Wow. Kirby and Flair

[panthera]

What an interesting weekend. Got the doors balanced on the 1963/4 Custom Imperial Flair. Got the burner control ordered for the missing one - and it's still in production!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Or, at least, still available as a current product, not NOS.

Lots of cleaning and re-lettering to do, still - but she works.

 

And, for the princely sum of $4.00 (FOUR SMACKAROONIES!) I picked up, in perfect condition, a Kirby Ultimate G Diamond Edition.

 

Seriously. Last day of a garage sale. Bought it from a child. Asked to see her mom or dad when she told me $4.00. Figured she was off by a factor of ten or one-hundred. But, no - this was the end, they were leaving town after the eclipse and everything that hadn't sold was going to Goodwill.

 

Wow! Woo-hee!

 

This was the Kirby which had the best (still) filtration, the two-speed motor selection button, the 'improved' brushrole/head (yeah, jury's still out on that one in my book) and the genuinely improved (not that that would have been the least bit difficult) transmission which no longer does the bump and grind over stuff like Berbers and low-pile wool.

 

Totally impressed. Almost as good a vacuum as the Dual Sanatronic 50/80, in my humble opinion. Maybe as good (pert near) as the 51 we have.

 

Wow.

 

[askolover]

I have a G5

And wouldn't trade it for anything.  I bought my mother one too.  Also have an old blue Tradition that I restored and polished a few years ago (it cleans better) but doesn't have self propulsion.  I've always wanted to try a Royal side by side with a Kirby.

 

[panthera]

I have tried royal and kirby

side by side and it's very hard to say one is 'better' than the other. The Kirby gets more in any single pass, the Royal makes a bigger, more dramatic scene. In truth, though - any 1950s Royal, Kirby, Hoover Model 65 will clean rings around a Dyson or any of the other cheap plastic trash on the market today. Goodness, even the humble Hoover/Guardsman 'A' fill models made today with HEPA will outclean them. There is just no way around it - having the suction on one side of the nozzle instead of full airflow across the entire surface makes too big of a difference to be overcome. Goodness, that was the Dial-A-Matic's greatest weakness, despite one of the best motors ever.

 

[panthera]

Tradition/Heritage better cleaning

There are actual tests backing up that statement, too. I agree, Kirby really hit all the targets with those. I'm not in love with self drive, though this one I was just given for $4 sure makes a strong argument.

 

[mattl]

Kirby is my "go to" for clean.  I've got a number of them, keep one on each floor, pain to carry them up and down stairs.  I've got an Omega I use when I'm dealing with new carpet, the bag fills quickly with lint and fiber and is easy to deal with as it's not a disposable bag- that would require 3, 4 or 5 expensive bags.  G5 is my current unit, got it at GW for $40 with every attachment, video and original receipt.  I have a sad G5 that has been put through who knows what that I have been using at the house I'm flipping, it does a good job just looks terrible- needs a good polishing.

 

Got a small collection of Dial-a- Matics a couple with power drive, one I bought just so I'd know what size belt to get for the other power drive that was missing the belt.

 

Have one question regarding Kirby's - sort of..  Bought a box of attachments a while back, have never used them as they smell musty.  Any idea how to remove the odor from things and especially the hose, it kind of reeks.

 

[tolivac]

Mention this a lot on the neighboring vacuum forum-for the most part my Kirbys are the go to vacuum cleaner-best yet for WW carpets.Royals are a close second.BOTH are GREAT machines.The Royal and Kirby-not so good as "canisters"ANY canister will outdo them for hose and attachment work.One time made a "monster" vac by using my Kirby Avalir as a "powernozzle" with my MD central vac unit!AWSOME!!!Its cumbersome-but does work.I have a couple of Dysons in my collection----they came from the Kirby trade in pile in the salesmans van.The Kirbys-any of them will outdo the Dyson and last longer!Same with Royal.One of my Dysons REEKED of doggy smell-had to take it all apart and run the parts thru the dishwasher to get rid of the smell.The plastic absorbs it-and the cyclones get caked with doggy oils.

 

[askolover]

If the hose is plastic/rubber I'd just squirt some 409 or Lysol in it, add some water and swish it around.  Then rinse and hang outside to drain and dry.  I have a friend who used to stick everything in an old dishwasher!  I have an old shake out bag from my Tradition that I need to clean out.  I switched it to disposable after I got it because of the HEPA bags.

 

[panthera]

A thorough cleaning usually kills the musty odor

And hot water down the hose does it, too. Unbelievable how much icky stuff come out.

Dry it using the blower part of the vacuum.

I put attachments in the dishwasher after making absolutely sure the heat is off. We use 125F water at the tap, so that's plenty.

 

[turquoisedude]

$4??  Wow, that has to be the deal of the century!  And better still, you saved it from going to the Goodwill...  

 

Kirby vacuums are not often seen up here - may it serve you well and for many years!!

 

[panthera]

Thanks Paul!

I know a retired Kirby salesman here. An honest one, because, let's face it - they did not all have the best reputation.

Kirby could easily have gone down the same path as Hoover or Dyson - good vacuums crippled by poor marketing decisions or awfully cheap plastic. Instead, they've managed to play in the big leagues while avoiding the crazy cat lady status of our Rainbow vacuums or the outrageously overpriced Filter Queens we like and use every day.

Still, they've had their share of problems, ones that are unacceptable in a machine in this price class.

The breaking plastic handles throughout the 'G' series.

The unpardonable clunkiness of a transmission which could easily serve a Peterbilt truck for 300,000 miles under load...but until the G5 couldn't move across a low-pile wool carpet without gnashing it's teeth and jumping, skipping and bouncing.

Self-destructing fans for far too many years after the problems with that plastic were known. Stuff like that.

Far too, too, exceedingly too heavy.

 

Still and all, they beat Dyson in every conceivable test, including the HEPA nonsense. They last forever. I wish they'd do one the size of the Model 51 through Sanitare line again. I guess they figure there's no need as the factory will provide a perfectly restored unit of any era.

 

[ken]

This talk of Kirby vacs

has me interested now. Im not familiar with any vintage vacs. What model/age Kirby's would these be? [this post was last edited: 8/22/2017-11:53]

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https

 

[dermacie]

I have two Kirbys a G6 and a dual sanitronic 50. I use them both quite often.

 

[johnb300m]

kirby

 

[askolover]

The red one is a Classic III and was made from 1976 to 1979 when they changed to my blue Tradition.

The brown one is either a Classic 1970 or Classic Omega 1973

source:  Kirby website

[this post was last edited: 8/23/2017-03:27]

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www.kirby.com

 

[askolover]

pics

Here are a few....there were more early 2C, 3C, and 4C as well as 500 series models listed but no pics.

1.  Model 1C from 1934-1937

2.  Model 505 from 1945-1946

3.  Model 510 from 1950-1951

4.  Model 516 from 1956-1957

5.  Dual Sanitronic 50 from 1965-1967

6.  Dual Sanitronic 80 from 1967-1970

7.  Classic from 1970-1973

8.  Classic Omega from 1973-1976

9.  Classic III from 1976-1979

10.  Tradition from 1979-1984

11.  Heritage I from 1981-1984

12.  Heritage II 1984-1987

      No Picture of Legend from 1987-1989

13.  Legend II from 1989-1990

14.  G3 from 1990-1993

15.  G4 from 1993-1997

16. G5 from 1997-1999

17. GSix from 1999-2002

18. Ultimate G from 2002-2003

19. Diamond Edition from 2003-2006

20. Sentria from 2006-2012

 

[this post was last edited: 8/23/2017-04:54]

 

[askolover]

continued

1. Sentria II from 2012-2015

2. Avalir 2015-current

 

[ken]

Thanks for the pics. Now I want one. How is the performance of the models from 40s-50s?

 

[panthera]

That was cool, thanks!

One of the neat things about these is how well they work. I still think the 510/516 era was the prettiest of the modern Kirby's.

 

[dermacie]

I have owned three of them (currently have 2) and I feel that their cleaning abilty has never changed. I feel they are the best vacuum you can buy. My dc50 is 50 years old and cleans just as well as my G6.