Sanitaire SC686—Dumped the Dump Bag

[human]

Anyone who has read my rants on here is certainly well aware that am no fan of dump / shakeout bags; in fact, I loathe them almost as much as I do plasticrap bagless cleaners. It is for this reason that I really haven't used my Sanitaire SC686 vacuum cleaner, except for testing purposes, since I acquired it last fall. In fact, I would say the dump bag was my absolute least favorite characteristic (I won't grace it with the word 'feature') of that machine.

At the time I got it, the best price I could find on an F&G conversion kit was in the $40-$50 range, so I let the idea go. Last Sunday, as I was looking at parts for the Electrolux Diplomat Lx I rescued from beside a dumpster, I stumbled across a deal I couldn't pass up—a genuine Sanitaire outer bag, made by Eureka Electrolux, which is why it showed up in my search, a dozen generic F&G bags and two belts for $25 shipped.

The conversion kit arrived a little while ago and the upgrade was super easy. Just swap the outer bag for the dump bag (no tools or modifications required) and stick in an F&G bag. The best part is it's completely reversible, if for some reason I or a future owner decides to go back all original, it's a simple swap.

I think the whole process took about three minutes. I guess I did it right. I connected the inner and outer bags' fill tubes and then stuffed the inner bag into the outer bag. Or do you stuff first and then connect? Or does it matter? I haven't fired it up yet but I would daresay it should belch at least a little less dust than it did before and it will be infinitely easier to use going forward.

Believe it or not, the only thing giving me pause right now is the dump bag. I took it outside to empty it (for the first and last time) before I put it down in the barn with the one for my Kirby Heritage but I couldn't pull the metal header off the bag. Any tips on how that's supposed to be accomplished?

 

[kirbyklekter]

Just heading out the door

when I saw your post. I've got my SC888 completely apart sitting in a restaurant bus tray minus the handle of course. I'm going to do the same this spring or bust. Does your conversion kit convert yours to a top fill or bottom fill F&G bag system? On my cloth dump bag, this one is all cotton, I have another that is of man made fiber,poly ester or something synthetic. I turned the outer bag inside out and vacuumed the b'jeebers out of it and washed it with metal clamp intact. The bottom filled are similar to the older Eureka vacuums using a sleeved paper bag that has usually a metal springy clamp you roll over the sleeve to fasten said bag. Then later they came out with the upper filled bag, much better, that has the fill tube at top where you push the bag collar on to the tube at top. Does your new outer bag have two holes drilled into the bottom collar to screw it to the bottom base of the cleaner or a swing type clamp like the original bag had?

 

[human]

The bag has a swing clamp, just like the original and it's the older configuration with the short bottom fill tube and the 'snorkel' on the paper bag.

 

[human]

So I finally got around to giving the Sanitaire a little test run a few minutes ago with its new bag system in place. It worked fine the way I put the bag in—snorkel first—so I guess that's okay. Overall, I'm very pleased with the setup. It's the way the machine should have been all along.

I cannot attest to the exact fiber content but to the touch, the new the outer bag feels like the same cotton canvas as the original bag; in fact, other than having a zipper up the back, you'd never know it wasn't the original. I'm guessing it may be new old stock.

I finally gave up on trying to pull the metal header off the dump bag and just put it down in the barn, dirt and all. I even tried standing on the bag and pulling it with both hands. It just wouldn't budge, which further reinforces that buying the F&G kit was the right call.

 

[human]

I 'beheadered' the dump bag...

No, I didn't use a guillotine, just a big screwdriver, one that I use more for prying things than for turning screws. I ran it up under the edge of the header in a few spots where it meets the fabric and gently pried things apart until I could slide the bag out. It turns out there was tiny amount of rust on the inside of the header that had caused the metal to adhere to the bag's fabric.

I took the bag over to the garbage bin and shook it out vigorously (I'm still sneezing from that little exercise) but I couldn't get everything out. there's a lot of crap adhered to the inside of the bag. I guess one day when I'm super incredibly, phenomenally, desperately bored, I can work on it with my shop vac, but not today. I'm just glad the dump bag is no longer part of my Sanitaire's work flow. I may actually start using and enjoying the thing now instead of just using it for a glorified doorstop.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Those old outer bags

are a pain to open up as you saw. Mine rusted too. I am going to see if there is a top fill bag kit because it just seems that having the air blowing in from the top instead of through the bottom with all that's settled in at the bottom would be ideal. If they don't have it I guess I can borrow from one of my 'domestic household' Eurekas. That would save me from having to drill holes in the bottom of the base which is plastic, to bolt down the lower collar, shoot I don't know, we'll see. Glad you like the new set up. I was vacuuming my friends moms living room and she was sitting in her recliner watching and said "wow that really picks up a lot" and I said yep, and then I brushed up against her recliner with the huge cotton dump bag and POOF, big cloud of dust blew through where the bag hit the corner of her chair. She didn't say anything but it was awkward! Do you notice any difference right off? Any quieter?

 

[lesinutah]

Bag

I use car hose clamps instead of the spring.
Les

 

[human]

I know what you mean about the dust. I remember seeing a bit of a dust cloud come through the fabric of the dump bag whenever I'd first turn it on. It definitely doesn't do that now. In terms of noise, it's hard to say. I hadn't run it in several months before today and didn't think to do so before I swapped the bags, so I can't really compare before and after. It wasn't inordinately loud, though.

The paper bags that came with the kit do fill from near the top. They have a paper tube (I jokingly call it a snorkel) about a foot long that comes down and fits over a stubby plastic tube at the bottom of the bag that's about four inches long. The two are held in place with a 'spring ring', which isn't all that bad to negotiate. I just push the spring about halfway up the snorkel, then fit the open end of the snorkel onto the tube at the bottom and roll the spring ring down until it grips both. I think you'd be fighting it if you tried to roll it upward into place from the bottom.

I've added the link to the eBay listing so you can see what it looks like.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12-Bags-fo...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

 

[tolivac]

An even better Sanitaire outer bag is the one that uses ST bags.These are usually made from Filtrete and readly available from vac shops and janitorial supply shops.They fit on the fill tube in the outer bag--no paper fill tube that tears or clogs-no rubber or spring collars.Bag just snapss out or in.And I thought the F&G bags were no longer made today.Hope you have a huge supply!Those are the paper bags I DON'T like.Go to an ST bag-Sanitaire-or for Royal B outer bag.I am sure you will find these even BETTER!

 

[kirbyklekter]

Thanks to the both of you!

 

[human]

I agree the paper fill tube is an odd design and not exactly ideal in that it presents an unnecessary weak point in the system. I would certainly prefer a permanent, rigid fill tube but in my experience, they generally work okay if they're installed properly. Whatever. I'll take it over a dump bag any day of the week.

Eureka, or whoever owns the Eureka name now, may have stopped making F&G bags but third party F&G bags are abundantly available. There are even cloth HEPA versions available, if that's your thing.