What is your FAVORITE Custom built Canister arrangement?

[delaneymeegan]

 


 


My collection consists of mainly 4 different brands.  Hoover, Electrolux, Eureka, and Kenmore, with a few Dirt Devils thrown in as appetizers.


 


My thing is, I like to chose the best parts of each manufacturer, and make a custom cleaner.  Do you do similar, or do you see it as vacuum cleaner abuse to use, for example, an Eureka attachment with a Bissell?


 


If you do customize, What's your ideal?


 


My ideal: An Ultralux metal canister, with a new flexible hose (hated those nasty, heavy, woven hoses)


Power Nozzle: Hoover Quadraflex power nozzle OR a Hoover Wide path OR a Eureka 70s to 90s power nozzle OR certain Kenmore pns. 


Hard floor attachment: Electrolux brush only OR Kenmore wide brush OR Eureka with plastic elbow attached OR generic WIDE floor brush OR a white bristle brush for doing walls.


Small tools: Electrolux traditional dusting brush/furniture tool OR Kenmore large dusting brush.  Eureka crevice tool OR Electrolux stubby.  70s/80 Kenmore Custom Furniture tool.   Electrolux Sidekick electric furniture brush.


 

 

[eurekaprince]

I find that a lot of the newer vacs come with dusting brushes that are not soft enough for delicate surfaces - I'm a bit of a "scratchophobe"!

The softest dusting brush I have ever owned is the Kenmore horsehair brush that came with our Progressive canister. So I have over the years bought these dusting brushes from Sears on their own to use with European canisters. It fits nicely on the universal hose end and wand of my mom's Electrolux UltraSilencer Green canister. For my new Miele C3/S8, I bought a nice metal Miele tool adapter which allows me to use the Kenmore brush with it.

But I have learnt that some soft plastics will ALWAYS get fine hairline scratches from even the softest brush. I have ruined turntable covers and clock-radio fronts and even car dashboard plastics by using vacuum dusting brushes. What's shocking is that the bodies of some of the vacs themselves will get fine hairline scratches if dusted with their very own dusting brushes - Kenmore included!

After Sweden's AB Electrolux bought Eureka, it was great to see the company marry Eureka's wonderful power nozzles with their high-performing quiet canisters! Best combination I think was the Electrolux Oxygen with the Eureka Express power nozzle.

 

[blknblu]

Electrolux flip tool with generic telescoping aluminum wand.


For the times I need to use it, this combination is great.


Why can't all metal vacuum wands be made of aluminum?


I have the 2 piece steel and aluminum Electrolux wands, and this beats them both for versatility.


 


 


 


 

 

[vac-o-matic]

Somewhere along the line I procured a hose with a Hoover wand end and an Electrolux machine end with a pigtail. I love using a Hoover Quadraflex power nozzle with my models L and G Luxes. It turns them into a fierce carpet cleaning machine. I'd really like to have the same arrangement to use on my FQ Princess III. I love that machine for bare floors and detailing, but detest the power nozzle.

 

[delaneymeegan]

OMG

 


 


I was thinking of getting a FQ too, but I knew the hose and all accessories and pn had to go.  If I were to get the excellent filtering and noise control of a FQ, I would have to marry it to a crush proof electric hose from Eureka, and use a Eureka or Electrolux pn.  Also, the clumsy "tool ring" would have to go.


 


 


 


And that telescoping aluminum wand, I have one just like that from the purchase of a Eureka Mity-Might back in 2005.  The vac is long gone, but I kept and have used that wand many times.  Always with a floor brush-only Electrolux attachment.


 


 


 


And those dusting brushes, even when I've tried other vacuums, like the mity-might, I ditched the accessories that came with it, and used quality electrolux.


I haven't paid that much attention to the scratchability of surfaces, but I will now.


 


 


 


 


I want to know..... what is the meaning of this thing?  Why would a company like Bissell do THIS to themselves?


 

 

[blknblu]

MD Stealth power nozzle (made by Lindhaus) paired with Electrolux sheath (button lock added)


 

 

[tolivac]

Yes,have a Mighty Mite,too-and first thing---threw out that STUPID dust-upholstery tool.Simply bought separate tools and even used some of my Kirby tools-really like Kirbys dust brush.Use it on any vacuum that it fits.So far the Kirby dust brush hasn't scratched any of my critical things.

 

[floor-a-matic]

Electrolux model G or L with coiled vinyl electrified hose & PN 1692 or 1693

 

[n0oxy]

customizing canisters

I also like to customize my canisters. For hard floors, I use the Wessel Werk turn and clean floor brush or the wessel werk rd285 which is a floor nozzle that does not have brushes. For cleaning my area rugs with a power nozzle, it's a bit more interesting. I have several universal power nozzles, the Riccar, the Sebo ET2 and the Lindhaus PB14 pro. Also have the Wessel Werk EBK340. The power nozzles that came with my Metro Canister and backpack power nozzle kit also have pig tail cords so will work with any electric hose. It would actually be possible to turn an Electrolux or Perfect power nozzle in to a universal fit by getting a few extension cords with mini connectors. The only power nozzle I have that I have not found a way of using on other vacuums is the power nozzle that came with my panasonic mc-cg902 which is basically a Centec CT18 I think. This nozzle uses a direct connection so the wand has to be a perfect match. As far as I know, there is not a universal version of the Wessel Werk EBK360 either. It's really interesting to pair a power nozzle with a different vacuum than it came with, wondering if others have tried this as well. I have read that many users of the filter queen don't like the power nozzle that it uses. I got adapters for my Miele C1 Olympus, Sebo airbelt d1, Lindhaus hf6 and Electrolux ultra one so I can use standard attachments. For me, not being able to use standard attachments is a deal breaker, I would not buy a vacuum that could not do this. For the backpacks, which use hoses with a 1.5 hose end, Centec sells an adapter that converts the hose end in to a standard 1.25 size. You unscrew the 1.5 hose cuff and screw on the adapter and you will then have a gas pump grip hose end with suction relief valve and can use all of the standard attachments with your backpack. I know the newest Kenmore models use a nonstandard hose end and as far as I know, there is no adapter available for it.

 

[human]

All of my canisters are Electrolux except for my Filter Queen. I've never tried cross pollenating pieces from the FQ to the Luxes or vice versa because the FQ hose connections are set up bassackwards from Lux and besides, the FQ power nozzle is hands down my least favorite. That said, I do have one somewhat odd combination. I recently acquired a nice PN-4A in Silverado gray to use with my most recently acquired 1205. I have it stuck on the end of a one-piece teal wand that probably originally came with a Model G. It has a pigtail connector at the top instead of a receptacle for the pistol grip hose. Everything plugs up just fine and it works great. It just looks a little odd. The aluminum top shell on the PN-4A is pretty scratched up so I'm considering stripping the paint off of it and polishing the metal. so it'll look beautiful like the PN-2 I use with my Super J.

 

[fan-of-fans]

Haven't really done too much customizing of canisters. The most I did was used my Eureka Mighty Mite attachments with the Shop Vac to clean the car. The Mighty Mite has a nice set of full sized tools that work great with the Shop Vac.

I did use the floor tool from my Hoover stick vac with my Hoover (Penncrest) Constellation, as it was missing.

I am thinking of ordering the Kenmore Elite horsehair dusting brush to use on my Kenmore Progressive. My red Progressive, being TOL does have horsehair dusting brush, but it's the weird horse-hoof shaped brush, and it's hard to clean shelves and other tight areas because of it's bulk. The Elite dusting brush is smaller and more traditionally shaped, but will fit the Progressive, plus it appears to have a fuller and softer bristle set, like the older ones Eurekaprince mentioned above.