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. 

A Little More Set Completing

I happened to snag this on eBay:

This is a nearly complete set of attachments for the Electrolux Lux 4000 and Aerus Lux 6000*; the only missing item is the combo dusting brush and upholstery tool. I already had an electric hose, but I had been looking for the colour-matching Sidekick and baby crevice tool, so I'm happy to have these. The manual, bag order form, Clean Sweep Chips, and what I assume is the cardboard tube holder for the combo dusting brush and upholstery tool aren't too shabby in themselves. 

Except for a tiny bit of thread wrapped around the brush roll of the Sidekick, this set looks completely untouched by dirt of any kind. The electric hose I got to complement the Aerus Lux 6000 shortly after I bought it was the same. Did people ever use the attachments? After all, the electric hose and Sidekick were included with the vacuum, not separately purchased add-ons. I suppose because they weren't onboard, people tended to store them away in a closet most or all of the time. So much the better for me, I suppose.

Here are the Electrolux Lux 4000 and Aerus Lux 6000 together (again), with even more accoutrements than before. One can see the white crevice tool on the Lux 4000; the 6000 has the black one, along with its black HEPA filter. As pointed out here, black is technically a matching colour for these machines. 

As a 'by-the-way', this year (2020) is the 20th anniversary of the Lux 4000. As I said elsewhere, I wish they had kept making this style of machine, with the subsequent improvements in power they offered with their other uprights.

*I'm going to assume that the later models of the Aerus Lux 6000 (U140C, perhaps, and the U156A) eventually got an electric hose that didn't have the 'Electrolux' logo on the handle, the same, one assumes, as the cylinders that were coming out concurrently. 

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.

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.

The Crevice Tool: Small, But Significant

In my posts on the Lux 4000 and 6000, I noted the fact that neither came with the 'baby' crevice tool, which clips on to the side of the handle. I did have a couple of older ones, but the problem was, none had the small ridge on the outside that keeps them secured to the handle of the Lux 4000 and 6000. Consequently, in use, the crevice tool would fall off and, not infrequently, disappear under some article of furniture.

Well, problem solved:

Here it is in use on the Lux 4000. Pity it couldn't be white, but then again, the 4000 and 6000 have black cords, black switches, and black undersides, not to mention that my 6000 has a black HEPA filter, so, it does technically match.

Most importantly, at least this one won't be falling off the handle all the time.

A Couple of Useful Attachment Additions

I happened to spot these attachments in the Shop Vac section of Canadian Tire, and decided to pick them up, for use with the Shop Vac and the Aeruses (?) and Electroluxes: a flexible crevice tool and soft bristled dusting brush.

Out of the package. Naturally, these can fit onto the Style R hose with an adaptor. I can see tons of uses for these tools, especially with electronics.

I also decided to pick up a new hose for the Shop Vac, as the one that came with it didn't have a proper handle. This one is 8 feet long, with a handgrip and suction bleed valve.

Handle, with the suction bleed valve open:

And finally, the trusty old Shop Vac with new hose and tools:

The soft bristled dusting brush goes into service, on the Epic 8000, to clean off my computer desktop and all its assorted paraphernalia. It gets right into the grooves of everything, which is just why I wanted it.