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    Hoover Steamvac: Direct Air or Bypass?

    I think a direct air carpet cleaner/extractor would be aweso Kirby could easily adapt the G-series for wet pickup. Since the handle is swappable, a special "handle" with the clean and dirty reservoirs (dirty routed from fan discharge, clean routed to floor nozzle with a high-pressure pump...
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    canadian model 616 kirby ??

    Question for @collector2 For Canadian Kirby machines, did they assemble the units with parts shipped from Cleveland? Or was the manufacturing process completely independent, with casting and other activities done in-house, without any involvement by Kirby, other than providing the specs? I...
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    Shower thoughts: The G3-Avalir really should be the 4th generation

    Of course the 1CR is a white elephant Its shell and footprint resemble Omega/Legend II but is really a revised D80 internally. Perhaps it should be considered a Gen 2.5? 😂
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    Shower thoughts: The G3-Avalir really should be the 4th generation

    I personally believe the 5xx series should be considered two separate generations - Model C/505-515 (as Gen 1) 516-D80 (as Gen 2), considering the motor shell is significantly different between the 505-515 and 516-D80, as the 505-515's motor shell doubles as the outer shell, while the 515-D80...
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    Kirby Classic III 3CB front bearing difficult to install. ideas?

    Correction: 2cb not 3cb 2cb - Classic 3 3cb - Tradition
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    Kirby Classic III 3CB front bearing difficult to install. ideas?

    Rebuilding a recently acquired 3CB and the old front bearing was a bear to remove. For a while, I thought that it was glued in, but the gluelike crud around the bearing was hardened grease, which I scraped away. The replacement is seemingly impossible to get into the recess. I've tried tapping...
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    The best vacuum ever!

    I think the best Kirby ever would have a 7A motor comparable to the G3/Avalir placed into something resembling the 5xx series. Four row brushroll, HEPA bag, keep the Amodel fan for heavy duty use, 50' 3-wire cord interchangeable with a 30' for residential, heavy-duty wheels, heavy-duty outer...
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    Have one more screw to remove on a Classic-style Kirby fancase and the head is stripped? Try this

    Was disassembling newly-acquired Classic III for cleaning, sanitizing and rebuilding. Stripped one of the three screws on the discharge side of the fancase. I had two options...try to find my screw extractor set, or this: Since all the other screws were removed, the halves of the fan case...
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    Replacing headlight bumper on a kirby?

    This is what works for me I heat up the trim in a bowl of water in the microwave (not boiling). As soon as it is cool enough to handle, I massage the holes around and over the rivets, using my thumb and, if necessary, a small flathead screwdriver. This is so much easier than taking out the old...
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    Does anyone have those days they just want to get done and not fiddle with the vacuum?

    That's the great thing about having a collection Don't want to unwind a cord? Skip the Sanitaires and Convertibles without cord hook releases and use the Kirbys or Royals with it. Don't want to push the vacuum equivalent of a 1970s Cadillac (aka Kirby Classic 1-CR) because you came home after a...
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    Feesbay or Fleabay,

    @huskyvacs Funny you mentioned eBay seller electricvac. I ordered a Kirby 1155 bearing from them and it never showed. I messaged them a month later and their response was along the lines of "well, we shipped it, but we'll send out another one. If the first one arrives, please ship it...
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    Cleaning a motor field/armature with Tide...how do you clean your motors?

    So far I have cleaned three field/armature sets with Tide, obviously with the bearings off as I replace them anyway. In a 5 gallon bucket of very hot water, I add about a teaspoon of Tide. While tide isnt as harsh as a typical solvent based cleaner, I don't go overboard keeping in mind the...
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    Ahhh. remember when......

    "modern" vacs didn't catch my eye that much When I was a kid. Even before, I knew that the kinds of vacuums sold in stores like Walmart or Target weren't as good as my all-time favorite, the Sanitaire commercial upright that the custodian used in my grade school and in most hotels at the time...
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    Unusual amount of vacs at Goodwill.

    I don't think the classics will turn up as much In the after-xmas thrift store dumping. I have a feeling that any old stuff that happens to turn up in a thrift store is almost exclusively what was left over from an estate sale, or perhaps a family has foregone an estate sale altogether and...
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    Unusual amount of vacs at Goodwill.

    My local Walmart had some PowerForce bagged on clearance for $30 several months back. I bought one. They went back up to the usual(?) $59 but for $30 I was interested in how these performed as I've heard from several that they aren't bad machines for the price. Granted they're no Kirby or...
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    Unusual amount of vacs at Goodwill.

    Might be a tidal wave of donations Maybe a whole bunch of people got a new vac for Christmas, so naturally the old one goes. I don't know how fast the timeline is from the time an item is dropped off til the time it lands on the salesfloor, but it seems about the right timeline for a sudden...
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    Field baffle in Kirby 514 - how necessary is it?

    As I was removing the field from the chassis, the baffle was heavily deteriorated and came out in pieces. 5xx baffles don't come up on a search. Do I need this or can I get by without it?
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    Kirby 514 w/ 119078A 505-515 fan...

    Length of spacer and shaft Does anyone happen to know the length of the brass spacer as well as the length of the shaft for 505-515 fan kit (119087A)? I ordered specifically 119087A but wanted to make sure the kit is correct by comparing measurements. The bag it came in was illegible as to the...
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    Kirby 514 w/ 119078A 505-515 fan...

    I'm halfway through with the restoration of a 514. The original metal fan has a chip in one of the blades, so I'm going to see if a machine shop can shave away the rest of the blades to make it more balanced because I'd hate to lose a six blade fan. In the meantime, I have an 119078A Amodel fan...
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    Hoovers Used in Schools Back in the Day

    My school used Sanitaire uprights The whirring of the 7amp Sanitaire "metal" motor, "vrrrrr-gasp" as the custodian pushed the vacuum across the library carpet, then temporarily let it up to break the suction, signified the end of the school day. He started in the library at 2:40. By 3, we were...
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