I got a Filter Queen Majestic yesterday at a yard sale for $20. It had the power vacuum head, but no small attachments. It seems to work and has great suction.
Anyone have any experience with these? I looked at a video, and it seems there's a cone shaped charcoal insert that goes in between the motor and vacuum, which this one is missing. Is that necessary? Can I get the small attachments reasonably, say on ebay? I have heard these are good vacuums, and I see on ebay they sell for a lot. Can I download a manual?
Yes the filter is needed. It keeps the motor from getting cruded up. Be careful you can start putting a lot of money in one of these in a hurry. They arent bad vacuum cleaners but they arent that great $1200 new either. Best place I have found to buy a vacuum is Big Lot's. They sell factory refurbished units with full warranty for about 20% 0f the original cost. If the motor starts to go its probably a bearing. Dont try to buy one at the repair store, they only sell the motors $100+. The bearing is a 6mm bearing used for roller blades. When mine broke I went whole hog and bought the ceramic ones for $4 a piece.
There are two filters in them, the paper cone filter and another round one on top. It's not unusual to find the round filter stopped up because the vacuum was run without the cone filter. These are high dollar high quality vacuums and your grandkids will be using it someday if you take care of it. see page 6 of this manual,
IMHO FQ is a great vacuum - I have one - just waaaaay overpriced and they have questionable sales outlets. The product itself is incomparable, IMHO, although I've never had a Dyson which seems to be the new favorite vacuum. FQ is built like a tank though and you can find repair parts online w/o having to go through their dealers.
If you got one for $20 I say fix it up and use it.
The cone shaped charcoal thing is optional. The deal is, they work kind of like a cross between a shop vac and one of the new "cyclonic" bagless vacs, but they were doing it decades earlier. The important filter is the cone shaped paper filter - you'll want to buy a lot of those, because they are the ones you'll replace most often. They're cheap online. There's also a small disc shaped filter underneath the plastic "basket" which should be replaced every now and then. Finally there is the felt filter inside the head which is the last line of defense before the air exits the vacuum. The paper filter should catch 99% of the dust and dirt so that's the one that takes the abuse - but the cyclonic action (look inside the canister where the hose attaches; there's a metal shield that diverts the air around the perimeter of the canister) helps somewhat to keep the dirt from just getting sucked onto the cone and clogging it.
Personally I love mine - it's the "cleanest" vacuum I have ever used. Supposedly they meet HEPA standards, don't know if that's true or not, but you certainly don't get that fine dust blowing all over the house like you do with some older bag style vacuums. And the suction is better than most as well. So I'd say you made a good buy.
If you don't have the long wand for the floor attachments I think I might have an extra one in my storage locker. I bought a FQ used on eBay (I like them that much; but I still won't pay retail for one) and sent it back because it shocked me when I fired it up. I figured that was pretty unacceptable and the seller did refund my money, but told me not to bother sending the wand back because s/he had plenty of them and that that would increase my shipping cost dramatically.
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