The Eureka Patriot -- A Work in Progress

[eurekastar]

A couple of people have asked when I was going to post more photos. Well, I'm still not happy with its look, so I still plan to tweak it. I repainted the hood using appliance paint. Since it has an epoxy base, it takes a few days for it to dry and cure. The original color was an ivory/off white. But I was going for a cleaner look, so I chose a standard white.

The blue plastic around the headlight lens shows some scuffing, so I may repaint it too.

 

[eurekastar]

The original handle was plastic. But since I swapped the 4 amp motor for a 7 amp, I was concerned that it might put more stress on the handle. So I swapped the plastic handle for a chrome plated Sanitaire handle. [this post was last edited: 8/23/2014-20:38]

 

[eurekastar]

Miss Matched Reds

I'm not happy with the contrasting reds on the cord and handle grip. The cord came from a Kirby Classic III. I also sprayed a new handle grip with Valspar plastic paint. I've never used that brand before, and I'm not happy with it. It's been about 5 days since I sprayed it out and it still needs more curing time. I don't think it's going to be very durable, so I'm going to spray out a new grip using SEM plastic/vinyl paint. That is an outstanding paint. Very durable. And they have many more color choices too. I'm sure I can find one to more closely match the cord.

 

[eurekastar]

ST Bag Upgrade

Since I installed a new 7 amp motor, I went ahead and upgraded to the ST bag system too. That's an easy and inexpensive change to make and it will allow me to use the Filtrete bags (which I think are better suited for the 7 amp motor).

 

[eurekastar]

The final major change was the brush roll. I took an aftermarket VGII with all bristles and I replaced half of them with VGIII bristles. The VGIII bristles have the brush stiffeners on them. I must say that the brush stiffeners help propel the vacuum along! The 7 amp motor does an excellent job of lifting the carpet into the nozzle too (probably better than my Kirbys!). It creates massive airflow between the carpet and pad. And with the VGII.5 brush roll, I think this Eureka gives superior cleaning performance!

This brush roll also does an excellent job of handling dog hair. I have two dogs, one of which is a Golden Retriever. The Retriever's hair tends to get easily wrapped around brush rolls. But the brush stiffeners seem to slough it off more easily.

My only concern with this brush roll is that it may put more stress on the round belt than usual, thus shortening the life of the belt. Only time will tell.

 

[eurekastar]

All in all, I'm very pleased with the result. My main objective is to change the handle grip. When that's done, I'll be satisfied!

 

[sonnyndad]

VGIII strips

Where did you get those? I'm entertaining thoughts of getting some for my Sanitaire since we have old matted down shag. The VGII beater bar does an outstanding job on it, but I want more.

 

[eurekastar]

VGIII Brush Strips

They are hard to find. This is where I got them, but I think you may be able to find them elsewhere for less money.

http://www.vacpartswarehouse.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=52988-3&Click=551227

 

[constellation86]

Nice work! That looks like new. What model number and what year is it from? I have a 1458A from 1978 that came with a metal handle and a 3.5 Amp blender motor. It looks about the same except the bumper and mine came with a blue flower print bag. Here is a before picture and the link shows it now.
Nicholas

http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?26174_1

 

[eurekastar]

@ Nicholas

Mine is a 1458D. I guess the difference in the A/B designation has to do with trim. Mine also had a 4 amp motor. I never thought of using the smaller Hoover Convertible belt. I'll have to give that a try! Also, I've never seen a floral bag on a Eureka upright. I'd love to see more photos of it!

 

[constellation86]

Here are a couple pictures of the bag. Unfortunately it needs a new bellows assembly. One more thing on my to do list.
Nicholas

 

[eurekastar]

@ Nicholas

That's a very nice looking bag! In fact, it's nicer looking than most I've seen from Eureka. Is the plastic on the bellows cracked?

 

[constellation86]

It is cracked where it mounts to the base also the leather bellows is worn. The bag itself is in nice shape. I will get arround to fixing it sooner or later. I went the the vac shop to get a bellows but he talked me into getting a whole new white bag for the same money.
Nicholas