thrift store finds/sightings...

[vacuumfreeeke]

I went to a Catholic thrift store that I don't get a chance to go to very often... I never see decent vacuums at thrift stores, but this was the one that I got my Kenmore Direct Drive from, so I had a glimmer of hope. I was shocked at their selection... Mostly vintage Hoovers... a Convertible, Power Drive Concept 1, Non Power Drive Concept 1 (with retractable cord), Hoover Floormate, and a Sharp canister!

I already have a Convertible, though not that style... and I have the orange power drive Concept and that same exact Floormate, so I couldn't buy any of those.

So, what did I come home with, but the least likely thing I'd ever expect to buy... the Sharp canister. Plastic, tiny, straight suction... not my usual taste, but alas it followed me home for 15 dollars.

A few reasons come to mind... firstly that it is straight suction, and I don't have any straight suction only (except the Constellation, but the cord is brittle) machines... thought it would be nice in the kitchen or on the shag rug. I also don't have any Sharp vacuums. The other reason is because it has that really weird "bag saver" design. I don't have any other machines with that feature, and thought it would be really fun to play with.

It runs, but didn't seem to have tremendous suction... the bag is full and it didn't come with any extras. I've heard that Sharp has discontinued vacuums in the US, so I don't know if I will be able to find bags for it, but I thought I might be able to cut up another bag from a different machine or maybe make something out of fabric/cloth on my sewing machine that would work with it, using the old bag as a pattern. It even came with the attachments, which are awful, but at least they were included!


It has a few cool features that are usually found on higher end machines... metal plate on the bottom of the floor nozzle with rubber wheels, parking feature, swivel hose near the hand grip, two carry handles, retractable cord, huge wheels... not a bad feature set for a little guy. The switch isn't very fun though, just a rocker switch on the canister body with no speed control.

Anyone know anything about these things?

I also found the short handle for the Haan Steamer that I have... I may never use it, but for 4 bucks, new in box, with sanitizing tray, I had to buy it )

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

closer up

a little better view...

 

[singingrainbow]

Wow

What a wonderful find! I simply adore sharp's! I have several uprights but no canisters, so you will have to tell us how you like it once you get it all cleaned up. I would check ebay for bags, if you can't find any I may be able to help.


Scott

 

[kirbylux77]

Bobby, that Sharp canister vacuum is a nice find! How do you like it's performance with the bag-saver dirt cup?

Samsung & Wertheim are the only 2 other makers I know of that offer this feature on their vacuums. Samsung has it on a straight-suction canister that's very similar in appearance to your Sharp, & I believe they also sell it separately as an accessory. Back in the early 2000's, Bissell had Samsung make their Bissell Butler Revolution with this same bag-saver, although their version had slightly different styling from it's Samsung counterpart. Wertheim offers it as an optional accesory for purchase with one of their full-size canisters that is a re-badged Hoover Windtunnel Anniversary with a different wand & powerhead. The Wertheim bag-saver differs from the others, though, as it has direct connections to work with the hose & wand.

The bag-saver is also available for purchase from vac shops as a generic part, to be used with any canister vacuum, & includes adapters to work with 1 1/4" wands & 1 3/8" European standard wands. Davinator1977 here on Vacuumland has a YouTube video he made which he uses the bag-saver to demonstrate 2 powerheads.

There is also a 8-pound upright that has this bag-saver mounted on it's tube....can't remember the name off the top of my head right now, but I thought it was a bit odd to see it used that way.

Rob

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

Rob, the upright you are talking about was called the Kenmore E4, and it was made by Bissell for Sears in the early 2000s... I sold them, but they don't last long because the whole point of a vacuum like that is that it can go flat and that one couldn't because of the bag saver. I liked it... it was the same as the original Bissell Prolite, but blue instead of green and with the bag saver.

I saved the the side of the box when I put out the floor model (did that with the s/p WindTunnels too)and I still have it 10 years later... here is a picture...

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

Of course I wouldn't be me if I didn't take a ton of pictures and give a detailed opinion, so proceed with caution if you dare )

If vacuums had a motto, this one would say, "Don't be fooled my my pretty purple plastic, I'm a bad a-- little dude with a serious attitude!"

First, I had to "make" a bag since the one that was in it was full and smelled like dogs. I tried to think of a bag that I have too many of and would never use... I never use my Hoover Celebrity and I have a ton of bags because I couldn't find mine, so I bought some on ebay, then found some at a thrift shop, then found the ones I already had.... so I cut it up, folded the open end over and stapled it closed... then I took the collar off of the original bag and "recycled" it by supergluing it to the vintage H bag. Homemade bag done... The bag that was in it was called the PC 2 bag and they area all over Ebay, so I will order some because I'm not sure how well my homemade one will keep dust out of the motor. The bag chamber is tiny, and I'd be scared that I'm going to find out what Magic Blue owners feel like, except for the fact that it has the bag saver.

I did a basic clean with some bleach water and a magic eraser... then I polished the plastic with Meguires plastic polish. I decided not to wash the hose because, I've done that with vacuums that I've just gotten in the past and then realized that when I first get something, I'm really excited about it and want to play with it and a hose takes about 2 days to dry... I can do that after the novelty wears off if a smell bothers me.

Then it was time to try it out. I realized that there is a suction relief valve behind the bag saver, and that was open when I tried it out at the thrift store... so I closed it for full power. I switched that sucker on and put my hand up to the nozzle to feel the suction, fully expecting to be disappointed. An hour later, after I peeled my hand out of the vacuum with the jaws of life, I realized this little guy has some serious suction! WOW! I've loved vacuums all my life, and it's not often that I'm impressed with something because I've seen so much... especially by something that looks as humble as this. I was completely blown away (or sucked in?)...

Then when I used it, the amount of dirt it got up, well, it was just shocking since I'd just vacuumed with my Sebo upright a last night. Almost all the dirt went into the dirt saver with just the tiniest bit of dust going in the bag.

I've noticed that it does have a bag check indicator. It also has a secondary hose anchor that clips into the bag saver when parked. The bag is super easy to install. The cord is quite long for a vacuum of this size, and the cord winder doesn't need "help" retracting the cord.

Noise level is average.

Things that annoy me... there is no way to remove the hose from the wand, so I must hose the attachments at the end of the wand. The machine has a propensity to tip over, but that is to be expected with a vacuum of this size. I'd rather have a pedal than a rocker switch for power. The bag saver must be completely removed from from the wand and then unscrewed to empty. The wand height isn't adjustable, but it is comfortable. The suction makes the nozzle hard to push, but that can be somewhat alleviated by using the suction relief valve.

Pics to follow... but to sum it up, I LOVE this thing! If anyone knows if there is a way to separate the hose from the wand so I can use the attachments more easily, please let me know. I may never use them, but I'd like to have the option.

Thanks for reading )

Homemade bag next to original

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

parked position

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

Another thing I forgot to mention that bothers me is that I can't find a way to get into the exhaust filter to change or clean it...

Underside of the nozzle...

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

the dirt

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

Close up of dirt... this came from a 1 bedroom apartment that was just vacuumed with a Sebo Sensor S12 the night before... I do have a cat, so some of that is cat hair and litter, but a lot of it is just dirt and dust. Most of the carpet is thin flat short pile, which is what this vacuum was designed for... but I do have a medium pile area rug in the bedroom and a large shag rug in the living room. It did a great job on the shag, despite being a little hard to push... it really got the dirt and fluffed up the nap.

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

Final picture.... "money shot" Looks like a snake sitting there ready to strike at any moment ) Carry handle extended, and it's a nice handle...

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

Just an update... I bought and downloaded the service manual and it included the instruction manual because I couldn't find it for free anywhere. I called Sharp and they didn't have it available. The copyright is 2001, so that's about what I expected. The manual said "This is a new type of vacuum cleaner...."

I bought bags for it on Ebay, 8 bucks for five bags.... I imagine they will last a while.

The manual said the cord is 16 feet long... The hose is way too short though... I almost want to add length to it somehow. I thought about making something or modifying a back pack to make this into a makeshift back pack vacuum... that would be fun. A few years ago I saw a picture of a Miele that had a back back that Miele had made for that machine, and that's what gave me the idea.

Anyway, I'm still having fun with it and it continues to impress me with the awesome power. The night I bought it, I had a friend coming over for homemade big macs and while I was getting everything ready, I dropped a plate in the kitchen. I used this little guy to clean up the glass (not the chunks, just the little pieces that were barely visible), and it got every shred.... I walked around barefoot after I dropped the plate and didn't get cut )

 

[singingrainbow]

Sharp

Well I am glad you like it. Those little japaneese canisters do have a whole lot of suck for their size don't they! As for the hose length, I can agree with you on that as I have a little japaneese style panasonic canister and it's hose is short also. And , funny thing is that yesterday I went to a thrift store and found a sharp upright! I guess this is a sharp week. 


Also, if you find the time could you possibly take more pics of the inner workings of the little "bag saver" , I am just curious.


Thanks


Scott

 

[kirbylux77]

Scott:

If you could take some pics of your Sharp upright & make a new thread, that would be awesome!! I have always felt that the Sharp & Sanyo copies of the Panasonic upright were just as good, even if not slightly better. I have a Sharp Twin Energy upright myself, & it's amazing how good a cleaner it is.

Rob

 

[floor-a-matic]

Eureka used to have a "bag saver" for the Mighty Mite, World Vac & Europa canisters

Can the "bag saver" be removed for vacing tight places or is it permanently attached to the hose?