EUREKA A Sampling

[brettsomers]

i just took these out of storage and am so happy to have them back that i feet the need to share them with the world.

 

[brettsomers]

feet = feel

here is a real old-timer and a "reproduction", the Retrovac

 

[brettsomers]

compare and contrast, im esp proud of the condition of the Automatic's "disturbulator".

 

[petek]

Thanks for sharing Brett, what age is the one on the left?

btw when I was out thrifting today I quickly spotted a Eureka canned ham canister sitting under a shelf, it was a Baycrest rebadge, nice and chromy and I was feeling lucky, until I pulled it out and saw that the original on/off button was gone and someone had screwed in a great ugly Toggleswitch in its place. LOL so I left it behind.

 

[urarachu]

Pretty!

Your Eurekas are very nice. I've been trying to find a bargain on one of those Retrovacs forever it seems. The bag is so cool, and I love the graphics on it. You're automatic is lovely too. I have one very similar to yours. They're a quiet classic that's made to last a very long time. I got mine from the vacuum shop I work at. Someone traded it in. The only thing wrong with it was that it had a rubber glove stuck in the fan chamber!

Corey

 

[brettsomers]

The Eureka "twin power automatic" is from the 60s (i guestimate). is that the one ur asking about? its model 260. anyone have more info?

 

[mrcleanjeans]

the original Disturbulator agitator is much greater

Boy,that original brushroll really could outclean ALL other uprights in its day,as long as you changed the belt alot,since the belt was under extra load.And,its aggressive action was not well suited to wool carpets,but for all other carpets,it was tops.

 

[mrcleanjeans]

Eureka! I've found it

the 260 was out in the fifties,IIRC,mid to late.

 

[hoover1060]

Eureka 260 Automatic

Nice Eurekas David, I like the chrome one with the slots on the hood and the tapestry bag, thats a RARE machine for sure!

The 260 is from the mid 60's starting maybe 63 or 64. It had a LONG production run too, up til 1969. You have an earlier version if the switch is on the back of the handle, later version if it has the rocker switch on the front of the handle. I think the switch change from back to front of handle was 1968. I have a chrome hooded 260 with the switch on the back of the handle.
That brush roller is Eureka's original "Disturbulator" and awesome that you still have the original.

 

[brettsomers]

yes, my Eureka Automatic has a squared handle (like the Hoover 60) with a two-speed TOGGLESWITCH mounted on the back of the handle. the switch is kinda tight. it was hardly used at all before i got it, the brushroll has almost NO wear and the bottom plate is perfect. the bagring is same as the sanitaire version used today, they are interchangeable. about the tapestry bagged model being "rare", kidding? i dont know. the tapestry bag one is the SAME cleaner my mom had when i was a small child. looking back, i think the commutator failed somehow (around the time i was 6 or 7?) and she replaced it with a NASTY Kenmore "twin fan" model. and one thing about the Retrovac with the houndstooth bag; i got it new and it had a Cleveland Wood Products (scott & fetzer) brushroll installed at the factory. does this make it a "bojack" right off the shelf? David

 

[bobbyderegis]

Growing up we had a German Shepherd and lots of wall to wall low pile carpeting. We had a `1967 green Hoover convertible and a new Dial-a- Matic. Our neighbors had a blue Eureka upright, probably from the early 70's. One day theirs broke, and I offered to "fix" it. (The belt had broken, and no, they were not the brightest family on the block!) I put a new paper bag and new belt, and boy did this machine outclean both of our Hoovers. A lot easier to push as well, plus the bag capacity was twice that of the Hoovers. That made a Eureka lover out of me ever since. Jeff, is our contest still on?:.)
Bobby in Boston

 

[petek]

Here's my blue Eureka

 

[brettsomers]

bobby, are you trying to start a fight? i see your point about hoover vs eureka. if i was working at Hoover in the 70s, i woulda gone into a panic the minute that Eureka introduced the dial-a-nap/rugulator and, most important, the ball-bearing agitator (Vibra-Groomer). it is when these features were introduced that the eureka became "as good" as a hoover convertible. i dare say the 3.35/3.5 amp double ball-bearing motors on eurekas are BETTER than hoovers motor? eureka also used/uses SEALED ball-bearings on their Vibra-Groomer. still eurekas never quite had the "style" of a hoover convertible. the dial-a-nap adjuster is almost crude compared to hoovers "engineered" adjuster. but its more durable and allows for up to seven stops. of course only "better" eurekas had the ball bearing brushroll and, later in the 80s, only top models still had the "good" motor. im interested in what Jeff Parker might have to say about Hoover Convertible vs Eureka in the late 60s/70s. David

 

[hoover1060]

Hoover -vs- Eureka

Guys, go to your local library and see if they have OLD issues of Consumer Reports or consumer research in their archives.
Then find some 1960's issues and read.

In the early 60's the Hoover Convertible was the STUFF, #1 top performer and in some cases even named best buy for an upright.
Up against an older Eureka(such as David's 260) the Convertible kicked A**.
The early Eureka's height adjuster kinda sucked. Hoover's 2-position models adjusted themselves just right.

Forward to the early 70's: Eureka now has a height adjuster that moves the front wheels, Hoover has one that moves the rear wheels. In 1974, the best cleaning uprights were the Eurekas, with the Convertible coming in 3rd or 4th.

The "contest" then lies in which is better, a 2-position Convertible or a Eureka with front adjustment. I still say the Hoover will outsweep the Eureka.

See you in St Louis in June Bobby??

Pete: Your blue Eureka is the same model my neighbors had when I was a kid.

David: I have a 1979 Eureka 1458A with that blue bag on it, first new vacuum I ever had. I was a sophomore in high school and not doing too well in math(geometry) My silly mother told me if I could pull B's on a couple of tests that she'd but me any new Hoover or Eureka I wanted. I pulled the B's and picked the Eureka. I still have it today.

 

[bobbyderegis]

St. Louis, look out. I'm bringing my Eureka! By the way, there is an old commercial Eureka on ebay. I have the identical one, and it rocks. I dare say it would outclean a 918! (running for my life)
Bobby in Boston

 

[hoover1060]

OK Bobby, choose your Eureka, and I will see you in St Louis!

Here's a pic of my 260...

 

[brettsomers]

commercial 3.5 amp eureka vs hoover 913? my money is on the eureka. i havent done a test. i like the way the eureka "hugs" the surface and it seems the eureka motor turns just a BIT faster? jeff, as always, your cleaner is above reproach! after my mom got the kenmore "twin fan" i tolerated it for about a year. i then saved up my allowance and bought a 600 series Eureka upright at k-mart, since i couldnt stand the ROAR of the Kenmore. i was about 8 years old. i remember the dissapointment at the plastic handle. my second purchase was a Hoover Brush Vac, also at K-mart (i think). Jeff, you mentioned consumer reports and the vacuum ratings for vintage models. been there, done that! ur talking to someone who knew what a "vibra groomer" was by age 10! David

 

[urarachu]

That 260 makes me swoon. I've never seen one with a chrome hood. Beautiful!

My 260 has a brushroll and belt setup that's very similar to a hoover 61, or many other Hoover uprights from that time. It has two little clips that hold the brushroll in place, and the bottom plate is 2 separate pieces (with a belt guard thingy). It's 2 speeds. Also, the little tool cover on the front is all metal, not vinyl. It's a very fun vacuum. I love how it sounds.

Corey

 

[bobbyderegis]

I love a challenge, even if I lose! This will be great fun, so shake your bags and put on a new belt. See you in St. Louis. :.)))
Bobby in Boston