Tons of questions to ask about Hoover in the 2000's.

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on this thread at this time I'm just focusing on the Foldaway model, so anything I ask or comment on is for that model. Guess that makes me a one trick pony,lol.Here's what I should have asked: Has the Widepath version of the Foldaway always been available from the beginning? On the colors, could you choose from different colors on the same model, or was it like one year the Turbo3100 came in black only then the next year it came out in red. Same exact model but probably different serial no. because of color change. Are you aware of any improvements made to the Foldaway up to this point? I read some reviews on Amazon, mostly from 2007-08 and they were split pretty evenly between I love the Foldaway and I hate this piece of ....! One lady had never used it on carpet, the Foldaway, just on hard surfaces and it kept spitting rocks and stuff out from the bottom of the machine. So she writes a bad review on an upright vacuum cleaner that she never used on carpets.Hmmmmm. If I get a chance tonight I'll tear open the Foldaway and see what motor it has. Thanks for all your great information!
 
To awnser all those questions...

1. I think the widepath version came out in late 2003 or early 2004 as another option for people who wanted an extra wide cleaning path. 2. The Turbopower 3100, both U5167 and U5178 were always black. They were always black during it's production run. But on the other fold away models, you can choose from several different colors. 3. Serial numbers on 2 machines of the exact same model would be different but that would be because of the production dates not colors. 4. No improvements were made to the fold away at all. But both the 13 and 15 inch models had a spring loaded door that would cover the port where the hose connects to the base. You're welcome for me giving out some great info along with some others, and for answering your questions. I know tons about these models.
 
RoyalFan103

Wow We Wow Wow! You did it, A+ Your last response nailed it. You managed to answer every question I had remaining and thanks to you, my crusty little Foldaway will be my next resto-project. Humbly, Billy
 
The Fold Aways...

Were my childhood vacs. They were big when they first released! We had the teal one. The hose always kept popping off. My grandmother later had the white widepath model. There was another Hoover that looked almost identical to the teal fold away, it was a teal version of this. Anyone here have that specific model?

eureka1998-2019100811384506792_1.png
 
RoyalFan103

Hi Victor, Just wanted to let you know I got the motor info on my April 2005 Foldaway TurboPower 3100 #U5178. It is equipped with the Ametek/Lamb single stage motor.I believe the serial # is 119720-00. There isn't any mention of amps/watts, just the usual 120volts/60Hertz Made in Mexico. I don't know if this ties in with what you said about motors being replaced after purchase, but the date the motor was built is 6/19/05 and the Hoover cleaner is dated 04/05 so two months later the motor was built after the Hoover. Hmm.To expose the motor I had to open the entire cleaner from motor shell up to the handle release. You also have to do this to change the lite bulb, the clear lens is screwed in from the inside out! Hope they used really good quality bulbs that last a while. Mine still works. Not sure if I'm going to restore this or use as a parts machine for one in better condition. There was a lot of dirt in and around the motor. A lot got past the pre-motor filter. Even though it seems to be fine, I know some extra wear has occurred to the bearings. Not sure what all parts needed plus a new motor would cost, but I think I could get a nice used/ refurbished at a better cost. I have to decide. I don't have any emotional attachments to this vacuun. If I don't fix this, I will still put it back together and use, with new filters, as is.
 
Here's the total cost

All the prices are from Amazon.com, the motor price is from eBay.

Hoover Fold Away Motor- $29.99
Hoover 5 inch Brush Roll /w belt 48414132-$16.41
Crucial Vacuum 2-pack Final Filter 38766-008- $9.99
Hoover Fold Away HEPA Filter 40130050-$7.61
Hose 43431224-$26.90
Height Adjustment Wheel 43248068-15.11
Total-$106.01
 
RoyalFan103

Thanks for doing all that price checking and listing it for me. I do have to look into the roller when I get home from work. That 5" roller listed is about the size of the roller in my Royal Dirt Devil hand vacs, so I don't know if that was a typo, but that won't be hard to check. I'm also going to check prices on a new foldaway to compare with the cost to rebuild what I have now. What would you do Victor? Thanks again!
 
That was definitely a typo because I was on my sister's computer writing that and she was rushing me. What would I do is that would be looking for another one that's in bad condition. Then use parts from both machines to make a working one. VCDiscounter.com had NOS Turbpower 3100s, but the site is gone now. The cost from that site for a Turbopower 3100 NIB would be 119.99 with free shipping. A used one I found on eBay costs 60.00 + 32.00 shipping. One from Americanvacuum.co costs 149.95. I don't now if they offer free shipping though.
 
RoyalFan103

As always, thanks for the info! I think for the time being I'm going to get new filters and maybe a new roller. Then I'm going to run it for a few weeks, then open it back up to see if any amount of dust is still getting to the motor.If it looks like dirt is getting in there, I may stop the restoration . I remember you saying that in the early days there was a problem with this and people had to replace the motors.Since mine is probably a first generation, 2005, it could be suffering the same fate as the other early production Foldaways did. I don't know if or what Hoover did to fix this. Do you know about the main core filter? I see it advertised as a filter and I have seen it offered as a hepa filter. Did they originally come with hepa or is that an upgrade. Everything looks the same, maybe one seller neglected to mention hepa in their listing, or there are two different filters. They aren't shown in the package they come in so I can't read or find what material they are made of. Any thoughts?
 
Hoover said the dustcup filter was a Hepa filter. But I've heard about the Fold Aways having a bad filtration setup. There is also probably a more expensive version of dustbin filter that had activated charcoal or carbon in it which is supposed to filter better. Did you put in the dust cup correctly? Putting it in incorrectly probably lets dirt get into the motor and also causes poor suction. Here's a link to the widepath Fold away manual. It has instructions on how to put in the dirt cup correctly along with a guide to replace the headlight without removing the lens.
Here's also a small pic of how the dust bin should and shouldn't be attached. The guide for replacing the headlight and emptying the dustbin is on page 8 of the manual.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/280294/Hoover-U5175900.html?page=8#manual
royalfan103-2019101117562503637_1.png
 
Thanks for that

Yeah I had the filter in right, it's just that the condition of the main filter was so bad. It's sad, but I think when people are ready to throw something out, they stop taking care it. This had been run in to the ground towards the end, used up. It was covered in dirty dust, the belt was snapped and the front wheels gone. I took it to a gas station and blew it out as best as I could. Then at home I put on a belt and vacuumed everything. I washed the filter and dirt cup and wiped it all down with damp cloth. Cleaned up the roller and packed some grease in to the bearings. It fired right up the next day, after the filter dried, I used a hair dryer to finish the drying. I was surprised that considering the neglect it suffered and missing the front wheels, that it ran so good. The motor sounded great! It did however end up being coated with dust on the outside, you can really see this on a black vacuum cleaner! Now, this was 10 years ago and I had other things going on , so I put the foldaway in a closet and really only used it a few times since. It wasn't until I read your thread that I got excited about restoring it. I've only been a member for a couple years, but have never seen a post done on Foldaways! It's in a million pieces right now in a box, should be fun to rebuild when I've got all the new parts in. On the headlight, I couldn't imagine Hoover making it that hard to replace. I down loaded the manual you linked, thank you, and that's more like it!This won't be a museum piece when I'm through, but I think it will be a great little vac that I will use, not just look at! If you had one of each Foldaways that you want, how many would you have?
 
Forgot to tell you,

that I'm going to pull out of storage the only Royal upright I own. I don't know what model it is. It's also been in storage for about 10 yrs. I think it's an older model because as I remember it seemed small like a Kirby Sanitronic 80 but lighter. I know more about Royals from people on this sight, I knew nothing about them when I got this from a curb side in San Francisco. It had a sign on it that read "Free! Please adopt me" How could I pass?
 
As we speak, no.

At the time that I read your thread on the Foldaways, I had a couple other projects going on. I should have finished those before dissecting the foldaway.So that's what I'm doing first. Then I can focus better on the Foldaway project. Rest assured, it's going to happen soon. Anything new up your way? Did you get some ideas from the responses to your thread about cleaning the fan?
 
We worked on so many Fold Away's. People brought them into my vac shop after less than one year. The main filters were always clogged, and people resented having to buy a new filter all the time. A clogged main filter would allow the hose to clog toward the bottom, and people could never figure out what was actually wrong with the machine.

Hoover used different suppliers for their motors, which interchanged. Many Fold Away's used the G.S. motor and some of them used Ametek motors. Same with the Steam Vacs.
 
RoyalFan103

Victor, Just to let you know I got the new hepa main filter and installed it. I'd say I'm easily picking up twice the volume than before. Nice that it's all staying in the dirt cup, I think that old filter was so bad that there was back pressure in the chamber which leaked out onto the machine. Didn't happen today! New roller will quiet things down a bit, and when the height adjustment wheels get here, I can really get an idea of how well this machine works. Like I said this isn't a museum piece by any stretch, just another to put into daily driver rotation. Film at eleven!
 

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