Tristar came today!

[danemodsandy]

Tools:

Bill:

The best thing I can tell you regarding tools is to be patient and keep your eyes open. I was impatient to get a rug tool for my CXL, and it cost me dearly. I'm sure that the two expensive ones - the floor tool and rug tool - will turn up for you eventually. The dusting brush, crevice tool, and drapery/upholstery tool (all of which are plastique) are not any more expensive than those for any other brand, and they do turn up on eBay. There is a neat little clip-on tool caddy that fastens to the wands for storage of the plastic tools; you can see one in vintagehoover's pic of his U.K.-spec DXL, earlier in this thread.

There is one nice, money-saving thing about the floor and rug tools; their brush strips are easily replaced, like those in Lux tools. The insert for the dusting brush is, too.

 

[methodistbill]

I will keep my eye out!

I just looked at the OEM tools at Total Vac. Yikes! I can't help but think that someone got rid of a perfectly good vacuum because all it really needed was a new brush roll and filter so it would have good agitation and suction/airflow again. The vac is really clean (other than the cigarette smoke) and in excellent cosmetic shape. Oh, well. My gain!

 

[danemodsandy]

As Soon As...

...I can get my digital camera's battery charged, I'll post some tool pics. Shouldn't take too long.

Every single tool is based on the ones that came with Mom's C-2 way back there in '54. Plastic colours are different today, and there are now little slots to accommodate the wand buttons, but aside from those differences, they're the ones I remember so well.

 

[danemodsandy]

Tool Pic 1 of 4:

This shows all the tools that came with a TriStar. Clockwise from upper left, they are:

- Floor tool
- Rug tool
- Dusting brush
- Upholstery/drapery tool with snap-out grille
- Crevice tool

In the centre is the beige plastic tool caddy that clips onto the wands; it holds all three of the plastic tools.

The snap-out grille for the upholstery/drapery tool is used when you want to vacuum something like curtains; it decreases the suction and also makes it impossible for the curtain to get sucked into the tool. For upholstery, the tool is used without the grille.

 

[danemodsandy]

Tool Pic 2 of 4:

This one shows the underside of the rug tool; you can see the large air intake slots that allow it to glide over carpeting.

 

[xraytech]

there is a lot of tristar attachments on ebay now,
it is only the dusting brush, crevice tool and the rug shoe, all in clear glitter for $24.99

 

[danemodsandy]

Tool Pic 3 of 4:

This shows the tool caddy loaded with the plastic tools and snapped onto the wands:

 

[danemodsandy]

Tool Pic 4 of 4:

And this one shows the tool caddy in the user position; you can leave it clipped onto the wands while you vacuum. All the tools are right at hand that way!

P.S.: xraytech: I have a rug shoe as a collectible, but I don't recommend using it. It loves to come off the floor tool while it's being used, and it damages the bristles of the floor tool. For anyone who doesn't know what the rug shoe is, it's a plastic piece that clips to the bottom of the floor tool, converting it to a rug tool. Better to have the real rug tool, I think. The rug shoe came standard with late Compact-based TriStars like the CXL, DXL, and EX-20; you had to buy the real rug tool separately. I have a rug shoe only for display purposes; I used it one time and that was way more than enough for me!

 

[methodistbill]

Thanks for the pics!

That rug tool looks similar to the old Electrolux style but with air channels! I really like that little tool caddy. I was kind of wondering if the rug tool and floor brush came standard too. Thanks!

Bill

 

[luxg]

IMHO, the Compact or Tristar floor tool is one of the very best!! I use it on most all of my machines including the Beam Central Vac.

 

[danemodsandy]

Bill:

The floor tool came standard all the way through the last Compact-style TriStar, the EX-20. The rug shoe was standard, too. The real rug tool was the option. I think TriStar's reasoning there was that with so many people having all wall-to-wall carpet and no area rugs, that was where they could shave their costs a bit. But at least they kept the real rug tool available!

 

[methodistbill]

Cord Repair

The rubber on the power cord gromet (relief) where it pushes into the machine is separating. Now the cord doesn't want to stay in place even with the cord clip in place. Can that be repaired effectively with hot glue or something else. I've wrapped electrical tape around it in order to give the clip something to hold onto but I don't think it's going to hold. Since the cord relief has failed, the cord pulls easily out of the machine where exhaust air leaks out. Not a tight seal. Or would it be better just to replace the cord all together?

 

[methodistbill]

What the cord looks like

This is what the cord looks like. The crevice area where the clip goes is what's cracking.

http://www.goodvac.com/TriStar_Cord_old_molded_p/tristarcordoldmolded.htm

 

[danemodsandy]

Bill:

Replacing the cord would be the best option, sorry to say. I wish TriStar had not gone to that design, but they did. There used to be a separate strain relief piece, so that if the strain relief cracked, you could just replace that. But noooooo, they had to get fawncy. I feel for you - I had to replace the cord on mine, too. The TriStar part number is 70028.

You might look on eBay and vac parts sites to see if someone makes an aftermarket cord to the same design. There are aftermarket TriStar cords out there that are intended for the old, separate strain relief, so you have to make sure you're getting the right thing.

P.S.: Got your email about the Lux cord bracket. I am hardly able to sleep for excitement. Thanks!

 

[methodistbill]

Well . . .

That's what happens when a vacuum cleaner is approaching 20 years old!