Sanitaire Brand and Model History

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paul

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Please add photos and information to consolidate the Sanitaire brand history, including model specifics.

Attached is a reproduction of an October 1941 ad in the MINNEAPOLIS TRIBUNE (the only one I was able to find on my library's e-newspaper database) and an enlarged copy of the 1969, 1970 Sanitaire brochure (green line?) posted on thread 35776 by TheSpiritof76.

Below is a timeline of the Sanitaire trademark history at uspto.report (Unite States Patent Office) followed by the model list of blue and red lines at hescoinc.com. Apparently, these were launched in 1972.

USPTO Trademarks › National Union Electric Corporation › Sanitaire Application #72195008

Timeline
1939-11-16 Date of First Use
1964-06-05 Application Filed
1965-03-30 Trademark Registered
2015-03-30 Location: GENERIC WEB UPDATE
2015-03-30 Renewal Date
2015-03-30 Status: Live/Registered
2019-07-31 Transaction Date

_______

Model List (1972-present)

Blue Line: SC679, SC684, SC684E, SC689, SC886, SC887, SC887A, SC888, SC899, S634, and S647

Red Line: SC684F-2, SC684F-3, SC689A-2, SC689A-3, SC886E, SC886E-1, SC886E-2, SC886E-3, SC887B-2, SC887B-3

Eureka also made special edition F&G uprights for Kmart. These are easy to identify because they all had 3 digit model numbers. They were not rebranded with the Kmart name....they just had unique colours that could only be found in Kmart stores. If you search for "Eureka vacuum ads Kmart", you will see some of these models.

paul-2023012815072104408_1.jpg

paul-2023012815072104408_2.jpg
 
Paul

The early 600 series in the 1970s included:
641A, 641B = 1972-74?
643A, 643B, 643D = 1974-80, also sold by Montgomery Ward as SP8000 from 1977-80
698A, 698B = 1978-80, also sold by Montgomery Ward as SP8005 from 1978-79

~Ben
 
I can add two more

SC888 Red commercial "super clean" 7amp shake out bag headlight,chrome hood
SC679 " " 4amp shake out bag chrome hood,no light

This is a deep rabbit hole especially when you get to the newer models currently on sale. Some examples are: Super quiet line, multi-surface models, dura-lite, cordless,backpacks,Force Quiet-clean, Eon, Tradition (which are the old school models)
most models are 12" wide cleaning path but you can still get the 16"wide SC899.

I think Les has or did have a really nice blue line and another member posted a while back with a box-top blue line that is really a nice model. I hope they chime in on this. Like I said this is a deep rabbit hole to go down but well worth it in the end. I have 3 other Sanitaires and when I locate them I will add to list if not already added by others. Thanks for your efforts, you and eurekaprince, texbodemer,hoover300 and others have really compiled and shared a lot of info on Eurekas,again thanks!
 
Thanks a lot, Ben & Kirbyklekter - much appreciated!

I have to admit, though, that I didn't realize that there were such a variety of Sanitaire styles (that the rabbit hole was so deep). I was only thinking of the classic hood style.

Questions: Did any of the Sanitaires take F&G bags, or were the ST bags available from the start of the relaunch of the series in the late '60s/early '70s?

What is the model of the one featured in the brochure? I can't make it out. Is it one of the models you listed, Ben?

Recently I saw a couple different after-market brands of disposable bags for Eureka 200 & 300 series, so I'm thinking that the early Sanitaires were possibly the 300s?
 
Paul….I think bagged Sanitaire uprights took F&G bags from the very beginning. The ST set up with the plastic tube is relatively recent….maybe from a decade or two ago.
 
Thanks, Ben & Brian,

I haven't yet found an online source of archived commercial equipment catalogs, so I'm grateful for your knowledge.
 
I

Did have a sanitaire blue line I sold on ebay. I l
Want a widetrack but not a commercial beat to heck one.
I have a eureka that has the same motor. It's green one with a headlight. I have the ST bag setup on it with sanitaire brand hepa bags

Thanks for posting this info its great info.
 
Thanks, Ben. I feel like I'm in "Eureka College" lately!

Btw, I found some more Sanitaire model numbers-types at ereplacement.com:

S634A/A-1/A-2/B/D/D-1
S639A
S647A/B/B-1/D/E/E-1
S649A
S652A
S654A/B
S655A
S657A
S659A
S661A/B/E
S662A
S663A/B/D
S670A/A-1/A-2/B/D
S607D/D-1
S677A/A-1/A-2/B/D/D-1
SC675A
SC678A-1
SC679G/H/J-1/J-2/J-3/JGS/JGS-1
SC684E/F/F-1/F-2/F-3
SC688A/A-1
SC689A/A-1/A-2/A-3
SC695A/A-1
SC881A/A-1
SC882A/A-1
SC883A/A-1
SC886b/D/E/E-1/E-2/E-3/
SC887A/B
SC688A/A-1/
SC689A-1/A-2/A-3
SC695A/A-1
SC881A/A-1
SC882A/A-1
SC883A/A-1
SC886D/E/E-1/E-2
 
Just wonderin'

Does anyone know what the numbers and letters that precede the model number stand for? All of mine are just marked with model# like SC888. I'm seeing more of this in the later models with as many as four letters and numbers tagged at the end.
 
Whenever a slight modification was made to a cleaner, Eureka usually just added a letter to the model number….A, B, C, etc. I think if there was a more significant change, the model number itself was increased by one or two… For example the 1401 upright had no height adjustment but the 1403 had a two position Dial a Nap adjuster…
 
Brian or others can confirm or deny, but I think the SC model number prefix stands for 'Sanitaire Commercial'.

As for later Eureka series with letter prefixes I'm not too familiar with them but know what you mean. I think those with an E prefix might just stand for 'Eureka'. Other letters may either be abbreviations of model names or unique features. Further, it's possible that the prefixes delineate the Midea Group's series from the previous ones; or maybe they ran out of 4-digit combinations.
 
SC686A?

I seem to have an oddball Sanitaire, not in any of the above posts. It's a model SC686A from around 1980. In looking for parts, never seen it listed, but any replacement parts compatible with an SC 886 seem to fit it perfectly. It's a red commercial cleaner, originally equipped with a dump bag, Dial-A-Nap knob, and a VG-1 brush roll. The latter two of which have been upgraded. The brush roll's bristles and bearings were shot, so I replaced it with a VG-2, as that's what was readily available. I later also upgraded it to an aftermarket F&G bag setup.
 

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