The filter fairy waved her wand today

[DesertTortoise]

So you all know I bought this Ryobi made copy of a Singer DLC series canister vac branded a Kenmore 3.1 I have taken to calling the Little Gray Mouse. The bags and filters for it are long out of production. I had a previous post here today asking if a certain Hoover pre-motor filter was the size I needed and struck out.

Well there is an ebay seller I had contacted some weeks ago asking about the size of the cardboard end of a particular vacuum bag I though might fit into the Little Gray Mouse. I struck out, or so I thought. Today the seller contacted me to say she had found a package of 15 old Kenmore 5042 bags, just the bag the vacuum needs. She set up an auction and I bought them a New York nanosecond later. Not over priced either before you think these things. I have been smiling all day thinking about this. For giggles I asked her if by chance she might have the requisite filters. Well I just opened my e-mail and saw a reply from her showing a package of the filters she is sending along with the bags no extra charge! Wow, the filter fairy was really smiling on me today.

The Little Gray Mouse will live and breathe again. Oh, happy day!

As a bonus she suggested I cut the end off a 5042 bag when it's full and glue that onto a different bag that fits the bag tray and make new bags that way. Now this is a smart lady indeed. I never would have thought of that.

 

[DesertTortoise]

Here are some images of the Little Gray Mouse.

 

[super-sweeper]

That poor Filter-Fairy, now that everybody knows, EVERYBODY will be leaving checks under their filter-less vacuums! She'll come in the middle of the night and wave her magic filter-detecting wand, if if she finds any checks, you'll wake-up to filters where the checks where! if you're super-lucky, she'll send you a pack of filters every Christmas! But don't stay up late hopping to see her, she'll disappear faster than grit on a freshly HOVERED rug! She knows when your watching! Good find, D.T!! 

 

[bebring]

Weird, is a peripheral discharge in that vacuum.

 

[DesertTortoise]

It's an interesting design, isn't it. I would love to see this layout reproduced in premium materials and a modern brushless motor.

 

[suckolux]

Great luck for you DT

 

[DesertTortoise]

I have a good relationship with a couple of ebay sellers who facilitate my canister syndrome :-o


Another one knows I dig the earliest 5055 bagged Kenmore canisters so when her mother in law decided to trade hers, a real early one in cream colored plastics, ivory hoses, brown tools, graphics like the last couple of years of the square ones and a two speed motor, for something new I got it. Normally she would part it out piecemeal but she sold me the whole thing with the Powermate and threw in an interesting 1960's vintage floor brush. Not everyone on ebay is a crook. Some are pretty nice people.

 

[vacuumman206]

you mean to say there are absolutely no bags sold for the mice anymore? Guess I'm sol if when my bag fills up.

 

[marks_here]

LMAO about the mice being SOL that's too funny!!

 

[DesertTortoise]

Vacuumman, those vacs and their Singer DLC cousins use either a Singer SCC-1 or Kenmore 5042 bag. Both are long since discontinued. Whatever is left over is all there is now. I have one more possible source for them maybe if the filter fairy is in a good mood that day.

I have been on the hunt for months for bags that fit the Mouse. I will continue to look because there are still a couple of bags I think might fit but haven't been able to measure their cardboard mounts yet. One is a Riccar/Simplicity bag. I would very much like to find a bag that is still in production, preferably one that can be bought in a HEPA variant mainly so my now spotless Mouse is not recontaminated with dust, even if I have to bend the cardboard over a little on top to get the bag drawer to close. I do something similar so I can use HEPA bags for Numatic Henry's etc. in my old 5023/5033 bagged square Kenmore canister vacs.

 

[super-sweeper]

I should start re-manufacturing bags the big-companies don't want to manufacture....I have enough machines for it to make sense! 

 

[ronni]

I had to laugh at your "filter fairy" reference, DT, as it reminded me of Ben Stiller's character in his 2000 movie "Meet the Parents".

Regarding eBay sellers, I have met many good ones over the years who are thoughtful, willing to negotiate, and conscientious. Additionally, sometimes it's how one interacts with others that might appeal to their charitable or disagreeable side. And, yes, there are a few who are just plain selfish.

Do enjoy Little Gray Mouse! In case you missed it, Rob (if memory serves) offered an alternate bag option that may work. Check out your other recent threads.

 

[DesertTortoise]

I tried it. It didn't.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

I've said this BEFORE and I'll say it again:::

You just have to watch out for those fairies !!! !!! !!! !!!!

 

[hydralique]

The one thing the filter fairy cannot dispense is filter cones, those must come from a filter queen!

 

[marks_here]

You sure the filter fairy waved a magic wand OR was it something else?? LOL

 

[vacuumman206]

Reminds me of my Isuzu, great car till you have to get parts that have been discontinued by everybody since the early 90's....I bought my 3.1 from a vacuum-flipper for $10 with intentions of reselling it to a client that had expressed interest in a small canister, but they decided otherwise so I kept it.
I use to use it to clean the cars, but then I found out the leaf blower was a much better alternative! Unfortunately mine only came with the wands and multi floor tool.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

You KNOW they must!

Know any queens?

 

[DesertTortoise]

Oh yes, the mice are coming out of the wood work tonight.

The bags arrived today (man, that was quick!) and the Little Gray Mouse has good lungs again. What a cool ebay shipper.

I have a question for you Vacuumman206. Can you flip open the cover over the exhaust opening and show me what the catch looks like. Mine appears to be broken off and every time I turn the vac on or set on it's end the cover flips open. I have a small piece of plastic wedged in between the cover and the body to keep it shut, but it needs a proper fix. I would like to recreate the latch as close as I can and put a little filter media underneath covering the exhaust opening. Thanks