Paging TommyMilan

[vacbear58]

I got this cleaner just after Christmas - a Colston 301. Colston is an name more commonly associated with washing machines and dishwashers here - it appears to be of Italian origin, which is why I hope Tommy can give is some more information about it

 

[vacbear58]

No switch

It appears to be pretty much like a Senior/Convertable in design. It does not have and On/Off switch, the motor starts when you lower the handle

 

[vacbear58]

Height right control

Th eonly reference I have ever seen to this cleaner was in a Which 1977 report when it appears as a Spinney. Spinney was the house name of a home shopping catalogue. Here is the brushroll height control

 

[vacbear58]

And the other side

It did not get a very good rating in the Which report

 

[vacbear58]

Which seems strange

As it is pretty much the Convertable/Senior layout right down to the brushroll you you would wonder what could go wrong with such a proved design. That said, in my experience it soes not actually seem to perform as well as a Hoover and although the front is pretty much the same width somehow it seems much bulkier than the Hoover

 

[tommymilan]

Hello!
I am very sorry but I haven't seen this vacuum cleaner in my life!!!I know that some manufacturers of electric appliances like washing machines or steam irons in certain years also made vacuum cleaner, just to be present on the market.Usually cheap appliances, less expensive than those of other brands and with hard to find spares and replacement parts.what do you think?
Greetings,
Tommy

 

[1926700]

i will say......

there WAS (being the operative word)a machine here in the US, called the Clarke 500, that was Commercial. it was done up in red and chrome, with a shake bag, and no headlight. id say your version was either made by Clarke (well in some way, im not shure if you have Clarke across the pond)or it was a copy using the same base and hood molds and the patients for the motor and such

 

[vacbear58]

Thanks to both

Tommy
The cleaner has a sticker on it "Made In Italy" which was why I thought you might know something of it, but hey we cannot know them all You are correct that this would have been very much at the cheaper end of the market although as they would need to to the mouldings for the plastics they would have been in production for some time.

Jason
Well it certainly would not be the first time that an American design crossed the pond and indeed maybe someone bought up the moulds or perhaps a load of excess or redundant stock with a view to making some money from it.

Curiously there is also a label on it saying that the cleaner must be earthed (grounded) which at this time (late 1970s I am assuming) was almost unheard of for vacuum cleaners but could give a hint to a commercial ancestry - also strange as almost everything about this cleaner seems to be plastic!

I am hoping that some of our members who study the various home shopping catalogues might have some information to add.

Al

 

[paulc]

I vaguely remember seeing the Spinney version of this in catalogue's in the 70's when I was a child. I seem to recall they were a mustard colour.

 

[vacbear58]

Which report

Paul

That makes sense according to Which?

 

[paulc]

Ah, yes, I remember seeing that Which? report before, thanks for refreshing my memory. I wonder if part of it's poor performance was to do with the brush roll design. The "beater"seems to be in a strange position, opposing the brush rather than running helical as was the norm with other makes.

 

[paulc]

Vacbear

Do you remember a Spinney model with a hard bag similar to this vacuum? The base was more boxy and not so rounded but like this machine looked disproportionately big.

 

[vintagerepairer]

I do. I think it was a clean air machine with a connection on the bag door for a hose.

 

[paulc]

Yea, was a chunky cumbersome looking machine.

 

[vintagerepairer]

I think this is as close as we will ever get to a picture of one

http://www.anderson-retail.co.uk/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=973