Let's check out some more thrift store vacs!

[broomvac]

Hi fellow vacuum fans,

Since I received a positive response last time I uploaded pictures of vacuums I found at thrift stores, I thought I would do it again! This time, though, I didn't buy anything, so there won't be a guessing game. Sorry!

Anyways, below are pictures of the vacuums I found at one of the neat local thrift shops which always maintains a big pile of old vacuums.

Since I'm much more of an upright person, naturally I checked out their selection of uprights first. The two Hoovers were neat, but I'm not a huge fan of the convertible or any of its descendants, so I didn't get either of the $10 Hoovers. I'll admit, though, that green Decade almost got me, had the vacuum not had a peeling label on the hood...

The Whirlpool-origin Kenmore Heavy Duty upright interested me the most, but it was quite far gone. The bristles were worn to nubs and it looked as though most of the bottom plate had gotten either ground or snapped off. Sadly, to me it wasn't worth even the advertised $4.50.

I found a Dirt Devil Ultra hand vac which I almost purchased. The cylindrical bag has always been appealing to me!

The rest of the selection included a myriad of canisters and other odds and ends which I know much less about. Some here may find a few of the items interesting. There was an Electrolux, some Eurekas, a Kenmore, a Montgomery Wards shop vac, a canister Bissell Steam Cleaner, a Hoover Portapower, a ton of Oreck handheld canisters, and a mountain of old bags and accessories.

Anyways, just thought I would share this little adventure with you all! Would you have purchased anything?

Enjoy the pictures!

broomvac

 

[fan-of-fans]

I would have gotten that Kenmore canister, and the Hoover Convertible on the right, if it had been with the correct bag. I used to have that Bissell stick vac, converts to a hand vac and has a crevice tool also, it was a good vacuum for hard floors. They still make those basically the same.

Do you, or anyone else get nervous taking pictures in the thrift stores or stores in general? Yesterday I wanted to snap a picture of the vacuums at the Restore but there are always people walking around and I can't seem to get a moment where no one is there to get a picture.

 

[kirbylux77]

I would have grabbed the Electrolux Renaissance. That one looks to be in really nice shape, save for one lighter grey wand. That would be going in my car trunk for sure!

Rob

 

[kirbyvertibles]

I would have cleared that whole pile

 

[human]

I would have been calling my 'vacuholics anonymous' sponsor!

 

[fantomfan57]

My picks would be:

The Renaissance, the Eureka canisters, the Monkey Wards and Kenmore canisters....and ALL the bags....to sort through latter.

 

[broomvac]

So I couldn't help myself.

Against better judgement, I went back and retrieved the very nice Dirt Devil Ultra Hand Vac for $3, my first ever of that kind. I'll be sure to put up some before/during/after restoration pictures when I get around to prettying it up!

broomvac

 

[broomvac]

Dirt Devil Ultra

Finally, I have gotten around to restoring my Dirt Devil Ultra.

Some of you may find it kinda lame I chose this little bugger out of that whole mess of vacuums, but hey I'm running out of space! I also have a preference for soft-bagged cleaners, including hand vacs.

Here are some during and after restoration photos. Sorry--no before pics. Just imagine the thing with a few light scuffs and a healthy coating of dust.

This thing is loud, but I'd say it outperforms even the Dirt Devil Plus 3 Amp. Not sure if it can out do my 501 Prince, though. One of these days I'm going to have to stage a "battle of the hand vacs," pitting this Dirt Devil Ultra against the Dirt Devil 103, Dirt Devil Plus, Royal 501, and Electrolux Little Lux II. The Hamilton Beach model HV and Dyson DC34 can join too, but don't expect these straight-suction cleaners to beat those equipped with revolving brushes!

broomvac

 

[vacerator]

AB Electrolux

using it's Volta, etc. owned trademarks to sell Chinese made vacs at Walmart.

 

[huskyvacs]

@ fan-of-fans

I still do, but I've been snapping pics of stuff inside of every store from grocery to thrift to automotive for 3 years and you eventually will block it out. Some stores have anti-photo cops (protecting their merchandise from rival stores sending out price gougers), but I have not seen any.

Just take the photo and forget about the people, focus on the item. Act like you're interested in the item you are photographing and people usually will just think you are inspecting it for someone.

It also helps do go to the store about an hour before closing if you want to be the only person in the store. I always tend to do 1-2 hours before closing on a weekday and it's a ghost town in there.