The Hoover Company - Popular Hoover Machines

Popular Hoover Machines

The Junior: Introduced by Hoover Limited (UK) in the 1930s, the Hoover Junior is a smaller upright type vacuum for apartments or small houses which was easy to carry around. The Junior was very popular in the UK; Hoover sold millions of them, and it became the biggest selling vacuum there. Various models were produced, with the final machine being manufactured in 1987. Hoover Limited made Juniors for export to the US from the mid 1960s to the late 1970s. The exported Juniors were converted to American electrical standards by The Hoover Company in North Canton, Ohio. Finding a Hoover Junior in the USA is quite rare. The Junior was never referred to as such in the USA; it was tagged in official Hoover literature as the Lightweight Upright.

The Dirtsearcher: Introduced again by Hoover Limited (UK) in 1969, was a development of the Junior with a Model 638 style headlamp fitted in place of the tool adaptor cover at the front. This model the 1354 went on to be the most successful UK Hoover manufactured model selling in both European and Commonwealth markets, however it was never sold in the US, although there were 110V versions of the UK-market Juniors sold in Canada (such as the 1354A). They were sold alongside the Junior and Senior/Ranger models becoming the now rare models U1016 and U1040.

The Portable: The Hoover Portable was launched by Hoover in 1963. It is a "Suitcase" type canister that had no wheels; you would tug it around with you as you clean. When finished you would store the hose, attachments, and power cord inside the machine. In 1969, Hoover added wheels to the Portable. The Portable was manufactured until 1978. Also, it used the same motor as the Hoover Dial-A-Matic, the first clean-air upright.

The Constellation: In 1954, Hoover introduced the Model 82 Constellation. It was a radically new design in cylinder and tank cleaners. Designed by Henry Dreyfuss, it represented America's obsession with the space race. Its spherical shaped mimicked developing space technology. Its most memorable attribute was the ability to "walk on air", which eliminated the need for casters, wheels or runners. The cleaner was made mobile by using its exhaust air, which caused the cleaner to lift from the floor and float behind the user (starting with the Model 84). This was an engineering marvel in and of itself. The Constellation cleaner remained extremely popular in its close to 25 year run, with minor design modifications. The machine was discontinued in the mid-1970s with the introduction of the Hoover Celebrity. The machine was so fondly remembered that it was reintroduced and sold from 2006 to 2009.

Model 28: Introduced in 1946, Hoover produced over two million of this model for post-war America. It sold from 1946 to 1950.

Model 63: In 1953, Hoover debuted the 'deluxe' Model 63 for $116.95. It was the first Hoover to utilize a full wrap around bumper and a completely disposable dust bag. The cleaner was styled in two-tone baby blue (base) and navy blue (everything except the base). It was an extremely popular model and sold over four million units. The machine was produced from 1953 to 1956. Again, this machine was designed by Henry Dreyfuss.

The Convertible: 1957 ushered in the "long, low and rarin' to go" Convertible. The name derives from the cleaner's ability to 'automatically shift' into a higher speed upon insertion of the tool converter for more powerful above the floor cleaning. Beginning with the Model 65, it soon became one of the most popular and well known cleaners in American history. The Convertible line was in production from 1957 to the early 1990s, and is still sold in variations in the commercial sector.