Trash Find—Electrolux Diplomat

[human]

Interesting informatin, Paul. I really knew nothing about the plastic bodied canisters before I encountered this one. Mine came paired with a model 1692 power nozzle, FWIW. I don't know that I'd call myself a plastic body convert at this point but I definitely have a new appreciation for them.

 

[paul]

I'm with you, Edgar; in preferring the metal-bodied ones but have a secondary interest in those that are housed in plastic. Since acquiring a Special Edition 1623 with pn 7B and a Hi-Tech 2100 with a PN6, and seeing such a wide variety of model names and colors for tanks and their pn's, I have been researching them in my attempt to find compatible and matching-colored parts; along with original standard tools.

 

[human]

Power Nozzle Sound-Off...

So I noticed the mats in one of my bathrooms desperately needed vacuuming so I decided that was good excuse for overkill and to play around a little more with my Diplomat, so I had a little 'sound-off' with a representative of each of my Electrolux power nozzles—a PN1, PN2, PN4A, PN5, and the model 1692 that came with the Diplomat—and gave each one a go on the mats. I kept the vacuum out in the hallway so I was primarily listening to the sound of the power nozzle. Although I have two PN2's and three PN4/4A's, I only used used one of each for this test. So here are my (decidedly unscientific) results in the order that I tested them:

• Model 1692: Easily the loudest and highest pitched of the lot. Sounded almost like a pissed off cat.
• PN5: Slightly quieter than the 1692, or at least lower pitched, but still pretty loud.
• PN4A: Markedly quieter than the previous two with a pitch somewhere in between a purr and a growl, not unpleasant at all.
• PN2: Surprisingly, given the design similarities it shares with the PN4A, it was nearly as loud as the PN5 and similarly pitched.
• PN1: Definitely the quietest and most refined sound of all. Solidly in the purr category.

I realize this isn't a very scientific test; I realize it's possible two different PN's of the same model could sound different, there are just a bunch of variables to account for, but there you have it.

 

[jo]

Plastic bodied machines

I too never had one of these plastic bodied machines until last year when I acquired two of them. An Aerus Classic Lux in deep gray with black top and a light powder blue with medium blue trim Aerus Lux Legacy. They both the main machines and power nozzles sound nearly identical to each other and my other L shaped power nozzles. The canister motors of these two sound identical and the Legacy is a little quieter likely because of the dampening effect of the tool holder over the exhaust port. But they are loud with that high pitched whistle sound most vacuum cleaners make today. I don’t know if everyone can hear this high pitches tone, it’s really annoying to me and screams poor quality. Anyway, Electrolux used to make very pleasant sounding generally not too noisy vacuums and these Aerus models are loud and obnoxious to me considering their price point. Maybe the outsourcing of these motors is the culprit.

I do like the plastic bodied machines for durability of the housing itself...they are Lexan, not too breakable or dentable. Plus they are lightweight.

Automatic control system is only on the Lux Legacy and moved to the top of the unit instead of the bag door eliminates the automatic pop open bag door and just shuts the unit off with a full bag light, I prefer the bag door to open and the light like on my Silverado but we can’t have everything I guess. Don’t like the hose install...can only gone in one way, unlike the 1205 through Ultralux series where the hose could go in two different ways reducing wear from bending the hose in only one direction. This hose end on these plastic bodies was the Canadian design.

 

[jo]

My best guess here is that either the automatic shutoff due to full bag cutting off suction control device is bad and they made some sort of attempt to fix it by pulling off the knob, then gave up, or they just flat out wanted a new vacuum and decided to pull the knob off out of curiosity when cutting off the cord to part with it. People throw away perfectly good vacuums all the time...,they just get tired of them and want something new and different. Perhaps this was a rental property and they moved out and left behind what they didn’t want and the landlord put all of the leftovers out on the trash and the vacuum was one of them and he decided to keep the cord. Anyhow...anything is possible and for a minimal price and some tinkering time you obtained a nice machine. Personally, I’d have to reconnect the automatic control to see if that’s what’s wrong...and if so perhaps get a new sensor for it just to have the satisfaction that I restored it nicely. It looks like the clip for the tools over the exhaust louvre is broken off.

Hescoinc.com has the best pricing on those afterfilters. Likely a lot of eBay sellers are buying them there then reselling on eBay. They are generic though. They have hose parts and bags too for several brands...everything is generic but better pricing than buying from Aerus or eBay for generic stuff. Not sure of the difference if any in the afterfilter quality and effectiveness.

And Thank You to whoever posted here at a time past about hescoinc.com....I had been looking for somewhere that these vacuum parts suppliers were possibly buying their stuff from.

Jon

 

[human]

I agree with you, Jon. I very much prefer the design of the earlier metal canisters that began with the 1205 over the newer plastic ones but the Diplomat is growing on me, none the less. I hadn't thought of the newer Canadian style hose connector contributing to wear where the hose connects to the machine, but you're probably right and the first couple of times I fumbled with it I recognized the older design as superior, not only because it could connect to the machine either side up, but it's just plain easier to connect. I guess the Canadian version was cheaper to manufacturer. Save 15 or 20 cents per unit and sooner or later it adds up to real money. My machine seems to have an older style motor in it so its sound is fairly civilized. It's definitely not a high-pitched screamer, which is a good thing, as far as I'm concerned.

 

[kirbyklekter]

Yah it's a shame

that most companies only think in terms of dollars and cents,good for them not so good for us. If it's only going to cost them a few dollars to maintain the quality of their product why not just pass it on to the consumer? As in the case of your vacuum cleaner and the hose hookup, given the price the machine sold for it would be easy to bury,ooops I mean include the higher price of the better arrangement into the final price. I see food packaging shrinking ever so gradually in the stores and I wish they would leave the sizes as they were and adjust the price. The owner of a successful restaurant once told me that he always serves the same quantity of food to his guests because people eat with their eyes and know up front if this meal will fill them up. They'll complain more often about smaller portions than a bump in the price. I think that applies with most consumer goods, especially top tier products like Electrolux that have higher profit margins to begin with. If you could only have one of your canisters which would that be? Same with uprights.

 

[jo]

Perhaps a new thread Bill?

Bill...you end your comment above with such a wonderful question and would be a great new thread to start. I’ll give you the credit and honors of doing so! I’d live to see the input from the members and aim already debating my own answer to this question...a very tough one indeed!

 

[kirbyklekter]

@jo

Thanks for the kind words. I'm actually kind of embarrassed by some of my posts lately, they tend to run on and on and stray off course. The last thing I want to do is burn people out on me, especially people like Human who is very much liked by many on here and for good reason. Very relatable and fun to follow along with when he's working on a project, friendly and I bet he'd be a great teacher, oh wait... So anyway, I'm going to chill on posting for a while and continue to enjoy and learn from the many who contribute to this jewel of a sight. I read all of your posts too, they're all great, take care.

 

[human]

Afterword on After Filters...

The final (for now) piece of the puzzle arrived in today's mail: a dozen new generic after filters. Looking at the old one on the left in the photos below, I think a replacement was long overdue. One could easily be fooled into thinking it was a charcoal filter. According to the instructions on the bag, they should be replaced with every fourth bag change. Given the number of machines I have, I go through bags on any given machine very slowly so supply this should last me a very long time.

Of course, now the obligatory gripe about USPS: I ordered these filters last Monday, the shipment arrived in my city last Wednesday night and was scheduled to be delivered on Friday, which is within reasonable parameters. Upon checking tracking Friday morning, it was marked "In transit, arriving late". No change on Saturday and it finally arrived yesterday. How does it take two days to get from New York to North Carolina and then languish around my city for almost five days before finally arriving in my mailbox?

Interestingly, in the time it took the package to arrive, the seller upped the price of these filters from $12.95 for a dozen to $16.95, not that it affected me. Guess I grabbed that deal at the right time.

Well, that pretty much does it for this little project unless or until a I come across a control knob for it, at which time I'll probably pull the thing back apart and reconnect the suction control valve, see if it works and go from there.

 

[paul]

Edgar,

You could also try checking with a local vac shop. I have done so for the Electrolux upright filters (pre- and after-) and discovered more economical prices for aftermarkets than those online (aftermarket or OEM).

Btw, after seeing others do so, I've been marking the installation dates of filter bags and filters for reference.

 

[human]

Interesting idea, Paul. I may have to start doing that.

 

[gregvacs28]

That's a sweet color combo. for the Diplomat. It was a similar color scheme for the Ultralux Classic.

I've seen price "gauging" recently online as well. Online sellers are getting cocky because they know people have fewer options. A water tank that a month ago was selling for $55 has climbed incredibly fast over the last couple weeks.

I wouldn't leave things, especially plastic things exposed to UV rays for long. It will discolor the plastic. Yes the sun can do a natural job of sanitizing, it is more like exposing things to stale, undiluted bleach.

You know what the sun will do to unprotected skin when exposed to the sun for several hours. It does the same thing to other things.

 

[jo]

Write a number on the bag

The Aerus Electrolux guy told Me to write the number 1 on the new bag top when I changed the bag and filter...then each time the bag is changed advance to the next number and once bag 6 is thrown away changed the filter too and start over. Aerus recommends changing the filter after every cycle of 6 bags. Not sure why your supplier says change after 4 bags, maybe they want to sell more filters or perhaps not as good quality as the Aerus ones.

Jon

 

[human]

I was thinking of stretching it to five or six bag changes, sort of like I stretch the oil change intervals on my cars to 4,000 miles from the recommended 3,000. I can't really compare the filters I bought to the OEM ones since the machine came to me with a generic filter installed. The ones I bought seem to be about the same as the one that was in it. We'll just have to let it roll and see what happens.

 

[justjunque]

I just finally got myself to start writing numbers on my bags. I just replaced my after filter at the last bag change, so it was a good time to start.
I've been meaning to do it for a long time, but I always tell myself that I'll remember when it's time to change the filter. Yeah. Right.

Edgar;
Glad you rescued the Electrolux! Two of mine were picked up off the tree belt.
One is a dark grey Ambassador III, and the other one is a 75th anniversary Epic 6500 SR.
The Epic was trashed by its previous owner, and is ROUGH. Among other things, it needs a new motor. But it was one of my dream vacs, and I had to pick it up. I bought a motor for it, but I still haven't gotten around to working on it. Some day.
The Ambassador, after a thorough cleaning, is in amazing condition.
Of course, I probably ended up spending $50 or so on eBay, picking up the bits and pieces that were missing. I don't regret it for a minute though! It's a great vacuum!
Hope you enjoy your Diplomat!

Barry

 

[human]

Dirt isn't the only thing vacuums can suck up...

Barry wrote:
Of course, I probably ended up spending $50 or so on eBay, picking up the bits and pieces that were missing. I don't regret it for a minute though! It's a great vacuum!

I reply:
How well I know that tune! I have machines that I've bought for very little money, or even gotten for free, and then spent a ton on. I have a Kirby Heritage that I bought on eBay last winter that I ended up spending almost as much on parts as on the machine itself--and that's not including parts I already had on hand or in this case were generously given to me by a fellow member. A Legend II I bought last fall is a similar story and it doesn't end there.

I feel like I got off pretty easy on this Diplomat, spending only about $30 on it and almost half of that being for consumables. I try my best to keep that in mind when I look at machines to purchase, asking myself how the cost of repairing/refurbishing it compare with the cost of acquisition. Of course, trash finds are much more of a grab-and-go proposition. Evaluation can wait until I get home and decide whether it's worth fixing up or I've just gotten myself a pile of parts. Truth be told, I usually err on the side of fixing it up. The most ironic thing, now that I think about it, is the trash finds consistently end up being among the least expensive projects while the eBay purchases end up being the most expensive, even not including the purchase price of the machine. At this point, I'm thinking I need to make a note to myself, especially considering the number of vacuums I have, to stop looking for whole machines on eBay or any other online source and limit any further 'vacquisitions' to thrift shops and trash piles from here on out.

 

[human]

I posted in a recent thread on trash vacs that I'd found the elusive suction control knob for my Ambassador. I had promised not to hijack that thread any further so I resurrected the original one.

I finally had a little time and installed the this evening. Doing so was a little more involved than just snapping it into place. I had left one of the tubes to the valve disconnected to disable it so I had to go back inside it. This turned into a major pain. I literally had to completely disassemble the machine to get to the tubes and figure out how to route them but then the wiring connectors kept coming loose so I had to go through and tighten ALL of those. After working on the machine for more than three hours, I finally got it back together except for one of the side strips. It had been removed and installed a number of times and the leading edge was a little bent and it eventually broke off. Now, it won't go back at all so I guess I'll need to find another one. Of course, the good news is the lockout mechanism now works perfectly but part of me wishes I'd just stuck the knob on and just had it cosmetically complete.

 

[jo]

Side strips

You might find a pair of side strips on eBay on a unit someone is parting out. Perhaps where you got the knob from? Just buy it and get it going, you’ll have no regrets in the end to have the machine running beautifully.. considering how much you could spend for a used one of these machines or sell it for ...the money you spend fixing it up could easily be recouped. Making it worth it to have it nice for yourself plus the automatic control will now work hopefully!

Frustrating through you spent all that time to get the tubes connected and the dial on and you can’t really try it out properly to see if it all works. Well yes I guess you could power it up but not use it functionally until you get the side strip replacement.

Hint: if you apply pressure to the body essentially compressing the top and bottom together while inserting the strip...it may slide easier as the pressure reduces the resistance.

Good luck and update us.

Jon

 

[human]

As I was going to sleep last night, I visualized turning the machine upside down, compressing it with my knee and trying to slide the strip on. Hopefully, the strip isn't too far gone for that. If it doesn't work, I've got a line on a pair of gray ones on eBay for $13 shipped.

I did power the machine up with one strip in place and tested it by putting my hand over the hose port. It immediately shut off and lit the appropriate indicator, which proves two things: 1) the lockout system works; and 2) I got the thing wired correctly. Of course, the final test of the latter, once I get both strips back in place, will be to connect the power nozzle and make sure it works as it's supposed to. I once rewired a Silverado Deluxe that was a complete basket case when I acquired it and managed to reverse two wires, which caused the power nozzle to come on when the vacuum was turned off and to go off when the vacuum was turned on. It was annoying at the time but as I look back it, I see the potential for a fun practical joke.