Sometimes Sears really comes through

[DesertTortoise]

So I bought this old Kenmore canister from the very early 1980s that came with a small powered floor brush of a type I have never seen before and didn't know existed. It is 12 inches wide instead of the usual 14, has the motor over on the right side of the wand, the height adjuster is a dial to the left of the wand and the belt more or less down the middle, all very nonstandard for Kenmore. I have no idea who makes it but the insignia stamped underneath looks like what you find on other Matsushita made Kenmore products of that era. I was thrilled to make such an unexpected find.

Imagine how disappointed I was when I examined it aand found the base was broken in two places. If it was a normal Powermate, I can still get new replacement bases, even for the ones designed for Beater bar brushes. Sweetsweep still sells them (Kenmore will sell you the updated part, basically forcing you to use the new style brush roll, but it does fit). But this thing???

I put the little Powermate's model number into Sears Parts Direct to see if anything was still available for it, and lo-and-behold they show the base is still available. Ok, I have been disappointed by Sears before, getting excited to see an old and valuable part is still shown being availble and order it only to discover weeks later the part is NLA. Doubtful, I called Sears to confirm they really were available. The nice lady on the other end assured me they were. Oh sure, she says! I ordered one expecting to be disappointed.

Today I received notification the part has been shipped. Wow. I'm stunned. I haven't taken the brush apart yet, not wanting to waste the effort cleaning and repairing the current base if new ones really are available.

So Sears surprised me in a good way this time.

Here is the parts break down for it. Part 10 is what was just shipped.

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/par...2/0640500/00014235/00001?blt=06&prst=&shdMod=

Here is a view of the part:

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/par... parts&brandDesc=KENMORE&modelDesc=POWER-MATE PARTS&blt=11&shdMod=&keyId=10

I sure could use part 16, the axle as the one on the brush is corroded all to heck and is not the same as that on a 14 inch wide Powermate. Does anyone recognize this brush and can tell me anything about it's origins? Thanks.

 

[bagintheback]

Fantastic!

It's always nice to hear stories of finding obscure and rare parts. It seems Kenmore, or maybe at least in their past, has had good track record for keeping parts available for their older models. The same goes for Kirby and Aerus. That is how you should try to keep customers! I wish Hoover wasn't so keen on discontinuing important parts.

 

[DesertTortoise]

I think this part is still in production for something. That is usually the case, and I would be most interested to know what current production floor brush is using this base. When I spoke to Sears the lady on the phone was typing away at something and said the manufacturer shows the part is still available.

All I can say is wow.

Now we will see if they produce the old style straight end hose I ordered. She also said those were available. We'll see if the Hose Fairy still visits tortoise burros in the high desert, lol.

 

[suckolux]

Wow, some good luck! Lets hope it holds! I bet its for a model used in Canada or something.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I've seen the Power Mate you're talking about on very BOL canisters from the early 80s. The center belt design makes me think the base could still be used on the newer headlight-less Power Mates of the 90s, which are still available on BOL Power Mate canisters in Canada, such as this model:

http://www.sears.ca/product/kenmore-md-12-amp-bagged-canister-vacuum/620-000616128-23401C

 

[suckolux]

Wow, they have cheaper than my lime green!

 

[sbakerde]

It's a centec nozzle and they are still made

Kenmore and Panasonic both used this nozzle on a number of lower line canisters. I have also seen the version with headlight a few times on dirt devil central vacuums. As of last year Panasonic still had a canister available with the standard curved metal hose end and the small power nozzle. All those parts are still available. Most of these replacement parts that come from sears are original Panasonic parts.

 

[DesertTortoise]

Oh man it's hard to type one handed while the doggies are mauling you!

I knew the traditional 14 inch wide Powermate is a Matsushita/Panasonic product. It's sold under several brand names. I didn't know the little 12 inch wide brush was also a Matsushita/Panasonic part, much less it has an ancestor still in production. That probably means there is a motor and brush roll out there if I need one.

Do any of our Canadian members have a model number for that brush for reference? Then I could look up parts for a current year version of it in case I need a motor or brush roll some day. Thanks.

 

[Gr8DaneDad]

The power nozzles are made for Panasonic by Cen-tec, the current versions of the 12 inch nozzles are the CT12DX Series. All 12 inch Power nozzles use  #38348 Flat Belt and #49238 Roller Brush. Both are Cen-tec parts.


 


You can visit Cen-tec's web site and find all kinds of parts at the link below.



http://www.centeccommercialvacuums.com/commercial-cleaning-category/electric-powerheads-and-brushes

 

[DesertTortoise]

Huh, I thought it's the other way around, with Panasonic making brushes for Centec, along with Hayden, Nutone, Kenmore and their own branded vacs? The brush Centec calls a CPB-100S is from Wessel-Werk (EBK-360 I think) but the rest of the 14 inch brushes are identical to brushes I have on various Kenmore products. The 24 Quiet Drive Lift Out is the same brush Sears sells with the Elite canisters.

That 12 incher does look like the brush, only the Kenmore part doesn't have a headlight or the small wheels at the rear. Now I can research parts like the U shaped axle with the height adjuster wheels, screws (all corroded badly) and motors in case this thing needs one. Cool, thanks Tom.

I wonder if the replacement base comes with wheels? I'll find out soon. If it has all the ribs across the brush opening I'll have to cut them out so I can use the good original brush with it's beater bar. The brush I have doesn't have them and the beater bar will foul them. Stay tuned kids.

 

[eurekaprince]

I would still like to see proof that Matsushita had some contract with Sears to manufacture Kenmore vacs or power nozzles before 1991. Compare the looks of Panasonic vacs sold in North America in the 1980's and Kenmore vacs sold in the same decade and you will not see any similarities. Any Kenmore vacs made by Japanese companies from that decade (like Sanyo's compact "Let's Clean") would say Made in Japan. I would like to see the address of the Matsushita plant in the USA that had a production line for vacuum cleaners or power nozzles in the 1980's. I don't think such a thing ever existed.

 

[DesertTortoise]

Since you ask, I will show you Panasonic models that are exactly the same as mid 1980's forward Kenmore vacuums. Identical in every way except the name on the motor cover. Panasonic called them the V Series canisters. They were the first and second generation 5055 bagged machines, some of which are Kenmore Whispertones, others the earlier 5055 bagged machine that preceded the Whispertone series.

I have a Kenmore 4.5 that is exactly the same vac as this one, including the funky nozzle end and switch on the hose depicted. This is a mid 1980's vacuum.

http://www.hescoinc.com/schematics/panasonic/p_9610.pdf

Here are some others. Kenmore sold vacs like this as 3.1s, 3.5s and there was a 4.8 with the tools on top like this.

http://www.hescoinc.com/schematics/panasonic/p_v9626.pdf

This is the same vacuum as my gray 4.1.

http://www.hescoinc.com/schematics/panasonic/p_v9634.pdf

The next two are identical to early 90's Kenmore Whispertones. Same vac.

http://www.hescoinc.com/schematics/panasonic/p_v9628.pdf

http://www.hescoinc.com/schematics/panasonic/p_v9638.pdf

http://www.hescoinc.com/schematics/panasonic/p_v9644.pdf

Ok, now I will show you their Kenmore branded twins from my collection along with their Matsushita/Panasonic manufactured Powermates.

Btw, I have a letter from Sears where I posed the question about who manufactured my machines, providing them with model numbers 116.29971 the two tone green steel bodied 1971 vintage "Sears Best" vacuum I have been toiling away on quite publicly here, my parents 1983 vintage cream colored square Kenmore canister 116.2399182, a wood grained lid cream colored 2-speed 3.9 circal 1979 or 80 model number 116.22997, and the gray 4.1 depicted 116.2041080. Sears replied that all were made by Matsushita Electric Corporation of America. They are a subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, LTD, which has owned manufacturing plants in the US making consumer electronics, things like refrigerators, air conditioners, TVs, microwave ovens and vacuums since 1961. Now Kenmore vacuums come from a Panasonic plant in Mexico.

 

[DesertTortoise]

Btw, here are some images of the little Powermate taken the day I unboxed it. You can see it is nothing like any other Powermate in terms of control layout. What you can't experience is the dank aroma of the thing, and the vac it came with. I call the vac the "Swamp Creature". By tomorrow it's refurbishment ought to be completed. It came with a broken handle. Repairing the brake and hiding it has forced me to try all kinds of things. It will never be perfect, but the repair won't be obvious either.

 

[eurekaprince]

Looking at some Sears Catalogues from the 1980's, it indeed appears that Panasonic in New Jersey started making Kenmore vacs. The changeover from Whirlpool must have happened after around 1980. The newer Matsushita Kenmores all have swivels where the hose meets the canister. Whirlpool's Kenmores from the 1970's don't - like your Avocado Bomber. As well, the Panasonic-made Kenmores in the 1980's no longer include the wonderful Whirlpool crevice tool with the off-side channel and flared end...a sure sign that it's from a new supplier. Would be interesting to see a Sears catalogue that shows both sources of manufacture: Whirlpool and Matsushita. I know that at some point in the late 1980's Whirlpool made a short-lived comeback with a line of their own canisters and uprights and these were sold at Sears right along side those Kenmores made by Panasonic.

One thing is certain, Matsushita did not make any Kenmores in the 1970's when they had their successful series of Made in Japan Jet-Flo vacs.

 

[DesertTortoise]

Eurekaprince, the letter I have from Sears claims that the Avocado Bomber, that big steel beast, is a Matsushita product. In fact, based on the model numbers I gave Sears in my inquiry all of my square cream colored canisters are Matsushita products. That comes from Sears, not me. I posed the question to them and that was their reply. Matsushita has been manufacturing vacuums for Sears since at least 1971. Maybe not the sole producer but they made the TOL models.

I don't have time right now but if you look at some of the lower cost straight hose vacs Sears sold in the late 1970s to mid 1980's you will see identical Panasonic models. These are vacs that have somewhat rounded edges, a straight hose under the front handle and tools perched on top, not in recesses or on a separate tool holder, but on posts like an old Lewyt mounted to the top of the motor cover.

 

[eurekaprince]

Fascinating.

I wonder which Kenmores were made by Whirlpool in the 1970's? Unless Whirlpool did not make Kenmores at all between 1971 and 1991.

I will begin researching old trade articles to see where Matsushita-made vacs were assembled before being sold on the North American market....trade mags always reported on these developments. This should solve the mystery. I don't really trust a letter from a Sears Customer Service rep these days. I would trust a letter from a Panasonic historian more.

 

[DesertTortoise]

I posed a question to Panasonic a week or so ago asking when Matsushita/Panasonic began producing vacuums for Sears under the Kenmore name. I also asked if any of their vacs have the new "impulse" motor used in the Kenmore Elite canister (since Panasonic continues to use conventional 1 1/4 inch steel wands and traditional full sized suction tools just like the old days where Kenmore has gone off on their own not so useful designs with wands incompatible with any other tools you have in your closet). So far no reply to either question.

 

[DesertTortoise]

Do you still have old paper Sears catalogs you reference or is there a site where all those old catalogs are searchable?

 

[eurekaprince]

This is the website I found for a few catalogues:



http://192.185.93.157/~wishbook/