So I found a CMS 1000

[broomvac]

Hello All,

Today I purchased the CMS 1000 shown below for a grand total of $10. Honestly, I am astounded by its condition; it's virtually spotless. This machine looks like it has seen very little use. Usually when I come across vacuums at thrift stores, the are beat up "high mileage" units, frequently covered in scratches and missing parts. By comparison, this unit is flawless. My guess is that it has been used only a couple of times.

It came complete with extension hose, extension wands, bare floor nozzle, upholstery nozzle, crevice tool, spare belt, and all paperwork kept neatly inside its original CMS 1000 bag.

I don't know too much about these. There was a Cleartrak, a CMS 1000, a CMS 2000, and a Workhorse. When were each of these models made, and what are the differences between them?

I have also heard that Bissell made this vacuum for Amway. Is this why the spare belt is for a Bissell, or is this just a coincidence? Please enlighten me.

More pics to come.

 

[briguy]

Nice find!

I have one as well. All the same goodies came with mine. Found it at an estate sale a couple years ago. They are a piece of vacuum history. This was the Amway model that used James Dysons original design. He sued Amway and won when they had Bissell produce this without his knowledge. There are multiple threads on here somewhere about that. They don’t have much filtration and leak dirt like a sieve since they have no cyclone. Here’s the Clear Trak/ CMS 1000 website if you ever need any parts. http://www.cleartrak.com/accessories.html

 

[huskyvacs]

BriGuy, I have an Amway ClearTrak too, but it is devoid of any model name. It just says that it is copyright 1991, and has a serial number of A305274. It has the standard beige on beige housing with blue hose.

It looks like this one as far as the label is concerned: https://img.letgo.com/images/6a/59/0a/26/6a590a26b2e57e0b14c46061cb6b0c73.jpg?impolicy=img_900

Would this be the first model ClearTrak, the one that got Amway in trouble?

 

[broomvac]

Time permitted me to snap a few pictures of my acquisition. Below you can see it in as-found condition. The only thing I have done to it is turn it on to listen to the motor's health. Not to my surprise, the motor sounded fine. I am pleased to report that the vacuum does not have any broken parts.

 

[broomvac]

The ensemble.

All of this came with my CMS 1000:
1x CMS 1000 Accessory Kit Bag
1x Extension Hose
1x Elbow
2x Extension Wands
1x Hard Floor Nozzle
1x Uphostery Nozzle
1x Crevice tool
1x Owners manual + Parts Diagram
4x Micron Filters
1x Bissell Style 7 Belt

Quite the haul.

 

[broomvac]

Strikingly similar:

 

[broomvac]

This must be an early example.

Stamped inside the filter compartment is "880411." April 11, 1988, or November 4, 1988?

 

[broomvac]

A bit on belts

According to www.cleartrak.com, because it has the grey brush roll my vacuum requires the narrow belt, which is no longer available.

Is the Bissell Style 7 belt which came with my vacuum the official "narrow" belt it requires? The vacuum was manufactured by Bissell, after all. Or, is this simply a coincidence? I sure hope the Bissell belt is compatible with this vacuum. I don't want to have to spend on a new brush roll, especially considering the original is in such good condition.

Anyhow, expect post-restoration pictures before too long.

http://www.cleartrak.com/parts/wide-belt-3pk.html

 

[huskyvacs]

@ broomvac

It's likely YY/MM/DD as is typical in industrial applications.

 

[gj3476]

Broomvac, you’re CMS 1000 vacuum is really nice! I wish I had one!

 

[kirbyvertibles]

This was the first model late 80's then the csm 2,000 (difference unknown) then early 90s the cleartrack, only difference was a carpet height adjustment was added and the cyclone or whatever was slightly different in the dirt cup. The cleartrack ran all the way till the end of The Am-way vacuum sometime in early 2000's or so then the folks who worked in the Amway refurb center decided to pull their resources together and purchase the right to continue to manufacture the cleartrack but under their own name breaking away from Amway and they came up with the name Workhorse. This is what one of the Workhorse sales reps told me when I was inquiring about becoming a dealer. As far as I know the Workhorse is 100% a cleartrack with a different name.

 

[panasonicvac]

I posted this thread last year about the differences between these four models.

http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?33501_8

 

[broomvac]

Thank you all for the kind responses.

Panasonicvac, after reading your thread, I wanted to give you a bit of info about my CMS 1000.

Although my machine is the CMS 1000, and a seemingly early one at that, my vacuum has the 8 amp motor rather than the 7 amp one. You can see this in one of the pictures I posted above. This is the first instance I have seen of a CMS 1000 with an 8 amp motor. Unusual?

Also, the inner cyclone does not have a perforated shroud. There is a deflector ring which gives it the appearance of having one, but there is no shroud.

 

[broomvac]

Restoration in progress

I have begun cleaning up my CMS 1000. Honestly, there has been little I’ve had to correct on this machine since nothing about it is broken. In fact, the only parts I’m replacing are the foam filter, the micron filter, and the belt. That’s it. With the exception of the bin and the inner cyclone, it’s hardly even dusty! I’m really getting the sense this vacuum has been used only a handful of times prior.

Thankfully, this machine is very modular, which makes disassembly for cleaning it straightforward.

Speaking of the inner cyclone, I have included a picture of it below in case anyone wanted to see how it looks. It has no shroud. You can also see the new genuine foam filter I ordered.

Any word on the Bissell style 7 belts? I’d really like to use them if I can.

Stay tuned for the final product.

 

[panasonicvac]

Yes it was very unusual for the CMS 1000 to have an 8 amp motor instead of 7. I just thought I'd share the other differences between all models.

 

[broomvac]

The “after.”

Here are some glamour shots of the final product. I can’t take too much credit for the way it looks; all I did was scrub it up, replace the filters, and replace the belt. Turns out that Bissell style 7 belt was a great fit for the CMS 1000.

The amount of dirt that this vacuum took out of my carpet really surprised me. Since I vacuum regularly using some pretty good machines (Hoover Concept One, Convertible, 7-amp Sanitaire, Kirby Diamond Edition, and more) I would find it unusual for any vacuum to remove this much sand from my carpet in one go, much less this seemingly ineffective unit with its relatively low power single-stage motor and soft bristles. At one point while I was cleaning the entry way from my back yard I could actually see grit streaming into the bin. Crazy!!!

panasonicvac: Thanks again for pointing me towards your thread covering the details of this vacuum. I hope you didn’t think I was being corrective and/or rude to you about the motor in my CMS 1000. I just wanted to let you know about it since you like these vacuums and this one didn’t seem to fit the pattern.

 

[broomvac]

How someone decides to send a vacuum like this to the thrift store I do not know.

 

[cam2s]

I finally had to some time To dig out my clear track. Color is slightly different and mine has the height adjuster. That’s a very nice tool kit you got with yours it’s so rare to find the full kit of looose attachments with thrift shop vacuums most users loose the tools, especially ones that don’t attach directly to the vacuum. These actually are surprisingly good cleaners I pressed mine into actual commercial service at the hotel back when I cleaned rooms. The complaint about using it in that environment was the upkeep up filter. After a days service I just put it in with the rags (the foam prefilter anyways) and let it dry over night. About once a week the cyclones and bin needed to be taken apart and cleaned and left out to dry.

Cameron.

 

[amwaycleartrak]

Wow very nice!

The CMS-1000 first came out in 1987 for America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. It was produced until 1991 when the ClearTrak was released. In Australia and New Zealand, the ClearTrak was called the CMS-2000 and came with a tool holder which you attached to the top of the vacuum. The USA ClearTraks did not come with the tool holder. Amway ended production of the ClearTrak somewhere in 1996/97 but were still selling parts. WMJ Refurbishing took over Amways leftover stock in the early 2000's and has been reproducing / selling CMS and ClearTrak parts. They also have their own rebranded version of the ClearTrak called the Workhorse. Basically the same thing but with a new name. You have one very rare CMS-1000 version broomvac. I've only seen that type of CMS-1000 in advertisements and a VHS video I have. Most CMS vacuums that I see don't have that ring around the cyclone assembly. Your vac could possibly be a very early or maybe even a prototype CMS-1000. Could you perhaps post a video? Not many out there showing a CMS in action.