Sanitaire Blue Line Uprights Discontinued

[eurekaprince]

Hi Mike,

The VG One was Eureka's first brush roll with beater bars. It came out around 1970, I think. It is an aluminum brush roll in the shape of a helix which allows more air flow in the brush roll chamber (it's not a solid cylinder like most brush rolls). Imagine a foot-long bar of aluminum that is twisted like a piece of pasta. The VG I has two solid aluminum beater bars - separated by the belt groove. It also has two replaceable brush strips separated by the belt groove. It is a very effective brush roll which gave Eureka its first top performance marks by Consumer Reports in 1973.

A few years later, Eureka introduced the VG Two. This also had two replaceable brush strips, but the beater bars were actually broken up into seven mini "fins" which were positioned on the brush roll so that they created a kind of "wave" motion as it hit the carpet nap. Eureka liked to advertise that this brush roll had seven beater bars. The VG II was a solid stainless steel cylinder - not a twisted helix form like the VG One.

The VG Three was Eureka's response to Hoover's new Quadraflex agitator in the 1980's. They both got rid of the metal beater bars and instead featured four bars of bristles set into plastic stiffeners which supposedly gave the brushes more "flinging" action. I always felt that a row of good stiff bristles would provide the same beating action as a solid metal bar. This VG Three was also a solid stainless steel cylinder.

 

[n0oxy]

Eureka's first power nozzle

wasn't Eureka's first power nozzle called the Rotomatic? I'm guessing that these nozzles used the VG1 or did they use something else. From what I have read when Eureka introduced their first power team canisters they really took off and sold well. I've always found it interesting that Hoover and Eureka, which were two of the largest vacuum cleaner manufacturers were the last to come out with power team canisters, Eureka in 1972 or 1973 and Hoover in 1974. But maybe they had reasons for not doing that sooner or were focused more on uprights.
Mike

 

[lesinutah]

Vg1

The vg1 came out after Hoover's Patten run on on the brush roll. The vg1 is similar to the brush roll on my Hoover 913.
Les

 

[eurekaprince]

Mike.... yes, Eureka recycled the brandname "Roto-Matic" which was first used for their "swivel-top" tub canister cleaners in the 1950's. Those tub vacs were discontinued by the mid 1960's and so the brandname was re-used for the company's first power nozzles in the 1970's. The first Roto-Matic power nozzles did not have a Vibra-Groomer brush roll. They had a basic wooden "Disturbulator" brush roll with non-replaceable bristles and two red plastic beater bars. Nothing fancy, but performed quite well in removing deeply embedded dirt.

If I remember correctly, the later versions of Eureka power nozzles had VG Twos, and the sleek Express power nozzle of the 1980's featured the Vibra Groomer Three.