Kieran, that is a really good trash find! Amazing what people will throw away instead of keeping or selling eh?
From the dark blue color of your Kenmore, I think that is from when they first started producing them about 1998-1999. If that's the case, it will have the Ametek single stage motor, before they switched to Panasonic motors. Given the age of the vacuum, if you like it & want it to last a long time, I would strongly suggest opening it up, seeing what motor it has, & replace the carbon brushes & use a armature seating stone. If it was used regularly, the carbon brushes are probably worn down to nearly nothing by now. The carbon brushes are available for the Ametek motor, & easy to find....the Panasonic motor, yes they are available, but you're gonna have to hunt a bit for them thru various vac shop distributors & websites, a little harder to find.
A few other hints to ensure long life:
- Use a second set of wands for the floor brush, DO NOT use the quick release pedal on the powerhead neck. The hole that the buttonlocker goes into eventually becomes slightly bigger over time - that allows the buttonlocker to wiggle a little bit, & also allows a little play to develop between the plug on the neck & the receptacle on the wand. That results in arcing between the 2 parts & burns out the plug on the neck & the receptacle on the wand in time. Go to your local vac shop & pick up a cheap set of plastic wands to use with your floor brush, that prevents the damage from ever happening.
- Open up the hose handle & use some krazy glue to hold the powerhead receptacle in place. It is a rubber piece with 2 clips that hold onto a plastic holder, over time the rubber clips start to give & allow the receptacle to move up a bit & not make full contact with the plug on the wand. That causes arcing between the 2 parts & burns out the plug & receptacle. Gluing the receptacle directly onto the plastic holder inside the handle ensures it stays put & never causes a issue.
- Make sure when you store the vacuum, ALWAYS take the hose off the wand & leave it on the ground when storing it. Allowing the hose to hang off the wand constantly causes the hose material to crack over time & require a new hose carcass or duct taping it. That one simple measure will ensure your hose lasts the life of the vacuum.
- When you install a bag, make sure you use some clear packer's tape & tape the cardboard collar onto the bag holder. Doing this ensures the collar can't slide up & allow some of the dirt to get into the bag compartment & cause a mess.
Best of luck & enjoy your new-to-you Kenmore.
Rob
