Reason to love old vacuums

[mike811]

Now this is just a simple test with suction and airflow performance between the mid 90's Lux Royal D790 and new Electrolux UltraFlex.
So why I personally like old/vintage vacuums compared to the modern ones.

Vintage:
+ better build quality
+ two stage motor (twin fan)
+ how they look
+ smooth sound
+ performance (surprisingly)
+ design
+ long life span

New:
- all plastic design
- high pitched sound
- one stage motor (one fan)
- toy look
- short life span

Video to proof the performance:

 

[suckolux]

I prefer my older Lux also

 

[KirbyCollector01]

Yeah!
Nothing beats an older vacuum!

Here are just a few examples of old & new

New Old
Eureka AirSpeed Eureka Model 9
Hoover Windtunnel Air Hoover Convertible
Bissell PowerForce Bissell Plus
Dirt Devil Breeze Dirt Devil Classic
Dyson Cinetic Fantom Fury

Etc

The old ones are better

 

[dysonman1]

Lets assume that 1976 is "Vintage" since it was more than 40 years ago.

Sears Best PowerMate canister - all plastic, poor quality (most of the power nozzles broke while under warranty or soon thereafter), terrible quality hose (they all split), loud, belching dust through one ply bag, troublesome cord winder, hard to pull around.

Or, go back another decade - 1966. Sunbeam Courier, loud, terrible filtration, motors almost universally failed very quickly, belching dust, turned over at the drop of a hat.

After the 1930's (Post World War II), the quality of vacuums began to decline. Not overnight, and not all of them. But you can see it if you have a museum full of them and spend every hour at work playing with, and talking about, vintage vacuums.

 

[kirbysthebest]

Tom Makes a very good point

  Not all vintage is good.  Not all new is bad.


 


There are good and bad items in all areas of products.  The manufacturers have been doing the same thing since the beginning of time.  Trying to make the most profit, by building as cheaply as they can and selling as high as they can.   Sometimes the corners they cut turns their perfectly square product into an oval.


 


 

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Cost reduction is always a big concern.

Look at Convertible, for instance. They said,"If you can trim even $.01 from every unit, think of the savings". Look at hoses: cloth to veriflex, ultraflex, tufflex, hair dryer hose, pool filter.... look at bags, too, as well as length of cords.
Sometimes, it didn't hurt the integrity of the machine. But, sometimes, it did, bigtime.

 

[human]

And sadly, the majority of consumers eventually forget how truly awesome the older products were--and the manufacturers really do want that to happen.

 

[mike811]

Well yes all old vacuums aren't well made, reliable, silent or even good performing.
Note that Lux is premium brand of Electrolux and when new extremely expensive.
When I buy old vacuums I always try to get quality brand.
In this comparison Lux is lightyears ahead Electrolux in quality.

 

[stricklybojack]

.
As i have mentioned here on at least a couple of ocassions, sometimes better not to over think "love" and just go with your gut and be glad a common home appliance can put a smile on your face.
The best "reason" then being, for me at least, is no reason at all.
When i indulge my passion for vacuum collecting i simple find it more enjoyable to not care if it all adds up or not, end of story. I have my ideas about what i like, but i always seem to break my own self imposed rules sooner than later.
Is it the best cleaner, best value, best model, blah blah blah? That can be fun to banter about, but IF it limits your enjoyment i say tune out the noise of other peoples opinions and get your vacuum freak on as you damn well please...

 

[mike811]

Well said!

 

[electromatik]

The difference is that today vacuums are a commodity item. Bought to be used a while then used up. Back in the olden times, vacuums were very expensive items. People expected them to last like a refrigerator, water heater, or furnace. The manufacturers built them as such. These days the vast majority of people seem happy to buy throw-away appliances. To them a vacuum is nothing more than a blender or a toaster.

 

[nali]

I'm new in this game.
What is the general quality of my Kirby Sanitronic VII ?

 

[gottahaveahoove]

It's true!

Years ago,  it WAS a very big deal to own a vacuum. You'd hear people say, "We got a HOOVER".  Or,  "We have an ELECTROLUX, KIRBY", etc. THey were built to last, and were serviced regularly.


 

 

[ronni]

I would agree that "love" is better reserved for personal relationships rather than items. "Appreciate" or "enjoy" would be more accurate.

That said, I appreciate the designs, colors, function, and engineering of cleaners--both for vacuuming and shampooing/polishing/scrubbing. I enjoy comparing and contrasting differences between and among models or brands.

It's true that "old" doesn't always mean "better; just as "new" doesn't always mean "worse". Additionally, there has never been, nor will there ever be a perfect vacuum cleaner or shampooer/polisher/scrubber--each has its shortcomings.

_________


While the term "vintage" is often defined as "outdated" (at Vacuumland 20+ years old) some dealers and collectors use the following terms to help classify ages:

"Antique" -- 100 + years old
"Vintage" -- 50 - 99 years old
"Classic" -- 20 - 49 years old

Indeed, Aerus chose to name its budget model "Lux Classic" in 2004, because the original Canadian design had been introduced in 1982 as the "E-Special".

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Exactly.

Very well said.

 

[human]

Gottahaveahoove wrote: Years ago, it WAS a very big deal to own a vacuum. You'd hear people say, "We got a HOOVER". Or, "We have an ELECTROLUX, KIRBY", etc. THey were built to last, and were serviced regularly.

I reply: Absolutely. Not only were they built to last, they were built to be serviced. Most of today's vacuums--and other household appliances, for that matter--simply are not designed to be repaired. Outer cases are sealed to prevent the user from opening them or closing them back up in the event one does manage to pry it open and the circuit boards present in nearly all appliances today serve as de facto self-destruct mechanisms that seem to burn out just after the warranty expires, thus forcing the consumer to replace the item.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

Indeed.

And, I find that to be disgusting.

 

[luxkid1980]

You're right Mike811. There are some exceptions though. My Oreck XL Classic vacuum does have a louder/higher pitched sound than say my Electrolux Silverado Deluxe, but it does clean carpets very well.

I was in a major retail store the other day and just about every single vacuum they sold looked like a toy. Not to offend anyone on this forum, but I very much dislike the bright/flashy colors vacuums (and other small household appliances) seem to come in these days (bright pinks, yellows, oranges, etc). I guess they are just the flavor of the month. Again these are just my opinions of course and I'm sure there are some older colorful plastic vacuums out there.

I am all for buying a quality item that will last. I needed (well, wanted) a new toaster last year and didn't care for anything I could find in any store close to me. Some were expensive, others were dirt cheap and felt extremely flimsy. So, I went to ebay and got a Sunbeam T-20 model that the owner described as non-working. It was very inexpensive and only required a minor adjustment on my part to work like new again; took about 10 minutes to fix. It will probably outlive us all. It's a well-designed and well-thought-out product to say the least!

 

[suckolux]

Of course there are the memories of seeing / using as a child perhaps too? And that mellower sound