Viking Vacuum

[bimmer740]

I have never seen or heard of these machines before. Does anyone know when they were made and where they are from? The link attached says it was serviced on Long Island and list the address. This address is less than 15 minutes from my house and there are no stores on that road, just a senic, quite, winding North Shore road with million dollar homes on it. The machine looks like a knock off of an Electrolux so I could see why they would try to sell them here, since Electrolux was always "the vacuum" to have. Was this a rebadged European Electrolux?
Thanks!
-Steven

 

[bimmer740]

Link

Sorry, here is the link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=250044312239&rd=1&rd=1

 

[charles~richard]

Viking

is, or was, an offshoot of Electrolux-Sweden. They also make, or made, floor polishers and sewing machines. I say "make, or made" because who KNOWS what the current status of any Electrolux affiliate is anymore.

 

[bimmer740]

Electrolux-Europe

What other companies does European Electrolux own? Are the still considered "Electrolux AG"? Anyone ever used a Viking machine?

 

[ahzeks]

Electrolux Brands

Here's a link to the Electrolux brands page on their Web site.

http://www.electrolux.com/node171.aspx

 

[seamusuk]

See the New Aerus thread

For pics of some UK versions

Seamus

 

[converto-skip]

Steve

Hey Steve I have a very good friend who used to be in the club and will rejoin next year but He got one from a garage sale and He just loves it, I have the Electrolux Sweden like this viking but Yes if You are thinking about it I would definately go for it as You will be suprised with it.

Skip...

 

[convertible68]

Very interesting machine for sure! At first I thought it was a Canadian machine made for the Eatons department stores, especially considering that it has a Eureka-made power nozzle on it.

 

[dysonman]

Eureka was one of the brands, owned by Electrolux Sweden. To not compete directly with Electrolux U.S. (which was a separate company until 2003), Electrolux Sweden decided to call the machine a "Viking". After all, they also owned the Viking Sewing Machine Company (as well as the White Sewing Machine Company, who made the model 12 motors for Electrolux U.S.). Viking was the Swedish Electrolux version of the American Electrolux. It used a Eureka hose and power nozzle, since in Sweden, they had a much, much smaller power nozzle with a very thin, gentle, brush roller, that did NOTHING on American rugs.

The viking is very quiet, but the hose sticks out too far on the canister. The upright is fantastic, very quiet, and cleans very well. I love the drop in bag. Electrolux U.S. looked at that when designing the heavy duty upright in 1978.

 

[dysonman]

Viking now Derreck's

I have given my Viking upright to my very good buddy, Derreck, who is the branch manager of the Electrolux office in St. Louis. It looked better in his hands than mine. And it made him happy. I always liked the machine, but it sat in my collection, unused, for many years. I got it new and used one bag in it. When Derreck was going through my collection, he saw it and fell in love. I couldn't resist his charms, and gave it to him immediately.

 

[talktotravis]

Viking

A Viking upright, that I would have liked very much, recently sold on ebay for $12.50. I was willing to pay that amount (easily!) as the machine was NEW with hose and extra bags/belt, with one caveat--it had no handle, which has the switch and cord assemblies. I probably could have ordered one from overseas, but I didn't. One day I'll find one of these.

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Viking-V507...ryZ20617QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[colovacman]

that's me

I must admit -- I'm the one that got the Viking upright off of Ebay. I just received it today. What a cool machine! It's a bit smaller than I thought it would be which makes it very unique (at least in my collection). I'm hoping to find another machine on ebay someday that has a handle, switch and cord I can swipe from it. I tried calling several shops in town to see if they ever have any of these as trades and most of the shops weren't even aware they had been produced. One owner told me to stop buying European S#%! and stick with something better -- like Hoover, Bissell or a new Eureka. I told him it was an unused machine and something I was very interested in making work to which he replied "you are stupid." Call me stupid, but I think it's cool.

 

[talktotravis]

Colovacman

I didn't even try bidding on it, I was just going to swipe it at the end, until I realized that I was going to have a hard time finding parts. Congratulations, though, I'm glad it went to someone who appreciates it as something unique. Let me know if it works out for you with the handle.

 

[tommymilan]

Viking

Hello guys, the vacuum cleaner branded viking was in fact made by electrolux, sweden, between 1979 and 1982, model D 720.
No differences in the body, totally different hose( electrolux sweden didn't feature electric hose but the traditional white nylon covered standard hose, with power cord running outside) and the power nozzle.
tommy from Italy

 

[luxboy]

luv my Viking

colovacman..

I hope you find the handle to your Viking upright. Tom G. gave me a Viking 507 upright and I love it! It does a great job vacuuming and is a lot of fun to use! I think you'll like it. Good luck!

Derreck

 

[colovacman]

I hope so, too!

Hi Derreck...

Glad that you like your present from Tom G. I hope I can find a handle for mine, too. It looks like it would do a pretty good job on carpet. Does it have good suction? I thought about "hotwiring" it just to see how it performs, but think I'll leave it untouched in case I can find another one for parts. If not, you may have a spare coming your way!

 

[converto-skip]

MY sweden electrolux

Here is a pic of my Sweden Electrolux and it does have all the attachments with it but I didn't get them out to take this pic

Skip...

 

[luxboy]

great vacuum..

colovacman..

It actually has great suction, and it grooms the carpet very nicely. I actually have found myself using this vacuum more than any others in the last several weeks just because it is so pleasant to use. Its small and easy to push and does such a great job. It has been sitting in my hallway ready to go at a moments notice!

Derreck

 

[seamusuk]

Hey Travis.....

There were 2 versions of this sold in the UK branded Electrolux- model z506 and z560(virtually identical but with very minor cosmetic differences).

Id be quite happy to ask round and see if I can locate a handle /switch for you- mail me if youd like me to do so(the addy is on my profile). Its also worth keeping an eye on UK Ebay as they do come up fairly often- If you see one id be quite willing for the seller to ship it here and id send you the parts you need- would save you A LOT!! in shipping!!

Cheers
Seamus.

Also if bags/filters/brushstrps etc are difficult to get over there let me know and im sure something could be arranged lol!!