Sad to say, Hoover is no longer an American company. It, and Royal/Dirt Devil, are owned by TTI, a Chinese conglomerate. Has been for several years.
Late 1950s Hoover Model 704 Upright Convertable Vacuum Cleaner Found at Goodwill today!
- Thread starter captainclock
- Start date
captainclock
Pacifist Otaku
Really... I've never heard that before. When did this happen? Because pretty much every Hoover and Dirt Devil/Royal Vacuum I've ever seen come through the Goodwill I work at and even seen elsewhere all said "Made in U.S.A. on them even the more recent ones from the 1990s and early to mid 2000s, I'm Guessing Eureka is the same way?
TTI bought Royal/Dirt Devil in 2002, Hoover in 2006, and Oreck in 2013.
Eureka has been owned since 1974 by the Swedish firm Electrolux.
To complicate matters even further, the brand formerly known as Electrolux in the United States is now Aerus. The vacuums sold under the Electrolux brand in the U.S. today have no connection to those sold here from the 1920s to 2001.
Eureka has been owned since 1974 by the Swedish firm Electrolux.
To complicate matters even further, the brand formerly known as Electrolux in the United States is now Aerus. The vacuums sold under the Electrolux brand in the U.S. today have no connection to those sold here from the 1920s to 2001.
restorer-john
Addicted Member
That's not old. 
This is old:
An original Electrolux Z31 made in the late 1930s. I picked it up with all its pipes and attachments years ago. Yes, it works perfectly too.
This is old:
An original Electrolux Z31 made in the late 1930s. I picked it up with all its pipes and attachments years ago. Yes, it works perfectly too.
That's not old.
This is old:
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An original Electrolux Z31 made in the late 1930s. I picked it up with all its pipes and attachments years ago. Yes, it works perfectly too.
I thought my Electrolux XXX was old, and it was made around 1951.
restorer-john
Addicted Member
Yes, but your XXX is arguably the best looking Electrolux ever. It's just gorgeous and reminiscent of the streamline locos and carriages of the 30s and 40s.
My daily runner is a 1980s Lux 745L. My partner threw out her Dyson once she used a real Electrolux.
It is a gorgeous design. The only major accessories I don't have for it are the original metal crevice tool (I have a later plastic Electrolux replacement), and the wall mount bracket - which I'd love to have. I even found the power cord retractor in a thrift store, someone had turned it into a retractable extension cord.
The XXX had one of the most insanely lengthy runs of any consumer appliance. While it wasn't cataloged, NOS units were reportedly available for at least a decade after production officially ended in 1954, and factory rehabbed units were available until at least 1988.
I have one of the floating Hoover vacuums from the 1960s in my "things to tinker with someday" pile.
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Kirby?
Yes, Kirby is still U.S. owned (by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway) and manufacturing in Ohio and Texas.
Other U.S. brands include several produced by Missouri-based Tacony Corp. -- Simplicity, Riccar, Maytag (vacs only), Carpet Pro and Fuller Brush.
Rainbow and Filter Queen are also U.S. made/owned. Most Aerus models are U.S. made as well.
ah11199
New Member
I would guess that one was made near the start of the 1970's, since the base of it is plastic also. The older ones had all metal bases. I would personally keep that unit and use it for your cleaning, as parts are readily available and it easily outperforms most modern vacuum cleaners, and there's no shortage of them in existence. Now you need an orange Hoover Celebrity, also known as "the hovercraft vacuum" to go with it for all of your hose-related needs.
Nice find! I picked up a nice Electrolux 1205 at Goodwill a couple of months back. It was in their "Buy The Pound" section; I got it and its matching PN4 power nozzle for all of three bucks, plus another dime for some spare bags and a brush attachment which I later found in the same bin. I have yet to do much cleaning with it, but it seems to be in pretty good shape overall. Like your Hoover, bags and other parts are still readily available for the 1205. Not quite as nice-looking as the XXX and the other earlier Electrolux canister vacs, but still looks nicer than most modern plastic vacs, and should last way longer, too.
-Adam
-Adam
restorer-john
Addicted Member
It was a Hoover Constellation that my parents had when I was just a small child, that got me fascinated with vacs.
It was supposed to 'float on a cushion of air'. In reality, even when new, it would only just float, like an air-hockey puck on a smooth vinyl floor and only without the inlet pipe connected. It just didn't have the guts to act like the hovercraft I had hoped for! I used to put my Gi-Joe on the top and slide it across the floor (lucky it had a rubber bumper all around) on an extension cord.It ended up as a garage/car vac until one day it blew up and Dad got rid of it.
captainclock
Pacifist Otaku
Actually the base on my vacuum is metal its enameled metal to be exact, the cowel on the other hand is plastic, and the styling is reminiscent of stuff from the 1950s which is why I said I think its from the late 1950s.
HPuser9557
Active Member
Nice for $10, and will surely outperform, and outlast, anything you can grab at Walmart for a pair of $20s, now as for an earlier comment about newer equipment not being built as well as older equipment, they still technically make Convertibles for commercial use, IIRC, just with a dirtcup instead of a bag, under the Guardsman and Conquest marques.
...Although if I were going that route, I'd more likely go for a Portapower + Volt power nozzle combo and use maybe an older Royal Prince handheld for upholstery..
...Although if I were going that route, I'd more likely go for a Portapower + Volt power nozzle combo and use maybe an older Royal Prince handheld for upholstery..
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captainclock
Pacifist Otaku
Well I was able to stop by Wally World (Wal-Mart for those of you not versed in corporate insult language) and I was able to locate some bags for my Hoover, apparently the D-Type Bag was replaced by the A-Type Bags and once I replaced the old bag which was almost completely full the vauum performed way better than it did with the old bag in place. There's actually a Joke I came up with that goes with this vacuum and the bag type that it originally used, this vacuum originally used a D- Bag which if you have the kind of sense of humor I have you can only imagine that the D-Bag designation on the bag could be substituted with the Designation Dirt Bag or Douche Bag... 
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