Sanitaire S645: Old School But Not Exactly Old...

[human]

Let There Be Light!

I wasn't expecting it today but the postman delivered the headlight bulb a little while ago. I just installed it and fired it up for a second to confirm that it works. It was nice to see it lit up for the first time. That just leaves the cord to install, whenever it arrives.

It still kind of mystifies me why the engineers at Electrolux chose to use two different types of screws (Phillips on the bottom and Torx on the height control knob) instead of just one type. It would have been a whole lot more convenient to have the same type of screws both places so only one tool would be needed to take the cover off. The Phillips screws were probably marginally less expensive, so they with those to save something like half a cent per machine to make the bean counters happy.

So the vacuum is certainly usable as it is now and has certainly had a bit of a transformation from the beaten down survivor it was when I found it last week. It's really turning out to be a very nice machine.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Came late to your Sanitaire journey

I had answers to all your queries but they were handled by some of the best already! I'll just ad a little potpourri to the list. Two of my rescued Eurekas had come to me with a hoover fan belt used in place of the spring to hold the bag to the collar.Works fine, I left that way and the belt doesn't rust as some of the springs do, so just a thought.

Apparently the blue Sanitronics were called the "Pro-Line." I'm not sure what the difference with regards to performance is between the red and blue lines, I know the blueline has a "dressier" appearance than the red. I don't notice any difference, the motors are the same on similar vintaged models.

The screws!! My guess as to why they varied from Torx to Phillips with some having both? I think, and this is a stretch, but as you know Eureka changed ownership a number of times along with where they were manufactured. All of my older Eurekas had torx screws holding the motor in the chassis and always on the round height adjuster. They all had springs holding the hood down. The newer plastic Eurekas that I've seen in bagless form, use Phillips mostly.

I guess the Sanitaires are the only ones still using the round fan belts with the original motors since everything else made is using a bi-pass motor. That 7amp motor is a beast isn't it? What size motor is in your Red Sanitaire? I don't know if this means anything or not but the field coils in my blue S. are blue as well! I also heard that the Sanitronics made in Mexico are every bit as good as the USA models are yeah! Can't comment on the made in China models other than they don't look as rugged as previous versions.

 

[human]

I was able to replace the spring with an original one off of a disused dump bag I'd taken off of my other Sanitaire. It isn't as shiny as the damaged one I took off but it isn't rusty, either.

My new blue Sanitaire has the word "Professional" emblazoned on the hood, whereas my older red one says "Heavy Duty Commercial" on the bag. My understanding is the blue line is intended for home use, not commercial. From comparing my two machines and looking at specifications on the Web, the main difference between the blue Professional line and the red Commercial line, other than cosmetics, is in the cord. The red line uses a grounded three-lead cord with a three-prong plug and the blue Professional line uses a two-lead cord with a two-prong plug. Also, most red line machines come with a 50-foot cord, although a 30-footer is optional. Conversely, the blue line comes standard with a 30-foot cord with an optional 50-footer. Other than that, the differences come down to warranty terms and distribution channels. The red line, I believe, is sold primarily through commercial resellers while the blue line is sold primarily through retail.

I don't see any real difference in build quality between my two machines, other than the red one has a metal hood and the blue one's is plastic. Another minor difference is the blue one has slightly larger rear wheels that are set farther apart. The rear wheels on my red one are completely hidden under the chassis while those on my blue one are exposed. I believe this represents an evolutionary design change over time for both lines and I'm not sure it makes much, if any, difference in handling.

It amazes me that even though my two Sanitaires were manufactured some 30 years apart, they share a huge number of common and interchangeable parts. Interestingly, my red SC686 has a 6 amp motor while my blue S645 has a 7 amp motor. I'm not sure how much difference that one amp makes.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Same here

I don't notice much difference between the 6 or 7amp motor. My SC888 has the newer style chassis like your blueline. I do like that it's much easier to access the fan without having to "pop the hood" and unbolt the motor to change.

I don't know what the previous owner vacuumed up but it blew a hole through the side of the fan chamber about the size of a 50 cent piece, you remember those? As a temporary fix to patch the hole I cut out the top part of a plastic solo drinking cup to fit over the hole and glued in place with apoxy and then from the back side I used some really good duct tape to reinforce the patch. Crazy but it actually worked fine with no dust leaking from the area. $28 for a new chassis about a year later.

One of the members here scored a special Blueline Pro about a year ago or so. It has the box style bag that's similar to a few high end Eurekas. I don't know if you saw the pics but this was a really nice machine. You don't see many around. I would say the condition was deserving of the "Keither Gold Standard" award!

 

[human]

Nice fix on the fan cover. Reminds me of when I repaired a plastic elbow connector for a two-sided Electrolx 'flippy' floor tool using epoxy and a piece I cut from an expired credit card. Three years later and it's still holding. Gotta love those 'McGyver' jobs.

I don't recall that Blueline Pro you mentioned. Eureka/Sanitaire definitely liked to play mix-n-match with available components to create different variations and models of the same basic machine, especially when you consider that in addition to Sanitaire's red and blue lines, they also sold the same basic machine under the Eureka banner for many years. My sense is the blue line Sanitaires eventually became a replacement for the traditional Eureka machines.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Did you ever

get a chance to see VacLab's YouTube video of a duel headed Sanitaire? One handle two vacs. 24" cleaning path. I see that your model S645 came with a commercial duty 7amp motor with the extended 10 year warranty.Nice because the new models have a 2 yr. warranty,not that that applies to us second hand owners! They are rated as 2000 hr. motors so that's a good thing.If I were in the market for a new Sanitaire I'd consider the Industrial, (not commercial) Industrial H3480 $309.00 Pricey yes, comes with a metal base and hood, 2 speeds,six heights, the works. I was just curious what the current flagship direct air model model looked like when I stumbled on the Industrial line. When new your 645 went for about $219-245. It should last as long as you want it to!

 

[human]

Yeah, I saw that 'two-headed monster'. The thing looks like it was designed in somebody's garage after a few too many beers—you know, that point when the most outlandish of notions start looking like 'good ideas'. I'd imagine the user experience would be somewhat akin to running a lawnmower.

I feel like my S645 was a good buy, even with the work it has needed. It's coming together exactly as I had visualized it would. The motor is definitely one of its strong points and one of the things that pushed me toward purchasing it. Given how filthy it was underneath, it's surprisingly pristine inside the motor compartment—hardly any dirt or dust at all and no oxidation on the metal. I have no doubt this machine has a long life ahead of it.

 

[lesinutah]

Difference

The blue line I had was the top of the line 7 amp made in mexico triple filter bag. The blue line had a grey handle with the power switch on the handle. Blue is more aesthetics and convenience. The red line are mass produced and are made to be rebuilt.
They do have ST bag setup that makes the vacuum too full hepa.
The cfm off f&g bag is around 130. The st setup is around 145. Its an 12 percent increase in cfm. I find the extra air makes it easy on very thick carpet.
There easy to use cheap to maintain and solid performing vacuums. Red or blue there both impressive.
I almost ended my post but it struck me. Threads in the past mention costco and sam's club selling sanitaire blue lines.

 

[human]

My blue line S645 isn't quite that refined. Overall, it seems to be a red line machine clothed in blue livery. It has a foot-operated switch in the same relative location as on my red line SC686, although it does have a flush cover with the switch itself hidden underneath. It has an F&G bag setup from the factory and the outer bag claims "micron filtration". I like the idea of the ST setup but I'm fine with the F&G since I had already retrofitted my SC686 that way. I love how simple they are to work on and how cheap they are to maintain. Buying parts in quantity is the key.

According to tracking, the cord is due to be delivered Tuesday or Wednesday. Since I've got to remove both cord hooks to take the old cord off, I've decided to replace the lower one with a white hook to match the top one I put on when I got it. I have extras of those, so why not? It may not be the correct color for the machine but at least two will match.

 

[human]

I almost don't want to jinx it...

Tracking shows the replacement cord is out for delivery today so it should be here later this afternoon. Unfortunately, I won't have time to tear into the vacuum and install it until tomorrow but I'm excited to complete this project.

In looking at the vacuum, I've discovered the idea of swapping the dark gray lower cord hook for a white one to match the upper hook I've already put on is going to be a good call for more than just aesthetic reasons. The white ones are considerably longer, which will come in handy for the 40-foot cord I'm putting on. The original 30-foot cord pretty much fills up the smaller cord hook, likely making it incompatible with the longer cord. The main reason I went ahead and bought this vacuum is I had most of the parts on hand to fix it up, apparently including ones I didn't know I needed at the time.

 

[human]

Project complete!

So the cord arrived earlier this afternoon and although there was other stuff I needed to do, I just got excited and had to stop and install it. As it turns out, the hardest part was getting the strain relief installed. This was because the new cord is slightly heavier gauge—17awg vs. the original's 18awg—so it has a slightly greater diameter. Once I finally persuaded it to go into place, it was smooth sailing from there.

In addition to changing out the lower cord hook as described above, I also swapped out the light gray height selector knob for a black one I had that matches the both the new cord and the power switch. It's not exactly how it came from the factory but it looks pretty nice. The only thing left that I could possibly do at this point is to replace the brush strips but except for a little mashed down spot on one of them, they're nowhere near the point of needing replacing.

I'll post some photos tomorrow.

 

[human]

Picture Day...

Now that the Sanitaire project is completed and it's not raining, I dragged the blue S645 I've been working on and its sibling the red SC686 out onto the deck for a photo shoot. Even though the blue one is some 30 years newer, it's amazing how little they really changed over the years.

Looking at the blue one, you can see some of the modifications I made including the larger white cord hooks, the longer and heavier black replacement cord and the black height adjustment knob. I don't know why but I just like the look of the black knob better than the light gray one it came with, especially with the black cord. I measured the cord hooks last night and the white ones are about half an inch longer and a quarter inch wider from the handle than the remaining original dark gray one. They easily accommodate the 40-foot cord, which I think would have overwhelmed the smaller dark gray hooks. All in all, I'm pleased with how it turned out.

 

[suckolux]

Nice job there buddy! As usual, I agree with everything you have said and done there it's an improvement!

 

[lesinutah]

Weird

The newer has a light, plastic and no vents. The older metal has vents but no light.
The small differences.
There a nice tandem.

 

[human]

Both machines have vents, just in different locations. The older one with the metal hood has them on the sides and the newer one with the plastic hood has a vent at the top. The blue machine's hood seems to be the same as the tan Eureka in reply #5 of the thread below, while the gray machine in the initial post of that thread has no vents at all.

https://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?41279_5

 

[lesinutah]

Vents

The underside in the sections between the wheels there is vents there.
I wonder if vents are how they release a new design.

 

[human]

Both of mine are vented identically underneath. The design of these things remained incredibly consistent for an amazingly long time. They're like the Model-T Ford of vacuum cleaners—simple, rugged, dependable, easy to repair. It's a case study in evolutionary design.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Oooops,late again!

I've got older Sanitaire/Eurekas with rows of vents on top of the hood, I mean, 70% of the top is vented, then some with a row or two. Also some have removable plastic scoop vents on the motor just beside the side vents of the hood but under the hood.Looking at the hood on your blue machine kind of proves the old adage "the more things change the more they stay the same."