TriStar/Compact canister Mom gave me

[dartman]

Well like it says we as a family got this thing brand new in the late 70's I think as a bonus for some MLM thing Mom was trying. It says Sir Anthony James on it which was what they called all the goodies they were enticing her to join with. We also got a Microwave that lasted quite a while and we used to use this in our house all the time.
I THOUGHT she had given it away but recently she was clearing out a spare bedroom and found it buried in the closet. It does still run but the motor bearings are shot and it sparks like crazy from the brushes. I tore it apart and tried to get the fan to stop rubbing the case and lubed up the one main bearing. I remember it doing a much better job suction wise and grooming the rug but it was so busy rattling around internally I think it's at about half suction and the power head probably needs attention but the brush rolls look great.
I don't really need anymore vacs but it is kinda sentimental and when mom and my lil sister found it they knew I always liked it so it's mine now.
I can get a brand new motor for about 68 shipped or a whole body in a newer style with a good motor for 54 shipped.
Wonder if it's worth spending any money on at this point seeing how I have a 5700 royal upright and a 4650 Canister that I use all the time and do a great job.
Anyways figured if nothing else the vacuum nuts here would like to see a odball version out in the wild.

 

[Deleted member 1090]

that is a re branded Compact electra interstate C8 canister vacuum geta new motor and it will be a reallll work horse do it fix her up !you wont regret it

 

[dartman]

Yeah, figure I'll put it on the list of things that can wait but I want to fix eventually and see how it does with a good motor again. I think thew newer ones have a better power head and I KNOW the later Royal power heads were way better as I also have a 413 I loved that just isn't as good as the Panasonic version the 4650 has.
You think my attachments will fit the newer style body as I can get that A101 cheaper then a new motor shipped.
Guess I'll make a saved search for the motor and see if a better deal comes along then once it's back to where it used to be it'll compete favorably with my Royals.

 

[Deleted member 1090]

no no no no oh no dont go whit the 101 the original Compact Tristar were far better and more power full than the later mg1 series! The power head on a compact electra c8 is a beast whit the Vibra groomer 2 or 3 brush-roll or even better whit a sevron style brush roll i own a compact electra vacuum and its cleaning best fix yours ! 2 stage amteck motor electri h ose and new brush roll metal vbibra groomer 3 and youl have one heck of a cleaning beast

 

[dartman]

So just the motor out of the 101 would be a downgrade or is it the same one in a newer body? If it's exactly the same I could just swap it in and save a few bucks, if not eventually I'll pick up one of the new ones, thanks. I think mine has a row of brushes and a beater bar set up on the powerhead. It's all as we got it and I doubt anything other then bags has ever been changed.

 

[Deleted member 1090]

leep the original you wont regret it sun message me i know about those[this post was last edited: 7/15/2018-22:11]

 

[dartman]

OK, now no newer motor then. The 70 dollar one is a 2 wire that claims to be for the older style Compacts. I was looking it over and it wasn't obvious how to tear it down to rebuild it and I didn't research new bearings and brushes yet but if I can get those way cheaper that should fix it right up. This is the link for the new motor https://m.ebay.com/itm/New-Genuine-...leaner-Motor-/221406831794?_mwBanner=1&_rdt=1 You obviously know if this is the right motor or just one that will work. Guess I need to research the bearings and brushes and how to tear it down to rebuild it.

 

[Deleted member 1090]

ooooh yes this will fit the compact and will make it original like in 1978 this will a lats long time yeppers get that sun message me on here i will help

 

[dartman]

How to message you

OK, thanks for all the help and advise and it sounds like that guys new motor is the one to get. I couldn't find any bearings or tear down info in a quick search but I have that link saved and will order a new motor when ready to tear into it again. Let me know how to message you or just hit my e-mail address in my profile and we can chat about it more if you like.
I certainly remember this vacuum working a LOT better and quieter then it does now so probably the bearings were starting to get bad when we finally stopped using it and got whatever else we were using afterwards which I don't remember. I do remember finding a Kenmore plastic canister for 10 bucks that had a power head but the plastic body was all cracked so it worked but blew dust a lot. I seem to remember the power head wasn't bad but when I moved out we got the Royal 413 tank and it was like a year old so we used that for years and I kept replacing the hoses and belts till they got near impossible to find so many years later.

 

[Deleted member 1090]

message me in my email on my profile and we can talk there i own a compact electra and i have friends that i message also let me know i want to know what you do whit this vacuum im interested in it message me on my adress in my profile

 

[dartman]

You don't have a email listed in your profile but I do on mine if you want to talk that way.

 

[Deleted member 1090]

sure just message yaaa

 

[kirbyvertibles]

agreed!!! The older style motor was way better. Fix this thing up. This is a special oddball and is very much worth keeping around.
I wonder why this has the c-8 hose and cord but the c-9 power nozzle? Is this model a c-8 or c-9?

 

[Deleted member 1090]

yes definitely worth fixing either c8 or c9 its an odd ball for sure fix the original motor and power head hed have a cleaning best odd ball

 

[dartman]

Well I'll check my PayPal balance and see if I have enough money to pay for that new motor the guy on eBay has listed. Like I said I remember it working really well on the carpet in the house we had built in 77, good old shag back then. Now it screeches abd rattles when you turn it on or off and is about half power. It keeps belching out smoke or dust when the bearing shifts and the fan hits too so I've stopped test running it till I get it fixed. The brushes look easy enough to replace, maybe the bearings but no clue how to tear the motor completely down and I bet by the time I find the parts with shipping that new motor is about the same and way easier. Will be interesting to see how it compares to the Royal 4650 I really love, or the 5700 upright that also works great. Today was Prime day so been picking up things I've wanted cheap so trying to not over do it. If anyone here has Prime it's worth checking out.

 

[Deleted member 1090]

keep me posted

keep me posted on your progress whit the vacuum i m a huge compact tristar fan

 

[dartman]

I ordered the motor and it's already on its way so will update when it shows up and I get it installed. Hopefully it will be as good as I remember but either way it should be as good as it can be with the new motor. That guy has more than 10 available for anyone with a early Compact that might be needing one.

 

[dartman]

Model questions

That vacuum was a promo from a multi level marketing scheme my mom signed up for so maybe Interstate threw a bunch of parts together they had a bunch of and painted it to match what the company ordering it wanted for a good price on a bulk small run of leftover parts. I'm pretty sure she paid something up front for the goodies with the expectation she'd make money back on what she ended up selling and supposedly got a deal on the trinkets.
It would be interesting to see how many private label versions of the Compacts in that era were built as I never knew what company originally made it and I thought it looked cool and worked well, plus it was way quieter than the Kirbys I was used to.

 

[Deleted member 1090]

that isa Compact Electra C8 or C9 vacuum a cleaning beast whit a good motor and filter cloth bag paper bag its a work horse install the new motor and gasket should be a good as new keep me posted

 

[kirbyvertibles]

Can you see what the model number is on the bottom?

 

[dartman]

I'll have to look and if it's interesting I can post a picture. I don't know if the serial number plate I posted really helps but I got the typical things I thought would be helpful.

 

[ultralux88]

The model will be on the bottom front, there's a whole thing there cast into the bottom housing with all of that information.


 


I really like the color!

 

[dartman]

Yeah, I always liked it and the crinkle paint finish. Been busy this weekend trying to get my bigger 480 gig ssd I bought during prime day to take a clone of my 128 gig ssd we put in when it was thrown together last year. Motor is supposed to show up the 28th or so so looking forward to slapping it in and seeing how it works when everything is like new again.
I'll have to take a look underneath and see what it says. I do know I like the external power cords to run the powerhead vs the powered hoses the Royals use that always goes bad somewhere. It also appears that the powerhead has a sliding power level switch that either does nothing or just bleeds off some of the suction as doesn't appear to have any mechanical or electrical hookups at all. The Royals in canister and upright the brush can be raised and lowered to work with any carpet you have.

 

[Deleted member 1090]

keep me posted on your vacuum

 

[suckolux]

It bleeds off suction,Eureka head

 

[Deleted member 1090]

yes Eureka power head auto adjust and suction relief on top correct thats why i love my Compact C9 select suction level low pile normal shag and voila simple yet effective

 

[dartman]

Motor showed up

It showed up a few days ago packed very securely in a factory style box. Motor is definitely brand new and tight. Machine will be as new or better than new when it's installed but no time till the weekend as I'm going in early every day due to being almost 100 every day this week so far. If anyone needs a new motor for one of these earlier machines I think this is a great deal even with 10 bucks shipping. It came very quickly, much faster than qouted.

 

[Deleted member 1090]

please keep me posted on the repair and let me know how it turns out best of luck

 

[dartman]

motor installed

Well after waking up a bit figured I'd tear it down and stuff in the new motor. The old one was removed and that's when I noticed something is loose and rattling around inside but haven't tried to figure out exactly how to tear it down and see what happened and if it might be salvageable. New motor is nice and quite and of course has great suction. Power head also is having motor issues and squeals and bogs down from time to time so I lubed the rollers and the parts I could get to on the motor there to see if it helps but it does work. Putting the sole plate back on was a bit of a challenge as it doesn't want to slide over the front locating stops very well and because of that the brush wasn't really making good contact with the carpet. I got that figured out and it now fluffs and grooms the carpet pretty well and really seems to clean. Overall when the brush head isn't squealing it's nice and quiet with a drone from the brush beating the carpet.
It started working a bit better after I took it back down and lubed it up some more too but don't know if it'll settle in or get worse later. Guy who sold this motor has a high power version for 69 plus shipping and only difference is more power and slightly longer but the round housing is the exact same size. I probably would have tried that one if I'd noticed it and another seller was selling it for about same price but free shipping.
Anyways here's some pics