An Elusive Model Finally Shows Up

I'm not sure why this particular machine is 'elusive', but it is true that I very rarely saw it for sale or elsewhere. Today, however, the 'Guardian by Electrolux' Model C134E arrived, in great cosmetic and working shape. 

Full ensemble shot, including the unseen small attachments, which were the only accoutrements to come with the vacuum. The wands, combo nozzle and Sidekick are shared with other models, while the hose was received some time ago. The power nozzle is shared with the later Aerus by Electrolux Guardian C154B. 

Attachment door logo. They certainly wanted to emphasize the 'Guardian' with this one...the 'By Electrolux' is not very visible unless you look closely.

Side bumper. Identical to the C154B.

Ratings sticker.

Some comparison shots of the C134E's brother models. First, a side view of the C134E and C154B together. Identical save for the attachment door badge, the 'Made in USA' sticker (which I have seen on some C154Bs), and, in addition, the C154B has a different motor.

Attachment door badges. 'Guardian by Electrolux' and 'Aerus by Electrolux', and, of course, there is the later 'Lux Guardian by Aerus'. I miss the straight-up 'Electrolux Guardian' nomenclature, but, what can you do?

The C134C (Guardian Encore) and C134E together, looking almost identical.

There you have it. It should be noted that, despite my nitpicking the details out of the Guardian and Lux 9000 Style R models, that they are pretty much all exactly the same in terms of cleaning efficiency, power, and usage, except perhaps for the C154B and C154E, which have different motors. I haven't measured, of course, but I daresay the latter two are a little bit more powerful. 

My Style R collection is nearly complete. All I need now is the Guardian 75th Anniversary C134B and the Aerus Lux 9000 C154A, and I daresay they'll come along. I wouldn't mind, in addition, having a complete set of attachments and accoutrements for each of the machines, instead of having to share them. We shall see.

Polishing Off the Style R Collection

 First, the Aerus (by Electrolux) Guardian C154B, the first Style R machine I ever got, finally, after pretty much 9 years, gets a proper pale blue cord winder pedal. 

A new full ensemble shot. Looks better than ever now that he's back to 'original' status.

Next up, two 'new' PNs:

The left matches the Aerus Lux Guardian C154E, and the right the Electrolux Guardian Encore C134C.

134C:

C154E:

Guardian Encore with PN:

Lux Guardian with PN:

Finally, the matching set of the Guardian Encore and Lux 4000:

Next, the elusive* hose with the "Guardian" logo:

Logo closeup:

*I say 'elusive' only because the model this hose supposedly goes with, the 'Guardian by Electrolux' C134E, is almost never seen around. I'm always on the hunt for it. 

Piecing Together a Classic, Part Two

I picked this up recently:

Now, the Renaissance C104A is a little bit more complete. In fact, the only unoriginal part on it is the replacement plug*.

A glamour shot (and this is indeed the most glamorous Electrolux ever, as far as I'm concerned):

Another shot, with the Sidekick II connected up:

*As I believe I mentioned elsewhere, I'm unsure if the floor brush that would have come with this machine had the openings in the front row of bristles or not. The original (and, one assumes, non-PDF manual) should have the answer, but I don't happen to have that. The brush pictured here has a solid row of bristles, and, given the fact that every machine I own that's newer than the Renaissance C104A has a floor brush with openings in the bristles, I'll tentatively assume that this brush is indeed original. As a matter of interest, this particular floor brush came with the battleship grey Epic 6500 I bought, so, who knows what's right or wrong.

The 20th Anniversary of the 75th Anniversary

Yes, it's been 20 years since the Electrolux Guardian 75th Anniversary Model C134A was released, and I've now had my specimen for six years. Still looks great, and still works fine, with all the original gear intact. Luckily, I'm using the 75th as my upstairs non-carpet vacuum for a while, so I figured an anniversary photo shoot was in order.

The only things I don't have are the owner's manual and the combination rug/floor tool with matching grey bumper. Otherwise, I'm quite pleased with my set. This is a significant vacuum in Electrolux/Aerus history, being the first with the name 'Guardian', and the first with a HEPA filter.

Also, just because this is an even more significant vacuum, here is the original, '1st gen' Renaissance, the Guardian 75th's 'father', if you like, in action. As mentioned here, the Renaissance turned into a vintage (25 year old) vacuum just last year. Absolutely gorgeous.

Out of the Workroom and Into Service

Further to my Aerus Lux 9000 Makeover post, here he is back in service. I did the living room and bare floors to give him a good workout.

The full ensemble shot. Assuming the Aerus Lux 9000 was introduced in 2003, that makes him 15 years old. Not too shabby looking for a 'teenage' vacuum, I have to say.

Just for the hell of it, here are the Aerus Luxes (?) 9000 (top of the line cylinder) and 6000 (top of the line upright) posing together. As mentioned elsewhere, the companions for these two machines were the Lux 7000, Lux 5000 or 5500, can't remember which, and Lux 3000.

Matching graphics, colors, and logos. Pity about the scar on the Lux 9000, but what can you do?

Piecing Together a Classic

The Renaissance C104A now has an original set of dark grey wands.

They work fine, and are in good shape. Naturally, I washed and Armor All-ed them before putting them into service.

In service. This classic* machine is now a little bit more complete. I still need to get an original Sidekick II and a new cord winder with light grey cord and plug.

One of the 'problems' of actually using the machines I collect is that things tend to wear over time, so bits and bobs do occasionally need to be replaced. Then, the problem is that the originality of the machine might be impaired, if one can't find original matching parts. It's a tradeoff between keeping a mostly useful machine going, and 'ruining' it's collectable value. I'm not sure where to go on this one.

In addition, it's a great pity that the hose, which is completely original, barely matches any colour on the machine. Pretty much every picture I've seen of a Renaissance C104A shows a very light, almost beige-ish hose. Perhaps when this model first came out, the hose was actually a closer-looking grey to the trim? Who knows? It's also true that many Electrolux/Aerus hoses are not a close colour match to the machine. Either way, the Renaissance C104A is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the nicest looking Electrolux/Aerus model ever made.

*The Renaissance first came out in 1993, which makes it 25 years old, which makes it, according to all the conventional definitions I've seen, a classic, or, if you prefer, vintage machine.

Aerus Lux 9000 Makeover

Its great to tear apart a vacuum again, after not having done it for a long time. The Aerus Lux 9000 desperately needed a new motor housing, as the original one had literally cracked into pieces (not sure how this could happen, but it did). The housing also smelled a bit, as did the motor and fan unit, so, I decided to pop a new motor in there. Luckily, I happened upon this:

Yes, the rubber seal at the back of the bag chamber is a little dirty, but of course it'll be wiped off before installation. Otherwise, this is a complete unit, consisting of motor and fan unit, motor housing, wiring, circuit boards, hose inlet, and auto-shutoff system hoses. The only thing I'm retaining from the original mechanics is the cord winder. I might mention that I also need to put on a new cord winder pedal and front door latch, and these are on the way.

Naturally, after I 'tore the guts' out of the machine, I washed it as thoroughly as I could, and let it air dry. As a matter of fact, I scrubbed it with soap and water, and then water and vinegar.

The base of these Style R machines is riddled with ribs and narrow crevices, so I gave up on getting all the dirt out, but its definitely cleaner. The wiring harness seen is the old one, and will be replaced.

Here is the machine partially dismantled, with the cracked motor housing. Oddly enough, I can't remember where the motor and fan unit is. I did take it out a while ago, so it must be hidden in a box in my storage room somewhere.

I'll definitely add to this post when the new motor and harness goes in, and, of course, after everything is installed and the machine is running.

My patio could use a paint job, for sure.

UPDATE 2018-09-15: Things are getting closer to completion. The motor is in and fully connected up; now, I just have to wait on my front door latch, connect up the auto shutoff system hoses, 'nail' everything down, and it'll be good to go. The cord winder pedal is brand new.

UPDATE 2018-10-08: I finally got around to finishing off this project. Here is a test of the new motor:

Note that things are not completely 'nailed down' yet. I just stuck the top cover on and put in a bag to test things out. I'm happy to say that the motor sounds and sucks strong. Yay! I tested it first with a crappy old hose that I wouldn't miss if it blew out, and then, when all was good, I tried my good hose. Everything worked like a charm.

Finally, here is the completed machine. Everything is installed...the cord winder and rewind pedal are in place, the motor fully connected and screwed down, bag chamber snapped in place, wire harness and auto shutoff hoses connected, front cover, with mechanics and latch, fully connected, two halves screwed together, and bag, carbon filter, and HEPA filter installed. The Aerus Lux 9000 is back in business as a working machine. Perfect. Note that the Sidekick is there merely to test if the electric accessories worked properly, which they did, and also note that my patio, which needed a serious paint job in the prior pictures, has received one.

On a purely personal note, this is the first time I've ever seriously worked on one of the Style R machines, and I'm quite happy with the result.

Holiday 2017 Cleaning Team

Electrolux purists would naturally disagree, but here are the two Electrolux/Aerus vacuums I like to use and depend on more than any other. Note that the Lux 4000 is more or less interchangeable with the Lux 6000, for both practical and aesthetic purposes.

Despite being warned, as a little boy, that "...little boys who play with Electroluxes don't get to...etc, etc", I still like them, 40 years on, and don't care what people think of me for doing so. I might also add that, in all my years of using (and playing with) Electroluxes and Aeruses (?), they've never let me down.

2018-03-30: I decided about a week ago (mid-March) to break out the white, grey, and red Epic 3500 to use for a while. I was astounded, after months of using the Lux 4000 + 6000, just how lightweight the Discovery variant uprights are! It literally felt like lifting a feather compared to the 4000 and 6000.

No Decals? Just Grab a Marker

I am, as near as its possible to be, a vacuum purist. I want everything possible on a machine…logos, attachments, hoses, cords, etc, etc…to be all original. It's a great theory, and gratifying when it comes true, but reality is slightly different. 

I mentioned in my page on the Guardians and Lux 9000s, that two particular models, the Guardian Encore and the Electrolux Lux 9000, were frequently missing their side bumper decals, according to the pictures I see. This decal is nothing but a faux aluminum strip that's glued onto the bumper…a shoddy shortcut in an otherwise great series of vacuums. I vastly preferred the recessed lettering of the Renaissance, or the raised lettering of the Epic 8000 and Guardian 75th.

Anyway, the point of all of this is, I just picked up an Electrolux Lux 9000, Model C134D, and guess what? Both decals are missing. I was, and still am, disappointed, despite the fact that the machine works perfectly, is in otherwise good cosmetic shape, and is a perfect addition to my near complete Style R collection. 

Now, this might be ridiculous to some, but here is what I did:

With the proper script as my guide, I hand wrote the ‘Electrolux’ logo on the side bumpers, with a silver Sharpie, and then overwrote it in dark blue. One can still see the vestiges of the glue in the corners there. Its obviously amateurish at best, and the left side looks worse than the right, but still, I'm fairly pleased with this, I must say. One of these days, I might happen upon a replacement bumper, but until then, I think this will do.

Top logo. Luckily, my handwritten logo is fairly close to this colour.

The full ensemble:

Ratings sticker. Again, the same power ratings as all the prior machines.

In the living room, ready for service. 

As far as I know, the model line mates for the Lux 9000 were the same as for the Guardian Encore. I don't think anything changed much until the company name change to Aerus, but I could be wrong on this.

By the way, I really don't know why this machine, and the Aerus Lux 9000, were not called "Guardian", as they are Guardians in every respect. If there's something different about them, I can't see it anywhere. As I proposed elsewhere, perhaps the company wasn't sure about keeping the Guardian name. In any case, I'm happy to have this machine as part of the collection.

Stepping Up on Stage for an Encore

The Style R family is steadily growing. Here is the latest member, the Electrolux Guardian Encore, Model C134C.

Logo closeup. Yes, its still dirty, as the machine is fresh out of the box, but it will of course be getting the full-on 'Eluxurious' spa treatment before it gets put into regular service.

Note that this logo matches the later Guardian Model C134E...on the latter, the black stripe bears the notation "By Electrolux", and the stylized "E" becomes a "G".

Logo and Good Housekeeping guarantee sticker, which leads me to believe the Guardian Encore and the Lux 4000 came out at the same time.

Left side view:

Kitted out with hose, wands, Sidekick, and combo floor/carpet nozzle. This, by the way, only came with the small attachments, which aren't shown. I just borrowed everything else from my other blue and white Style R models. I don't happen to have the original power nozzle for the Encore, which features the "Electrolux" in dark blue script, exactly like the Lux 4000 power nozzle.

I do happen to have a hose, the handle of which features the "Electrolux" in the same script as the side bumper, as this picture shows:

The hose itself is rather yellow; I'll just get a new or newer one one of these days and stick this handle on it.

Side bumper logo:

Ratings sticker. Same power ratings as the Guardian 75th Anniversary C134A, and right up to the Aerus Lux 9000, I believe. The Encore certainly sounds exactly like those models.

Speaking of sound, I naturally turned the Encore on, to see if things were good to go, and, to some extent, they were, but, when I put my hand over the hose end to check out the suction, the motor shut off. Uh huh. Something, of course, was askew in the auto-shutoff system, so I dismantled the front cover, and found that the little hose connected to the suction inlet had fallen off completely. Back on it went, back on the front cover went, back on the motor went, and all was good.

I'll be adding more comments after the Encore has completed its first tour of service, and after he's been cleaned and shined. In the meantime, I'm happy to have another addition to the Style R lineup. I still need to get the Electrolux Guardian C134B 75th Anniversary, the Electrolux Lux 9000 C134D, and the Electrolux Guardian C134E.

Since the Encore is its sister/brother/whatever you please to call it vacuum, and since its the current upstairs upright, here is the Lux 4000. Vacuums when not in use make good doorstops.

The Guardian Encore all cleaned and polished up. This was the first of the Style R machines with the new white and blue colour scheme.

Into service as the bare floor/dusting/upholstery vacuum, along with its model line-mate, the Lux 4000: