Vacuum find

[DADoES]

 
RJ found a Kirby Sentria yesterday (Sun) sitting beside the dumpster at work.  The micron/HEPA dust bag is full but the unit otherwise is near-new condition.  The brush roll looks new, has no wear/dirt/discoloration.  No attachments were found unless they were buried under something in the dumpster.  I've never had much affinity for Kirbys but it's a spiffy find.

 

[thespiritof76]

Wow! good find!

People sometimes throw good vacuums away for the silliest reasons. Obviously in this instance its not age, but most of the time it is. I have found machines like that in the trash for no better reason BUT the bag was full, or the belt needed changed, so the people in question thought their new vacuum had already "died". I have many collection pieces that came from the trash, that were in good condition, but just needed a basic service and clean up.
What a very Merry Christmas gift! In fact, I would consider this a Christmas Miracle!

 

[askolover]

Love my Kirbys!  Last week though, I broke down and bought one of those Shark HV300 machines at Walmart for Tony because he says he can't handle the Kirby anymore due to its weight and his injury.  It's great for between times when I can't get to the floors and it's light enough for him to use.  But it ain't no Kirby!

 

[iowabear]

I have only used a Kirby of the 1970s when I was a kid - my mother's cousin had one.  It was super-heavy, super-loud...it felt like and looked like something from the 1940s!

 

We had one of those orange self-propelled Hoover "Dial-a-Matic" vacuums at home.  I never complained about it again once I used the Kirby.

 

[kate1]

My brother in law was given a nearly brand new, top of the line Kirby because the original owner, after using it for a year and a half, said it no longer sucked anything up. Well he brought it home only to find a bag that was stuffed to its gills and once he swapped it out for a fresh one, it worked perfectly. He even called the lady to tell her the vacuum was fine and that she could have it back but she declined, saying she had already replaced it with a Shark and was much happier with that. I see so many Kirby’s and other bagged vacuums at thrift stores, I really don’t need anything in addition to my Miele canister (thought I’ve been tempted to get a Miele stick vac for the basement) but if I was going to get an upright, I’d get a Kirby. My parents had a Kirby, another purchase my dad made before meeting my mother during the early 80s, and an Electrolux canister that my mom inherited from her parents when she left their house and they really liked having both. The Electrolux is still in use at my dad’s office and showroom at his wood shop and my aunt was given the Kirby which she still uses everyday.

 

[mattl]

I've got 4 or 5 Kirby's around the house.  One on each floor and a couple of extras.  It's the only vac I use.  Love the power drive, make vacuuming almost effortless.  Got them all at GW and have a couple of sets of attachments.  One was totally complete including the original receipt so if I ever want to get it renewed I have POP.

 

 

[askolover]

Yeah, after I bought my G5 and fell in love with the self-propulsion, I bought my mother a G3 from a vac shop.  She loves it for their carpets but she never puts the hose on for bare floors...uses a stick for that.  My old Tradition isn't difficult to push around when it's powered on.  To me it has better suction than the G5.

 

[ultralux88]

My suspicion is that people don’t like their current machine, for whatever reason, so when something goes wrong, regardless of how simple, they just get all excited and use it as an excuse to replace the machine. Something like a Kirby, while appealing to us collectors, is bulky, heavy, and difficult to use compared to other options with ready to use tools mounted to the machine, and a much lower profile to fit under furniture and such. I can completely understand, it’s like the only inkjet printed I ever bought, i print infrequently enough that the ink would be wasted by the constant self cleaning it did on a daily basis. It became an expensive pain in my ass, so one day I found it unresponsive on the desk, and I jumped for joy as I chucked it in the trash and ordered up a nice color laser all in one, almost 11 years later and I’m still on the same toner cartridges! No more ink cartridge changes every 3 uses!

 

[superocd]

Who would DARE throw such a fine machine away like that?

These are NOT $49 Walmart specials! I think of Kirby as an heirloom appliance, something that stands the test of time and gets passed on from generation to generation, and if it does break, it gets fixed. Society is so wasteful!

 

[ultralux88]

I don't think this way about a Kirby, but like I said, I understand what the customer is thinking, and I've felt that way about other things myself, like the printer. To the customer, the Kirby is just another vacuum. They don't necessarily understand what makes a good vacuum, or why a more expensive one can be better than the cheap ones. I can't comprehend throwing the Kirby out, or why someone doesn't see how a central vac works so well. But I also can't comprehend using a Shark either, Among many complaints I find cleaning that screen in the dirt cup to be disgusting and unpleasant when I have to do it while servicing a customer's machine... I'd so much rather take out a bag and just throw it all out without touching a thing!

 

[dartman]

I have the Royal/Starks version of a Kirby and it's lighter and still cleans and grooms the carpet like a beast. I also have their 4650 canister with the later power head and a older 413 power tank, plus a Compact C9 Canister my mom bought new and gave me recently. I mostly use the 5700 upright and lately the Compact for quick spot cleaning because it's small and light with a new motor and the powerhead is smaller but still fluffs the carpet nicely. I think the upright and the 4650 are about equal to each other but yes the extra easy to use tools are great and it does everything well with adjustable motor speed and brush shut off when needed.
There are so many older metal machines that really do a great job, last forever, and are easy to fix you have lots of choices that would make you happy, sometimes dirt cheap. I found the 5700 on Craigslist free and got lucky and the 4650 was 25 bucks needing a new hose but working.

 

[askolover]

I've always wanted to try one of the metal Royal uprights.  Have a Royal Prince I bought in 1987 for my car.  We just don't see Royals on CL around here like we do Kirbys.