Do Kirby's get along ok?

Gather App
Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support AutomaticWasher.org:

J

jdinstl

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 3, 2005
Messages
325
In a fit of July 4th boredom, I was fleaBay-ing, and bought a Kirby Legend II and a Sanitronic 50. (Both with attachments!)

Will these two fight if put it in the same broom closet? Any "heads up" or things I need to know? The Legend appears to be in great shape, the Sanitronic is a bit rough, from the pics.

Nevertheless, I've always wanted to vacuum with Big Iron, so these two ought to be enjoyable. :-) Somehow, I don't think my little plastic Fantom's will give me as much joy as before, haha!

John
 
I think you will like your "new" Kirbys-defintely they will outclean the Fantom.With Kirby's esp if you use the hose and operating it as a "canister" vacuum you do not want to let it suck up coins nails,screws,pebbles,etc-these could break the fan.Otherwise they are excellent performers.I have many Kirbys and so far no fights among them yet!The Kirbys are especially nice when cleaned and polished up.Patience and a good buffing wheel in a drill and some Flitz or similar metal polish on the wheel should work in getting them shined up "showrroom" new again.An oh yes-with the Kirby Dual 50-its cloth bag will allow you to see what you picked up like the Fantom-You should dump it after any major use-storing dust and dirt in it will drastically shorten the life of the bag.Its a dump bag vacuum instead of a dump bin vaccum such as the Fantom.I enjoy using my Dump bag Kirbys-they are kinda fun.And their metal fans ding and ping so delightfully when they pick up small hard debris.Its audible feedback letting you know the debris was picked up.Plasitc fans just give a clack sound.i have been trying to talk to the Kirby dist to tell the factory to go back to the metal fans.
 
Love my Kirbys

6 months ago I had never even touched one now I have 5.
Two Heritage Legend II's
Two Traditions
One Classic III

I'm very partial to the Legend II with the somewhat sleeker brush roll attachment and the little green light to tell you that the brush is turning, very novel. The sound of the motors is also a very pleasant low pitched drone, not that shrill whiny sound on newer cheap vacs. The only thing I don't care for is attaching the attachments so I don't bother with them, these are strictly floor machines for me. The other nice thing is they're easy to disassemble and fix yourself. Make sure to get a pic of them when they arrive.
 
I also like the tone of the Kirby motors-esp the Dual 50 and 80-have a "bassy" deep sound.Yes,thats another point you can easily change motor brushes and fans yourself on the older Kirbys.On the "G" series-machines made now-its more difficult but not impossible.
The brush indicator light is now on all "G" sereies machines and Royal 4000 has it.clever little device-a coil of wire wound on a small metal core connected to the LED light.Magnets on the brush roll induce the magetic feild into the coil-causing enough voltage to light the LED. A Miniature generator!
 
The Legend arrived today!

Well the Kirby Legend arrived today...and I'll pick up the Sanitronic on Monday.

I've never had a Kirby before -- these are rather substantial vacuum cleaners indeed! And yup, the motor is definetly different from other vacuums, I like it! It doesn't whine at me!

The LED on the brush is actually quite helpful -- I tried some of the attachments, and yeah, setting up for those is a bit of a pain -- but I definetly like this machine! :-)

I'll post pics when the batteries for the digital camera get a charge.

John
 
Congrats on the Kirbys - you'll love them! I have a G4 that I bought on ebay a while back and took it in to my local Kirby dealer for a tune-up and a polish, on special in June for $60 + parts at 25% off. They called the other day that it's ready and I forgot to pick it up today! They really are one of the best upright vacs I've ever used. Good luck with yours, post some pics when you can.
 
Picked up the Sanitronic today...

..and I'll post pictures soon, I promise -- silly me didn't notice the Kirby badge was missing from the front...grrrrr. But it works nicely. It *IS* cool to hear a little something hit that metal fan ... DING!!!!!! :-)

Greg -- since I confessed on another thread, I guess I better confess here, too. Snooping around ebay some more, I found a G4 with accessories and shampooer for a reasonable (I thought) price. Let me rephrase that -- I was snooping around, and G4 called out saying "Pick Me Pick ME!" Ever the sucker for chrome and gadgetry I did! :-) I also picked up a Service Manual for it.

John
 
I use my Sanitronics more and more-love 'em.Just use another vac to help clean out the bag.If you use the G series machines-they have plastic fans so you have to settle for a "clack" sound as they pick up something hard.You will need the serive book in working on a "G" transmission.Its a nice innovation-but a pain when the Tech-Drive transmission breaks.thats rare-but you have to partially dismantle the transmission to replace the rear wheels-they wear out in time.If the rubber "tread" on them is worn-the wheels need to be replaced.Otherwise thewy won't get traction on carpets.I was able to get factory rebuilt G3,G4 and G5 kirbys from the local Kirby dealer that went out of business.Got 'em for a good price.Too bad she had to go under.They even had new tools still in the cellophane.
 
Congrats on the G4 John, you'll love it. I've had my own janitorial and cleaning service for 12 years and have used just about every vacuum on the market and still think the G4 (or G series) from Kirby is about the best cleaning upright. The tools and array of attachments is impressive, but admittedly kind of a pain to use. Once you make the transformation from upright to attachments, the suction is great, unlike many other "converted" uprights. The Tech-Drive is very responsive and easy to navigate in most homes. There are drawbacks, as with any machine, they are heavy (but made of metal - imagine!) so I use it only at home. I took it in for service and tune-up and brought it home today (pic) and am glad to have it back. I was using an Electrolux Discovery III upright which is a good cleaner, but I didn't feel it got the rugs and carpet as "deep down" clean as the Kirby.

The Kirby dealer here in Omaha is great, they did a great job on my cleaner - it even smells fresh and clean!

When my Sharp Twin Energy falls over dead, I'll probably put the Electrolux in the van to use in houses that don't have vacuums -it's hard to believe, but true! How can you properly run a household not owning a vacuum??
 
Kirby Transmission

You don't need to fear "wearing out" the Kirby Tech drive transmission-they last for many years unlike the transmissions on Hoover Concept ones and so on.The Hoover ones wear out faster and are less responsive than the Kirby ones.I too have seen Kirby "G" machines used commercially and the rear wheel treads wear out before the transmission does.I can agree -the Kirby gets carpets cleaner than ANY clean air vacuum.Any Kirby saleperson will demo this.You may want to keep that Sharp Twin Energy vac-those are now becoming a collectable vac-Sharp no longer builds upright cleaners.They are going to canister vacs and air purifiers.They did build a decent upright for a good price.Knew a dealer that would sell on average 4-6 of them a day!!He would sell the middle priced models-was in the mid-late 90's Gansky:Your Kirby G4 looks beautiful-just like brand new-looks like the one I got from the kirby dealer.also you can use the Kirby "Filtrete" style bags in the G4-better filtration and larger dirt capacity-the design of those bags improves the performance even more!! They are worth the price.
 
When it rains it pours! :-)

Hey all, I know I promised you pics of the vacuum collection. I was hoping to do that today, but got sidetracked. I will get to it soon, I promise! Also, I need to finish the buff job on the Sanitronic, but it's looking really nice. I'm "taking a shine" to the Sanitronic -- it is just the right size and weight -- it's styling is my favorite amongst all the Kirby lineup.

AND...yet another Kirby is on its way -- a Classic with attachments! Woohoo!

By the way, Greg, your G4 is beautiful! I'm going to turn mine over to a local vac shop for the tune up, rather than do it myself. They've been in business since the earth cooled and I plan the G4 to be my primary vac. I've found I have to make a psychological adjustment to the TechDrive. A while back, I had bought a Royal Featherlite. Light it was, so light that I really didn't consider it effective. That's when I bought the Fantom Fury. Well, the G4 gave me the same kind of feeling -- but the gook in the bag says otherwise -- like I said, it's a psychological adjustment. This machine and I will become good friends!

By the way, I saw the TechDrive units, with wheels, for $99 on a website -- unfortunately I didn't save the url, I probably should hunt that down and bookmark it.

I luvs you peoples! It's so nice to have a place talk and shre this kind of stuff without getting strange looks and stares. Many thanks Unimatic -- you vintage washer types are a cool bunch!

Cheers!

John
 
Finally, some promised vac pics...

The Kirby Legend II and G4....with just a wee bit of the Classic off to the left...
 
The Premier Duplex - Before

A few issues. He does run...You can just detect one of the wheels is broken. Also, as much as I like to keep things as original as possible, that power cord leaves a bit to be desired...currently, he's in a million pieces on the floor right now. My plan is to clean and polish everything I can, individual -- as well as grease the bearings as Rick suggested on another thread...this is going to be an enjoyable project :-)
 
I didn't realize that there won't be anymore Sharp uprights, a shop very near me sells many of those models, I wonder what they'll be selling now. One client of mine has had a Sharp for nearly 8 years now with no trouble at all, a very good cleaner that was top-rated in CR the year she bought it.

John, your Dual Sanitronic 50 (1965-67 according to the Kirby chart) came out beautiful! You'll enjoy using it, mine cleans very well.

I have some of the Filtrete bags for the G4 but have not tried them yet. I bought paper bags when I first got the machine, got another paper bag with the recent tune-up so I've not had a chance to chance to use them. I've used them on other machines and have been quite impressed with the performance and added capacity.
 
Nice vacs Jon

Love the red Classics, mines a Classic III with a slightly different handle grip that is just a continuation of the handle going to a point. Not as comfortable as the regular handgrip. I believe mine was also modified to use bags and the sani emptor isn't chrome it's an ugly black plastic (for now). Still I love it and it runs as new. I use the Legend II primarily now, it's a bit lighter and I have no problem with holding it to clean the stairs quickly, still avoid the hose etc..lol.
 
Glad you like :-)

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Greg, I read that about Sharp decamping the upright market. That's a rather bold move, isn't it? At least in the US, I would think that the upright is still the vac of choice -- even though cannister versatility is more appropriate mixed flooring types and other work, not withstanding the push-pull requirements to manuever. You know, push the power head, pull the cannister behind you -- or is that changing?

I love that Sanitronic. He cleaned up quite well, I think -- and I didn't break it down totally. I may do that after I finish the Duplex. I used him to learn about the polishes and such. But that machine is just the right balance between weight and size. It manuevers well, I love the sound of the motor, not to mentioned the curves and such of the design. By the way, the Sanitronic cost me $9.42 cents plus S/H. $9.99 on the auction, less $0.57 in the emtor!

The only thing I don't like about it is that it's almost my age yet looks better. Maybe I should try the drill and buffing wheel with the metal polish on my face -- if it does half of what it did for the Kirby, I'd be a happy man.

Pete, the Legend is what turned me on to the Kirby's. And my Classic is of the brown color -- but I think the red coloring looks better. Mine looks like it should be used by Suzanne Pleshette on "The Bob Newhart Show" with the shag rug rake. However, my opinion may change after it hits the buffing wheel. I think he's going to need some work though, he's rather loud, unlike the others.

It may be awhile before I can try the Filtrete on the G4. The previous owners supplied me with 8 bags, along with a fresh one in the unit. Not to mention an unopened gallon of shampoo, the shampooer unit, all the attachments, and the video. The video is a hoot! During the entire video, the woman never speaks, nor shows any emotion -- unless she's using the massage cup, or turbo sander with the massage pad. Key points about the G4 features are made with a peremptory double tap of her finger! Three fourths of the way through the video, I was fantasizing her being bitchslapped by Jim Dyson.

Time to get back to work on the Duplex!

Cheers!

John
 
John, I really enjoyed the pictures. I have a Dual Sanitronic 50 too. It is my favorite Kirby. Also have a G5 and will soon have a dual 80. The Daul 50 is the only Kirby that had the little Kirby emblem on the light hood which I think is so neat. I agree to that its weight and design makes it a very easy machine to use. What kind of metal polish do you use and what kind of buffer. You did a great job on it. Terry
 
re polishes

I went to a jewelry / lapidary (rock polishing) store and picked up some jewelers rouge and another stick of white polish that you use first then switch to the rouge, but I cannot remember the foreign sounding name of it.. Using both works very well
 
Hiya!

Terry - I used a number of things, LOL -- but most of all a lot of elbow grease! Never-Dull "wad" polish, was one -- I think it's loose cotton with some type of chemical compound. That, and Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish. Basically, I worked it until the feel changed from rough to smooth.

However, I don't consider the Sanitronic to be finished. What I want to do is follow Pete's footsteps and use the compounds and a buffing wheel. I've a cheap drill press that I'm going to employ to replace the elbow grease and speed up the process a bit -- bearing in mind though, that to do the job right, three key ingredients are time, time, and time. Hey Pete, would that "foreign sounding name" be Tripoli compound?

Below is a pic of the motor housing, along with the nozzle belonging to the previously mentioned Premier Duplex. I staged the tool and GE badge to give you an idea of the difference.

The 'Dup is going to be a bit more work than I thought. Looking through the openings in the motor housing, I saw more filth than a XXX-rated porn site. Seeing that, I decided to pull it completely apart. If I want to show this off, I don't want the presentation going down in a blaze of glory complete with flames and smoke.

:-)

Cheers,

John
 
addendum

I didn't make it clear in the above message: I started the process on the Duplex with the Never Dull and Mothers, but am switching over to the compound and buff method, using an electric drill and buffing wheels for power.

John
 
Very nice Kirby machines John! The TechDrive is definitely the smoothest self-propulsion mechanism on any vacuum, IMHO. You sure turned the Dual Sanitronic 50 into a beauty!

And it looks like the Premier is coming along really well...much better than it looked in the eBay pictures! Great work!
 
Upright and canister

The trend in building of homes today (and remodeling) is to get away from the W-W carpet and go to hard floors.Or at best only some rooms in the home are carpeted.This is now declining the need for uprights in the US.That may be why Sharp is phasing out their upright cleaner line.When I did some Tr-Star demos did do a few demos in homes that had the "mixed" flooring-thats where the canisters are very nice.The prospects LOVED that bare floor tool more so than the powernozzle tool.whats was strange is this prospect had a very old simplicity upright vac.She loved how the Tri-Star cleaned her bare floors.She did trade in her old machine.the home I live in is one built in the early 70's when W-W carpet was popular.The carpet is original and with all my vacuums taking a try at it-its now very clean-Dirt meter tests on the Kirby and others show much less dirt in it.When I first moved in-the amount of dirt in the carpet filled 2 paper Royal upright bags.Was trhe very fine grey-black sand we have here.I got a trade in vac from the beach area here-a Sebo-the sand in its bag was white-beach sand.
 
Wow Greg, your G4 really turned out great! Didn't realize yours was the 80th Anniversary Edition either!

One thing I have been meaning to do...take my G5 in to get tuned-up and polished before summer's out, and clean the Rug Renovator attachment. Next time I'm in Houston...
 
filtrete vac bags

Those are taking over by storm!! other vac makers are using them.Riccar,and Miele use them now.All of Mieles new vacs use them.There is a new Miele dealer here and it was fun getting to know him-and try out his machines.He has the full line of Miele machines on display at his store.-including an upright designed for hard floors-the Miele "Art" series vacs.
 
Hi John, I have used Never Dull and Mothers as well and you are so right, it takes lots of elbow grease and it is a very dirty job. Have you ever tried Autosol, it is a polish that you can only get from Kirby. I have heard good things about it but have not tried it yet. I think it might be worth-while to invest in a good buffing wheel. Looks like you are doing a great job on the Premier. Be sure to take some pictures when you are done. Terry
 
Autosol

Terry,
Autosol used to be available from ESSCO and they would get it from Kirby directly. The last time I ordered it, it was subsituted with Flitz, another metal polishing compound. I called ESSCO and they said that was what Kirby had sent them. They seemed to think that Autosol may not availble any longer. However, interested parties can call Kirby directly on their 800 number as inquire to the parts department.
Kirby uses or did use Autosol to polish machines on rebuild. It does a wonderful job and can be used on a myriad of things for polishing. In addition to a lot of elbow grease, make sure you use really old towels and be careful about washing them--------unless you want a silverish, oily ring on the inside of your washer and around the agitator! I speak from learning the hard way.
Charlie
 
Thanks for the information Charlie!! Wouldn't you know when we find a really good product that works that they decide to take it off the market. I must make a call to Kirby and see what they have to say. Also might be good to check local Kirby dealers as they may have some in stock. Terry
 
Flitz

Many of these polishes are similar compounds of petroleum distillates that remove the tarnish. I have a couple of tubes of Flitz and it's no better really than the auto car polishes or Nevr Dull wads. Key really is to have a big polishing and buffing wheels on a bench grinder, but an electric drill is ok, just takes longer. John you were correct, the other stuff I have is called Tripoli, both rouge and tripoli are mild abrasives probably with petroleum distillates and wax in them.
 

Latest posts

Sponsored
UnlistMe
Back
Top