Seeking Eureka Express information

[durango159]

I recently acquired a Black with teal blue buttons, wheels and furniture guard Eureka Express canister 8281 Type D. The brush roll that came on it is wooden with 2 rows of bristles. It has on board tool storage for a crevice tool, dusting brush and upholstery nozzle. The handle is gas pump style with sliding on/off of power nozzle and also a sliding valve for suction. The machine states 5.0 Horse Power, 12 Amps.
I am curious if anyone knows the history of these machines. When abouts they were manufactured, what models were available how they faired amongst reviewers and if they were sort of mid line for Eureka, top of line, etc.

My first thoughts were that these machines were a direct competitor to the Hoover Dimension 1000. However prior experience with a Dimension 1000 is that the Hoover had more suction yet was quieter. I've seen teal blue, pink, black and white with Blue Trim, Express named units but don't know anything about them. I think my machine was a low featured model in the lineup as the cord seems very short and it has a wooden brushroll instead of metal. But that could be a replacement brush roll.

If anyone has any pictue or knowledge about these, I'd be curious!! Thanks!!

 

[durango159]

Power nozzle picture

Here is the power nozzle with wooden brush roll. I was told by another collector that this brush roll is genuine Eureka. Did all of the Express power nozzles have the same motors or would this model with the lesser brush roll have a lesser motor as well?

Thanks for the help and info.

 

[eurekaprince]

Hi Rob,

Though I never owned one, I loved them from afar!!! . And I used to pretend I was shopping for one at many vac shops and Sears just to test drive them!

These sleek vacs were introduced in the mid 1980's by Eureka. They seemed to be the next "new" design to come out of Bloomington, Illinois after the great Eureka Ultra upright. The top of the line version was black with coral pink buttons, wheels and accents and came with an electronic variable speed motor controlled by Eureka's first ever "gas pump" canister hose handle. This deluxe version was the top-rated power nozzle canister in Consumer Reports tests done around 1986 or 1987. Indeed, it was designed to compete with the Hoover Dimension and was easier to manoeuver. I think Consumer Reports ranked the Dimension second after the Express. The Dimension was a little bulkier because it carried an on board floor brush along with the standard trio of other tools - the Express only carries the the three small tools - though Eureka supplied a better horse-hair dusting brush and deluxe upholstery nozzle. I think the Express was the first Eureka to come with the new Vibra Groomer III which uses stiffened bristle strips to compete with Hoover's Quadraflex agitator.

Here's a cool TV ad for the Express:

 

[1926700]

wow....i like urs.....=)....

but there was a higher end one than that. i have one with the electronic control in the hose. and i like that machine. but the plain and simple truth is i just like a Roto matic powerteam or ironside much better. heres a pic of the TOL.

and Eurekaprince, you mentioned the Express was made to challenge the Hoover Dimension? i wanted to say ive always thought it was more made to challenge the Spirit. think about that tv ad you posted, Eureka sold the EX as a compact full sized canister. exactly what Hoover said about the Spirit....just throwing that out there for the sake of debate...=)

 

[eurekaprince]

There it is! That is the top of the line Express which was top rated by Consumer Reports! Lovely Coral Pink accents on that model. Miss Jae... does the power nozzle say Vibra Groomer III on the hood? That's probably the brush roll that Rob needs.

I think the Express was a response to Hoover's Dimension. The Hoover Spirit came later (after the Futura) and Eureka's response was the Rally which is a more compact version of the Express. Just taking guesses here Miss Jae!

 

[durango159]

My power nozzle does not say VGIII. My hood says Automatic Carpet Height Adjustment, Edge & Corner Kleener, Power View.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Rob,

I'm guessing your Eureka PN may be one with the Vibra-Groomer II, since that's the only other one in the '80s generation to have the Power View.

~Ben

 

[durango159]

Well, the power view is just the window for the belt. My vacuum has the same cover as pictured on the other Express except for not stating anything about a Vibra Groomer brushroll, and the trim color is different. The picture of the brush in mine is in the second picture down.

 

[1926700]

yes mine does say

VG III..=)

 

[kirbylux77]

Ben:

That brushroll on Rob Shore's vacuum is NOT the VibraGroomer II. The VibraGroomer II was metal with 2 replaceable brush strips, & metal nubs built-in opposite each strip for the beater-bar effect. The VibraGroomer II was used on the RotoMatic canisters, & was offered as a lower-line powerhead on the Eureka Rally canister line when they were brought out. However, I do not know if the metal brushroll was used on the Rally, but I doubt it, considering it was a lower-line offering....chances are, a wood brushroll was designed for it & used.

Rob: Just so you know, that powerhead has been tinkered with substantially. In the 1980's, Eureka was using GS Electric powerhead motors, same as Filter Queen, Rainbow & Compact/TriStar were using. The Electrolux-made motor didn't come out till the mid to late 90's....my guess would be 1997 or 1998. Somewhere along the way, the original owner would have had the powerhead motor fail, take it into a repair shop to be fixed, & the technician chose to use the Electrolux motor & replace the base to make it work, as the units with the Electrolux motor have a different set of plastic mounts. What I find puzzling, though, is WHY they would do that, when the replacement Ametek motors are still available....unless the plastic mounts in the base were broken & it needed replacing anyways, it doesn't make sense.

Oh, and since you asked the question....ALL Eureka powerhead's used the EXACT SAME GS Electric motor, regardless of brushroll they came equipped with. Until the Electrolux motor was brought out to replace it that is.

Rob

 

[1926700]

no rob....

not ALL Eureka PNs used that motor. the early 70's pwerteams used a metal cased motor made by Union Electric, then in 1979 the same motor was still used but with a plastic casing instead of metal. then in 1982 they used the GS motors. And i know you wouldn't know this cause you don't have any pre 1980 powerteams.

and for your further info, the PNS in qestion did use a metal Brush roll, maybe not Drango's but most of those used a Eureka VG III not a II but a III, which had 4 brush strips and no molded beater bears.

 

[eurekaprince]

Rob...The answer to your brush roll mystery is right there on the hood of the nozzle. The fact that Eureka avoided any mention of a Vibra Groomer (neither I nor II nor III) seems to suggest you got a bottom of the line Express which came with a basic Eureka Disturbulator. That black brush roll indeed looks like a generic replacement. I would bet that your vac came with the standard 1980's Eureka brushroll with a goldish body and red plastic beater bars and black bristles. What's weird is your basic bottom of the line Express has no Change Bag indicator but has a deluxe upholstery nozzle (that too may have been a replacement for a damaged or lost basic upholstery nozzle).

 

[eurekaprince]

Oops ...nix the comment about the upholstery nozzle! My brain merged the pic of the TOL Electronic Express with your basic vac! My mistake....

 

[eurekaprince]

Here's a great clip of a middle of the line Eureka Express probably owned by someone here at Vacuumland. Nice pale skyblue colour with white accents. You'll also see the much talked-about Vibra-Groomer III with four rows of reinforced bristles like Hoover's Quadraflex agitator.

Now why didn't Eureka provide nice white attachments with this lovely vac? I've never been a fan of black attachments - they seem to be dangerous for light or colourful walls and home furnishings and fabrics...

 

[durango159]

I've seen that video before!!

I find it very strange however:

The machine in that video is labeled MOL and has a 4.0 Horse Power Motor.

My Machine is considered a BOL yet has a 5.0 Horse Power Motor.

Why would the BOL have a more powerful motor and why would they differ motor performance that greatly through the line?

 

[eurekaprince]

You know Rob, I am beginning to think that there were two generations of Express vac lines. The first Express line did not use black at all - you can see blue ones and white and green ones. These even offered white tools. None of these seem to have made it to the rankings of Consumer Reports when they first debuted (1985?).

The second generation (1987?) seems to be characterized by black hoods for the canister and power nozzle, with other accent colours used for the buttons and wheels and bumper (coral pink, light blue etc.). This is the line-up that created the TOL Electronic version we see above. And it probably created your low end basic version as well. This new generation seems to have had more powerful motors. That's why the MOL one in white and green has a weaker motor than your BOL model.

Just a guess here. I am sure someone with a binder of spec sheets showing copyright dates can pinpoint the evolution more accurately.

 

[durango159]

Different motors

Rob Walton if they did change the base, they kept the rear wheels, cause they match color. Also the kept the hood, as the trim on that matches.

The motor on this machine looks similar to one off of a World Vac Style power nozzle.

My Eureka RotoMatic power nozzle from my green 1784B with head light does the black colored motor as Rob Walton describes above.

A different Eureka RotoMatic power nozzle that I have is burgundy colored actually says Eureka RotoMatic and is a non headlight equipped flat design. It has a different motor. The power nozzle claims its 1.5Amps, looks to be a metal outer shell and is rounder in shape than the boxy looking black motor seen on the 1784B. The motor is all closed up, different from the motor in my Express which has the fan and a lot of the wiring exposed.

 

[eurekaprince]

Oh just another point: the second generation of Express vacs also shows the word "Express" in slightly larger letters. The black ones are definitely from a later year and must have all offered more powerful motors.

 

[kirbylux77]

Miss Jae:

NOT SO FAST on that remark of me not having any pre-1980 Powerteam Canisters. My Hoover Celebrity canister, which I obtained from Zachary Grant (Goadie12) IS a late 1970's Powerteam Canister. Now, the PowerMatic PN on this one happens to be from a Spirit, but nonetheless it is a pre-1980's Powerteam Canister. So, I got you on that one . Plus, I have saved some motors from 1970's Powernozzles to re-use in newer Powernozzles....such as the Eureka Aero Powerhead I have right now which has a Northland Electric PN motor from an early 1970's Kenmore powerhead.

As to you saying most Eureka powerteams in the 1970's used Union Electric motors, that would be in the late 1970's that they changed to the Voorlas motor. Voorlas Manufacturing later changed their name to GS Electric in 1982. I picked up a Compact powerhead once, which of course is the same as the Eureka Rotomatic powerhead....the motor date was May 1977, & it was made by Voorlas Manufacturing & had a metal case. So obviously the switch to GS Electric occured much sooner than you thought.

And what's this about the VibraGroomer III having no beater bars?!?! Jason, are you going blind or something?!What in the heck do you think those raised metal bars are directly behind each brush strip?! And since there are four brush strips, there are FOUR beater bars, not none at all as you stated.

Brian: That brushroll that Rob Shore has is Genuine Eureka, NOT an aftermarket replacement. This brushroll was standard issue in the BOL Eureka Express powerhead. MOL & TOL models got the VibraGroomer III. It is still being used today in the Sweep & Groom central vac BOL powerhead, which sells for $100 dollars. The next step up is the MOL Sweep & Groom with VGIII, & TOL is with VGIII, but it has the headlight instead of the on/off switch.

Also, when you mentioned the Disturbulator brushroll may have been the correct one in the Express powerhead, that is incorrect. Eureka used that brushroll only in the RotoMatic powerheads, & as you suggest it was in their BOL powerhead. Looking back on my first post, it's likely the Disturbulator brushroll was used in the RotoMatic powerhead on the Eureka Rally.

Rob