Hoover Minor Model 200 – c.1930-34
‘Light, convenient, ever-ready for use, the new Hoover Minor is an essential home cleaning aid for the busy and efficient housewife.’
‘Pounds cheaper than other vacuum cleaners, yet built to true Hoover quality, this Hoover Minor is amazingly easy to handle, and it has tremendously powerful suction. Before paying nearly twice the price for some machine that is not one jot more efficient, enquire about the Hoover Minor.’
Manufactured: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Motor: 190w, single-speed.
Chassis: Polished aluminium, steel runners and painted black motor casing.
Price: £10.18.0
The 1930 Minor Model 200 – known as the ‘Duster’ in the US – was Hoover’s first attempt at a cylinder cleaner, possibly launched as a strategic move to steal market share from growing competitor Electrolux. Unlike the advanced ‘air purifying’ cylinder vacuums from Electrolux, the primitive Minor was anything but sleek. It was powered by Model 575’s direct-air ball-bearing motor with a modified impeller. This was mounted on a sturdy cast-aluminum chassis, and perched on steel runners. A length of hose connected to the front of the machine, while a cloth bag affixed to the rear of the cleaner caught the dust and debris picked up.
Hoover emphasised that although the Minor was supplied with a floor nozzle for rug cleaning, it was a ‘surface cleaner’ only, because it didn’t make use of their patented ‘Positive Agitation’ principle.
In the US, ‘Duster’ Model 200 cost $42.25. However, if the buyer already owned a Hoover upright, they could fit the upright’s dusting tools to the Duster, and purchase the main unit alone for $29.75. For $8 more, extra tools, suitable for ‘commercial uses’ were available. One such additional tool was a dry mop attachment which clipped to the floor nozzle, allowing the user to clean polished wooden floors.
The Minor/Duster was not a popular cleaner in its day – Electrolux and other cheaper competitors had a significant head start in the cylinder vacuum field. On the outside, Electrolux cylinders were attractively designed with polished aluminium or Bakelite end pieces, and colourful mock leather covered bodies. Inside they included multiple levels of air filtration, and whisper quiet sprung-mounted clean-air motors. In contrast, the Minor was clearly thrown together mostly using existing Hoover upright components, and was not a product engineered from the ground up to excel at its task.
Even in America, only 9,004 Model 200 Dusters were ever produced, its short production run lasting from 20th August – 18th November 1929.
Hoover Minor Model 200B – c.1934
Manufactured: Perivale, Greenford, Middlesex, West London.
Motor: 210w, single speed.
Chassis: Polished aluminium, steel runners and painted black motor casing.
At a glance, Model 200B appears almost identical to the original Model 200 – in fact, not a single component was shared between the two. The polished aluminium casting was physically larger than that of the 200, as were the runners. The motor was the lightweight 210w unit from Model 425, and the on/off switch was moved from the motor housing to the cord junction. The dust bag was also larger, which allowed for better airflow, and thus, better performance.
Model 200B was manufactured at Hoover’s new flagship factory in Perivale, West London, and appears only to have been sold in Europe.
Hoover Model 402 – c.1947-53
Manufactured: Perivale, Greenford, Middlesex, West London.
Styling: Henry Dreyfuss.
Weight: 7.94kg.
Motor: 400w, single speed.
Motor rpm: 14,000.
Chassis: Aluminum body and end pieces, textured maroon painted body with tan end pieces.
Only Hoover UK’s second real attempt at competing in the cylinder market, Model 402 was a great improvement over the original Hoover Minor. With clean, simple styling by Henry Dreyfuss, the overall design was fairly basic. It had lightweight aluminium dusting tools, a Bakelite carrying handle, and space to store the power cord by wrapping it around the steel runners on the underside of the machine.
However this vacuum did have one interesting trick up its sleeve. Most other contemporary cylinder vacuums included a reusable cloth bag, which the user would remove after use to shake the contents into a dust bin. This could be a messy process.
With Model 402, Hoover introduced an attempt at a more hygienic dirt ejection system, with a cylindrical cloth filter permanently installed inside the machine. After use, the user would remove the front cover and place the machine upside down on a sheet of newspaper.
Depressing a pedal on the underside of the machine would cause the base of the filter to collapse and expand rapidly, a spring-loaded system jolting it back into place. This had the effect of dislodging and ejecting accumulated dust and fluff from the inside of the filter wall. After waiting a few moments for the dust to settle, the user could then neatly wrap up the dust in the newspaper for easy disposal.
Hoover Constellation Model 822 – c.1957-58
Manufactured: Perivale, Greenford, Middlesex, West London.
Styling: Henry Dreyfuss.
Weight: 7.54kg.
Motor: 510w, single speed.
Motor rpm: 14,000.
Chassis: Aluminium, painted maroon shell with tan ends.
Hoover’s Constellation is one of those rare iconic appliance designs that is easily recognisable outside a small niche group of collectors and design historians, and featured in books and museums worldwide. The simplicity of the Constellation’s design and manufacture, it’s efficiency, performance and durability, as well as ongoing consumer demand, all helped ensure its lengthy production run. It was available to buy from the mid-1950s until the mid-1980s, with only minor tweaks and updates (colour ways, floor tools) for most of its run.
Launched as Model 82 in the US in 1954, the Constellation didn’t arrive in the UK until 3 years later.
Hoover Constellation Model 822A – c.1958-59
Manufactured: Cambuslang, Scotland.
Styling: Henry Dreyfuss.
Weight: 7.26kg.
Motor: 600w, single speed.
Motor rpm: 16,400.
Chassis: Stamped aluminium, painted grey and dark blue finish.
Hoover Constellation Model 862 – c.1960
Manufactured: Cambuslang, Scotland.
Styling: Henry Dreyfuss.
Weight: 6.58kg.
Motor: 600w, single speed.
Motor rpm: 16,400.
Chassis: Stamped aluminium, painted white finish with ‘rose’ trim.
Model 862 was the last significant Hoover Constellation redesign, and after this it would receive only minor spec updates until the end of production in the 1980s.
Aside from the change in colourway to match the rest of Hoover’s late 1950s range, the upper body shell received the most attention. The handgrip design was updated, making the machine more ergonomic to carry around. The hose lost the long metal arm connection design, which had become superfluous with the introduction of Airlift Suspension. A simple plastic connection at the end of the hose replaced it, and attached to the side of the shell rather than the top.
Hoover Model 417G
Manufactured: Cambuslang, Scotland.
Styling: Henry Dreyfuss.
Weight: 7.48kg.
Motor: 465w, single speed.
Motor rpm: 14,100.
Chassis: Stamped aluminium, painted ‘jonquil’ shell, ‘hop green’ ends.
Hoover Model 419 – c.1965
Manufactured: Cambuslang, Scotland.
Styling: Henry Dreyfuss.
Weight (complete): 11.2kg
Motor: 600w, single speed.
Motor rpm: 16,200
Body: Aluminium, ‘dark red’ vinyl-wrapped finish with ‘pearl white’ plastic ends.
Hoover Portable 2154 – c.1966
Manufactured: S.A Hoover, France.
Weight: 10kg.
Motor: 840w, single speed.
Motor rpm: 19,200.
Body: Stamped aluminium base, plastic mid-section and lid.
Hoover Portable 2209 – c.1967
‘The only cleaner that has everything inside.’
Manufactured: S.A Hoover, France.
Weight: 10kg.
Motor: 840w, single speed.
Motor rpm: 19,200.
Body: Stamped aluminium base, high-impact plastic mid-section and lid.
Throughout the 1960s, Hoover’s range continued to diversify. New categories, price points and colourways helped create more consumer choice than ever before. Building on the groundwork laid by their earlier marketplace dominance, Hoover sought to address new consumer needs by introducing innovative new products and appealing new features. Older tried-and-tested models continued to see gradual iterative improvements, while the periodic introduction of new designs helped ensure Hoover retained a space at the cutting edge of the floorcare market.
The Hoover Portable tackled an age-old problem with cylinder vacuums: how to store the tools, wand, hose, cord and main body in a neat and space-efficient footprint. This was particularly important with the 1960s boom in apartment living, and the comparative lack of storage space within the average apartment. Hoover’s solution saw all the key components condensed within a slimline suitcase-shaped outer body, which the user could tuck away away into a small cupboard after use. It took up just one cubic foot of space.
It took just moments to pop the machine open, uncoil the ‘Tufflex’ hose, expand the lightweight telescopic wand and attach the tools ready for use. Some models included a compartment to tuck away the power cord, while other more deluxe variants included an automatic cord reel.
As with any new design, compromises had to be made. The Portable was Hoover’s heaviest cylinder cleaner at a weighty 10kg, and also the bulkiest to use. It trundled along behind the user on broad-track nylon wheels and a front swivel castor, but could not be said to glide effortlessly like its Constellation sister model.
The motor which powered the Portable was a modified version of the powerful 840w unit found in the Hoover Convertible upright, and this accounted for a significant proportion of the overall machine weight. Hoover claimed this model had more powerful suction than any other Hoover cleaner.
Hoover Celebrity S3005
Manufactured: Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio.
Weight:
Motor: Single speed.
Body: Stamped aluminium base and lid. Dark brown and yellow painted finish.
