Trident Vacuum

[collector2]

Hey Guys:

Just added another, not often seen, machine to my collection (Thanks Al). A Trident model U156a (Made by Electrolux England). Does anyone have a manufacture date for this machine? I believe it is late 1960's but I'm not certain. The only other Tank type Trident I have seen is pretty much the same as this but blue and white (U156?) Does anyone know if there were other tank type machines under the Trident name?

 

[funvacfan]

Beautiful

Lovely, and so complete! Great fresh colour too.

Guy

 

[watsonw]

1967-70ish

Hello Doug,

How are you these days?

I have a complete 156 (including sprayer - unused)and instruction booklet which features this model having the same hose with white nylon one piece louvre type suction control and dual dusting tool clip as our uk Z100 which appeared in 1967 with the 80 as the middle model. The 'TRIDENT' tubs appeared around 1973 when lux went over to the sealed motors beginning with the UK Z330 over here.

The other trident 156 type cylinder I know of had a grey/blue covered body and I think pre-dated the 156. Al has one and like your 156 has a 'bojack' hose.

The original hoses fitted to the 100/80/94/310/330/345 were not robust like the previous Z55/65 types.

I think I have a spare complete/mint unused sprayer?

I could send you a copy of my instruction booklet?


Regards, Walter.

 

[vacbear58]

Trident

Doug always does such a good job of rejuvenating grubby and dirty cleaners

These Trident cleaners are a bit of curiosity. Before the 1980s Electrolux where not known at all for doing exclusives with one exception at the end on the 1950s - the Norvac based on the 55 model, then technically obsolete.

However in 1965 they seem to have changed this policy brining out not one exclusive but three! Two of these seem to be just colour variations of their existing 64 & 65 models - respectively U137 & U138. These were designated "Challenge" models so were probably sold through mail order catalogues - there were Goblin "Challenge" models too.

But the other was different. This was the U136 and was designated the Trident. It was clearly based on the then mid-line 65 model (the new TOL 90 model having been introduced that same year) but with some subtle differences. The most significant if these was the re-styled rear panel which lost the separate cord storage point, had a smaller switch (actually the same as the 90) and a much simpler flat exhaust filter rather than the cup (for want of a better word) style filter used for the previous 20 years or more on models 30, 55, 62 & 65. It was 2 more years before this same rear assembly would make its way to the mainline Lux cleaners with the model 80 in 1967.

The other main point of differentiation was on the front panel which has the bag full whistle (only just seen for the first time on the TOL 90 that same year) and a bag catch which was on the front top of the cleaner (rather like Hoover models) - to the best of my knowledge this was the first time in the UK that they adopted this arrangement since the model XI

The colour picture is not mine, this particular cleaner came up on ebay, its the only one of these I have ever seen

 

[vacbear58]

Trident

Its hard to tell but it appears that the front profile of the cleaner is somewhat different to the other Lux cleaners of the time.

The model was then updated to have a front similar to that used on the Lux 65 and then 80 with the two side catches. It retained the bag full signal.

I should have also pointed out that instead of the combination carpet/floor nozzle it featured separate ones, as seen here only on the 62 model, although they were used for many years in other sales areas, notably Australia.

Here is the later version (mine!), it is interesting to note how the tools are colour co-ordinated to the cleaner even though it must have been very small volume production run. My cleaner had an addendum to the instructions showing the suction control on the handle (then only seen on the new TOL 100) which would imply a date of 1968 when the 100 was introduced.

Note how everything about it absolutely shouts Electrolux right down to the box, I must check it out to see if there is an address for Trident on the box separate from Electrolux themselves.

 

[vacbear58]

And finally Doug's

The implication is that this machine would have come along at the end of the 1960s, certainly post 1968. Whether or not it continued beyond 1969 (when the 80 range on which this was based was replaced with the all new 91 series) I cannot say.

If I am honest I do not care for this version as much as the earlier ones (does not stop me having one though LOLOLOL) although it still has its little quirks such as the coloured co-ordinated rear grill - in the Lux 80 its plain.

I am not aware of any other tank style cleaner to bear the Trident name. There was a further Trident model which is very obviously based on a Volta model.

I see Walter has commented above in the thread, so that makes four of this particular model I now know of. And he is absolutely correct, the hoses of all Electrolux models from about the 80/100 on to I think the 355 (the introduction of the lightweight ridged plastic hoses) were never durable, always seeming to break at the handle end

Al

 

[collector2]

Thanks for the information guys. I would imagine that, since the blue one was still out in 1968, that would probably make the yellow one starting in 69 or 70 and running till 73 when the other style took over.

Doug

PS - email you shortly Walter

 

[vacbear58]

Trident

The annoying thing is that none of the later Trident models appear in "Which Electrolux Is It?", only the first in an earlier edition si we can only speculat on the age.

It would be interesting if Markus or Edgar (or anyone else) could comment to know if these models (or ones like them) appeared in mainland Europe or anywhere else come to that as there was such a wide variety of Electrolux models produced over their many sales territories under many different names

Al

 

[vintagerepairer]

Well the reason it does not appear in the Electrolux marketing literature is because the Trident cleaners were sold exclusivly door-to-door by the then field salesmen. Although the cleaners were stamped with the Electrolux name on the rating plates, that was pretty much as far as the connection with Electrolux went. They liked to play it down, if you will, as they didn't want consumers who'd seen a Trident in-home demonstration to go out and buy the almost identical model in the shops. That said, the Trident did come with a number of additional attachments to entice the consumer / offer more perceived value etc. which would not have happened in-store.

Of course the similar model in store would have been the 65 and later the 80, both of which had 3-way combination floor tools. Does having a seperate floor and 2-way carpet tool therefore make the Trident a "cheaper" cleaner for being less sophisticated...or does seperate dedicated tools make it more "exclusive"? You decide.

 

[vintagerepairer]

Doug I found this when I was searching around on Yahoo just now. It's same as yours only with less parts. I think it is sold though.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-E...209293&_rdc=1&nma=true&si=1yq6AfVV0PuxWnuhJ%2

 

[collector2]

Hi Benny

Yep same one but with the original hose by the look of it. At least I know what the hose looked like now if I ever come across one. Thanks!

Doug

 

[collector2]

LOL that is the same argument as the Canadian vs US Electrolux's. In the US the dual (flip over) accessories were considered deluxe because you only needed 3 pieces, while in Canada they were used only on the bottom of the line as you weren't getting a full set of parts.

 

[vacbear58]

More Trident

I have no recollection of seeing that Trident that Benny's search threw up, I wonder how I missed it as the listing title has several of the criteria words I use when searching ebay - I would have discussed it with Doug too had I seen it. Maybe someone got in quick with the best offer and the listing got completed.

I think that the Trident must have been marketed slightly above the 65/80 on the basis of the bag full indicator and the suction control/tool clip which did not appear on the two successor models to the 80 (91 & 94) - it took the introduction of the 305 (where Electrolux segmented their MOL offer) for these to appear at this level. And remember the Trident was two or more years ahead of the 80 in terms of the rear of the machine and the simpler filter arrangement.

It is also curious that Electrolux chose to market a machine door to door at this stage (1965) and to carry on doing so for what seems to be at least 4 - 5 years as you would not have thought the sales volume would have been there to justify the cost in terms of different tooling and production sequence (as the handle & mounting are completely different to the mainstream models), cost of colour coding the tools and the costs of maintaining the mobile work force.

Did I ever mention that I am one of those "bean counters" that so many people are so swift to shoot their mouths off about? (Sorry, that's a different rant)

I have it on good authority that Hoover abandoned the concept of door to door sales in around 1960, the likes of Vactric & Bylock were long gone by this stage and I doubt that Goblin would have been doing it either.

Al

 

[vintagerepairer]

Bean Counter

Good morning Vacbear. Dare I ask what the bean counter refers to (if it's anything I've said, I must apologise).

I quite agree with you, that you'd think by this period of time we talk about that door-to-door selling would have been long gone for high-end appliances like vacuum cleaners. I too concur that you wouldn't think there was the demand even for a cleaner like this to be sold on the doorstep. I only know what I know about it because the man who sold me my shop in 1979 was very clued up on Trident - his father has been a salesman for Electrolux. It's times like now where I wish I'd asked more. Who'd have thought that in 35 years time we'd be sat at home with a tiny computer talking to folks all over the world!

I would not be at all surprised if at some point we see that these Trident cleaners had appeared in a different variation for a none-UK company; as you say Vacbear, to make the tooling etc. for the small number of parts which differed from the mainstream models would have come at a cost. However, one area where savings were made (albeit I expect very small savings) is that as you see on the rating plate of the cleaner in my link, there is no mention of BEAB mark. I am quite sure these cleaners were safe enough to meet the BEAB standards, however, as that approval was principally required to sell products through electricity board showrooms (without it the showrooms would not stock appliances) it was redundant on the Trident as they were never going to be sold by UK retailers, electricity boards or otherwise.

The individual tools supplied with the Trident were most likely in production already for other cleaners made in the UK for the export market, so I don't think that would have been much of an issue, indeed as we see with Dougs cleaner, the generic white parts would have been used for a good deal of UK models too.

However, I must reiterate that the Trident was not to be likened to mainstream Electrolux models on sale at that time, rather the Trident (which I believe from memory was more expensive than a cleaner bought in-store and would have had finance available on it) was unique and came with a host of attachments, like the sprayer and as we saw recently, a "hobby kit". One thing I do not understand for the life of me is why there was no automatic cordwinder. In a time when this feature was virtually none-existent on cleaners sold in store, I am sure it would have been a real selling point when demonstrated in a customers front parlour.

 

[vintagerepairer]

305

Vacbear, I must add that the 305 as I remember it did not have the hook to accomodate the dusting brush on the back of the hose wand, rather it used the round valve as seen on the 302. However, it did have a plastic sleeve on the wand.

This deluxe suction-control-cum-dusting-brush-holder was confined mainly to the top-models until the early 1980s, whereby Electrolux then simply had the "top of the range" wand, with its plastic sleeve and deluxe suction control, or else bare metal with no controller, rather than a choice of controllers and sleeves.

 

[vacbear58]

Bean counters

Benny

I don't want to hi-jack Doug's thread by veering off, but a quick explanation. Quite often here and in the sister site AutomaticWasher folks will sound off about "bean counters" aka cost accountants as being the downfall of manufacturing in the western world.

I do not deny that SOME will have had their part to play along with bankers, executives, shareholders and the stock market in general. However, they talk about "bean counters" like they were something new. When I trained, in the mid to late 1970s, I was taught by men (and one woman who was actually streets ahead of the rest of them) in their 50s and 60s who had being doing the job all their lives until veering off into education.

In very many cases it is the "bean counters" that helped keep these organisations running and indeed many still do, often in difficult circumstances. So sometimes it gets very annoying when men and women doing their best get bad mouthed in this way.

Rant over

 

[vacbear58]

Cordwinder

There are probably a couple of reasons for this Benny.
Firstly the Trident was based on the smaller bodyshell of the 65/80 so to accommodate the cord winder they would have needed to use the larger 90/100 body shell.
Secondly, with the 90 and to an extent the 100, Electrolux established and entirely new market segment for cylinder cleaners, one of the defining features of which was the cord winder. I am guessing that the basic price for the Trident (before such extras as sprayer and hobby kit) would have been pitched somewhere between the 65/80 (£29) and the 90/100 (£38) whereas if it were based on the 90/100 it would have had to have been pitched above the £40 mark - a lot of money back then. At least based on the 65/80 they perhaps could catch some of the middle ground although I don't doubt that, with the extras, it could well have been pushing on £40, if not more.

There is one thing that Doug can maybe check for us - the wattage of the cleaner. Early 80s were 400 watts, late 80s 550 watts. It would be interesting to note the wattage of the yellow Trident. Unfortunately I will not be able to check the wattage of my earlier model for a few more weeks

Al

 

[collector2]

Hey Guys

The Wattage of the Trident is 550 W while the wattage on the Model 65 is 450W, the Model 80 is 500 W and the Models 90 and 100 are 550W.

The tooling for a lot of the Trident parts would have already been available at the factory. The rug and floor nozzles are the same as those previously used on the model 62 (below)1957 - 1959

 

[vintagerepairer]

Counting the beans

Vacbear, I too do not wish to hijack the thread but I did want to thank you for taking the time to explain that to me. Let the ignorant think what they like, but don't take it as a personal slight as you'll get upset too. As you say, it is the very same people whose ability to balance the books was what kept many businesses going. One only has to look at messages on this website which demand that manufacturers should make this product in that shape, or bring back a long deceased model, that retailers who are still trading haven't a clue what they are doing, and that company X who has taken over company Y has ruined it, to see that not many people in the world have much real understanding of what it means to be in business. I do not say this to be disrespectful of said people, nor do I claim to know a lot about the world myself, but having been in business I do know a thing or two in that quarter, thus it's easy to see when others don't.

Back to this Trident I found on Ebay. My cleaning lady was here today and it is she who shows me how to do everything on the computer (other than to type as I learnt how to touch type many, many moons ago when I was in the Civil Service) and she showed me how to send a message to that seller. I wondered if she was able to elaborate more on her original sellers description. I was dumbfounded to get a reply within the hour, and what a warm response it was too. I'll try to work out how to copy it to here, if anyone would like that?