A Work in Progress, Even Though Things Have Retrogressed

If Aerus Electrolux had made a few small changes to the Style R models, they would have been near perfect, as much as any vacuum can be perfect.

1. Thinner hose handle, wands, and power nozzle elbow. The existing system works fine, and is very adaptable, but it is a bit on the big side. A thinner diameter would have made attachment use much easier.

2. Thinner, recessed HEPA filter. Perhaps by their very nature, HEPA filters need to be big to accommodate the various odour-absorbing and particle capturing layers, I don't know. Indeed, the box filter seems to work quite well. Pity it gets in the way when trying to pick up the machine, and it interferes with the aesthetic flow of the machine. I have seen pictures of a thin, flat HEPA filter...I suppose this was some kind of early prototype, or perhaps a salesperson's demonstration filter?

I wonder if the company could have made a HEPA filter as thin as the Renaissance and Epic 8000 after filter? Then, they could have kept the configuration of those models, with even better filtration.

3. Variable (2?) speed power nozzle. I'm not sure if any vacuum cleaner has ever had a multi-speed brush roll, but I think it would be a great idea, especially for lightweight rugs. Even with the suction on low speed, the power nozzle can chew up small rugs.

I really can't think of any other "deficiencies" in the Style R models; as pointed out elsewhere in this blog, these are very nearly the only vacuums I use, other than the uprights.

This is my first post with the iPhone Blogger app...just wanted to give it a go. Posting with this app is surprisingly easy, actually.

Somewhat Shopworn, Still Certainly Serviceable

Sometimes, taking a chance on a less than stellar looking vacuum can pay dividends, as evidenced by more than a few machines in my collection. The same goes for my latest acquisition, an Aerus Lux 9000 Model C134F. When I first saw it advertised, I was hesitant. According to the description, the power nozzle didn't work, it was missing the dusting brush and combination rug/floor tool, and it looked fairly dirty. On the other hand, it was all original, not to mention cheap. I could have gone for a "better" one from some vac shop, but it would have cost at least twice as much, and vacuums from such sellers don't come with a "perfect" guarantee. All in all, it turned out to be worth it.

Here is the young fellow, cleaned up as nicely as possible and ready for service. Yes, the hose is discolored, but its airtight, the switches work properly, and its been disinfected, so its good to go.

The suction motor sounds and sucks just fine. It sounds pretty much exactly like the Guardian 75th Anniversary I have, as a matter of fact, and the suction is more or less the same. Perhaps they used the same motor in all of the machines in between these two, I don't know. As I suspected, the machine was fairly dirty, both inside and out, but one of my favorite things to do is to clean and detail vacuums, so I gave it a fairly thorough cleaning and disinfecting, inside and out. The one part of the Style R machines which I haven't been able to clean properly is the side bumper...Magic Eraser doesn't seem to work at all, and I haven't yet found anything else that works.

The seller had indicated that the power nozzle needed a new motor, but rather than bothering with it, I just transplanted the "Lux" top cover and blue bumper to another power nozzle I had. As an addendum to this power nozzle, I'm not sure what that little extra piece is on the elbow (the gray piece in the first picture on the power nozzle), but it makes the top cover bloody difficult to remove. I've seen other elbows with it and without it, so I'm not sure if its completely random, but I don't like it, and I doubt if it serves any practical purpose.

(Update 07-28-13: In fact, I've long since removed the bloody thing! I assume its there to give a little extra support to the elbow, but I wanted it gone.)

Top view. The logo is a bit scarred, but things can't always be perfect.

Side bumper logo, with "handwritten" script. I may be wrong, but this script seems to hearken back to earlier models, I can't remember which ones.

Ratings sticker. This seems to be the first ever "Aerus" branded Style R model, and, wonder of wonders, it doesn't even say "Electrolux" anywhere! Going by the attachment compartment door logo, the company really wanted to emphasize the new name, as opposed to later models.

Going by the graphics, the Aerus Lux 9000 appears to be the top-of-the-line companion to the Lux 7000 and Lux 5500, but given the company's propensity for releasing models in wild profusion in short time periods, I'll make that claim with reservations. 

As I pointed out in Note 6 here, I'm not sure why the company issued a machine identical to the Guardian in every way, and called it "Lux 9000". The only sensible reason is that it wanted to get rid of the "Guardian" name. At any rate, I'm quite happy to have another useful and serviceable vacuum.

Not a New Machine, but...

...after dismantling, cleaning, disinfecting, and "refurbishing" it, I think the Guardian C154B deserves a new post.

(Not only that, but I'm going to "re-watermark" every picture on this blog. I happened upon an eBay auction for an Epic 8000 which used one of my pictures, and I'm not about to waste my time here so nitwits can steal my work to flog their junk on eBay. Yes, believe it or not, I do get pissed off when people steal other people's property. All that said, this blog and its contents represent a real labor of love for me, and I have no intention of stopping.)

Anyway, the first thing I did with the Guardian C154B was to paint the cord winder pedal white, to more or less match the body of the machine. I was utterly sick of looking at that horrible black pedal, and I think this paint job improves the look of the machine significantly (although its a somewhat rough paint job; painting is not my forte). One of these days, I might happen upon a replacement pale blue pedal, although I was told it was a discontinued item. Sounds odd to me, as most of the Style R machines are blue and white, but mine is not to reason why.

"New" cord winder pedal. As I said, the painting is a little rough, but it looks a hell of a lot better than black:

I also got rid of the two black wand latches I had (this machine came with two sets of wands) and replaced them with matching pale blue, and added a "new" crevice tool and dusting brush (the old ones were a little the worse for wear).

Then, I thought I'd actually have a go at dismantling this baby to see what was going on inside. I've dismantled some of the Style C cylinders before, but never a Style R, and I wasn't sure what to expect. The layout is actually not all that different from the older machines, with the only noticeable differences being:

• single stage (single fan) motor: I'm not sure when these first came in, or if they were used across the board in all of the subsequent Electrolux/Aerus models. All of the other models I've dismantled have the two stage (two fan) motor.
• plastic fan surround: most or all of the others I've dismantled were metal.
• wiring: the cord winder is not "directly" connected to the motor, like in the older models...in this one, a series of wires run from the motor housing back around to the cord winder. In the older models, a series of contacts on the cord winder housing "plug in" to the motor housing.
• circuit boards: There are two circuit boards; one near the bottom of the motor to control the main suction motor and power nozzle, and one at the top of the motor housing, near the exhaust port (to control the motor when the hose is connected to the blow port for blowing).

I gave the old boy a good scrubbing and disinfecting (except the fans and motor...they'll wait for another day, although I did blast them out with air to kick out some of the dirt), and then reassembled everything and put him right back into service. The assembly/reassembly is not radically different from the older models, except the two halves of the body are held together by six screws, and the bumper tucks in between the two halves (somewhat like the bumpers on the power nozzles).

Here he is, the Aerus Guardian C154B, "in all his splendor and power":

I can't resist adding a few comments and observations about this machine, which more or less apply to all of the other Style R machines:

1. Going by the "hand-over-the-end-of-the-hose" suction test, the C154B is the most powerful vacuum I own. The hose almost gets squashed when your hand completely covers the opening. It seems to have slightly more suction than its successor, the C154E.

2. When I use this machine, I get much more work (cleaning) done than I would otherwise. For example, every time I clean the kitchen, I dust off the counter top, table top, place mats, and stove top with the dusting brush on low speed, clean corners and edges with the crevice tool on medium speed, chair cushions with the upholstery tool or Sidekick on medium speed, and the floor with the floor brush on high speed. My house is definitely cleaner when I use this machine.

3. Because of the long(er) cord, on board attachments, and fingertip controls, cleaning takes less time (i.e. there is less time spent unplugging the cord and moving to a different outlet, finding attachments, and turning the machine on and off and/or adjusting the power). Whenever I use an older model now, I always ask myself "Where is the rest of the cord?" (after pulling it out to its extremity); "Where are the attachments"? "Why is the attachment falling off the end of the wand/hose?" and "Where is the power switch?" (i.e. its NOT on the hose handle, where I think it should be)

4. My house truly does smell better when I use this machine. Its not "as fresh as mountain air" or anything, but the atmosphere is definitely cleaner. The HEPA filter seems to do a good job for a longer time of trapping odors and small particles, even from a fairly full bag, and there is no air leakage anywhere else on the machine that I can find. Some of the older models leak (unfiltered) air through the cord winder opening and underneath the handle, and/or anywhere else there is a hole on the machine).

5. I believe the automatic bag-full shutoff function is preset to "normal" conditions. I wondered at first whether this might lead to the bag "declaring itself full" rather earlier than necessary, but I haven't found this to be the case so far. I've changed VERY full bags several times on this machine.

6. This applies to this machine in particular, because it came with two sets of wands, but I leave one wand set connected to the power nozzle, and another connected to the rug/floor tool, to save a little time, depending on my cleaning task. For example, if I'm only using this machine to do the bare floors and dusting, I don't have to disconnect the power nozzle from the wands.

7. This machine and all of the white and blue ones give me a vague "medical appliance" feeling, and not necessarily in a bad way. Its not only the HEPA filter sitting on top of the machine (which always reminds me of the little "houses" that sit on top of buildings to house the elevator machine room and other building controls), but the neutral white and pale blue wouldn't look out of place in a hospital. Perhaps this was the effect Aerus/Electrolux was going for, who knows...i.e. guarding your home and health from damaging dirt.

8. I have rather a soft spot for this model. It's the very first Aerus, Style R, Guardian, and HEPA filter equipped model in my collection, so it's a 'special fellow'.

The pity of it all is that there were (or perhaps still are) no less than 3 Guardian C154Bs for sale on eBay recently, at relatively decent prices, but the sellers only shipped to the U.S. :(