Spotted an old 1205 in my parents' attic

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The handle arrived

The replacement handle came in today's mail. It's new, unused and ready for installation. I was rather stoked to find it for just $4 plus shipping, considering they usually go in the $20-30 range, which I would not have paid. I'm not sure when I will have time to tear into it. Possibly this weekend unless I go back to my parents' to help them some more.

I'm hoping I can find an easy solution to the muffled motor sound and corresponding lack of suction.
 
Handle installed!

So I finally had time today to install the new handle on that old 1205. I also took a little time to clean 20-odd years of grunge off the outside of it and half-ass polish the aluminum top panel so it doesn't look quite as much like a candidate for the scrap heap. I wanted to get further inside it to see if there was any debris obstructing the airway around the motor but one of the screws holding the cord winder in place had a stripped head--a sure sign it had been worked on before. I also discovered why the original handle broke. The long set screw that holds the tail end in place wouldn't go all the way in because its hole hadn't been drilled completely through the plastic top panel, an oversight that was easily corrected. Why the engineers at Electrolux chose a machine screw for that location instead of a self-tapping one is a mystery to me. Anyway, I drilled it out, the screw went all the way in, and it's all back together and working. And even though I couldn't get all the way into the motor compartment, the thing seems to have better suction than it did when I tested it before so I must have done something right. I still think the 1205 I've had and used for the past 12 years is the better of the two, but I think the one from my parents' attic has definitely risen above its previous parts donor status. Be that as it may, it's still residing in the barn with a couple of old shop vacs for the time being and there may be a few more machines joining it before too long. I've just got way too many in the house.
 
I just got through moving a couple of vacs I wasn't using down to the barn to get them out of the way and while I was out there, I decided to bring the 1205 I got from my parents' attic up to the house to do a side-by-side comparison with the one I've had and used for the past dozen years. As I said before, they're almost identical--both are from early in the Consolidated Foods era, likely 1969-1970, with the light teal door panels and no pigtail plug-in, but there are a couple of minor differences: the one from the attic does not have a tool clip and the arrows on the sliding blower covers are different. The arrow on the attic machine's cover is a raised red outline, while the one on the machine I've had for several years is a solid, raised red triangle, meaning the two covers are even from different molds. I have no idea which is the earlier style or if the two styles ran concurrently.

I think it's very likely that that the attic machine came with a tool clip from the factory and it was later removed as that machine has a much higher serial number (Y93663R) than my other one that does have the clip (Y12112M). Had the attic machine had a lower number, I would have assumed it came out earlier in the run, after the pigtail plug-in was deleted but before the tool clip was added to the 1205 line. I have no idea what the different letters at the end of the serial numbers signify, production facility perhaps?

The idea that the attic machine originally had a tool clip is further supported by my previous observation that the machine had been taken apart before yesterday's handle replacement, as evidenced by a stripped screw head on the cord winder assembly. There are also a few scratches on the aluminum top plate where that clip would have made contact with the metal plate, just behind the handle. The clip could easily have been lost during that earlier disassembly or perhaps even have fallen off sometime after the tail end of the handle pulled loose. The handle was intact when we found it except for the two little pins that kept it in place at the back. I have no idea when the tail end of the handle actually broke.

While I had the two machines together, I also decided to plug them in and do a rudimentary side-by-side suction test, placing my hand over the opening. The one from the attic is indeed slightly quieter and has just a little less suction. I tested both with the bags they had in place, which could account for at least some of the difference. Having both machines running at the same time while plugged into the same outlet seriously dimmed the overhead lights. I only kept them running like that for about 30 seconds for fear of overloading the circuit.

For your enjoyment, I've included some photos of the two machines. The one from the attic is on the left in each photo:

human-2016061711372605311_1.jpg

human-2016061711372605311_2.jpg

human-2016061711372605311_3.jpg
 
Reversed switches

Looking at the photo above, I just noticed another odd difference between the two machines. The power switches are reversed! Both are in their respective 'off' positions, but opposite sides of the switches are raised. I know I didn't put the switch on backwards when I reassembled the attic machine the other day because it only goes on one way. The only explanation is the switches were installed on their brackets facing opposite directions. As sort of a tie breaker, I checked the switch on my Super J and it appears to be oriented the same as the attic machine (the one on the left in the photos) so if that's the standard configuration, my other 1205 appears to have the switch mounted backwards. Of course, there is also the possibility that the switches on all of those machines could have been mounted on the brackets randomly in either direction, but that seems a little sloppy to me. One would think the production specs would call for the switch to be oriented a certain way. I'm not losing any sleep over it but it's a curious variation.
 
This is the first Electrolux model I was impressed with

 


 


When I was growing up, in the 70s, we had a family friend who had this model.  They used to take very good care of it, storing it in the closet in the bathroom with the hose stored neatly hung on the wall.  


 


In the early 80s, they got gold shag carpet and a new Silverado with power nozzle, to make cleaning easier.  Was so impressed.
 
Here is a timeline I constructed on the 1205 iterations (in another thread someone mentioned that the color changes signified internal changes to assist service techs which seems plausible):

1968-c. 1969
-smooth teal-colored metal
-turquoise bag chamber cover (pigtail port below hose inlet)
-black control panel
-exhaust cover text, graphics, & border inked in red--arrow is solid
-no small tool clip
-no screen in rear aperture of bag chamber
-round bag lock-out plunger
-Model G motor
-serial is on cord winder; prefix "Y"
-PN-1--teal hood with the standard ivory wand and non-electric hose w/gooseneck grip

c.1969 - c. 1970
-smooth teal-colored metal
-turquoise bag chamber cover (no pigtail port below hose inlet)
-navy control panel
-exhaust cover text & graphics inked in red--arrow is outlined
-small tool clip
-screen in rear aperture of bag chamber
-square bag lock-out plunger
-serial is on stabilizer; prefix "Y"
-PN-1--teal hood with teal telescopic wand and electric hose w/pistol grip

c. 1970 - c. 1973
-smooth teal-colored metal
-navy bag chamber cover (no pigtail port below hose inlet)
-navy control panel
-exhaust cover text & outline of arrow inked in red
-small tool clip
-screen in rear aperture of bag chamber
-square bag lock-out plunger
-new motor
-serial is on stabilizer; prefix "Z"
-PN-1--teal hood; steel wand & teal sheath; electric hose w/gooseneck grip

c. 1973 - 1974
-textured teal-colored metal
-jade bag chamber cover (no pigtail port below hose inlet)
-jade control panel
-exhaust cover text & outline of arrow inked in red
-small tool clip
-screen in rear aperture of bag chamber
-square bag lock-out plunger
-combination floor/rug tool has an ivory-colored holder & bumper instead of teal
-serial is on stabilizer; prefix "Z"
-revamped motor
-PN-2--polished aluminum hood; jade-colored elbow, teal cord, steel wand & teal sheath; electric hose w/gooseneck grip

1974-1975 50th Jubilee edition with decal (nicknamed "Golden J")
-textured metallic gold-colored metal
-redesigned bag chamber cover and control panel in harvest gold
-redesigned handle and top
-redesigned exhaust port cover, bumper logo border in gold, serial on stabilizer (first character "Z")
-PN-2--polished aluminum hood with 50th Jubilee decal; jade-colored elbow, ivory cord, steel wand & ivory sheath; electric hose w/gooseneck grip (early) or pistol grip

As for the serial affixes (letters), apparently they are the production date code--not a factory code. Unlike other companies, Aerus will not make its serial date codes available to consumers. I think it's, in part, because they destroyed all their records prior to about 1980 and partly because they don't want consumers to have the information at their disposal.

_____

As for the weaker suction of the attic 1205, it could be that the gasket on the hose inlet is worn.
 
Paul,
Thanks for that detailed information. The low serial number on the machine I've had for several years would suggestI it's likely a very early '69-'70 model and thus got one of the last of the solid arrow exhaust covers before they ran out and switched to the outline style. The higher serial number on the attic machine would suggest it's a later example of the '69-'70 model and the tool clip probably just went missing when things were apart sometime in the past.

I think you may be onto something regarding the gasket. The one on the attic machine doesn't feel as supple as the one on the other machine, which would stand to reason since it's spent the past 20 years enduring the temperature extremes of an attic.
 


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