Neat little thrift-store Sanyo

[bluecube448]

Managed to grab this Little Sanyo SC 580 vacuum on goodwill auctions for around $8! I thought it was a really cute looking machine and to my surprise, it is actually really nice to use! Haven't done a lot of research on it yet but it looks like similar machines were made by Toshiba and Hitachi around the same time. My only complaint with it is that it is bagless and im not the biggest fan of bagless canisters...Oh Well, Neat little machine anyway!

 

[hooverman99]

Nice little sanyo. I love little Japanese cleaners like this despite being bagless. Alot of Japanese cleaners were like this and still are since the Japanese like things small and compact.

 

[huskyvacs]

Sanyo vacuums of anything are pretty rare. I only know them for their cell phones back in the early millenium and their VCR's.

 

[louvac]

Cleaning the huge filter

I have one of these machines and it's great! The motor is quality made and quiet, too!

To clean the filter you simple hold it over a pail and turn the inner ring clockwise using the short white stem which makes a clicking sound and causes it to tap rapidly thus shaking accumulated dirt to loosen and fall into the pail. It's kind of messy like all bag less machines. I always wipe the black gasket around the front cover with Windex after I empty it to ensure a good seal.

 

[huskyvacs]

Oh make sure you don't have Windex that has ammonia in it. Ammonia eats rubber up. I learned my lesson using Windex to clean my laptop screen. It ate up the glossy finish off the LCD screen in just a few months without me realizing it.

 

[human]

Sanyo is gone...

Huskyvacs wrote:
Sanyo vacuums of anything are pretty rare. I only know them for their cell phones back in the early millenium and their VCR's.

I reply:
Yeah, I used to really like Sanyo products. I always felt like they offered good value for the money. I never had or heard of a Sanyo vacuum cleaner, though. I have a Sanyo TV set that's about eight or nine years old and has never had any sort of problem (damn, I probably just jinxed it). They were also known for the Eneloop rechargeable batteries, which I think are some of the best you can buy.

I believe Matsushita (aka Panasonic) acquired Sanyo in the early 2000s and used the brand as a price leader to their own comparable products for a while, then quietly phased the brand out after bringing a few flagship products, like Eneloop batteries, under the Panasonic umbrella. The Panasonic brand has since fallen on hard times and exited some formerly lucrative markets such as TVs and DVD players.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I have one similar to that, badged as a Kenmore Let's Clean. Mine has a plastic bin that snaps onto the botttom to store the hose, wands and attachments.

These are pretty nice to use, quiet and good suction.

 

[kirbyvacuum]

Sanyo vacuum

I have a older unit Love it very quiet vacuum Very POWERFUL Easy to use. I love the fact it uses NO BAGS enjoy

 

[royalfan103]

I do know about the Sanyo Twin Energy, it reminded me of a Riccar.

 

[hooverman99]

@royalfan103 You mean the Sanyo Perfomax? The Twin Energys are made by sharp.

 

[royalfan103]

I though the Twin Energy was made by Sanyo. But yeah, that also looks like a Riccar.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Microwave's too!

One of the nicest microwave boxes I had was a Sanyo. The quality was superb. Had for 15 years. Kept the spiral bound hard cover cook book that was included. Sanyo made good products before being acquired by another.

 

[eurekaprince]

Don’t forget Sanyo’s highly-rated Transformax Stick Vac from the early 1990’s - the top-rated stick vac in Consumer Reports tests at the time. Sanyo borrowed the “lift-off” concept from Bissell and adapted it to create a compact little “lift off” stick vac that easily transformed into a mini canister vac. Lightweight, powerful, quiet and bagged for easy dirt disposal. The deluxe model featured an air-driven turbo carpet nozzle that could be turned off for bare floors, plus an onboard dusting brush and crevice tool.

 

[royalfan103]

I've watched a video on the Transformax before. Here's the video.

 

[suckolux]

Cool machine but I won't need to eat lunch, the movement of the camera made me so sick

 

[hooverman99]

Remember the Dirt Hunter? It was a disaster on sanyo part with that filter designed that doesn't do anything but get clogged and prone to overheat. Same with the junk twisters.

 

[regularrett69]

yeah i do

 

[toronado]

I bought 3 of these at Silo Electronics back around 1983. They were on closeout for $9.99 each. I needed to buy a vacuum cleaner, so I consulted Consumer Reports. This was the highest rated vacuum cleaner that year. So I set out to find one. When I came across them At Silo, I couldn't believe that they were only $9.99 each. That is why I bought all they had in stock (3 of them). I have really enjoyed them. As a matter of fact, I am still using them. Everyone that has seen them wants to know where I got my vacuum cleaner! I have really liked the bagless feature. After several uses, I wash out the filter and let it sit out to dry. It works very well. They are light weight and fairly quiet operating machines.

I still have the box and the documentation. I will add some pictures here as soon as I can. Mine is model SC-560, but it is the same as you have pictured.

 

[gregvacs28]

It is a cute little ergonomically inspired vacuum. That purple adds an interesting affect.

I remember when Sears sold their version and thinking how different it was compared to the square bodied vacuums they had been selling for many years before.

I wonder if a paper bag of some rubber necked variety could be used so as to avoid having the do the nasty bagless cleanout.

 

[superocd]

Off topic, but Sanyo apparently dabbled in HVAC...

My job took me out on the road recently and the hotel I stayed at had older Sanyo PTACs, circa late 90s-early 2000s, with mechanical controls. At first I thought that they were rebadged GE Zonelines but I popped the cover off out of curiosity (I'm a bad hotel guest, lol) and it turned out that Sanyo had a plant here in Tennessee IIRC, according to the data label, as that was where those were built. Not sure if they're in that business anymore, though I have seen a few Sanyo minisplits (definitely rebadged, every brand you can think of seemingly has licensed out their name to an OE minisplit manufacturer).

 

[toronado]

Sanyo SC-560 (Dust Buggy)

I posted earlier in this thread. I love these little machines! I live in an old house with hardwood floors. This vacuum is perfect for that project. I also use it on rugs. In my last post, I mentioned that I would attach some pictures of the box and paperwork that came with the vacuum. I don't see any pictures of these on the web. This is the Sanyo SC-560, also known as the "Dust Buggy." If anyone would like to see more pictures of the user manual or warranty, please let me know.

 

[cheesewonton]

Kenmore sold these. I have one with Kenmore branding. Japan is a weird and wonderful parallel universe of often amazing little canister vacuums with stunning power and power nozzles that work on any kind of hard floor, rugs or carpet.