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hoover1060

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Apr 9, 2005
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I picked it up this morning, the bill was $90, so for $190 I have an almost new Gsix.
The brush roll is genuine Kirby, but like nothing I have ever seen before.
It works pretty well....
 
brush roller

Strange bristle arrangement, but it is an improvement over the standard kirby arrangement
 
Wow Jeff, very nice!! Definitely need to find time to get my G5 in for a "day of beauty" as well! That's an interesting brushroll, with the staggered bristles. I wonder what the point is with that?

And look at that nice carpeting...I'm getting "bare floor fever" over here! Mind if I stop by with my Eurekas? ;-)

--Austin
 
Thanks guys!

The Gsix is fun to play with, and I'm told the brush roller was a new design for the Ultimate G. It definately digs into the carpet better, and the "buzz" is more agressive. The bristles are also stiffer than previous bursh rolls.
It seems to clean very well, and is reasonably easy to push maneuver. On my bedroom carpet(pictured) I turn the tech drive off. It glides.
Downstairs in the living room on the 1/2 inch plush, I use the tech drive, it glides pretty well, but there are places where the nozzle "flutters" on the forward stroke when you're going against the pile.
It has one flaw that prevents me from making this my daily cleaner: The belt lifter. Jack sheds SO much that his hair catches on the belt lifter finger, and this grows to be a HUGE hairball, until finally the belt catches it, then I have a wad of dog hair wrapped around the pulley, and smell cooking rubber. Its happened twice today so far.
She'll look beautiful in the collection though!
 
That does look nice

I should check out the prices around here for a refinishing. I'm waiting to find a decently priced (read cheap) bench grinder for the garage so I can outfit it with the proper sized polishing wheels. That'll make for a lot easier task than the small buffing pads on the electric drill. I was polishing up a Tradition today and gave a try to some of the stainless and copper cleaner powder I had laying about. It's the stuff like Bon-Ami but labelled for stainless steel pots and pans, sinks and copper pots..worked very well, even better than that the Flitz, rouge and tripoli. You can find it alongside the Bon Ami, Javex etc in the supermarket.
I hear what you're saying about the dog hair clumps around the belt spindle, I've had some of those but not to the point of a burning smell. The 2000 looks super and I'm dying to try out a tech drive Kirby.
 
Add my compliments....

...and my total jealousy at a $100 + $90 Kirby! But your vac shop sure does a good job! Good idea on a fresh brushroll. Sure sorry to hear about the belt/hair situation -- darnit! Because these vacs are supposed to be excellent at picking up pet hair.

I have a G4 (among others) and love it! I'll probably send it off to the spa as well, LOL! I just acquired a G3 as well a few days ago. I understand the early G3's had some issues with TechDrive, as it made its debut on these models. But this one propels nice and smooth! He will probably serve as the upstairs vac, while downstairs, the G4 will reign.

Pete, you'll love TechDrive! By the way, is that polish you speak of called Barkeeps Friend? Like you, I am wanting to set up a dedicated buffing station. I have a small cheap drill press I can use in the interim for the main work -- dang buffers are expensive, aren't they? I'm keeping my eye open for a second hand one. The drill press, and the remainder of a parts machine with Handi-Butler and Flexi-Shaft for detail will give me a pretty reasonable compromise, I think.

Hey, how come you vac-heads here didn't warn me this hobby could be so addicting? I've a small two-bedroom apartment, and the place is starting to look like where old Kirby's go to die. But I won't let them. The day the G3 arrived, I later purchased an old Sanitronic VII -- nabbed while snooping around for a Dual Sanitronic 80. The half wall between my kitchen and living area has a Chorus Line of Kirby's, with their attachment caddy's next to them like props in a muscial. I need to figure out something for display and storage! Careful hoover -- you're next! It always starts with one!

Cheers!

John
 
Polishing Kirbys

Pete and John,
Thanks for the kind words. I really like the Gsix, just too bag it gags on Jack's hair!
As to polishing Kirbys and such, I've found using steel wool combined with Flitz and elbow grease really does a fine job.
I was at my local Sears hardware, and bought two different kinds of steel wool. One is called "metal polish" and the 2nd kind is the ultra fine.
Whats most important is to remove the dirt first. I use plain dry steel wool first, then wipe with a towel. Then I go back and hit it with the polish 2-3 times, then finish with the ultra fine, using that dry.
The results are a gleaming machine!
John: Are you a member of the VCCC? Our annual convention next year will be in St Louis
Jeff
 
John..the stuff I was using is called Coronet, made by Regalware for pots and pans.. I've seen Bar Keepers Friend before but never tried it.. I'll pick some on next time though it seems to be scare.
I've also got some Zud powdered cleanser.. I should give that a try.. it works like a dam on rust stains

Jeff. I'll also check out Sears for those steel wool pads.. I was a scared to use any steel wool figuring I'd end up with that spiral like scratching in the metal.. Still want to get a bench grinder though.. it's the "elbow grease" I'm getting fed up with..lol
 
I'm headed for the spa

I can't wait for that agitator/brushroll to go over me top to bottom, front side and back side. Just got in from flying for three days and need the total work out.

Charlie
 
The brushroll on your G6 is the new staggered bristle one that is used in the new Diamond G models.The staggered breistles give better action,and don't tangle as much according to Kirby.And yes,the bristles are stiffer.
Sadly Kirbys are a not good for long pet or people hair--If you try to pick it up with the hose alone-it twines around the bare motor pulley shaft.A regular canister vac is best for that type of cleanup.Us vac collectors usually have several of those to choose from!!the canisters are better for attacking the wads of hair.
 
normal daily drivers

I have three vacuums for daily use. 2 of them are Hoover Convertibles, one a model 36, the other a model 1070. Both have been hot-rodded with Decade 80 motors, and CWP's wood core all bristle brush roll. If you've never tried that brush, all I can say is WOW!
Vacuum #3 is brand new, an Airway Sani-Clean New Century that I bought through Charlie earlier this year. I'm not a huge canister fan, but I do like this Airway very much. Light, powerful, and very easy to use.
I'll do a couple of pics tonight...
 
Daily drivers... on the main floor I'm pretty much using the Kirby Heritage Legend II. Downstair I just grab something to try as most of them I've not used all that much so especially on a daily basis. Each has its strong and weak points. The most agressive in my little fleet is still that el cheapo Sears twin fan upright, it's noisy and it's no beauty but none of the others can pull "fluff" up flattened carpet pile like it can so it's good at the top/bottom of the stairs where the pile gets flattened.. The birds don't like it though so I hvae to keep it away. I use the Constellation over in the birdland area because it's the quietest vacuum I know of and with them all molting right now, feathers are everywhere. Neither myself nor the birds have been impressed with that Eureka Roll a Matic canister power nozzle. It's too tight a quarters over there to use a Kirby and not be banging into everything. Same with the Hoover upright SPropelled, plus that things noisy as well and sets the birds aflutter. Once if find the second filter for the WaterMatic I'll give that a go.. has plenty of suction, wheels around very easily and it's almost on par with the constellations for being "library quiet". Yes you could use the Constellations in a library or restaurant and not disturb people.
 
Interesting, Jeff! I bought a Convertible on eBay (used some parts to replace the bad ones on the 1020) with that wood brushroll (that had low mileage as well) and while it worked fine, there's just something about the beater bar that you can't get away from. I still have it in my parts box; isn't it a chevron-type pattern with red bristles?

Our main daily driver for rugs is a 1970 Convertible 1020; for dusting and floors, a 1980's Simpson-Sears compact canister. I have 2 Eurekas (630D and 664A; with a later accessory kit) that I alternate with to clean my room. All of my other machines really don't get much use.
 
Air-Way New Century

Jeff,
I am really glad you like the New Century canister. I like both uprights and canisters both but for different reasons. I just ordered a New Century for myself yesterday. They are so lightweight and effective.

Austin,
I know you asked Jeff about the beater bar, but may I jump in? (Jeff correct me if I am wrong) The true "chevron" patterned agitators have been gone for some time. I think the 150 was the last model to have them. They were replaced by agitators with curved beater bars instead of the chevron shape. There were still straight snap in and screw in horse hair brush strips. Later came the curved helix brush strip that was snap in such as the 60 and 61. Then it was screw in curved helix horse hair brush strips. During this time and later as correct replacements there were clear nylon, red nylon and green nylon. Nylon in that time frame, approx. 1946 and forward, was used in commercial applications as they lasted much longer and were more aggressive on the carpeting.

With the advent of the convertibles, the brushstrips were slide in replaceables in black nylon and later clear nylon.
I have seen many variations over the years that are genuine Hoover products. The canoe type screw in used in the 29 came in horse hair and nylon. The agitator replacement for the 150 used curved non-chevron beater bars with canoe type brush strips.

The agitators changed ends as well. The early ones for many of the coffee can type had small ends with one being round and the other like a mini-rectangle. Later those slide in ends became larger and finally there was slide in with spring as in the convertible with one end being nearly flat and the other having a small round nub.

So, you really can do a lot of mixing and matching to make your upright Hoover the most suitable for your cleaning needs. The wood replacement that Jeff refered to was suggested to me by the supplier ESSCO. Due to the amount of extra "drag" created by the brushroll you may have to replace the belt more often.

Austin, if you need brush strips for any older Hoovers, let me know as I have a rather large inventory of them for most models.

Charlie
 
Ooooh, that Air-Way Sani-Clean is a nice machine...

Is that similar to one that was sold by Royal a while back? I was given a similarly designed Royal, sans powerhead, that had a terrible clog in the hose, cleared it and it worked perfectly. I used and abused it for work, loved the power. Not sure why I ended up ditching it, I think something tragic happened to the wheels.

http://www.air-way.net/moredetails.aspx?ItemID=6855&Cat=45
 
Around my place it is now difficult to pick out "daily machines"probably would have to be the Kirby-Diamond G model.Next would be the Riccar Radiance.another one I have just acquired is a Sebo X4 Automatic-A really fun vac-its kinda fun to use-it can adjust its nozzle height automatically!-hence the name automatic.Its fun to watch it work.It has a Servo motor system that adjusts the front wheel to the proper nozzle height to the floor-does it by sensing the load on the vac motor from the resistence on the roller brush from the floor.Its one of the few clean air uprights that really works.My most used canister has got to be the new TriStar Mg2 followed by a Compact Revelation.Use the paper liner bags in both.Oher uprights I use-on rotation with Kirby-are the Royal classic machines.Sadly the new ones are now built in China-but they still perform very well-and are well made.The Chinese workers must be well supervised.Just wish they were still made here.Wonder what happened to the employees at the US Royal factory?
Gansky-Have one of those Air-Way "Sani-Clean" vacs-was a trade in toward a Tri-Star.Its a good sturdy little machine-Cleaned it up and use it now and then.Its not as fancy as the "Sanitizer" models.Looks like I will need to look up the Air-Way website and check out trhe "New Century" model.There is a new vac dealer (walk-in) that sells Sebo,Royal,Miele,and Cirrus.They also sell "IQAir" air purifiers.I got my Sebo from him and one New 1058Z Royal-wide nozzle-18" wide-does very well.
 
pictures coming soon

Charlie,
I think(and I may well be wrong)that the "Chevron" brush style refers to bristles spiraled towards the suction inlet. In this respect, the wood core Convertible agitator would be a chevron style, as well as I believe the agitator on the Airway's old Douglas made powernozzle.
I like the bojack wood core brush for a couple of reasons. One its sealed bearings are quieter than Hoovers, two it really digs into the carpet, three it smooths out and quiets a noisy machine. I highly recommend this brushroll for anyone with the plastic machines, it makes a HUGE difference.
I don't recommend it for the older Convertibles, too much drag on the motor.
I built the two Convertibles I use to suit my needs, namely tons of dog hair and 1/2 inch thick plush carpeting. One machine is the original two position height adjuster, the other the 4 position. The differences are there.
Airway: Greg its a really nice machine, and I am very happy with it. My main uses for it are weekly to sweep my kitchen floor and get Jack's hair off the furniture. I've tried all the combos, uprights with tools, Hoover portapowers, Hoover Telios, vintage canisters, and my Kirby... all left me less than satisfied. The Airway is easy to use, light and not noisy. It has one fault, a rather powerful exhaust stream, which could be likened to standing behind a 747's engine running full speed.
In all seriousness, for its price, I love my Airway, it will be around for a long time, and it works well.
Its a much better value than some brightly colored plastic machines on the market today!!!
 
Hoover Convertible Models 36 and 1070

Model 36(1966-1967) in Nassau Blue and pearl white, and model 1070(1969-1971) in a faded Marine Blue and seal griege light/medium/deep.
Also pictured is the CWP wood brushroller both these cleaners are equipped with. Note how the bristles spiral towards the center.
 
Hoover1060:The Air Way "New Century" resembles the "Sani-Clean" that I have-but yours has the Centurion power nozzle.also yours has the Centurion hose handle.Very nice machine.
I have a Green Hoover similar to yours-the CWP Brushroll sounds like a good idea.Does it have beater bars-the usual Hoover thing-Sebo also makes a different brushroll for delicate carpeting(softer bristles) than the stock one that comes in the machine.They are easy to change.And yes the bristles spiraling to the center routes the dirt to the suction intake area.I got my Hoover from a neighbor in the area.
 
Love my Hoovers!

Just my opinion, but I think the Convertible is one of the best cleaning machines I have ever used...

The Saniclean has the "enhanced" powernozzle and hose. The standard model is still available I believe...Oh Charlie?
 
Keep posting pics everyone

Austin.. how'd you come across a Simpson Sears vac?..you must post a picture of it to rekindle some of my lost memory cells.

Rex..can you post a pic of that Sebo avec servo wheels, that sounds like a fun machine.

And any thing else anyone might have.. surely there are more folks here with an old vacuum cleaner languishing around the house that should have its pic taken for us.

Now why is it I just can't seem to find any Hoover convertible or one of those nice Eureka soft bag uprights..they were always common here, especially Hoovers..it could be they're all still working and people haven't tossed them out yet?
 
New Century

Jeff,
You are correct about the power nozzle on the New Century. Air-Way decided to keep the product simple by only offering one hose and one power nozzle.

Rex,
The vac used to be called the Sani-Clean but Air-Way in an attempt to update itself renamed the the machine the New Century and added the upgraded power nozzle and hose.

Jeff,
I agree that the air diffuser really needs a makeover but look for pigs flying before that happens. The Black Knight made by by Air-Tec, (owned and operated by George Lovely, Jr., formerly of Air-Way), is really a New Century reworked. The exhaust is blown through, "a lotus design for increased airflow and better air distribution." And, the metal tool carrier, which is really the Air-Way old tool carrier, "attaches to the halo for an on-board attachment feature."

I'm including some pics so you can see the similarities and the differences. In addition the Douglas power head, they off an ungraded Eureka power head.

Charlie
 
Attachment carrier

You can seem how Air-Way like the vacuum is. They also have installed an, "Air Velocity Enahncer," that moves the dirt around in the bag differently than Air-Way.
 
Interesting how old is new again...I wonder if any Air-Tec user knows the design of the tools is over 50 years old? Not a bad thing if you ask me...

I wonder why they haven't switched to the Hayden powerhead? The Douglas seems rather BOL to me as there's no quick-disconnect feature...

But other than that, I love this design. Instead of the Dyson Ball (Animal edition), I should get an Air-Tec BK 2000!
 
Not an Air-Tec an AIR-WAY!!!

Austin,
If you get a vacuum, please let it be an Air-Way! Air-Tec really just copied Air-Way and made enough changes to keep from getting sued for patent infringement.

If you really want one, let me know via email. Any of the VCCC members, interested in purchasing an Air-Way, have received a special deal from me, (Jeff can attest to this!), I would extend that courtesey to you as well. I love turning people on to Air-Way!

Bring some, "Sanitation To The Nation", down to Texas!
 

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