Looks like the hose is
We had a space vacuum when I was a kid, when we went overseas unfortunately it stayed behind.
I am of course talking about the Hoover Constellation.
My 1955 vintage Hoover constellation vacuum cleaner - Retro Renovation
It was sold both in the U.S. and the U.K, apparently at some point for a time it was sold in the U.K. as the Maytag Satellite.
YouTube
All of my friends thought it was pretty cool, as far as I know we had the only one in the neighborhood and I have never seen another except in antique stores.
I am of course talking about the Hoover Constellation.
My 1955 vintage Hoover constellation vacuum cleaner - Retro Renovation
It was sold both in the U.S. and the U.K, apparently at some point for a time it was sold in the U.K. as the Maytag Satellite.
YouTube
All of my friends thought it was pretty cool, as far as I know we had the only one in the neighborhood and I have never seen another except in antique stores.
Just the thing to get rid of all that interstellar dust!
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Canister vacs cited by members (assuming there was internet forum
) would have resembled these.
Since we seem to have taken a detour, I will introduce the streamlined GG1 electric locomotive (Raymond Loewy) that ran on the north east corridor into the late 1980s. I remember seeing them in CT and NY in that time frame, very imposing.
The Pennsylvania Railroad GG1
They were built in the 1930s and 1940s, operated on 11kV 25Hz power. (Top speed about 100mph, >4000HP) I have a model of one, only model engine I have with two can motors. Sadly I've never run it.
The pictures were probably taken by rail fans quite a few decades ago.
The northeast corridor is all electric now, large parts of it still running on 25Hz AC power apparently and to my considerable surprise. Voltage has increased from 11 to 12kV. (Newer portions of the system may be at 25kV) Plans are to continue 25Hz operation indefinitely and there is a lot of electric railroad on 25Hz in the North east.
Amtrak's 25 Hz traction power system - Wikipedia
There were vacuum cleaners operating on 25Hz in places like Buffalo NY which had 25Hz power into at least the 1950s.
The Pennsylvania Railroad GG1
They were built in the 1930s and 1940s, operated on 11kV 25Hz power. (Top speed about 100mph, >4000HP) I have a model of one, only model engine I have with two can motors. Sadly I've never run it.
The pictures were probably taken by rail fans quite a few decades ago.
The northeast corridor is all electric now, large parts of it still running on 25Hz AC power apparently and to my considerable surprise. Voltage has increased from 11 to 12kV. (Newer portions of the system may be at 25kV) Plans are to continue 25Hz operation indefinitely and there is a lot of electric railroad on 25Hz in the North east.
Amtrak's 25 Hz traction power system - Wikipedia
There were vacuum cleaners operating on 25Hz in places like Buffalo NY which had 25Hz power into at least the 1950s.
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There is an action movie starring Telly Savalas in which he meets his fate on electric charged rails of some rail yard.
"Pretty cool" sells things, of course, always did, always will.
Even if the product has built-in flaws and compromises not immediately visible to the consumer.
That video mentions some of the constellation's shortcomings, things that I didn't even notice before.
Of course, the average housewife would need to be a sharp, educated engineer to pick up on those things.
At the other end of the spectrum, machines like the Interstate Compact/nowTristar were "boring", even with their streamlined styling and multitude of attachments.
Their dust bag and airflow design isn't apparently noteable, but it is ingenious, and well thought-out by the designer, and gave the machine an edge in dirt-holding capacity, translating to more suction power even with a "full" bag.
There is an action movie starring Telly Savalas in which he meets his fate on electric charged rails of some rail yard.
Sounds like a 3rd rail based system, those are generally 600VDC, although there were (are?) some 1200VDC third rail systems at one time. Just as fried unfortunately.
We have a jumper problem here in Boston on the subways and 600V power is everywhere on the system, unfortunately contact with the third rail or the lead car of the train results in a grisly spectacle for those unfortunate enough to see it.
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The original ones had fairly small motors apparently and got quite hot I remember from ours. We had low pile carpet and wood floors, and it seemed to work well enough. I was allowed to vacuum with it, in fact was probably encouraged to do it so my mom, who was always rather busy, didn't necessarily have to.
The way it floated on a cushion of air was pretty cool, and it actually was hard getting used to the wheeled Eureka that replaced it overseas. I've never really liked canister vacs since the Constellation.
These days I like lightweight lithium ion powered stick vacs and handhelds. My wife still likes an upright.
We got this in 1957. Either diesel or gas turbine powered.
Some German electro band made a song and dance about it.
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I bought a lightweight vacuum for my wife to use, as the Kirby is too heavy. Hasn't worked, I still have to do it all.
But. The cat isn't too scared of it, so I just tried vacuuming him, with the little brush end. He loved it! He also likes being beaten hard with a fly swat (honest!), so not too surprising I guess, but now we have a new game to play.
Cat approved vacuum cleaner-
But. The cat isn't too scared of it, so I just tried vacuuming him, with the little brush end. He loved it! He also likes being beaten hard with a fly swat (honest!), so not too surprising I guess, but now we have a new game to play.
Cat approved vacuum cleaner-
I have hardwood floors except for tile in the kitchen and bathroom. Oriental rugs in a few spots.
A damp mop does most cleaning, but for a vacum cleaner I have a Fein shop vacum with the optional HEPA filter. It has a high and low setting. Noise level ain't bad at the low setting and the suction is fine. I like the long hose as I can do an entire floor without moving it. I did make a more conventional sweeper head out of a left over brush head and a bit of rigid acrylic tube. As it is a wet and dry type one can even clean out the gutters using an extension pole.
I like long handles and low head height to allow cleaning under things like the bed, drawers and even book shelves.
The humor with the Fein unit is that I bought it off the internet and it was shipped to me from halfway across the country. Their main US wholesale distribution warehouse is 3 miles down the road!
A damp mop does most cleaning, but for a vacum cleaner I have a Fein shop vacum with the optional HEPA filter. It has a high and low setting. Noise level ain't bad at the low setting and the suction is fine. I like the long hose as I can do an entire floor without moving it. I did make a more conventional sweeper head out of a left over brush head and a bit of rigid acrylic tube. As it is a wet and dry type one can even clean out the gutters using an extension pole.
I like long handles and low head height to allow cleaning under things like the bed, drawers and even book shelves.
The humor with the Fein unit is that I bought it off the internet and it was shipped to me from halfway across the country. Their main US wholesale distribution warehouse is 3 miles down the road!
