Montgomery Wards SP5073 A "Canned Ham" canister

[thevacuumman]

well after 3 weeks i finally went to Perryton to pick this up but it needs a hose

 

[suckolux]

I had that very machine when it was new, guessing 79? Great power, liked to tear the bag off of the collar, careful there!

 

[eurekaprince]

I think it's actually a few years older, David....

I would place this somewhere between 1975 and 1976. The Belt View window on the power nozzle shows that the nozzle itself is Eureka's second generation power nozzle. The first Eureka Roto-Matic power nozzles debuted in 1973. So I would put this a year or two later. The canister itself is an Empress II "Fast Vac", from the 1800 series, which debuted around 1970. Eureka married one of the Fast Vacs to their first line of power nozzles in 1973, so I think this Monty Wards might be from a year or two after that....just my guess. The Empress II Power team was given a model number in the 1200 series range, methinks.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

I Have a '79 SP5030 Canister

I have a Wards Power II canister model #SP5030 that dates to 1979.

 

[suckolux]

Mine I suppose could have been a 78 in store that I bought in 79, but I can't imagine it would be older than that, was still "new" when I moved into my bungalow I am in now, and that was 80!

 

[briankirbyclass]

Those vacs were fun to use, and had excellent power,(as long as the bag wasnt socked full) but were very heavy to lift, a pain to drag around the house.
The canned ham would get caught up on doorways and around corners easily. Vacuuming up or down a long staircase was practically impossible. The vac did stand upright by itself, but would fall over easily on stairs. I wished the hose had been a little longer,,would have made the entire vac easier to use.
I remember an elderly neighbor lady that had thick long shag wall to wall (including the stairway) carpet that had one of these, the Empress 2 Eureka version. It was much to hard for her to use and pull around, so she would pay me to come over and run it for her every Saturday afternoon. Was defintaly in the mid to late 1970s. This vac did give you a workout,,i remember being worn out after doing her whole house. I think she paid me 2 dollars. haha
I remember the suction was so strong, and PN so agressive,(espeically with a new bag installed and new belt on the PN) it would clamp itself down on low pile carpet so tight you could not move the PN,,,had to switch to a lower suction setting, or set on a the low speed.
Definatly a very agressive vacuum cleaner!

 

[eurekaprince]

Consumer Reports' view on this vac....

I remember that the original 1974 Eureka version of this power team was rated "unacceptable" by Consumer Reports because the electric cord that plugged into the side of the main unit (coming from the hose) could easily be pulled out. It could be that the original version of this power team allowed the hose to swivel 360 degrees like the original air-only Empress II, and this caused the cord to be yanked out of the outlet. It seems that later versions limited the hose swivel so that the cord would not be yanked out.

 

[kirbyluxhoover]

I have a Wards Too

I have a Wards with the platic tool cover in the same colors. I don't remember the model number but will post some pics soon. My powernozzle needs a motor and the machine was Grandmother's when new.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Tyler,

Wards actually used this color scheme starting in 1980. If it were a 1975-1979 model the colors of the machine would've been cream and chestnut.

~Ben

 

[alexb1186]

This one would date near 1982, the 3.7 model was Wards Best for '81

 

[smow69]

WARDS SWEEPER

I have a hose if you still need one. i have a pennys model thats missing power head

 

[suckolux]

My memory of that model I had, the suction was very strong, could it have been more than my Silverado or just impressed 30 years ago?