Interstate engineering vacuum info...

[kenmoreguy89]

Hi all, I'd like to know year and location of manufacturing of this nice vacuum before eventually bidding for it.
Also how is at cleaning.
It looks really like a old style Vortech Force, love the color also.

Someone knows about it?
Thanks

Vintage Interstate Engineering Compact Vacuum Cleaner C-6 Polish-Aire Attachmts

 

[luxflairguy]

Interstate Engineering and that vacuum, a Compact, were originally made in Anaheim, CA, yes, the same LA basin city that hosts Disneyland!. The vacuum looks to be in wonderful shape and they are long-lived workhorses. The Polish-Aire is fun to use...that's all I will say about an air driven polisher. But a beauty is all eyes! Greg

 

[kenmoreguy89]

It looks like a 60s model, seller does not know exactly....
Also is claimed it do have "great suction"... I'd like to hear about from someone who actually tried it and have no interest to say lies to sell....
You know...maybe it's me but if they did feel the need to specify it, it probably does not have that "great suction" then....you know...just a feeling.
Thanks

 

 

[iheartmaytag]

Originally designed to clean air-craft cabins. Lightweight, durable, good suction, good filteration.
Compact-Now Tri-Star related to Aerus Lux f/n/a Electrolux in ownership and build.

 

[kenmoreguy89]

Thank you Greg! I was looking for an electrolux with the a carpet cleaner initially...then I came across to this and just loved it.
Since shipping is gonna be high to here just wanted to be sure it is not only nice looking....

Yep Great condition, fair price.

Love it.

 

Love it  and I anyway need a new one, I'm going to sell my  50s Zerowatt soon... that's nice looking  too, just does not work that good and it's hose is too small....too much  troubles...need actually a great suction  and reliable one..

 

[kenmoreguy89]

Thanks Harley!

 

[westingman123]

great performer

My Compact is every bit as strong as my Filter Queen, and that's saying something.
They're very durable. I think you'd be pleased.

 

[programcomputer]

Compacts....

Freddie,

I have been a vacuum salesman/service-person for nearly 18 years now. And I gotta say if you ARE considering the Compact for a machine to use, you wont be disappointed overall. I have one similar to the one you have found, and use it in rotation with other canisters I have...

Just keep in mind a few things.

1. People that have them adore them and love them more than some people they know. Compacts are lovingly referred to by their owners as "Pigs" not only because of their look, but because they will pick up pretty much everything. They do have a Very high suck. I love mine for my bare floors best. I liken them up with the Filter Queen and the Airway Sanitizor for effectiveness.

2. BUT, while these machines have GREAT suction, some of the best, if the hose leaks (the older woven style) or the filters are clogged, it wont pick up as well. Also, if you were to put it up against some more modern machines, one may not feel that it was that powerful. Albeit, granted your putting it up against pretty sparse competition.

3. Carpet Cleaning. Most of the Compacts you see do NOT have a power-nozzle Or beater sweeper type head, and have at best a turbine nozzle. This one looks to have neither. Their floor tool to ME leaves something to be desired. Its an all metal tool, with a straight brush. It does okay. But I have used some "suction-only" nozzles that are better and worse, than the Compacts. You may find that you have to do alot of back and forth strokes to pick up certain items like pet hair, or fuzz/lint....

IF you are looking for a good all around canister tho they really are hard to beat. And so cute too!!

Chad

 

[danemodsandy]

I Have One:

In later years, the name of the product was changed from Compact to TriStar.

I own a TriStar CXL from around 1988, and it's an incredible machine. The housing is a magnesium-aluminum alloy that is incredibly strong. Suction is phenomenal. By the time the CXL was produced, the machine had long since been updated with the addition of a power nozzle, and the filtration improved with an exhaust filter.

The reason I wanted a TriStar was that I grew up with a Compact C2, which lasted my mom, the Appliance Killer, thirty years in spite of her best efforts to kill it. She finally succeeded by means of vacuuming wet indoor-outdoor carpet and then pitching the machine into a closet for a couple of months so that it could corrode in peace and quiet.

TriStar can still supply most parts for its vintage machines and for Compacts. Tool quality is hard to believe in this age of flimsy plastic tools on even the most expensive brands; the floor and rug tools are cast aluminum. The plastic tools are much heavier than most anything found today. Wands are chrome-plating of a quality not usually seen anywhere this side of a vintage Cadillac.

You'll be very happy with a Compact - even happier if it's a later Compact or a TriStar with the power nozzle. Here's my CXL:

 

[danemodsandy]

Tool Shot:

Just so you can see how nice the floor and rug tools are. At top right, you can see the dusting brush, crevice tool and upholstery tool on the tool caddy, which clips to the wands. One caveat: You do not get two sets of wands with these machines, like you see here. You're supposed to use one set of wands for both power nozzle and floor/rug tools. I don't like changing the wands out like that, so I bought an extra set of wands, which also came in very handy for the 20-foot ceiling of the stairwell in the old house in Atlanta. When I needed to get cobwebs out of that area, I did remove the wands from the power nozzle, and combined them with the other two to give me some pretty impressive reach:

 

[turquoisedude]

OMG! I just picked one of these in a thrift store today - the vacuum itself is kinda rough, but it has the original storage hassock! Better still I happen to have a Compact vac and hose that are in great shape...

 

[danemodsandy]

Paul:

You're in luck! TriStar Canada is much easier to deal with than TriStar USA if you need parts. Since the Canadian firm will ship to the U.S., I use them on the rare occasions I need something. Well - rare now. While I was restoring my CXL, I spent some real money with them. You'll have great service without that unfortunate Customs wait we Americans have to put up with when ordering from Canada.

Here's a link:

http://https//www.tristarvacuumscanada.com/

 

[ovrphil]

I saw one once - but nothing as nice as Danemodsandy's! Is the power nozzle originally offered by Tristar?

 

[danemodsandy]

The Real McTriStar:

Yes, the power nozzle is genuine TriStar. Interstate used PNs from Eureka, I think it was, before coming up with this design, which they designed themselves. Very quiet and powerful PN.

 

[ovrphil]

Design-wise...

it's much "cuter" and cooler looking, I think, than my Panasonic-made Kenmore PowerMates...even though they can do the job...

 

[danemodsandy]

Those Panasonic Kenmores:

Were actually excellent machines, particularly considering the price, which was lower than essentially identical Panasonic-branded machines.

The only problem was that Sears and Panasonic had some sort of falling-out that resulted in a total non-availability of replacement hoses for a number of years. Worse, the original hoses came down with a cracking/splitting issue. That meant you had this nice machine with a holey hose and could not get a new hose for it. That pissed off a ton of Sears customers. Including this one; being unable to get a hose for my Kenmore was what got me started on vintage Electrolux and TriStar machines.

Hoses are available again, so don't let that stop anyone now. Suction is excellent on these machines, and the nicer models are packed with features. At the time, Sears put more features on a power nozzle (height adjustment, edge cleaning, headlight, etc.) than anyone else in their price range.

 

[ovrphil]

It's funny, I haven't got the Holey Hose(only my older hose - never mind, bad joke). But you said something that just reminded me about weak hoses, and Kenmore/Panasonic aren't the only ones. The Hoover Celebrity II Elite I found last year is/was prone to splitting. I wonder how many Celebrity II owners had similar frustrations. Luckily, my Powermates work fantastically, but that Tri-Star looks easier to maneuver.

 

[ovrphil]

Good luck, Freddie - I'd like one of these , but that's farther down the purchase path right now. Let us know if you get it...

Danemodsandy - your link in Post# 674029 , Reply# 11 didn't work. Thanks.

 

[hydralique]

Anaheim . . .

The Compact C-6 was indeed made in Anaheim, but Interstate Engineering and the Compact originated in El Segundo immediately south of LAX. Because of the proximity to the airport there have always been numerous aviation-oriented businesses there, and as noted above the Compact was initially made for cleaning aircraft interiors before Interstate realized they had a potentially excellent consumer product on their hands. I believe Compact production was moved from El Segundo to Anaheim during C-4 production with early C-4s made in El Segundo. My C-2 is an El Segundo machine, while my C-5 is an Anaheim machine. FWIW the reason Interstate could make such a high quality product is that these were very expensive vacuums sold only by dealers (with the short-time exception of the C-3 Revelation). Compact competed with Kirbys, Filter Queens and TOL Electroluxes and was way more money than a Kenmore or Hoover.

 

[tolivac]

Before Interstate Engineering built vacuum cleaners-they made airplane parts and trainer airplanes during WW2.The Compact vacuum worked on the principle of the wingtip vortex on airplanes.The CXL were their BEST model.The newer "Lux style ones aren't as good.I have a CXL I bought new-remember the little black woman who was the saelsperson-she was VERY knowledgable about the machine,put on an excellent demo.I am going to have to bring that machine out so it can work alongside my new NSS M1 Pig vacuum.Both of these machines are rough,tough,can take quite a beating and last for decades.And of course they are EFFECTIVE.Like the CXL "TurboNozzle" over the "Lux style powernozzle.
Interstate Engineering found that making the vacuums was good business after the war when demand for planes and parts for them went down.

 

[stan]

I have

the same model, same color. My floor attachment is the original (different than what I see in the add)
I love mine.
I use it mainly on hard floors, upholstery, car ect.
I have very little carpet in the house to have to deal with, so my Compact is perfect.

 

[vacbear58]

If you are prepared to be patient

These do crop up on UK ebay from time to time with European voltage.
They have a very powerful suction, the cleaner is quite easy to manoeuvre and, although it is very effective, the power nozzle is a little large for smaller European homes. But it is a very good cleaner.

Do you have many carpets or is your home mostly hard floor with rugs. The reason I ask is that I have two European models (identical) but one has no tools just the cleaner itself. It does work fine though and I would be willing to sell it. If you did not have a real need for the power nozzle you might be able to get a tool set from the US or Canada to go with mind.

I also have a Vortech (I think - its dark green) cleaner (complete with tools) which is similar principle although much more rectangular which I would also be willing to sell - its very heavy though so postage might be a problem - I think this is originally an Italian machine though.

It would be good to see pictures of your 1950s Zerowatt too

Al

 

[danemodsandy]

Revised Link:

Let's try again. This is to TriStar Canada, which has given me very good service on parts for my TriStar CXL:

http://www.tristarvacuumscanada.com

 

[danemodsandy]

Cord Storage:

A shot of the cord-storage provisions for the CXL/DXL/EX-20 generation of TriStar machines. The newer, current MG Series still does not have a cordwinder:

 

[tolivac]

Glad the TriStar-Compacts DON'T have cordwinders-for the most parts their cords are longer than those machine that do have cordwinders.I don't mind wrapping the cord by hand.Cordwinders can have problems.

 

[danemodsandy]

Very True!

A TriStar has a pretty fair reach before you have to move its plug to another outlet. In the Atlanta house (narrow and tall), I could vacuum an entire floor without an outlet move.

You also eliminate cordwinder maintenance, if that's even possible on a given machine. On my Luxes, the cordwinders can be disassembled, lubricated and re-wound to take care of "lazy cordwinder" problems or replace a cord that has problems. But on many machines, the cordwinder is a sealed unit that just has to be replaced outright. And trust me, they never give it to you free. Or even cheap.

 

[hydralique]

Compact Power Brushes

Compact actually produced an early electric power brush back in the very early '60s. It was called the ABC for Always Beauty Clean, and from what I've heard worked quite well. However, they are very rare. The ABC had a separate cord that clipped to the hose and then plugged into an electrical port on the upper right part of the vac body, to the right of the power switch. My '61 C-5 is equipped with the port but I don't have the ABC; from what I can tell they may have installed the port on many vacs but sold very few of the power brushes. About '62 or '63 the C-5 was replaced with the C-6, with the main change being the elimination of the single front wheel in favor of two front wheels. BTW the official Tri-Star history poster has the three wheel C-5 misidentified. Having two front wheels allowed Interstate to locate a more convenient power port between the front wheels, a few inches below the hose connection and thus workable for a hose with integrated power cord for a power brush.

 

Oddly, though, for a high-end canister vac company, Interstate avoided offering a power brush for many years until around 1980, so the C-6 and C-7 models don't have the power port. A turbine brush (called the Cyclonic Turbinette) was offered with the C-7 for awhile. Some C-8 models do have the power port, as well as the C-80. The C-80 was the last machine to use the "C-" designation and the first to use the new Tri-Star name - my maroon two speed CXL (the only two speed model they made) has the Tri-Star badge on the side but is noted as a C-80-2 on the bottom ID plate of the machine.

 

Once Interstate began offering the power brush they used three different models, with the first being a rebadged Eureka, then their own unit as in Sandy's photo, and then very late in the production of the EX-20 there was a different black power brush.  The important thing to remember is that aside from some of the very late Compact badged machines it will not be possible to fit a modern electrified hose and power brush without some modification; if you have a need for a power brush then it's best to start with a Tri-Star.

 

[danemodsandy]

I Keep Forgetting.....

....About the ABC power nozzle, because it's sooooooo rare. And very difficult to restore; parts are exceedingly NLA.

When it was in production, it must have been a great unit to have, though - at the time, power nozzle availability still wasn't a given on canister vacs.

 

[kenmoreguy89]

Hi guys, no I didn't win it, unfortunately...
Thank you for all the info about this vacuum though! Very interesting! If I had more money I would have got it.

But It's gone now...well..not that big problem.
Shipping was  really high and it was not the good moment for me to spend money,  have other expenses going on now..... also have to save as I want  to go  visiting family in US this summer in August, hope to manage this year.
I'd like to wait also to have the Zerowatt sold before purcashing another.

Would have preferred the Interstate  had the power nozzle istead of the polisher also, polisher was extra weight not actually needed for me not having floors to be polished or waxed...nor I think I will have in the new house.
I could see that there are some others on ebay  and so it looks not much rare also.

Anyway, I'm sure sooner or later another one will shows up.

Personally I'm more attracted from Electrolux and Eureka ones....but that one looked so nice also and loved the color.

Vacbear, I could be interested in yours if it does have a good price, of course shipping would be less, Royal Mail do have really cheap costs also!
I will wait to hear from you.
Regarding floors:
I'd like to have a power noozle because in bedrooms we do have carpet/ moquette floors....but isn't fully necessary, since I was born we never had a vacuums with the attachements or a separate appliance for carpet, we just passed with the carpet head and that always been enough...then I'm planning to move soon to my father's farm, and I will never get a carpet floor again in my life (pretty hate them)...If they were not pinched under the furniture I would have removed them since years in our current bedrooms...then the original floors in these rooms was pretty nice also! My mother at those times (1988)  also repented to have put carpets....but what was done was done...
I'll take pics of my Zerowatt this evening to post on here...
Then there is an adaptor that I want to ask what for you is since I can really get what it was meant for.
Thank you again!

 

[danemodsandy]

You'll Find One -

Just keep looking on eBay UK and one will turn up sooner or later. Two suggestions:

1) Try holding on until you find a later model with the power nozzle; it really does work better on carpets.

2) Hold out for the most complete example you can find, in the best condition, because replacement parts are very expensive. That cast-aluminum rug tool is over $100 USD as a replacement part, for example. My CXL is in superb condition, but it cost several hundred dollars to make it complete and correct.

Good luck!