NIB Tristar EX-20 for sale in Japan
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centralsweeper63
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Is that just a rebadged dxl/cxl?
cheesewonton
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It's a 100 volt CXL/ DXL sold by Fuji Medical Instruments with their own in-house private lable.
centralsweeper63
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Yeah, thats what I figured. Very interesting none the less.
cheesewonton
Well-known member
Where else are you going to find a new in the box mid 1990s Tristar? I don't know how these keep turning up like this because I already have two NIB EX20s of my own that I picked up a few years ago off the same Japanese on-line flea market no more than two weeks apart. One sold for just under $25 and the second one went for about $10. Shipping and fees added about $200.
Tristar had an arrangement with Fuji Medical Instruments to sell vacuums in Japan under Fuji's house brand. About 40% of Tristar production went to Japan. They were selling new Tristar vacuums there until the very end, with the latest model called the EX60. I found one of those new in the box too. Japan has become my happy hunting ground for interesting collectible vacuums.
centralsweeper63
Well-known member
It is surprising to me that 40% of TriStar production ended up in such a small place. Wish that many ended up over here. Also, sorry that this is the wrong thread, though I couldn't find the right thread. I am getting a couple of mieles that need motor work and was wondering if you could remind me of that German that does repair videos on mieles.
cheesewonton
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On Youtube; Staubsaugerservice Albay. Select the tab for Videos.
https://www.youtube.com/@staubsaugeralbay
centralsweeper63
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Thank you very much.
centralsweeper63
Well-known member
I have found another little Japanese nugget of a vacuum for you cheesewonton, the samsung sc/043. https://www.gumtree.com.au/web/listing/vacuum-cleaners/1337154745
cheesewonton
Well-known member
You don't know but I am weird for Samsung vacuums and have a bunch in my collection. I think as many are branded under some other company like Bissell, Singer or Black & Decker as are Samsung branded. This one was not sold in 120 volt form. We had a different bagless machine with an electric power nozzle. The bummer is that Samsung stopped selling or making 120 volt vacuums around 2010-ish maybe and now there are no parts anywhere unless a shop has some new old stock lying around. They are nicely made and durable so it's a bummer to have to park it for lack of replacement brush rolls.
centralsweeper63
Well-known member
There is two things other than being 240v that make this a weird Japan market/ NZ market mixup. The cyclones separator on the wand and the turbo tool. Samsung had a thing for weird turbo heads a while ago. Nilfisk too used those wands, floor tools and separator. Wonder how that happened.
cheesewonton
Well-known member
Nilfisk was buying vacuums from Samsung and having their brand applied. On another thread I posted an image of a Nilfisk ad that showed one of their models that is clearly a Samsung Quiet Storm canister but the ad calls it the Nilfisk Freestyle.
centralsweeper63
Well-known member
Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I wonder if some of their other machines were bought from Samsung.
cheesewonton
Well-known member
They were. There was another Nilfisk canister we were discussing that is a Samsung product.
cheesewonton
Well-known member
Btw, Japan uses 100 - 105 volt power and depending where in Japan you live it could be either 50 Hz or 60 Hz. That is why I can often use Japan market Electroluxes and other Japanese vacuums on US 115 volt household current ( our measured current varies between 109 and 122 volts ) . Taiwan is officially 110 volts / 60 Hz. The Panasonic, Hitachi, Mitsubishi and Toshiba brand vacuums you see in New Zealand or elsewhere are nothing like what those companies sell in Japan. You almost never see any of the Japan market vacuums from the Japanese manufacturers sold outside of Japan. Kenmore sold a couple of small Japan market Panasonic and Hitachi models but those are exceptions. Japan is this parallel universe of delightful, often weird and very often stunningly powerful bagged power nozzle canister vacuums.
Here are some examples of Japan market canister vacs from Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Sanyo-Panasonic, Panasonic and Hitachi. If you look at the hose handle, dusting brush and wands on the second image you can see the inspiration for the big Kenmore hose handle. It is based on what Panasonic was selling in Japan at the time, but the Japanese version is much better executed. The Sanyo-Panasonic Airsis and that Hitachi are both ULPA filtered. The Mitsubish in the first image has a two speed control for the power nozzle! That is my old quality control officer in the last image. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge a couple of years ago but when she was alive she ruled the house with an iron paw ! She was quite elderly by then and had a thyroid problem that cause her hair to stop growing and mostly fall out. I called her a Siberian Shorthair, hence the sweater.
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centralsweeper63
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We got Japanese machines in the 80s/90s. PYE imported lots and so did Hitachi.
cheesewonton
Well-known member
I have lots of Japanese made 120 volt Panasonics that were sold in the US and Canada as Jet Flo models but most were never sold anywhere but the US and Canada. If you poke around Panasonic web pages for different nations you see all kinds of different vacuums but you don't see them on the Japanese Panasonic website. Australia and New Zealand get some pretty nice Panasonic canister models that are only missing a power nozzle to be perfect. Panasonic hasn't sold a vacuum in North America since 2017. Their former vacuum factory in Monterrey Mexico now makes automotive electronics.
centralsweeper63
Well-known member
Where would one find these pages?
cheesewonton
Well-known member
Just type in Panasonic Dubai, or Panasonic Germany, Panasonic New Zealand, etc. You might have to use a translator to figure out where the vacuums are.
Here is the current flavor of one of the Panasonic models in my fourth image above. Mine is the MC-PJ22G. The 22 corresponds to the production year. Now they are up to 25. Same vacuum with a wee little bit less rated power but otherwise the same, and the same outstanding little power nozzle. On my computer it offers a translation of the web page into English.
https://panasonic.jp/soji/products/MC-PJ25G.html
cheesewonton
Well-known member
Here is a 120 volt Panasonic "Jet Flo 240" that as far as I know had no 240 volt counterpart ( though as soon as I say that someone will say neener-neener you're wrong and show me an image to prove my ignorance, which I encourage btw ). This is a supremely quiet and refined vacuum, every bit as well made and quiet as the best Electrolux. Since Panasonic never made a synthetic dust bag for these I trim the mounting card of an Electrolux OX dust bag to fit. You can see the power nozzle is built to last, but boy howdy is it heavy.
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cheesewonton
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The way the attachments stash in the back always reminds me of a Japanese Bento-Box lunch : )
centralsweeper63
Well-known member
Is that the power nozzle that has the reversing brush? Owen Perkins shows one off in a video on his power head collection.
cheesewonton
Well-known member
This is the simpler version with a single direction brush roll. The Dual Sweep nozzle uses the exact same housing but has a lot more stuff inside.
centralsweeper63
Well-known member
Ah, that makes sense. I forgot the name of the dual sweep.
