VAX 101/121/2000

[vintagerepairer]

Yes that is exactly it. Because there is a small shampoo hose running inside the suction hose, the hose is designed so that it cannot turn through 360 degrees. You get to about 359 degrees (a guess but it must be about that) and a plastic moulding inside the handle prevents the hose turning any more. The user has to then turn the hose back. The machine end of the hose was worse still, because as well as only going about 359 degrees, the hose fitting has to be screwed onto the cleaner like a Numatic does. So, without complete freedom to twist round the hose, when attaching the hose to the cleaner, the hose fitting locks at say 359 degrees and then the hose starts turning round too. I must stress that this was on the models with the fixed carry handles, the type which came after the cleaner shown in the photograph above. As you can see there, the shampoo hose on that cleaner is very similar to the Vax and clips to the outside of the suction hose.

 

[jmurray01]

I understand 100% now, thanks Benny.

 

[vintagerepairer]

Looking again at those pictures of the Vax cleaners, it seems heartbreaking to see such a quality brand as it was then, now being linked to the appalling imports which grace our vacuum cleaner market today. I understand it, of course I do, it is called survival and Vax has done what it feels it needs to do in order to stay in business. A good deal of people today wouldn't even know that Vax started out as a 3-in-one carpet cleaning system with only a single model to its range. But to me it is still sad. One normally only sees such a decline in quality after a name is sold off to someone else, but I am not sure what happened in the case of Vax, as I believe they are still based at Droitwich.

One of Vax's biggest mistakes was when they attempted to launch a range of true 3-in-one upright cleaners. The television advertisement said that Vax knew people wanted a carpet cleaner, and also they knew that people wanted an upright vacuum. To that end they invented the 8000 series. The build quality was appalling and had numerous flaws, but not only that, such was the design and the size of the cleaner, and the need for the consumer to store two large water tanks and a FULL set of hoses, tubes, and attachments for wet use, that anyone in their right mind would have seen that the may as well have bought a standard Vax canister cleaner for wet use, and a small upright for vacuuming. This would have offered maximum convenience for daily vacuuming, and offered a high quality machine for carpet cleaning.

Overall, and given the extra large price of the 8000 upright cleaners, I think Vax should have made a canister carpet cleaner which was not capable of being used as a dry-vac, and teamed it with a standard dry-only upright cleaner -be this one of their own making or the Vax name on a competitors cleaner- and sold it as a complete home cleaning system.

 

[sebo_fan]

My Powa 4000 is still going strong - I donated it many years ago to a local pound shop owner who was and still is very grateful. The variable suction is worth having against the fixed suction of the earlier machines. It was the weight of washing carpets that finally pushed me over the edge to get rid of it.

For a while a couple of years ago Vax Australia had a whole long range of Vax 6131 based canister vacs from see through ones (Vax "Sukka") and lots of other ones, either with the variable control dial or fixed. But I will agree with VR, the current range is poorly made and nothing like the older ones; even my Powa 4000 was well made, hence probably why the only thing that ever needed to be replaced it on it was its recovery bucket.

 

[jake1234]

vaxs

I used to have a hoover aquamaster but it broke beyond repair so I skipped it. I also had a vax 2000 until the motor gave way. I currently have a vax powa 4000 and vax 6131.

 

[citroenbx]

I love my vax 121 1990