Serendipity

[DesertTortoise]

So I bought this gray Kenmore 4.1, the first of the 5055 bagged machines. Motors on these are still mounted vertically, but the motor is up and the fan faces down, drawing air in from the bottom of the bag compartment. I've been shining on it to make it Purdy but it needed a companion Powermate.

I teamed it up with that gray Kenmore/Wessle-Werk thingie I found on eBay for $35. Glad it was cheap. Ain't much of a powered brush, but it's ok for tile floors.

Then I saw this on eBay. Wow, matches the color and graphics of my gray 4.1, the price was right and no one even bid against me. Serendipity! Another $35 Kenmore brush, but this one beats the carpet into submission. And, interestingly, it is quieter than either my older Powermate from my cream colored 4.1 (that thing hurts my ears) or my brand new Hayden. No high pitched sound at all, just a deep rumble.

Couldn't resist showing an image of the inside while changing a HEPA bag. It stays nice and clean inside using HEPA bags. Also tossed in an image that includes the Wessel-Werk head.

 

[super-sweeper]

yay!

I saw a cream 4.1 today, it was interesting as it had a shop-vac style hose, with a powered cable running down it. Was thinking of adding it to my Kenmore Arsenel (Spelt right?). You know your Kenmores, should I go for it?

 

[DesertTortoise]

Was this 4.1 a square one with a big lunch bucket handle or a rounded one like the gray 4.1 depicted above? I can't think of any Kenmore canister that had an external power cord. It sounds to me like it was a square Kenmore, the original straight end hose cracked and since those hoses are hard to find someone jury rigged a hose from a central vacuum system so they could keep on using their original power head. You can always find a hose if that is all it needs (no really you can if you are persistent), or if you find the right cuffs you can make a hose from two wire hose stock used by central vacuums (how I survive). I would only be concerned that the previous owner, um, innovated a little and kludged a power cord receptacle. Some central vac power cords will plug into the original two prong Kenmore plug on the vacuum but won't fit the original hose cuff (I had that problem once buying a hose from MD Central Vacuum they claimed was a direct swap for the original hose). If the stock parts on the vacuum are not altered then go for it. Fine vacuum you will likely never wear out. Show us some pics so we can make a more educated judgement.

 

[super-sweeper]

it,

It was rounded! Like above, but smaller! I have one like it in grey with an integrated hose, I'll try to grab a picture of it!

 

[DesertTortoise]

I really want to see some images of this vacuum. I am not aware of a smaller version of the 4.1 but I get surprises every day.

Sears stopped stocking two wire hose. This forces determined owners to,um, innovate, yeah, that's the word for it. Tonight I have to take some images of my old hoses and send them to MD Central Vacuum (they are over the hill from me in glorious Bakersfield Californis, home of the Buck Owens Sound) to see if they can put their two wire hose on Kenmore hose ends. The hose they sell that they claim fits old Kenmores doesn't.

 

[DesertTortoise]

Here is a funny thing about Sears Parts Direct. I have another Powermate exactly like the gray one I just bought, identical in every way but color and it is a couple of years older. It is cream colored with brown trim and some orange graphics. It came with my old square bodied 4.1. Both are US made Powermates. See the headlight lense? Both Powermates have the exact same lense, but the one on the older Powermate is missing. If I enter the model number for the older Powermate in Sears Parts Direct and look up that lense, it says that part is no longer available. But if I type in the model number for the newer Powermate, it shows the same part being available. Weird. I ordered two and we'll see what shows up.