Salvation Army Thrift Store Red Day

[aeoliandave]

Bottom info

 

[aeoliandave]

3/4 view. started Magic Erasing and stopped as the red began coming off!!! Not gonna risk losing those triple stars. Neat little nylon cord clip above the pn socket.

Still no two speed switch. I thought maybe this was assembled in Canada but there's no indication of that.

 

[aeoliandave]

Crashing the Receiving Line...

...Miss CXL dares to show up in a red dress, no matter how shabby or long-in-the-tooth, at the Compact Cotillion...fracturing the composure of the Pastel Debutants and their disapproving steely-eyed Governess on the right who just sighs and looks away. Your feckless Composeur similarly fractures the pan shot.

 

[danemodsandy]

"I'm thinking...

...of a vacuum named Jezebel, who did wrong in the sight of the Lord..."

Bette Davis fans will get that one.

 

[camelotshadow]

wow your ready for easter

they look like easter eggs

You got a C4?

I haven't gotten to use mine yet
Darn when I do I;ll probably be spoiled again

looks like one next to Ms Jez

the canada site shows a 82 to 85 red tristar

 

[danemodsandy]

Christine:

"the canada site shows a 82 to 85 red tristar"

Dave's is different from that one shown on the Canadian TriStar site. Dave's has a two-tone red-and-white bumper, and his also has the cord-winding bracket on the bag door lid. The photo on the TriStar Canada site is the same photo shown on the American TriStar site, but it's available in a larger size on the American site. The larger version shows clearly what's a little hard to see in the smaller one- the white two-speed switch.

So, Dave's has three major differences.

 

[aeoliandave]

The bumper surround is a two piece affair.

The red vinyl bumper stripe is like a big rubber band that seats in a groove in the white bumper. I imagine quite a few of those got lost after a few hard scrapes with an immovable object...

Compacts & TriStars, like Filter Queens, are renowned for their extraordinary suction - this one pulls a hefty 81" water lift - with the 3 side emblem holes open. . I'll be ordering from TriStar Canada, if not taking a run over to Woodbridge Ontario one of these days.

"You have a bit of a fortune in floor tools alone - current list price for those things is nearly $125 USD. Yes, each." !!! I had no idea! As I hinted, I paid Woodstock Sally Ann an embarrassing $5 for this CXL.

The dance line here is CXL, C6, C7, C6, and a repainted C8. I missed out on a three wheel C4 - it has one central front ball caster instead of two at the sides.

 

[camelotshadow]

c4

noticed the wheel diff
guess those are the eggs that turn over on there side on hard boiled turns

the c4has no wheels in front
there are 2 sort of rounded bumper protrusions
but they don't roll like wheels they are fixed

other thing is the rear has 2 thin narrow wheels not those glorious globe wheels which came later & add more stability

The c4 is no race vac

LOL

 

[danemodsandy]

Dave: C4

I hope you'll snag a C4 one of these days; the three-wheelers are rare for some reason.

You wouldn't happen to have a late TriStar rug tool you'd be willing to part with, would you? The late ones have the little "blister" and hole on the neck that accommodates the wand's lock button. I'm talking about the rug tool, with the concentrator on top, not the floor tool.

Just FYI, the new TriStar emblem is universal in fit, since it's a piece of self-adhesive soft vinyl; you can use it on any of your Compacts or TriStars, regardless of the spacing or pattern of holes.

 

[aeoliandave]

Interstate Compact & Tristar aluminum floor tools.

Sandy, these are the two versions of Interstate floor tools I have, other than the complete set in green styro for the apple green Compact.

The older set has Interstate and a friction fit that I've assigned to the 'good' Turquoise Compact with the woven hose, while the later set has Cyclonic and the hole & blister and I have them paired with the 2nd beater Turquoise and the Cyclonic Turbinette nozzle...for display purposes. I know this is incorrect and I should put the Turbinette with the Green Compact set and consider the floor tools expendable. Is Cyclonic the only version with the button hole? Have you seen the later set with Interstate on it...in the States? Is the new tool on the website labeld Tristar? So many questions...

In our quest for authenticity I'd like to provide you with the correct nozzle - which machine do you have in mind?

My dilemma is that I didn't consider the late set as extras...until today. But since the CXL and C-8 use power nozzles and I have a complete later blistered set give me a couple weeks to hunt down Cyclonic spares. I have a 'twingle' they are out there. Perhaps Pete will spot some on his thrifting runs...

In the end we will see to it you get one.

With your knowledge can you comment on the wands I have the tools leaning against? They came as a pair with the beater Turquoise. The end wand has a friction taper, the hose end is friction also but they mate perfectly to each other with a dimpled slot and that securing thumbscrew. Interstate or some other vacuum make?

Dave

 

[aeoliandave]

What's Dave working on tonight?

Was running the Fairfax and the Fax-A-Matic power nozzle was making a horrendous racket. Took it apart to find the motor had 'ovaled' out its rear bronze bearing. The motor is held in place with two screws through the top of the case, under the Fax-O-Matic stick-on top panel.

I knew I had in the parts bin a very similar power nozzle that has other issues like warping and cracks. Lo and behold, it's a Hoover branded Powermatic of exact same construction with an intact motor. Time for a motor swap. But the Fax-A-Matic has a three wire cord and plug.

 

[aeoliandave]

Both made in Ontario. The Fax-A Matic in Welland by T.R.E Inc while the Hoover states it was made in Burlington.

Another case of crossover branding, whose power nozzle is it really?

 

[vintageroyal611]

Coincidence? I think not!

 

[aeoliandave]

Better yet tho is...both have a Hoover metal beater brush bar exactly the same other than paint color.

So, to the credit of Fairfax, with Hoover's help, the Fax-A-Matic will be brushing, beating and cleaning the carpets again tonight.

Gawd, I luv these details and the thrill of learning something new.

Oh, the Hoover motor has a metal lug I can attach the green ground lead to. This Fairfax has a 3 wire system because it is also intended to be used as a wet pick-up vac with the optional manditory Water Valve you put in without a paper bag, which I don't have but appears to be a plastic cone similar to a Filter Queen. Anyone got one of those lying around available? I do have the Fairfax Wet Pick-up floor nozzle.

dave

 

[danemodsandy]

Hi Dave!

The wands you have may be an earlier Interstate attempt at secured wands; I'm pretty certain that your machine is earlier than mine. My machine (a silver-and-black CXL produced between 1986 and 1989) has Kenmore-style lock buttons, with a blister at the end of each wand for the next wand's lock button to slide into. My wands also have a plastic cord retaining channel riveted to them; it runs almost the full length of each wand. The power nozzle cord friction-fits into the channel. A photo of the wands attached to the power nozzle is below.

So far as I know, TriStar only included one set of wands; you were supposed to remove the wands from the power nozzle when you wanted to use them with the rug tool or other attachments. I found an extra set of wands to use for those purposes, so that I wouldn't have to go through the nuisance of removing the power nozzle cord from the channel and then taking the wands off the power nozzle, every time I wanted the wands for something besides the power nozzle. Some vac parts sites have universal wands listed for both Kenmore and TriStar; it seems the same wand will fit both. These universal wands do not have the full-length cord channel, just a couple of cord clips like many Kenmore wands do.

The Compact C-2 I grew up with had friction-fit wands, not locking ones. They were the most solid steel and the heaviest chrome-plate you can imagine. The only problem we ever had with them was that the sandy dust here in Georgia caused them to stick together, making them very difficult to get apart for storage. The wands in your photo don't appear to be like the ones on the C-2, so maybe they're Compact/TriStar and maybe they're something else. I hope something in all this helps you.

The rug tool at the lower right of your photo is the one I'm looking for! I'd be very interested in one. Very interested indeed.

 

[danemodsandy]

Dave: Earlier Compact Wands

Dave:

This picture of Robert Seger's gloriously mint C-2 shows the earlier Compact wand system very clearly. These are so heavy and well-made, I cannot begin to describe the quality. I don't know if anything came between this style and the current lock-button style, sorry.

 

[danemodsandy]

Dave: Forgot to Answer:

"Is Cyclonic the only version with the button hole? Have you seen the later set with Interstate on it...in the States? Is the new tool on the website labeld Tristar?"

So far as my own experience and observation go, the later, button-hole tools all say "Cyclonic". I have never seen any button-hole tools that say "TriStar" or "Interstate". The new rug tools for sale on sites like TotalVac say "Cyclonic". I have the new tool, but it's in a painted finish that is not correct for my machine. That's why I'm hoping a classic, polished-finish "Cyclonic" button-hole tool turns up.

So far as I know, the "Interstate" designation is only on friction-fit tools, but that's based on my personal observation, so take that only as one person's opinion, not a proved fact.

Aren't these details fun?

 

[danemodsandy]

More Cyclonic Lore:

Dave:

On late machines like my CXL, the clear/glitter plastic crevice tool and upholstery tool have "Cyclonic" silk-screened onto them in very small letters. These rub off pretty easily. The dusting brush doesn't have the "Cyclonic" designation on it, but then it's soft vinyl, not the hard plastic that the other tools are made of. The dusting brush looks the same clear/glitter combo as the other tools, but since it's not the same kind of plastic, that may have kept the "Cyclonic" from being silk-screened onto it.

 

[aeoliandave]

Details fun & fascinating.

Your observations and opinions work just fine by me, Sandy. After all, you did have a shop.

Fax-A-Matic power nozzle restored to usefulness and all polished & washed clean.

Laid out the pair and their nozzles. Way groovy.

Lower Fairfax does not have a power socket and no Power Dome venting.

 

[aeoliandave]

another chorusline...

This must be the Guy's side at the Cotillion, sizing up the Interstate gals across the room.

To the right of the Fax-A-Matic you can see the Hoover Celebrity II 'Estate' powernozzle - once again, same construction, different color combo. That's why they're hastily grouped together beside the Swiveltops. Oh, I must re-tape that Hoover hose with white tape...