Design for Convenience: a Vacuum Cleaner With Auto Retractable Cord

Build it; they will come. (You could attach a commonplace spring-retractable extension cord to your vac.)

Unfortunately, by now several people may have filed provisional patents before you.

You know what they say about building a better mousetrap, don't you?

A coat hanger to attach it to the vacuum is all you need to complete the project. Comes with built-in light for late-night cleaning.After Christmas sale at LynDoor™Industries.com.

Nothing new about that. They have been around for ages. Eureka makes them as do other brands. Here is an upright:

Eureka Retractable Cord

Canister vacuums also commonly have retractable cords. If you want one of the best on the planet, consider Miele, but limber up your credit card first!

Miele Galaxy S5

Bought a Dirt Devil. Unpacked it, assembled it, pulled out the cord, plugged it in and it worked perfectly. Unplugged it, pressed the retractable cord button...nothing. Fiddled with it a few minutes till I was throughly pissed off then got the manual. Page 6, bottom left..."Cord Release. To release cord, pull outward from storage location. Do not pull out past the red tape." Oops! But in my defense:

• Couldn't they have put a stop on the cord so it couldn't be overextended
• Couldn't they have designed it to not lock up when overextended
• Even if the user is diligent and always pays attention to the red tape what is the possibility that while using it, the canister is pulled along by the hose and the power cord is tugged on, causing it to extend past the red tape?

I now have a vacuum that does not retract the cord. My father has a 20 year old Eureka in the same condition.

FAIL!!!

While we're on the subject, why not attach a retractable power cord gizmo to a ShopVac? I've spent at least a GodZillion hours winding up that cord over the years! ACKKK!!!!!

Also, will somebody invert a gizmo of some merit that prevents the wound-up power cord from getting all tangled-up like spaghetti! It's got to light, portable, non-breakable, and easy to use. There's got to be an easier way!

This ones pretty cool....You could make this yourself out of a 5 gal bucket and hose reel...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo84x64rNCU

CaptMoosie, I 'knit' my long power cord. I first double the cord, then tie the ends in a simple knot, leaving a hole in the knot. Then I grab an arm's length down the cord and stick a little of the double cord through the hole, making a small loop. I then grab another arms length of double cord and stick a little of it through that loop, making another small loop, over and over until I get to the end of the cord.

If I do it right, and then grab just the right spot on this knitted cord, it will unravel real easy when I need the cord again. Sometimes it won't unravel for me, I think this trick takes a little practice. A person who knits can show you how to do it. Done right, it's a great way to put up a cord, no tangles.

Even better is a trick someone showed me from the music industry; keep folding the cord in half until it is a manageable length and then tie a knot.

My 50-year old Electrolux has a fully functional spring-retractable power cord. Aside from a once-a-decade disassembly for cleaning and lubrication, it has been trouble-free.

Shop vacs tend to come with the cheapest possible power cords, which are stiff and produce kinks. Ditch the cheesy plastic-jacketed power cord and replace it with one that has a real rubber jacket that lets it lie down and slide around obstacles rather than snagging them.

I should add, why do you need a motorized cord? A simple constant-force spring will do it easily and you won't need electricity to do it.

yes, no need of electricity if you can retract at such long lengths. I have seen spring loaded retracting systems on small formfactors, hence the idea of using the motor to retract the cord. I am sure there examples of big ones though.

BTW thanks for your post on the vac cleaner model. I was specifically looking at vac cleaner for wood floors, light weight and retractable cords :-) I might end up with roomba.. let it do it all...

What about a cordless vacuum?

Seems like a perfect match for your floors.

Thanks for the responses. I knew that such automatic retractable cords in vacuum cleaners existed a decade ago, but could not find it in a couple of stores.

You know what's really cool (or weird) is before posting I did extensive google search on 'vacuum cleaners with retracting cord' and combinations of these words but couldn't get any good hits. and NOW after clicking on the links etc. from this forum, now my search results got refined, in a day!! I get quite a few links that have the retractable feature.

Wish there was a way to look up the cache on chrome... I expected to see improvement in search results.. but this is dramatic.

BTW even this thread appeared on the search results ..

have a nice new year..

--Kumar

Should we be concerned about the induction coil formed by the cord that is wound on the reel while the vacuum is running?

Sounds like a non-issue, but...........................?

No, because in a 3 conductor single phase supply cord, if one places a clamp meter around the supply cord the amp while the motor is running reading is zero. Therefore there would be no induction to the metal drum while the vacuum motor is drawing current

OK, Thanks.

And would not two opposite polarity AC signals running in parallel simply cancel out anyway?

I don't know, all I'm tellin' you is that's what the plumber told me.

its all due to this...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirchhoff%27s_circuit_laws

However the statement Wal made in post 18 is very true, and can happen as the flex is usually of a small CSA, so his suggestion to fully extend the cord before use should be followed

I have 2 that do that.

Check totalvac.com for model EXP3077. It is a replacement for the Electrolux tank type vacuum retracting power cord. It used to fit on one end of the tank. Been around since the 1950s I'd guess.

Retractable cords should be completely unwound during use because they get darn hot. The winding derates the cord due to lack of free air exposure. This is copper loss heating and nothing to do with inductance.

Look at a Meile it has auto retract.

Bazzer

I had one back in the 60's I think it was an Eurica brand , Looked like a fat clam had a dust bag and retractable cord. Used it for many years then of course it died. I think I remember my Electrolux had this feature also in the late 80"s.

All of the vacuum cleaners that we have owned have the power cord coming off of the bottom. That means we are always grabbing the cord to pull it up out of the way when pushing/pulling. A retractable would help, but please put it at the top!

Central Vacuum Systems

A central vacuum cleaner (also known as built-in or ducted) is a type of vacuum cleaner appliance, installed into a building as a semi-permanent fixture. Central vacuum systems are designed to remove dirt and debris from homes and buildings, sending dirt particles through tubing installed inside the walls to a collection container in a remote utility space. The power unit is permanent and is typically installed in a basement, garage or storage room, along with the collection container. Inlets are installed in walls throughout the building that attach to power hoses and other central vacuum accessories to remove dust and particles from a room. Most power hoses typically have a power switch located on the handle.

we had this in our older house and was very convenient. But the pain in this was the storing long hose!!.. i always wished you could retract/stuff the long hose back into the vacuum line..

so either deal with a long wire or a long hose.. :-) I am going cordless though my wife thinks it 'sucks' implying it does not suck well

If you unplug the vacuum to retract the cord there will be no power (unless you make it battery powered) to do the retracting. I guess you could make the retracting motor large enough to pull the vacuum to the outlet...... I think that's why these were spring powered in the past. ;-)

very good point.. should have thought about that duh!

Numerous people slap selves on fore head.

Slapped senseless. Blunder forward....

http://www.dyson.co.uk/ (usual disclaimer). All Dyson vacs have retractable cords. It's done with a spring, so that there is no need to push the thing back to the socket outlet while the cord is retracting (as would be the case with a motorised retract device).

You could mount the power cord reel on a trailer and incorporate a small IC engine on it that auto starts when the power is disconnected.

The trailer is easily pulled around by the vacuum cleaner due to its patented Floor by Floor drive system.

Designed for convenience.

The admins need to add a "Too Funny" rating to the RATE button!

somthing like a ,,Like,, and ,,LOL,, button... hehehe...

It is very efficient to install a vac system when the house is built but hardly ever done, because like so many other efficient ways of building, costs have been cut to the bone. Most contractors are afraid of losing the job. Nobody looks at "payback" any more.

only ever seen a vac system in North America.. I love the idea, but it's not caught on here in the UK!

We Yanks have found ways to take laziness to new lows.

now ain't that the truth, ya'll..

I believe the dry wall and hollow spaces make it easy to do an after market install and repair if needed of a complex system like a vac cleaner. In India, the concrete walls make it difficult to mount a picture!!

Actually, people would rather spend every penny they can muster on a bigger house with little or inferior amenities than a smaller house with quality amenities.

"eye candy" rules way too much. good design goes "unseen".

With a shop vac you can suck in your hose. Put a mark half way, why?