Something new for the shop

[patrick66]

My Mom's Rainbow vacuum had a LOT of metal in it. The rolling base and the water container were plastic, but the rest was good old-fashioned American metal!

 

[tallhair]

My Mom's Rainbow vacuum had a LOT of metal in it. The rolling base and the water container were plastic, but the rest was good old-fashioned American metal!

That’s what I’m talking about.

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

That’s what I’m talking about.

OK I believe ya, never heard of Rainbow and just googly it. 30 Years ago it was fixing Mom's Kenmore after she ran it with a broken bag and I came for a visit, you know how moms are in a cleaning panic when company is coming to visit. Of course I arrived early for dinner to see if any handy work needed to be done, and when I walked through the front door and saw her in the living room using the vacuum with a stream of dust coming out the back exit hole and could hear the electric motor skaaareaming I just had to say WHOA wtf is going on here. LOL, Then there were Electrolux's both residential & commercials, and I worked with/on these.

.

 

[tallhair]

OK I believe ya, never heard of Rainbow and just googly it. 30 Years ago it was fixing Mom's Kenmore after she ran it with a broken bag and I came for a visit, you know how moms are in a cleaning panic when company is coming to visit. Of course I arrived early for dinner to see if any handy work needed to be done, and when I walked through the front door and saw her in the living room using the vacuum with a stream of dust coming out the back exit hole and could hear the electric motor skaaareaming I just had to say WHOA wtf is going on here. LOL, Then there were Electrolux's both residential & commercials, and I worked with/on these.

View attachment 467021

.

Used to look like this

 

[patrick66]

Yup, a little brown and chrome R2D2 with attachments! Rainbow was made by Rexair, back in the day. They made the best household vacuums, and were quite expensive units in the 1970s. Mom's had a room-freshener attachment that you could attach to the exhaust port, and have whatever flavor of air you wanted, shot like a cannon throughout the room. I don't remember her ever using that, though.

The vacuum I just bought is definitely a pricey cleaner, were you to go buy a new one. I'm pumped I found it! The vacuum I had back in the late '70s was a near-twin to my new acquisition. It was a very well-designed machine, made to work for years.

 

[68PK21 440.6bbl]

Used to look like this

View attachment 467022

And that was a wet vac type? I think I saw one of those out at the flea market years ago where some guy was in the business of refurbishing old vacs, I remember the color, he had some Kirby's too. We had a chat but this was before I got my NilFisk so I had nothing to brag about.
I think I saw something new advertised along the wet vac hypo-allergenic type in a TV in the past decade, just shook my head thou. Nothing like the new Rainbow think it was more along the Dyson line.

What is nice about the large commercial canister vacs even though the filters are expensive is that you don't have to empty them so often in regular household cleaning. For a garage shop... eh. NilFisk dez make a Industrial Factory setup, we had that type in Junior High industrial shop hooked up to all the saws & planers/millers, even had several tubes with doors going down to the floor for floor sweepings.

A clean shop is a happy shop.

.

 

[tallhair]

And that was a wet vac type? I think I saw one of those out at the flea market years ago where some guy was in the business of refurbishing old vacs, I remember the color, he had some Kirby's too. We had a chat but this was before I got my NilFisk so I had nothing to brag about.
I think I saw something new advertised along the wet vac hypo-allergenic type in a TV in the past decade, just shook my head thou. Nothing like the new Rainbow think it was more along the Dyson line.

What is nice about the large commercial canister vacs even though the filters are expensive is that you don't have to empty them so often in regular household cleaning. For a garage shop... eh. NilFisk dez make a Industrial Factory setup, we had that type in Junior High industrial shop hooked up to all the saws & planers/millers, even had several tubes with doors going down to the floor for floor sweepings.

A clean shop is a happy shop.

.

you put about an inch and a half of water in it to filter the air coming in, and the water would capture the lint and dirt etc.

When you were done you would empty out the water somewhere outside.

No filter other than the water.

 

[tallhair]

There is a little nipple that sticks up in the reservoir to show you how much water it needs

 

[patrick66]

Here is the data plate, and some "personalization" from previous ownership. The chrome is pitted a little, Paint is good.

 

[patrick66]

Brought it inside my house to clean the vacuum up a bit. Who do you know polishes and waxes a vacuum cleaner? The chrome is pitted a bit on one side. The top polished up nicely.

A little more research puts this at 1962 or so, with a pretty early serial number. This is kinda fun.

 

[patrick66]

Outside pic with her antique kin. Pictured is a Tru-Temper sled, dated 3-57, that I inherited from my late brother a few years back. Got a few cool old things that aren't necessarily car-related.

 

[3175375]

I’ve got an Electrolux cigar vacuum that I paid $3.00 for back in the early 80’s that would suck the fur off a cat. I will snap a picture of it in the morning. I use it for vacuuming the vehicles.

 

[3175375]

 

[OldWarHorse300]

That's "good old " Electrolux, today it's only "design in Sweden " ****!

 

[patrick66]

I agree. My Uncle had a larger Electrolux vac in his shop for nearly 30 years. It was a beast, and never broke down.