Hoover Junior Suppressor Replacement

[swirlsblue]

• Tweet

Hello, everyone!  :)

Apart from my introduction post several minutes ago, this is my first post.

I hope to have a 1970s Hoover Junior refurbished soon, and I would like to have the suppressor replaced.

The cleaner works.  I don’t have the model number to hand, as it ready to be sent for refurbishment.  It was purchased from an eBay business seller, and I have kept it packaged, as disability makes it very difficult to handle packages.  I know the model number can be crucial to sourcing the best substitute parts.

On another forum, this was suggested to me as a possible option that could be adapted:

[link redacted]

I know suppressor replacement is a debatable issue with many makes of vacuum cleaner, but I would be extremely uneasy about using such a machine with the possibility of said suppressor failing (disability again).  Another option is removal and no replacement, but that is also a debatable issue with differing opinions, and I do not wish to do that.  Someone I know who refurbishes other electrical items (not vacuum cleaners) has told me suppressors do more than just prevent interference and that they must not be removed, saying they help prolong the lives of motors.

Many thanks.  It’s much appreciated.

[MVacs]

Some external links redact automatically as yours did above.

The item referred to is this:



A three-lead mains suppressor typically used in a washing machine.

However, when repairing vintage vacuum cleaners, it is safe to remove or bypass the suppressor without affecting the machine's performance or safety, as long as it is done with care and attention. All a suppressor did back in the day was help to filter out high-frequency electrical noise and prevent it from interfering with other electronic devices nearby, such as radios or televisions.

I'm not sure of the reason you were told they prolong the life of a motor. If you've seen a Hoover Junior motor, you could winch a ship in on one. Nothing a suppressor does will prolong the life of the motor.

[swirlsblue]

Thank you for your reply.  That’s very helpful and reassuring.

Someone I know who refurbishes audio equipment, some of which have small motors in them, e.g. turntables, told me when I asked them about vacuum cleaner suppressor removal that motors with a commutator and brushes produce little sparks during rotation, having two effects: it burns the contacts, which shortens the motor life; and it produces RFI to nearby devices  They also said suppressors absorb the sparking voltages, are essential and must not be removed, as doing so will shorten motor life.

I know it’s important to be focussed on what you are dealing with – the product (vacuum cleaner or turntable!), model, its design, quirks and suitable modifications – but I thought I’d mention this issue.  I know many of you have vast experience in refurbishing, so I hope my queries have not been troublesome.

Presumably it will be OK to remove my Vax 121’s suppressor when I send that off for refurbishment?  It also works.  I’ll get my Junior and 121 off ASAP with whatever the refurbisher recommends, which is suppressor removal if I recall, and whatever else they see fit to do or not do.  :)

Thank again.

[MVacs]

Sam is your man for this question, I'll ping him.

[swirlsblue]

Thank you for that.

My apologies.  I should have said it’s Sam who will be doing the refurbishment.  I’ve been in contact with him for a few months now about refurbishing my Junior and Vax 121 and should get the Junior off to him in the next week or so, the 121 to follow.

[CountVacula]

Vacuum cleaners in the US don't come with suppressors and their motors seem to last just fine without them.   The 1982 vintage Kenmore in my avatar doesn't have a suppressor.  I don't know if you know what a Tristar is but they are sold in the US in 120 volt form without suppressors, but in Japan there is a 100 volt version.  Japanese power is 100-105 volts and can be either 50 Hz or 60 Hz depending on where in Japan you live.  I was surprised to discover my Japanese market Tristars, called Airstream over there, have suppressors where the identical model in the US does not.  No real need for a suppressor, they don't fuzz the TV or bother computers when you use them, but Japan has some electrical appliance regulations not found in North America.   I would bet that suppressor requirement dates to the time when TVs had vacuum tubes, had dials for vertical hold, horizontal hold, contrast and brightness and used rabbit ear antennas.  With modern home electronics suppressors seem kind of quaint and unnecessary.

Japanese vacuum power nozzles have to have a wheel on the bottom connected to a switch that turns the brush roll off if you lift the power nozzle off the floor.  There is a steel marble in the housing such that if you flip the power nozzle over the marble rolls into a recess and prevents the switch from being depressed to turn the brush roll on. 

Japan is this weird parallel universe for vacuum cleaners.

[MVacs]

I would bet that suppressor requirement dates to the time when TVs had vacuum tubes, had dials for vertical hold, horizontal hold, contrast and brightness and used rabbit ear antennas.  With modern home electronics suppressors seem kind of quaint and unnecessary.

Exactly this. 

[swirlsblue]

That’s all very helpful.  Thank you.  It’s very interesting to hear how suppressor use varies around the world.

The Junior is with Sam now, so I assume he’ll work his magic, casting a spell with a screwdriver (his magic wand) in much the same way as Merlin in the kitchen scene from Disney’s The Sword in the Stone!