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Hi Jeff,

I love the 4-position machines. As cheesy as some of them looked (I think), the 4.8-amp plastic-body Convertibles and Decade machines could CLEAN, and had no problem whatsoever adhering to the rug. Same with the 1020 as well; you can literally feel it beating the carpet if you get down next to it.

Would a Model 589 be a 2-position machine? There's one on eBay right now that I'm watching...can't really tell what it is from the pictures. There's also a Model 68 as well, and I know that would be a 2-position, though the seller advertised that it is quite rare, which means it's probably *not* going to end at the reasonable starting price!!

--Austin
 
bearing noise

Austin,
Thats probably the lower motor bearing needing some grease...There are also two bearings in the agitator that need it annually too.
 
no and yes

Austin the 589 is 4 position, and the same vintage as the 1020.

The 68 is a 2-position, and one of the more rare models from the early 60's. 150,000 some produced.

I dunno what to say about its ending price, except it SHOULD go high, but probably won't. In the last few days we have had some rare Hoovers go for next to nothing, and two convertibles that are everyplace went for big BIG $$$$!
No logic whatsoever...

Between Tom, Fred, and myself, we'll find you a nice 2 position model. No worries!
 
I'm just thinking about scratches thru the paint and you know what might work as a coverup, crayons. Find a close one and rub some in and wipe off the excess, might need warming first and at least it not's going to damage things even more.
 
at the risk of cloying, i will add about my experiences with bags and cleaning. i have a 60s eureka upright with cloth outer bag. i think ive heard the fabric called "sateen". anyway, the fabric was obviously discolored due to age. so i wash it by hand and as i was (gently) working a stained area the fabric GAVE WAY. i started to realise the fabric was more weakened then i realised. then the printing on the bag started to fade. i did a quick rinse and can only imagine what might have happened to the fabric and print in a machine. then there was the original cloth bag on my Hoover 63. i was gently squeezing it under the water and made sure to keep an eye on how the printing would react. after only a few minutes i noticed the lettering was "softening". a quick rinse and another sigh of relief. then the vinyl bag on my Hoover 1060. i will admit the bag was already looking worn before i washed it. so i wash it and after im finished i suspected the water had weakened the vinyl/thread layers. what i like about hand washing is that you have your hands and eyes on the item being cleansed at every moment. a friend of mine was foolish enough to put a silk-screened vintage kirby bag in the washer (i dont know what cycle he used) and when it came out half the printing was gone. btw, ive washed NEWISH kirby and royal cloth bags in the machine since i had no doubt about the strength of the fabric. in my (humble?) opinion, if there are ANY signs of stress or age on a bag, vinyl or cloth, wash it in such a way that you can keep a real close eye on how it is acting. freds paintbrush technique sounds excellent. the printing can be esp fragile. if you have a cloth or vinyl bag in fresh, young condition (without fragile print), using a washing machine is quite all right. btw, i will be posting pics of my small eureka collection soon!
 
I grabbed these two vacs today, not exactly vintage but the price was right. The Panasonic works beautifully, a little fancier model than that Jet Flo I got a few weeks ago. What I like about it there's a small brush wheel on either side that actually brushes up against the edge, works very well. And like all the Panasonics it's not noisy. This one is slightly louder than the smaller Jet Flo but nothing like a Hoover and you can switch the electric brushroll off like on the JetFlo making it even quieter. I'll be selling this one to support my habit.. lol
 
pete, i like panasonics also. i dont have any, though. i wish someone would explain to me why Hoover didnt improve the dial a matic and simply sold the design. i hope whoever bought the design from Hoover paid for it because it was sure worth it. seems all hoover had to do was put the metal nozzle on a diet, strengthen the handle, improve the wheels and improve the secondary filter. the dial a matic didnt have to die so quickly. since they didnt, enter panasonic. very nice pete.
 
converting the Convertible

How many of you gentlemen or gentlewomen have taken an old-style Convertible and used a twist-tie or such to hold the speed selector switch in the high position?Seems to me that the double-brush agitators would fare even better,since the motor would not be laboring so hard.I don't get it though,how the old dept.store versions of the Hoovers,called the Norca,back in the thirties,drove a double brush with about a two amp.motor?Perhaps the bristles were softer or the spiral formation helped with resistance issues,or maybe because the carpets were not plushy then? I'm quite curious.
 
It was Panasonic who bought the DAM patents when Hoover dropped the cleaner in 1979. Back then there were really only two "clean air" vacuums on the market, the DAM and the Kenmore Duo Power. Hoover dropped the DAM in favor of the open fan design for its uprights, as the open fan design cleaned better.
They also said they'd never make another clean air upright.
They ate their words in 1997 when the Windtunnel was brought out. By then all their major competition(Dirt Devil, Eureka, Regina, Kenmore) had clean air uprights in their lines, and here was Hoover saying their BOL Elite cleaned better. People were breaking Elite fans like crazy, and buying other cleaners.
Hence the Windtunnel.

MrClean: I've done the speed thing with Convertibles, it improves suction, but also makes the cleaner hug the carpet too much, and its very hard on the motor. I once had a Decade 80 that I replaced the powersurge switch with a regular one, using the cleaner in HI all the time. The motor started to deteriorate right away, and eventually threw bars off the commutator.
Today I would never abuse a Convertible in such a way. I leave it on low speed for carpets, the way God intended it to be!
 
Nope...

The Duo Power models Sears sold were made by Whirlpool, not Panasonic.
The main difference was Hoover had the flexible hose from nozzle to bag, the Kenmores were rigid ductwork, and there was no suction dial....
 

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