my new toy

[hoover1060]

Ok, I'll admit to being a semi-closeted Kirby fan, not much for the old series, have always liked the Classic series(2 Aunts got new Kirbys when I was a kid, one an Omega, the other a Classic III)
About a month ago my roomate Kevin told me about a friend of his who was moving and wanted to know if I would be interested in his "old kirby"(exact words) Seems the friend couldn't find belts for it anymore, and the beast was just too heavy to lug around.
The price was $100, which I didn't think was too bad.
This morning Kev informed me the Kirby was downstairs and to go have a look....
My jaw hit the floor at what my $100 had bought, and so tonight I gave it a preliminary scrubbing and got the poor thing running.
The friend had bought the Kirby new, and it seems never quite grasped the concept of being a Kirby owner. OY!
Pic in next post...

 

[hoover1060]

Here she is...

I never expected it to be a G-series, but WOW a G6-2000, complete with everything down to the turbo sander!
The cleaner was a mess, its had paint or something splattered all over it(well its something hot water and Mr Clean & Ammonia won't remove) the brush had about 8 miles of string & hair wrapped around it, and it was installed backwards. The fan looks ok, and once I scrubbed it some and wiped it off it looks much better.
So I gave it a road test: First in Hooverland, where the carpeting is berber and beater bars can be heard, then upstairs in the living room on my 1/2 inch thick plush.
On the berber the self propel is jerky and harsh. With the drive turned off, its pretty smooth and more maneuverable.
Upstairs on the plush the drive is great, the beast glides across the rug, and it leaves a nice "track" Its not noisy or screechy sounding either, and the cord is a decent length. Definately a keeper!
I think though it will go to the local Kirby dealer for a spa treatment(read overhaul) The poor thing has had a rough life, and needs some TLC!
Here's the pic after one scrubbing

 

[hoover1060]

one more pic

Here's everything... even the owners manual video has never been opened!

 

[westytoploader]

Congratulations!

Wow, a GSix, very nice! And the Turbo Accessory package too...somewhat hard to find! Looks good already! I heard "Old Kirby" and I thought you paid $100 for a Classic III that had been "rode hard"...whew!

I definitely need to find time to take my G5 in for a polish/tune-up as well!

 

[hoover1060]

Thanks Austin!

All I knew aside from "old Kirby" was it was black. I had thought G6, but figured it was probably a Heritage II.
I've never had a G series to play with, so this will be fun, it just needs LOTS of work to get looking as nice as your G5!

 

[tolivac]

Super Bargain-$100 is a super price for a G6.Very nice vac. Have a couple in my collection.1st of the "NASA" redesigned machines-they changed the Mini-Emptor -domed top versus flat top on the G5 and earlier models. also redesigned the fan.The trailing edges of the blades are lower to help prevent breakage.And it came with the boxes and doco-super buy !!!

 

[tlee618]

Great vacuum Jeff, it really doesn't look that bad in the picture but I think your idea of a trip to the "spa" is a good one. I have the G5 which I bought new during a very weak moment,LOL and I do enjoy using it from time to time. I have found that if you move the head up one notch when the "jerking" starts on flat surface carpets that this really helps with that problem. Did you also get the famous "Rug Renovator"? Terry

 

[scott55405]

Wow, can't beat that for $100. These aren't half bad cleaners to use. Enjoy!

 

[petek]

Looks great

Have not seen that one before. BTW what is it with paint and vacs. I had some on one of my traditions , the connie, and the now sold Rainbow.

 

[jdinstl]

*****FAINT****THUD******

jdinstl faints dead away at the site of the $100 G6

I'm floored -- just run it over me, would you? WOW! Beautiful machine, and it's great to see it find a home that will respect it for what it is!

As you know, I'm a total fan of the Kirby's -- just love 'em. "Beast" is a very good word to describe them! But think of the muscle toning you'll get lugging it around.

There's a dent in the desk here where my jaw hit it -- when you said "old Kirby" and "$100" I was expecting the same as the others -- then to see this beauty.

Way to go!

John

 

[jdinstl]

Ooooh....Terry, good point!

Good point about the nozzle setting on the Kirby. I have a very low pile carpet, and found popping the nozzle up a notch did the trick. I do what Kirby suggests in the video, raise the nozzle completely, then notch it down until the motor just changes pitch. Also, I keep an eye on the brush roll diode. Austin, you've praised the TechDrive of these machines, and I agree with you wholeheartedly -- literally no resistance felt when using the machine with the TechDrive in "D" -- though your endorsement is better than mine, as my G4 is the only self-propelled vac I've owned...(I don't count the G3 because it's still en route) and it will be taken away from me only after prying my cold dead fingers away from it...

John

 

[hoover1060]

update

The Gsix is comeplete with hose, tools, rug renovator, and the turbo sander. Everything's been used except for the sander, but not super beat up.
The vacuum itself was a bit of a mess, at some point it had been used on wet carpeting, so the inside of the nozzle and fan chamber were kinda coated.
I've no clue how to take one of these apart....SOOOOOO....
This morning I dropped it off at the Kirby Company of Addison for an overhaul. This Kirby dealer has been there for over 45 years, and its where I bought my Heritage II brand new back in 1987.
So I'll probably have $200 in this thing once the overhaul is done, still not bad for a 5 year old Kirby!

 

[gansky1]

Excellent deal you have there - I love the colors!

 

[petek]

It's easy to become a convert to Kirby

I used to look at them and think,, who in their right mind would first of all spend that amount of money on a vacuum cleaner, still do actually, but when you can find any model in good condition and working properly for cheap they are excellent machines and not as clunky to manouever as you would believe from looking at them. Plus that sound they make is wonderful.
On another note,, seeing as I had drug out the Connies the other day I used the blue one early this morning to clean up a whole mess of bird feathers, the birds are molting right now, and it struck me, this thing is one of if not the quietest vacs there is, you can carry on a conversation right there with it running and you don't have to shout or talk loudly.

If you're really bored you can remove the handle and bag/emptor from your traditions and classics and you now have what looks to be a fun toy airplane to roll around on the carpet. don't ask how I know this.

 

[tolivac]

I always thought the bagless and handleless Kirbys were space vehicles!If you put the bag back on and the portable handle-You then have the spece Vehicle mattress and stair cleaner.Most powerful "Hand" vac out there.the Kirby's Quietness is due to its relativly slow turning motor and large suction fan.For its fan to work the motor doesn't have to spin it at higher speeds causing the ear splitting jet engine noise.The Kirby gets its cleaning power from its CFM-cubic Feet Per minute of air moved.moves more air than any other household portable vacuum.The "Biard" guage some kirby salesmen use is a pretty good comparison.The device is relative-doesn't give a "CFM" reading-it just tells you one vac under test moves more air than another.
On the "Nozzle Jumping" that baffled the Kirby saleswoman in my area.Yes-it does mean the nozzle is too close to the floor.It develops "sealed suction"than is broken when the Kirby is moved and does it again.The "Hopping" effect.If you follow the suggestions in the instructions and the training video-no "hopping" I don't know what it is about upright vacs-most people don't know how to adjust them-they ALWAYS set the nozzle to the lowest height to the floor. than they wonder why the belts don't last,roller brushes don't last-and the they say"I have it set all the way down and it still won't pick up"that is the trouble-no airflow-and the atmosphere will only push the nozzle harder to the ground.I can set a Royal upright(Classic) with a 10A motor and you have to use full strengh and your weight to even barely move it!!most of the uprights I would get in trade would have their nozzles set all the way down.This was with Kirbys,Hoovers and one metal Royal.