Vacuums that have headlight function in bare floor mode (brush off)?

[fan-of-fans]

Are there any two motor uprights or power nozzle canisters where the headlight will function with brush motor turned off?

Was just wondering this. I'd think with most canisters it's not possible unless the brush on/off switch is on the power nozzle itself. If it's on the hose, then power is cut off to the light along with motor.

I have two uprights with separate suction/brush motors, Kenmore Progressive and Bissell Plus. The Kenmore's headlight functions with both the brush off or the handle upright for hose cleaning, which shuts off brush. The Bissell's headlight though shuts off with switch set to suction only or if handle is in upright position. It's basically a power nozzle canister though morphed into an upright.

My thinking is possibly the Hoovers with the Quadraflex nozzle or others with brush on/off pedal do have their headlight function with motor off?

 

[madman]

Well my Shark Rocket Professional has the headlights on whenever the machine is on, regardless of whether the brush is spinning or even disabled.

 

[eurekaprince]

Eureka’s World Vac power nozzle canisters had that feature...only on the more deluxe versions with the “gas-pump” handle. These Eurekas were sold in the early 1990’s. Highly-rated by Consumer Reports at the time.

Instead of the usual two prongs you find in the electrical connections of power nozzle systems, this Eureka actually had three prongs at every electrical connection to the power nozzle. I imagine that third prong is what powered the headlight even when you turned off the brush roll.

It was a very nice feature to have! It lit up dark areas in the bathroom and kitchen!!! But it also made it more difficult to pull off the hose handle from the wand.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Cool. I remember those red Eureka World Vac canisters. Didn't know about the triple connection at the wand though, wonder if any other makes/models have that?

 

[eurekaprince]

As for uprights, the famous Hoover Self-Propelled Ultra WindTunnel also left the headlight on when you switched off the brushroll for bare floor cleaning. The brushroll switch-off on that cleaner is a manual/mechanical belt clutch mechanism that is not activated by electric power.

 

[human]

Okay, this got me a little curious because I honestly couldn't remember so I grabbed the first Electrolux upright I came to, the Epic 3500SR, and fired it up. Sure enough, the headlight is on only when the switch is in the "II" position (brush roll on). It is off when the machine is in the "I" position for straight suction cleaning. I'm 99% sure rest of my 'Lux twin motor uprights work exactly the same way.

 

[ocscott3085]

My dad picked up one of those Eureka World Vac canisters from Costco (Price Club) around 1994 and it had the gas pump style handle with the three prong plug for the powerhead. I can't remember if the light remained on when in bare floor mode but I'll take your word for it. The Hoover Spirit canister we had from the late 80's had its headlight stay on when you pressed the button on the powerhead to bare floor. I thought that was so cool because our Kenmore Power-Mate didn't do that in bare floor mode and neither did our Nutone central vac powerhead.

 

[eurekaprince]

Just saw some eBay listings selling Eureka's "Home Cleaning System" power nozzle canisters. These were the models that followed the World Vac line and they were comprised of a Swedish-made Volta canister with a US-made World Vac power head. These later models also had three-prong plugs in the wiring system for the power nozzle, which means the headlight stayed on in bare floor mode as well.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I can update this thread to say my Hoover Celebrity QS with the Quadraflex Powermatic nozzle does keep its headlight on whenever the cleaner itself is switched on, whether the brushroll motor is on or not.

I was not certain before because the bulb was burned out when I got it.

I really like the feature as a headlight is useful whether vacuuming carpets or hard floors.