PHOENIX SWIFT HOOVER

[colvan64]

I have had this hoover for years, it was originally given to me by my Nan
however I do not know anything about it and I would like to know more info
It has a serial no. 62F20864 and Patent No. 430039
I plugged it in yesterday and it still works really well

I tried looking online but all I could find was Electrolux hoovers which look similar.

If anyone can tell me anything about this it would be greatly appreciated

 

[vacbear58]

Pheonix

Phoenix appear to have first manufactured vacuums in around the mid 1930s with two pretty standard cylinder cleaners, on the surface one more deluxe than the other although in fact apart from one being larger than the other, they were identical. These two models continued after WW2 pretty much unchanged. In the early 1950s they added a further model based on a US Universal design and they also manufactured models branded for various department store like Gamages.

They went out of business sometime around 1962 or early 1963 - towards the end of their life the drastically increased their range although these were still pretty much variations on a theme. Your cleaner comes from this period, or maybe slightly earlier. Phoenix always pitched their cleaners right at the bottom end of the market, they would have been around half the price or so of equivalent Hoover cylinder cleaners - and by the looks of yours (size etc) its would have been one of their cheaper models.

Hope this helps

Al

 

[vintagerepairer]

Very interesting

Vacbear, the Phoenix would have been long before the time I began working with vacuum cleaners, and whilst I have no doubt I would have seen one in my time before then, without that 'interested eye' I would not have known it to be such a cleaner.

Anyway, do you know why they went out of business, considering they sold budget products? One would have assumed that a cleaner selling for half the price (and quality never seemed to falter on these older machines) that their success was guaranteed. I am wondering maybe if they were unable to get their cleaners into the retail outlets available at that time?

 

[anthony]

i have this one

hi colvan64 i am as much in the dark as you are . this machine belonged to my friends mum i first saw it way back in 1970 but i reckon it was a good fiew years old even then my friends mum moved into a bungalow about 10 years ago thats when i got it it has reasonable suction the motor housing is made of plastic there also apears to be an early atempt at double insulation [no earth ]quite dangerous considering the body is all metal the only thing separating the motor from the body is a thin bit of perished rubber that i replaced with some rubber carpet underlay needless to say its now earthed by the way there was a price tag on the handle when i got it 11 pounds 19 and eleven but no indication of its age .Thed hose is the same as yours although not in good condition it leaks like a sive it is what it is a cheap no frills vac that has stood the test of time

 

[anthony]

2

another

 

[anthony]

3

another

 

[anthony]

just a thought

i would suggest you look inside your machine and check the insulation if you intend using it at all .I found on mine that the conections to the switch are not covered and are very close to the bolt that secures the handle not to mention the perished rubber grommet on the end of the motor

 

[vacbear58]

Ideal Home

The picture is from Ideal Home in 1961, as you can see there are a large number of Phoenix cleaners and their prices. As I said earlier almost thoughout their history they only ever seem to have made two models until the end.

When Which tested vacuum cleaners in 1963 no Phoenix modles appeared, indicating that the had gone out of business by then

 

[squarehandle]

Nice Vintage Add

Featuring some really odd cleaners! (at least for us on the other side of the pond!) Thanks.

 

[anthony]

thanks

thanks Vacbear that sheds a little more light on things as i thought the cheapest of the lot great pics

 

[vacbear58]

How it all ended

maybe ....

A big thank you to Anthony for photographing the ratings plate as that may give some insight into what happened - see the link.

It appears that vacuum cleaners were just part of their operation (and there is a note about their trying to diversify which maybe accounts for the increase in models), but it appears they were taken over for their telephone operations. Given that two of the partners (AEI - aka Hotpoint UK and GEC) both had vacuum cleaner operations within their group it seems likely that the Phoenix vacuum range was simply dropped or perhaps sold off - I must have a look at a vary rare model I have, a Duco to see how it might compare with a Phoenix.

Al

http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Phoenix_Telephone_and_Electric_Works

 

[colvan64]

Thankyou for the replies

I have learnt a great deal from this info - I do intend to sell this hoover on ebay but I wanted to know more about it before I sold it.

Although I am surprised it is only a budget item as it still works nicely, it picks up all the dirt only thing is it is small so it would need to be emptied often

and yes you are correct Anthony - there is no earth - although the bit which holds the fan inside is plastic.

I have this site very interesting on a number of topics and I plan on using this site more often.

Thankyou all again