Vintage Kenmore Vacuums

[dysonman1]

Hi Everyone:
I've always been fascinated by Kenmore vacuum cleaners. I remember when my mother would take me to Sears, and I would just stand and watch as the salesmen picked up Kapok from the red carpets with the "new" Power-Mate canisters. She'd even walk away and shop while I stood in the vacuum department (this WAS the 1960's after all).

I'd love to see some of YOUR Kenmore vacuums. There are so many I don't have. Here are a few shots of the ones I do have. About half my Kenmore's are in the overhead 'storage' area for the Museum. The other half have a permanent shelf in the different decade-themed rooms.

To start us off: My Kenkart and Commander vacuums.

 

[dysonman1]

Uprights

Some of the many Kenmore uprights in the collection. The Coffee-Can motor models were all Pre-World-War II models.

 

[dysonman1]

Lakeside Green Kenmore upright

Was a gift from Jeff Parker, many years ago.

 

[dysonman1]

Power-Mate canisters

Love the Lady Kenmore Whispertone. Two speeds and a full bag indicator.

 

[dysonman1]

Late 1960's Power Mate canisters

Top of the Line "Sears's Best" model with 2 speeds, full bag light, and Cord Reel.

 

[dysonman1]

Kenmore's "Oreck"

This is the first "Oreck" made by Whirlpool, for Sears.

 

[papasvacs]

I have............

<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">The brown and chrome Commander pictured down in front.  I love it.  It is my daily driver on the second floor of my Florida home.</span>


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<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">My grandmother had one very similar when I was a kid.  I was scared silly of the thing!  It's definite sound when starting and its sound running must have scared me.  </span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">When my parents wanted me to stay put, the made me sit on the counch and put Grand,a's Commander in fron of the couch.  It worked!  LOL!</span>


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<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Looking forward to seeing more of your collection.</span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;"> </span>


<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">I too, loved to go to Sears and stand by the vacuums while my parents shopped.</span>


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<span style="font-family: comic sans ms,sans-serif;">Greg F.</span>

 

[dysonman1]

1970's Kenmore's

Top of the Line canister and upright

 

[dysonman1]

A few more

Uprights and a very nice round Canister

 

[kenkart]

OOOHHHH

That Whispertone and Aurora are about the only two I dont have!! I do have the pistol grip hose though.These are beautiful.

 

[electrolux137]

My Kenmores



I have the green Ken-Kart in the first photo above, as well as the gray Commander. However, my gray Commander has a polished aluminum "nose cone." I also have a Maroon Commander very similar to the brown one shown above.


 


And I have a 1930s Kenmore hand-vac with a motor-driven brush. I don't have any photos of it at hand. It's got a polished aluminum housing and a black cloth bag that says "Kenmore Deluxe."


 


I also have a Kenmore Imperial "Bug-Eye" upright, one of the most strangely beautiful vacuum cleaners I've ever seen. See photos below.


 


That's all the Kenmores I currently have.

 


 

 


 

 


 


 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 


 

 

[kenkart]

Birtman ...

And later Whirlpool"Who took over Birtman in 1957,,,A deal set up by Sears of course" made some great vacuums.

 

[dysonman1]

Beautiful Bug-Eye Kenmore Charles. Thank you very much for posting pics of this Gorgeous machine.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Nice vacuums. Kenmore canisters have always been my favorite, and I grew up with them. I really like the 1970s avocado green with woodgrain Sears Best canister. It's probably the #1 on my list to find.

I also like the Duo-Power uprights. There was also a version of that Oreck style upright that had a soft bag.

 

[rugsucker]

Great vacs-

-Sears had some of the best colors.I think the first PowerMate I saw in person was the narrow fiberglass bottom model that a family friend had had bought at the Sears store at the nearest 'big city'60 miles away.It was on the back porch behind the kitchen and she said the very first time she used it she pushed it under the sofa where it 'ate'a spool of thread and broke the belt.

 

[hygiene903]

Here's My Kenmore

Model 116.730. When I was a kid my folks had one of these that they used in the basement and to clean out the cars. although this one isn't theirs, it is the same model. Wish I had the smaller upholstery brush and felt buffer that originally came with it. Although I love the prrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnn sound it makes when it starts up, it used to startle me when I was little.
Jeff

 

[collector2]

There were some other unusual Kenmores that were made for Simpson-Sears in Canada. This is a Kenmore model 60 from 1953. It was made by Siroma Engineering Corp in England.

 

[collector2]

And a couple of other interesting ones from the 1955 Simpson Sears catalogue

 

[air-waycharlie]

Kenmore Saturn

This is my one and only Kenmore--the Saturn complete with all original parts including the power nozzle and owner's manual.

It still works great and the power nozzle even has a dirt finder headlight.