Electrolux PN 3 and 4

Now that Lewyt and Electrolux have both established their power nozzles, the ever- growing debate over what is better; the canister or the upright vacuum heats up. Both companies, as well as nearly all the others, start developing new versions of the power nozzle after about a decade of other refinements.

By this time, the phrase "Planned Obsolescence" has been coined (by Alex Lewyt, I think) and the idea is quickly taking over the designs of almost every product sold in America. Japanese imports have taken hold in the portable electronics market and people are accepting the new lightweight plastics in nearly everything they buy. The durability of some plastic products begin to fool the public into accepting cheaper, lower quality products from other companies.

Not every manufacturer is jumping on the plastic bandwagon just yet, as Electrolux continues to produce their vacuum cleaners and power nozzles with aluminum and steel casings.

The Mysterious PN3

There is a bit of a mystery about the next evolutionary step for the Electrolux Power Nozzle, one that perhaps has a simple explanation. We've see the PN1 and the PN2 so far, and the next offering up is the PN4. So where's the PN3?

While looking for parts for my accessories, I have never come across any stating that they'd work for a PN3. It may be that the PN3 never made it to production, or that its model designation became another number altogether.

Anyone with information, please email me.

There are some older power nozzles that may be the missing link, but I'm inclined to think that these were offered with the Canadian models. The pictures here are from various auctions around the web, and I'm sorry to say that either their owners didn't know what model or year they are from or never responded to my inquiry. It is very possible that some of these are not even Electrolux made.

There are some interesting design features visible in the photos, though. First, let's look at the tan colored PN. This nozzle doesn't have any Electrolux logo, but does have the Electrolux style wand lock on its elbow.

On the bottom of this nozzle is only a single roller in the back, like the PN1 design, the two forward rollers used in the PN2 and later models are gone. And if you look closely at it, you'll notice that the power cord pig-tail runs through the bottom of the elbow.

Other candidates for the PN2 -PN4 link can be seen here. The top photo appears to be a PN2, with a peach colored motif, and the shoe now has edge channels on the front of the nozzle.

These notches are probably the answer to getting up close to walls, and would also allow debris on the carpet's surface to get sucked in, instead of being pushed forward.

Eventually, these channels are added to the sides of the shoe, as seen in this close-up of a PN4, probably after realizing that most people push the side of the nozzle along the wall, rather than the front.

The PN4 and PN4a

The PN4 and 4A, while similar in design to the PN2, have a few major differences. These nozzles were generally offered in a painted finish, matching the color of the machine they were sold with.

The PN4a, shown in the second photo down, shows a shortening of the motor's "dog house", allowing for a lower profile on one side that makes it easier to vacuum under furniture. This off-set design would eventually mutate into the "L" shaped PN5, the basic design for many power nozzles made today.

The elbow in the PN4 was set further back on the housing and the single roller gets replaced by a pair of wheels, attached to the elbow instead of the nozzle. The forward rollers are missing from this design, probably because people didn't catch on to using the nozzle on bare floors.

These setback wheels may have been intended to perform a bit of cleaning magic: when pushing the nozzle forward, the front edge of this design has a natural tendency to rise up off of the carpet, allowing surface debris to be sucked in. When you pull back, the front edge of the nozzle is pressed down.

Since most people don't know (or care) about vacuuming in the direction of the carpet's nap, this new design feature probably saved a lot of carpets and rugs.

There is one other change to the PN4/4A, and that's the wider opening on the shoe for the brush roll. This may have come about because previous designs tend to collect sand and grit on the inside of the shoe, which usually spilled back onto the floor when you were putting the vacuum away. Having a larger opening left less space for grit to settle on.