I just happened upon this 1965 ad for the Regina lightweight vac and it appears to be a clone of Oreck right down to the dirt tube being the handle ?
Did Oreck buy Regina or clone them or vice versa ?
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hoover1060
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Oreck did buy Regina
Sometime in the middle-late 90's...the Housekeeper killed Regina!
That regina upright is a sorta clone of Oreck, but it actually cleaned some....
Oreck had the motor back further, the fan was in the handle pivot, whereas Regina's motor is forward, and the fan was much larger.
Sometime in the middle-late 90's...the Housekeeper killed Regina!
That regina upright is a sorta clone of Oreck, but it actually cleaned some....
Oreck had the motor back further, the fan was in the handle pivot, whereas Regina's motor is forward, and the fan was much larger.
The Oreck upright
is more a Whirlpool vacuum design than a Regina.
Lawrence/Maytagbear
is more a Whirlpool vacuum design than a Regina.
Lawrence/Maytagbear
veg-o-matic
Well-known member
What I heard was that Oreck bought the Whirlpool commercial vac, made some tweaks and then stamped his name on it.
I've noticed in some ads that some of the new Orecks look like older Regina machines. Doesn't Oreck still offer the steam vac that was the original Regina design?
And why did the Housekeeper kill Regina? Did it suck (figuratively, not literally)? I always liked the design.
veg
I've noticed in some ads that some of the new Orecks look like older Regina machines. Doesn't Oreck still offer the steam vac that was the original Regina design?
And why did the Housekeeper kill Regina? Did it suck (figuratively, not literally)? I always liked the design.
veg
hoover1060
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Regina
Oreck still makes the old Regina Steemer now with their name on it.
Regina gets credit for having the first home use Steam machine, long before Bissel, Hoover, Dirt Devil.
The Housekeeper killed Regina because of its horrible quality. At one time the return rate on those things was 90%. Imagine having 90% of your sales come back defective!
For a time in the late 80's early 90's Electrolux USA owned Regina, and quality improved. It was too late though and Regina just faded away and was eventually bought up by Oreck.
I give Regina ALOT of credit, their little Housekeeper, crappy as it was, changed the vacuum world completely.
The Housekeeper had two features that did it: On board tools, and clean air design.
The Housekeeper was introduced in 1986, the only other major clean air machine in the US at the time was Panasonic. Attachments were stored in the closet, not on the vacuum.
Today we're hard pressed to find a dirty fan design, and there are very few that don't have the on board tools.
Oreck still makes the old Regina Steemer now with their name on it.
Regina gets credit for having the first home use Steam machine, long before Bissel, Hoover, Dirt Devil.
The Housekeeper killed Regina because of its horrible quality. At one time the return rate on those things was 90%. Imagine having 90% of your sales come back defective!
For a time in the late 80's early 90's Electrolux USA owned Regina, and quality improved. It was too late though and Regina just faded away and was eventually bought up by Oreck.
I give Regina ALOT of credit, their little Housekeeper, crappy as it was, changed the vacuum world completely.
The Housekeeper had two features that did it: On board tools, and clean air design.
The Housekeeper was introduced in 1986, the only other major clean air machine in the US at the time was Panasonic. Attachments were stored in the closet, not on the vacuum.
Today we're hard pressed to find a dirty fan design, and there are very few that don't have the on board tools.
The Oreck Upright
RCA Whirpool had the vacuum cleaner first. David Oreck worked for RCA WP at the time. He later started his own company, redesigned the upright and made the vacuum for WP. He had also started making the vacuum under his own name. RCA WP would later discontinue this upright under their name.
The reason Oreck vacuum cleaners look like Regina is that he takes other vacuum cleaners and puts his name on it. He did use Regina models like the wet/dry, stick vac and Regina Steemer. He also has models made by another company-Douglas(S&F). What I do not like is that he puts a huge price tag on these rebadged cleaners.
The Housekeeper was not that great of a vacuum cleaner. It was fine when it started out, because the vacuum design was not used by too many companies. This design was a cheap Elecrolux. It was a cheaply made vacuum cleaner. Do you remember the Housekeeper commercials where it sucks up nuts and bolts from the wand? One thing that always bothered me was that the bag was difficult to remove. It was really difficult to check how the bag was filling. Try putting a partly-filled bag back in. I always thought that they should have had the bag compartment open from the side. The Electrolux upright bags were also removed and installed from the top. The company was not into really improving the line. The company kept changing hands and splitting before coming back under Royal Appliance(TTI).
RCA Whirpool had the vacuum cleaner first. David Oreck worked for RCA WP at the time. He later started his own company, redesigned the upright and made the vacuum for WP. He had also started making the vacuum under his own name. RCA WP would later discontinue this upright under their name.
The reason Oreck vacuum cleaners look like Regina is that he takes other vacuum cleaners and puts his name on it. He did use Regina models like the wet/dry, stick vac and Regina Steemer. He also has models made by another company-Douglas(S&F). What I do not like is that he puts a huge price tag on these rebadged cleaners.
The Housekeeper was not that great of a vacuum cleaner. It was fine when it started out, because the vacuum design was not used by too many companies. This design was a cheap Elecrolux. It was a cheaply made vacuum cleaner. Do you remember the Housekeeper commercials where it sucks up nuts and bolts from the wand? One thing that always bothered me was that the bag was difficult to remove. It was really difficult to check how the bag was filling. Try putting a partly-filled bag back in. I always thought that they should have had the bag compartment open from the side. The Electrolux upright bags were also removed and installed from the top. The company was not into really improving the line. The company kept changing hands and splitting before coming back under Royal Appliance(TTI).
So there is a connection. I hadn't paid too much attention until the other late at night Oreck infomericial came on and it twigged that his machine looked alot like the Regina in the catalog.
I can't remember what the Housekeeper looked like, has anyone a picture to post?
I can't remember what the Housekeeper looked like, has anyone a picture to post?
The only connection is that Oreck used some Regina models, but not the early Regina Brush'n Beat upright.
If you would like to see what a Regina Housekeeper looks like, do a search. You may turn up bags with drawings of the models. If you go to ebay, search for item #4422922469. This is a Regina Housekeeper. It is one of the last models made.
If you would like to see what a Regina Housekeeper looks like, do a search. You may turn up bags with drawings of the models. If you go to ebay, search for item #4422922469. This is a Regina Housekeeper. It is one of the last models made.
Dirty fan vacs
They are still with us in abundance!!!Kirby,Royal "Everlast and Classic"Eurika "Sanitaire",Hoover commercial "conquest" and "guardian uprights. The fan first desing still has advantages over "clean air" design-smaller and more efficent motor.More efficient airpaths.And with the advent of better bag designs-just as good filtration.And last bu not least the Riccar "Radiance" and Simplicity "Synergy" that makes use of both technologies.amazing machines.
They are still with us in abundance!!!Kirby,Royal "Everlast and Classic"Eurika "Sanitaire",Hoover commercial "conquest" and "guardian uprights. The fan first desing still has advantages over "clean air" design-smaller and more efficent motor.More efficient airpaths.And with the advent of better bag designs-just as good filtration.And last bu not least the Riccar "Radiance" and Simplicity "Synergy" that makes use of both technologies.amazing machines.
