Just picked up one of my all time favourite cleaners :D :D :D

[turbo500]

Rewind to 1993.
My childminder, Jean, her Hoover Turbopower Junior U1220 had broken. She had a U1104 Junior on loan but wasn't liking it. I still remember quite clearly sitting on the sofa in her living room, whilst she was vacuuming with the Junior and telling me "I'm getting a new vacuum tomorrow!".

The new vacuum was a Hitachi CV760D. I loved it. I vacuumed her whole living room from top to bottom with it, and at 3 years old that was a lot of vacuuming.

She replaced it in about 1999, but the memories of it always stuck with me. Once I started collecting, it was top of my hit list.

Fast forward 20 years and I find this right on my door step. My very own Hitachi Powerhouse CV760D.

 

[turbo500]

The rear. Sadly, with a broken cord hook, but this was very common with these

 

[turbo500]

the hose port

 

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the soleplate

 

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In hose mode. Much easier to convert than the dirty fan cleaners of the time

 

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My full Hitachi line up

 

[turbo500]

A bit of background.

The CV50D pictured on the far right of the picture above was the first Hitachi upright from 1980. I have a lovely brochure for the CV50 which I will post later. This was replaced in 1986 by the first of the newer style, the CV60D and CV60DP (pictured below).

In all honesty, the CV50D and CV60D are virtually the same cleaner in operation. Same motor, same brushroll but just a more modern looking design.

 

[turbo500]

The newer style went through a few changes. They went black in 1988 when the CV460 was launched

 

[turbo500]

and then finally, this style arrived in 1990. It went through a few changes and there were models with different features, but by 1994, only the CV760D was left

 

[turbo500]

Hitachi seemed to have the advantage. They had a lot of features that were not commonly found in uprights, such as cord rewind and brushroll on/off switches. Plus, they were relatively inexpensive and certainly a lot sturdier than the Hoover Turbopowers of the time.

I remember Hitachi uprights being everywhere when I was a kid. On my street alone, there were 3 - a CV460D, CV760D and CV60. A few people I went to school with had them as well. But sadly, not many seem to be around these days. Such a shame as they're great machines. I am so happy to have finally got one. Now, on with the vacuuming!

 

[kirbymodel2c]

Hi

Hi Chris. Glad you got it. It's great when you finally get a vacuum you've been after for years.

It's a shame the cord hook is broke. The one on mine has gone as well. In fact thinking about it I don't think I've seen one with a cord hook intact.

I still have the black version of this cleaner as well with the cord rewind.

Hope you enjoy using it)

James)

 

[turbo500]

Hi James,

Yup, same old story with the weak lower cord hook. I've only ever seen 2 with them, but they were both brand new.

I'm loving it so far, will hopefully get a video done soon.

Chris

 

[beko1987]

I remember always seeing Hitachi cleaners when I was a kid. My gran had a dark blue or black powerhouse cylinder, I used that a lot
nice lineup!

 

[vintagerepairer]

One of the reasons Hitachi cleaners did not survive the test of time was because they could be almost impossible to repair. Hitachi were on of the first manufacturers to use security screws, which on some cleaners were recessed so deeply into the cleaner that it was impossible to remove it without the right tool.

Parts for all models were, at that time, difficult to source and on top of that were very expensive. It is of course all different now, what with the internet, but to "rewind to 1993" the only way of getting a Hitachi cleaner repaired and / or parts supplied was via an independent shop like mine. Well, apart from a blockage or a new belt, we wouldn't touch them. Even replacing a mains lead could be difficult on some models. Our time spent messing about trying to get the cleaners repaired was in excess of what the customer would want to pay, especially when one considers the low retail price of Hitachi cleaners.

Having said that, I did think that Hitachi cleaners were well built, performed well, and of course were superb value for money. It was keeping them going which was not cost effective.

 

[turbo500]

Benny, thanks very much for your input. As always, much appreciated. Good point about the security screws making repairs difficult. I noticed the security screw on my friends CV460DP when the cord winder failed and we were trying to open the machine up to get a look at it.

The CV50D is one of the easiest vacuums I've ever taken apart, so the security screws must have arrived with the CV60 style cleaners.

Thankfully, with the CV760D being a base model, there seems to be far less to go wrong on it.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Throwaway society

The security screws and high parts prices were all heralding the start of the modern age throwaway society, where manufacturers no longer wanted their products to last, and made it so that the consumer just threw away the appliance and went and bought a new one from them, thus increasing their profits and shareholder dividends. This all started in the 1980's, along with privatisations and no longer was the customer top priority - making profit was.
On my Hitachi Powerhouse, I had to damage the casing to open it, due to the fitment of a deep recessed security screw.

 

[ultimatevacman]

Hi Chris,

Great find, there's nothing better than getting a vac that you grew up with, it brings back such great memories, and also if you've been hunting for it for a while, it pays off.

Enjoy!

Joe

 

[suckolux]

Really nice

 

[uksausage]

the brushroll

ive always like the hitachi vacuums the only down fall i think was the bearings on the brush roll, i saw quite a few with dodgey bearings
congrats on the find