Revisiting the Eureka 2010

[justjunque]

After getting discouraged, and setting it on a back burner months ago, I finally pulled the Eureka out to take another shot at replacing the melted rear wheels. Thankfully, the one solitary Phillips screw that was holding me up, decided to let go! So, the wheels are replaced, and I finally got to feel the vacuum roll on all four wheels for the first time since I got it, about a year ago. I don't know if anyone remembers, but I was able to find a pair of "pie slice" wheels, like the originals, except a different color. Since they don't really show, I'll deal with it until such time as I stumble upon an identical pair.

I have some aftermarket HEPA F&G bags ordered. I hope I didn't jump the gun by ordering wheels, belts, and bags for it. Believe it or not, after owning it for around a year, I've still never plugged it in and tested the motor. When I tilt the machine on its side, or turn it over to work on the underside, I can hear something loose rolling around inside it. I don't want to risk jamming something into the fan or motor. So, I really don't want to run it until I find out what's in there.
That brings me to a question. Can someone tell me how the "hood" comes off one of these?
Remember, I'm not at all mechanically inclined, I have a knack for messing up the simplest of tasks, and I'm nearly paralyzed by fear that I will mess something up. If there's anything even remotely tricky about it, I'll most likely get discouraged again, and set it aside for another several months or so.
It's really such a pretty vacuum, and I kind of can't believe what good cosmetic condition it's in. It would be heartbreaking if it turns out to be shot mechanically.

 

[eurekaprince]

Hi Barry,

Congrats on sourcing some Eureka “pie cut” wheels. I’m sure there are plenty of broken classic Eureka Williams uprights out there from which you could “harvest” some wheels in the correct colour.

I am not a technical repair expert either, but from what I have seen on YouTube, I think you first turn the vacuum over with the hood facing down, and use some pliers to disconnect two springs which are holding down the hood on either side of the base. Put the two springs aside so you don’t lose them. Then turn the hood right side up and remove the screw holding the Dial-a-Nap knob in place and remove the knob. After you do this, you should be able to just lift up the top of the motor hood. You may not be able to move it completely off as the power push button is wired to the motor underneath.

Just search for classic Eureka Williams upright repair on YouTube…hope this helps!

 

[justjunque]

Thank you, Brian!
I did see the little springs on the underside, and wondered if that was what held the hood. I didn't see screws, like on a Hoover Convertible.
I'm hoping I don't even need to fully remove the hood. I just want to find out what's rolling around inside there. I'm hoping it's just a foreign item that found its way in there, and I can just dump it out.

 

[eurekaprince]

You are welcome! You may want to carefully clean out the dust around the motor with another vacuum once you have the hood off…maybe on gentle suction with a dusting brush. Most pics/videos I have seen showing the insides of an old used upright seem to show lots of dust accumulated under the hood.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[justjunque]

Thank you.
When/if I get the hood open, I'll definitely take the opportunity to vacuum in there.
This vacuum looks extremely low mileage. I'm just hoping it's not because someone killed it when it was practically new.
For example, I still don't have a clue how the original rear wheels got melted. I'm hoping, not from a severely overheated motor.

 

[paul]

Good for you, Barry! And,yes, Brian is correct that the hood is held on by springs—I'm no tech either, but I was able to easily remove them. Just be careful to keep track of them as they fall out easily and can just as easily get misplaced (so I've been told—haha).

Hope all goes well.

 

[justjunque]

Oh, man.
I hope they don't get lost! I'm really hoping they don't even fall out. That would give me so much anxiety.
I was hoping maybe they were semi-permanently attached to the hood.

 

[eurekaprince]

You’re like me! Worried about losing pieces…

Best thing to do is lay out a large white plastic garbage bag on the floor to work on…that way if any piece falls off or out of the vacuum, it will be easy to see. Also: use an ashtray or dish or little plastic container to collect the springs and screws and other little bits as you take apart the cleaner.

 

[justjunque]

Before going into anything else, I decided to finally remove the bag that’s been in it since I bought it.
I had partially unzipped the outer bag, but not fully. All I knew, was that there was duct tape on the inner bag.
Taking a better look at it, I’m guessing that the previous, and probably original owner, cut the top open on the paper bag, and would dump it out and reuse it.
Part of my attraction to anything vintage, is that I feel they have “stories”. I think I just uncovered one of this vacuum’s stories. Was the person a tightwad? Just a frugal yankee? Maybe their previous vacuum had a shake-out bag, and it struck them as wasteful to throw away the paper bag every time it got full.
I’ll attach a couple of pictures. You’re seeing the inner bag for the first time, right along with me.
Also; check out the text on the bag. It struck me as looking pretty old. Does anyone have a guess, based on the type of writing on it? It’s a genuine Eureka! Could it be the one that came with the vacuum in the early 1970s? It looks like a low mileage machine. Maybe they never even replaced the bag; just emptied and reused it!

 

[justjunque]

And, on a related note; what's the best and safest way to clean the outer bag?
I've washed a few cloth outer bags recently. But, it's been so long since I did a vinyl one, I don't remember.
It does have a few areas, where there are sharp creases in the bag, that it looks like it wants to tear.
The two bottom corners, and one spot up near the top, in particular. So, I want to be very gentle with it.
I have a product called VLR, that's supposed to be good on vinyl, leather, and rubber. (Hence, VLR)
Maybe I should skip the actual washing, and just give it a going over, inside and out, with that cleaner?
I was also surprised to see the cloth fill tube, or whatever it's called. I've only encountered plastic ones, prior to this.

 

[paul]

First, if you do lose a spring or two, replacements are easily available online (see image); but Brian's advice would negate the need.

Regarding Eureka's disposable bags, the oldest genuine bags I've seen with 'Eureka Williams Company' were yellow paper and had 'Sanitized' printed on them along with other text such as 'Genuine' (you can see a glimpse of the stylized 'S' in the photo below. The yellow bags were made at least through 1984. The next F & G bag package I located online was copyrighted 1993; which were in white like the last ones made (from what I can tell) in 2016. Anyway, I would guess your dust bag is from about the late 1980s or early 1990s.

1. Eureka/Sanitaire hood spring
2. Eureka H Disposable Bags pkg. front—Eureka Williams Company—69s/'70s (early years of Model 2010)
3. Eureka H Disposable Bags pkg. back—Eureka Williams Company—'60s/'70s (note stylized 'S' on inside bag)
4. Eureka F & G Dust Bags pkg. front—The Eureka Company—'70s (without 'Sanitized')
5. Eureka F & G Dust Bags pkg.back—The Eureka Company—'70s
6. Eureka F & G Dust Bags—1984 pkg. & bag (1978 packaging looked similar except for the ESP graphic, et cetera)
7. Eureka F & G Dust Bags 1993 pkg.

 

[paul]

Hmmm, now I'm wondering if bags in the '60s were gray like yours. The cursive font is not on the ones I pictured. I do know that the 'Sanitized' disposable bags were introduced in 1961.

LIFE magazine ad from November 3, 1961 issue & Model 258-A ad from the Dec. 13, 1961, DESERET NEWS:

 

[paul]

As for washing the outer bag, I did so in the washing machine on the gentle cycle with regular laundry detergent and then let it air dry.

 

[justjunque]

Hey Paul.
Thanks again!
I'm not sure how it came through in the pictures, but the bag I took out is definitely a sort of yellowish or buff/manila color in person. To me, it looks like the ones in your picture #5, from the 1970s.

I'm still too chicken to wash a vacuum bag in the washing machine. If I'm going to wash it in water and detergent, I'd do it by hand. This one, specifically, I'm extra hesitant about, because of the few areas where it appears compromised; like it wants to tear there. It may actually have small tears in those areas.
Where I've been told this was basically Eureka's "economy" model, I've read that the vinyl used on the outer bag isn't as thick or durable as what they used on the higher priced models.
The vacuum still presents so nicely, I'm just afraid to do anything that would cause damage.

 

[paul]

Hey Barry,

Good job in the research of the bag jackets in that era; something I know little about. The one I washed was for a Model-Type 1458-D from the early 1980s; and I'm not 100% that it's the original even though its genuine. It's just a plain white one with a vertical decal of the logo/logotype. It doesn't seem too fragile to me, so either by that time Eureka used the same material for lower-end models, or it was a good quality replacement.

I agree with your caution.

Yeah, your bag did appear gray to me—similar to the partially-filled one that came with my Model-Type 1514-A PowerTeam from the mid-'80s. Due to the condition of your cleaner, it's quite possible that the dust bag came from the original package that came with the cleaner.

Kinda fun doing detective work, eh?

 

[paul]

Btw, it seems to me that the Sanitized disposable bags were discontinued around the time ABElectrolux purchased The Eureka Company. That would fit with your color description and the ones in photos 4 & 5 of reply 10

 

[eurekaprince]

Hi guys,

Just from my deeply embedded (pardon the pun) memories of my childhood obsession with Eureka vacuums, I don’t think I ever saw a genuine Eureka dustbag in the 1960’s that was not yellow. I also think that the “Sanitized” word was actually a copyrighted name for a certain sanitizing treatment that EW used. Indeed, I also remember that stylized word on the F & G bags we bought in the 1960’s.

The flexible cloth throat at the bottom of the dust bag continued at least until 1974 - that’s the year we bought our deluxe gold Rugulator Cordaway Power Touch upright model 2083. The white plastic bellows neck seemed to show up in Eureka’s uprights a few years later…..

 

[paul]

Hey Brian,

Great pun & info about the '60s yellow bags and cloth throat—which I knew nothing about, so thanks!

It seems that even the best Eureka vacuum cleaner couldn't remove that embedded info in your memory! Here's the patent by Oral M. Smaling for National Union Electric Company that I think you referenced. It was filed in 1976 (which is likely when production began) and granted in 1978—see patent diagrams below.

Mr. Smaling also had another invention (or same?) patented in Canada filed in 1980 and granted in 1984. There was no diagram with that entry, but here is a portion of the description. "The present invention is therefore directed to the provision of a bag duct assembly for a vacuum cleaner that overcomes the above disadvantages of conventional construc-tions. Briefly statéd, in accordance with the invention, a duct assembly is provided including a rigid element adapted to be affixed to the vacuum cleaner output, and unitary semi-rigid plastic duct element for coupling the inner bag to the rigid element directly. The portion of the semi-rigid element joined to the rigid element is rendered flexible by the provision oE corrugations. As a consequence, the fabrication of a separate flexible intermediate tube is no longer required, and the llfe time of this portion of the assembly is really increased. The duct assembly in accordance with the invention may be thereby made readily by automatic machinery."

 

[paul]

Here's some info. I located about the 'Sanitized' trademark (source opencorporates.com). Sanitized, Inc., was headquartered in New York and is now defunct.