looks great, but that canister is even worse than the green one (which is awesome in it's own hideous way).

 

[eurekaprince]

I love this canister!

The only canister in history to provide a way to store two metal wands AND the hose AND ALL the tools on-board (okay - the Hoover Portable did that too - but not as elegantly). The wands are stored standing up at the rear of the unit, and they can be used to push the canister around.

I'll never forget the print ads for this powerful cleaner - they focused on the stair-brake feature: that little "L" shaped brake near the wheel prevented the canister from rolling backwards as you dragged it up a flight of stairs! Cool, huh?

Glad to hear the motor was powerful. What is it with these old Sunbeams that had such strong suction?

 

[electroluxkirby]

I would take it just because it is different.