My 541 came today!!! And its not damaged . Check it out!

[steamawayclean]

Okay so my second Hoover vintage upright came today. I'm super excited and it's not broken regardless of the crappy pack job and the handle sticking out of the top of the box LOL. So for being almost a hundred years old I think this is in really good shape. I have a couple questions though for all the experts.
1. How come there is no serial number on the plate
2. What does guaranteed by Spiegel model mean ?stated by the sticker on the bottom.
3. From the pictures it looks oxidized but it is not. It is some sort of speckled paint. It is also on the handle you can tell because on the side you can see where the speckled stops and the bottom starts.
4. I can tell the on-off switch is not original but it looks to be plastic on the top and Porcelain on the bottom and it says Leviton. I ordered some belts I'm assuming the R&D Eureka belts that I ordered for the 300 will work just the same? I also have a bag and a new set of rear wheels coming because this one's a little bent.
Also it turns on and works when I first turned it on it just made a noise but it didn't spin I helped it start to spin and then it picked up speed and spun fine. I'm assuming in the top of the motor where it says to add oil it probably needs serious oil. Is there any other recommendations I should do on this vacuum. The plug seems to be in good shape no cracks or anything only where the plug on the end is where it goes into the cord. The cord I'm not sure if it's original but it's really thin. I can't wait to hear back from all the experts I'm so pumped when I turned it on I could feel all the air blowing out of where the Dirtbag would be. Quite a lot of Power for such a small motor
..

Matt

 

[human]

Nice machine for its age. I can't say definitively what the Spiegel sticker means but my first thought is that that the machine was ordered through the Spiegel catalog, which put some sort of extended warranty on it.

 

[jimjimmunster]

Would suggest...

Dump more than 3 drops of oil in the top. Clean commutator. Scrape lead paint chips out of the cap. OIL the bottom bearing since that old wick that was meant to oil the bottom is probably caked in dirt and not going to move the oil. Clean it well. You should not need to spin start it like a cheap benchtop buffer. Cleaning it and servicing it might help make it more convenient. Id also buff the base shiny, and wax and oil that handle. Add some Armour All to the bumper to prolong its life. Those bumpers are usually cracking apart and hard. The 541 was my 2nd hoover I believe. It takes the RD belt as well. Practically Everything before 1957 or so can use RD belts. Try and get 1541 attachments for it. There was never a motor serial for these I don't think. My brass motor plate has no serial. The base has a serial number though.

 

[steamawayclean]

Ok thanks jim I will do all that. When it comes to the attachments I have a nice set from the 300 I got. Are those the same? I'm not sure how to plug them in. There's an adapter to hook onto where the bag goes to hook on the hose but then where would the bag go?

 

[vacuumlad1650]

With the motor issue, I'm thinking a good cleaning a shot of oil, and check the carbon brushes.
Abdy

 

[steamawayclean]

Ok will do. Thanks again

 

[jimjimmunster]

Those 300 attachments wont work.

Wrong adapter. ill show you a set of the correct ones. I don't think there for sale at a moderate price though. I really have problems getting attachments. The correct ones come in a hoover box that's a beige color. The attachments go on to the bottom.

 

[jimjimmunster]

Pics of 541

I'm no photographer but here is my 541

 

[steamawayclean]

541 adapter

I think I have that one. It came with these 2 adapters. Can't figure out the brown one. I'll attach the pic

 

[bikerray]

The adapters you are showing go with a Hoover that has a bottom plate that covers the roller brush and belt. The brown adapter goes over the bag opening as a blower adapter.

The Motor will have a serial number that will be different from the vacuum serial number. If you don't have a serial number on the plate, the plate may be a replacement. There is a serial number on the vacuum but it's hidden, and it should match the one on the plate. On mine both numbers match ( the hidden and the plate number).

Here's pictures of mine, it still has the sateen bag from 1924.

 

[steamawayclean]

Oh man thats a beauty, especially with that original rare bag. Thanks for letting me know what that adapter is for a blower. I do have the original hose too and attachments amd that grayish attachment caddy. Makes more sense now.And yes I'm assuming it must have been a replacement serial plate. The sticker on the bottom says it's " guaranteed by Spiegel" I guess my mom said it was a department store. Before my time since I was born in 1986. So I'm assuming Maybe it was purchased there and was a authorized service center or something.