Thrifting finds- lux 612

[vintagerepairer]

It was the position of the lead, Jamie. After years of using flex sleeves on upright cleaners to enusure the lead point up (or in the case of the 500 series down) and that there was no sharp right-angle to the lead, suddenly Electrolux did away with it. As I said Hoover switched to a top-mounted exit point, the design changed forced by the need for the TP3 hose to pass the original flex point, but also was a much needed apdaption to the cleaner anyway. Panasonic always has the lead point upwards and never did they have such a problem.

The top flex hook was such that it could be fitted cheaply and easily. Although a good deal of them did break, most didn't. It was strong enough to last the lifetime of most cleaners, but also served as what I always call 'built in failure' to ensure that eventually people bought a new machine.

 

[jmurray01]

Yes I could accept it being designed to be cheaply fitted but the Contour Varipower was not a budget machine. I believe it marketed at around £120, on par with the Hoover Turbopower 1000/2 Autosense which had a much better hook.

Now I'm thinking of the negatives of the Contour, I also must point out the carry handle feels very weak and bends a good deal when you lift the cleaner giving the impression it could snap at any minute.

As such I always lift the Contour (and all my uprights just to be on the safe side) with one hand on the carry handle and the other where the brush roll is to reduce the strain on former.

 

[jmurray01]

"To reduce the strain on THE former" that should read.

 

[vintagerepairer]

No by cheaply I meant to reduce labour costs on the assembly line. Not cheap as in the cleaner was a cheap model.

 

[jmurray01]

I know what you meant Benny but I thought being a top of the line machine it would have had less "cut backs" in terms of assembly.

 

[vintagerepairer]

Goodness no. It doesn't matter what one buys, how much one pays for it, or where the product lies within a range, as time has progressed all mass produced products have declined in build quality. A top-range product only has to be as good as the next best thing already on sale. In that respect, the Contour cleaner was of above average build quality when compared to all the competition.

If you take cleaners with on-board tools, the 'competition' at this time would have been the Philips U800, Hoover Turbopower & Turbomaster Total System, and Goblin Laser. The Contour was far superior to all of those in terms of build quality and suction power. The introduction of the Turbopower2 and 1000 was the first decent build in a long time. They Dyson DC01 had to be the worst of them all, and look at the price of that.

 

[hooversrus2012]

its not about cut backs j murrey its our people treat vacuum cleaners. in its lifetime i bet its be used n abused

 

[jmurray01]

Very true, when you put it like that it makes sense.

 

[vintagerepairer]

Yes and it is about cut backs. You only have to look at the same product through the years to see how things change. To speak of cord hooks, look at the cord hooks on the Junior and Senior. In the early 1970's they began using plastic. It was rare to see two complete hooks back in the day, never mind 40 years on.

The Hoover Turbopower2 was something of a huge departure for Hoover as the build quality excelled over any upright they had made for over 30 years.

 

[jmurray01]

You make a good point there Benny, I have only seen one Senior with two intact cord hooks in my life.

My Ranger has a damaged lower hook (though still useable) and it isn't very pleasant when you wind the cord up in a hurry and scrape your hand on a jagged piece of plastic.

 

[uksausage]

616e

i picked up a 616 a few weeks ago off ebay for a grand price of 99p it was lucky as well because the guy lived about 20 mins away.
the body of mine is ok no broken bits anywhere the motor and brushroll are the problems on mine
good find though my local vac shop does have some spares for these vacuums what is it you need for yours

 

[dysondestijl]

I could do with a new hood if they have one, and a new brush roll, and a new handle release pedal, but is it really worth it?

 

[vintagerepairer]

It needs a new chassis too, you can see that from the picture, but what would I know.

As to whether it is worth it, were you wanting to fix it because you are Mr Public and it's a vacuum cleaner for your home, then absolutely not, it's not worth spending a penny on it and back in the day they never were either, as it was always cheaper and better really to buy a new cleaner. But for a collection, well, to get a model 600 in perfect working order you are going to have to spend the money on the parts (if you can get them). To look at the cleaner in a collection, yes it would be worth it for that as this isn't about 'any' cleaner, its about owning a specific model.

 

[dysondestijl]

yeah its for the collection, not to actually use as a daily vacuum or anything.