Regina electric broom oh the seventies!

[suckolux]

Grandson found this while he was on the job he's a mobile glass installer and he wanted to save it from the dumpster for me I love the looks and color and the bamboo on the bag I'm guessing 70 to 74 maybe need some minor repairs but it looks like it's in good shape want to clean it first any input or info would be grand, thanks!

 

[suckolux]

Inside

 

[suckolux]

Dry and dirty

 

[huskyvacs]

Great find! I have one of their last models. They made these way up to 1992/1993 when they became bagless. Regina was always known for having tiny high RPM motors that loved to scream.

 

[suckolux]

Sounds like a high-speed cement mixer spins just fine

 

[suckolux]

Showing my age, I suppose, but my biggest like of this machine is the color the antique gold and that bamboo pattern bag. I could stand for some of that and avocado green to make a comeback or something like that

 

[fan-of-fans]

That bamboo pattern bag is really cool, never seen that before.

My grandma used to have one of these that was a dark orange/reddish color, 3 speed (I guess 80s maybe?) Her sister gave it to her, and she used to use it to vaccum the kitchen and dining room after dinner. When I visited my grandparents I would use it. I always like the 3 speeds and the smell it made when it warmed up.

My other grandmother said she used to have one as well, but I never saw it.

Oddly, they said both of theirs burned out. The other grandmother said hers' caught on fire one day and she threw it out in the yard.

I never figured out why, because they weren't particularly hard on their vacuums at all. I'm guessing if you didn't keep the fan chamber clean it could cause these to overheat. Possibly vacuuming the inside of the bag too, because I noticed my grandma's was often quite linty inside the bag.

Interesting to see the motors in these, I didn't realize they used G.S. Electric motors, or I did know and forgot. Dirt Devil used the same manufacturer.

 

[fan-of-fans]

@ huskyvacs, yeah I've seen one of those bagless ones in a 1994 Montgomery Wards catalog I have. They had a clear dust cup kind of like a Hoover Tempo at the time.

But the last Regina electric brooms actually used disposable bags. Some of them, like my neighbor had were branded Oreck like a few former Regina models were after Oreck bought them out.

 

[jo]

We had several

Having had several of these..because Amon wanted something to vacuum the crumbs from the kitchen floor after dinner too...the three speeds are kinda pointless. Low is surely low but medium and high are almost the same. Moms first one was a two speed and from mid to late 60s. The bag would inflate larger than the top when on. Then we had a single speed found off someone’s trash. Then finally the 3 speed which we had bought for my Aunt so she had something easier then her Electrolux XXX to clean with. I think it came with the ha di handle but she never installed it. The color was the same as well as the nozzle, but the bag was different, white with burgundy floral print. My parents used it until just 4 or 5 years ago when it crapped out.

The motor brushes would wear out in these very quickly. My Dad knew where to get them and would replace them.

Jon

 

[jo]

Oh and...

The older models had little round caps you could unscrew to change the motor brushes. They were a dark brown Bakelite color and material I think. Accessible from the outside.

Jon

 

[electrikbroomgu]

Electrikbrooms

This particular broom is from 1979 as per the tag and was the very first one to switch over from the old style two piece motor to this all in one GS electric unit. The older style two piece units had external carbon brush access covers that were square from 1973-1978 and round prior to that.

Yours is also the first to switch over from a rubber handle grip to the plastic one that can be removed by the screw on the back side. It looks like someone pulled off this handle grip to access the switch at some point before you got it.

Seeing that this machine is now 41 years old I would assume the bearings are either dry or shot making this sound like a cement mixer. Also check the back of the fan and make sure it isn't loaded with a dirt ring underneath. This can throw it out of balance and make these quite noisy. Sadly this year GS electric motor is basically a throw away one and cannot easily be serviced. I have pried off the fan end bearing grease cover, cleaned out the bearings with alcohol and re-packed them with some success but it is very easy to damage this cover. The newer 1980 onwards motor used sleeves on both ends and could come apart and be cleaned, blown out and generally be brought back to life. Both styles have replaceable carbons. Note also that these year GS electric motors seem to be vibration prone and quality control seemed to vary from one machine to the next.
I remember back in 1980 teasing my grandmother to let me buy a Regina broom with my saved allowance money. We bought a Sears Quik Sweep version due to a sale they were running at the time and the GS Electric motor died within 2 months so we had to return it. For some strange reason they were not able to get another one in for months on end so we switched back over to Regina and a different store. I wanted a 1 speed as it was the simplest and cheapest so they brought us out a yellow one just like yours but with a different bag pattern. Right out of the box it was very noisy and sounded out of balance. We returned it and got another and this one sounded perfect. I still have it to this day and it still sounds and works great despite years of use! Will try and post a pic later tonight.

 

[suckolux]

Joel, thank you very much for the information, quite helpful! I did wash and clean everything it seems to run fine the brushes look okay she's just a screamer but it will simply be artwork anyway I'm not planning on using it. when the grandson pick something up for you you clean it up and keep it so nobody's feelings are hurt, it's very cute though.

 

[electrikbroomgu]

My Regina that was bought new

Here is my Regina one speed broom that I bought brand new in early 1980 at a mere 9 years of age! My grandma made this possible and she pitched in half the money and I pitched in the rest with allowance money saved up. It is truly hard to believe this sucker is over 40 years old now.

It was far from being a closet queen with little use. Quite the opposite in fact. It got used several times a week at grandma's house right up until 1994 when they went into a home. It went into storage for a short year after which both grandparents sadly passed away. I was devastated losing both so close together and we sold off most of their things to clear the estate and this broom was a deep connection to them. I had a great friend that I met 3 years prior that was living alone and barely able to make ends meet. So this broom went to him for a couple of years while he lived at that apartment. He loved it and it served him well until it was time to move.

I got the broom back by pure luck as my friend was going to give it to his own mother and now realizing that I had to get it back, cleaned it up, cleaned the back of the fan and blew out the bag and let mom use it for a short while. It then moved with me out of the house in late 1998 and went to my apartment and was put to use again. Then in 2008 I moved and bought my first house and this broom along with all the other machines came with me and were more or less put in a storage room being used sparingly. It still comes out on occasions and still runs as new and cleans amazingly well. Considering we paid 28 dollars for it back in 1980 I would say it was money well spent!

 

[suckolux]

Very cool! Certainly a trusted friend, much similarity.