A two-Kirby job...

[human]

I came to the realization that my bedroom was in dire need of vacuuming and I had a couple of Kirbys I hadn't had occasion to put through their paces so I picked my Classic III with its Legend II bag conversion to start out with. It was a bit frustrating because I just couldn't find a 'sweet spot' with the height adjustment. It was either two low down and the machine could hardly be moved, but one click higher was too high up and it wasn't picking anything up. Frustrated, I wound up the cord and went back out in the hallway and grabbed my Heritage 84 that had just been returned to service last week, albeit with a Heritage II mini-emtor and fill tube assembly on its orange bag.

I wouldn't have thought it possible but the difference between the two machines was night and day. The Heritage honestly felt almost like a G-series machine with the Tech Drive engaged. I was able to dial in the height on the first try so that pushing it was almost effortless and it picked up dirt a whole lot better, both on the realtor beige wall-to-wall carpet and the Persian rug at the foot of the bed. I'd love to know what's causing the Classic III to bog down like that. I don't think the bag setup had anything to do with it as I experienced the same thing when I tested it with the original dump bag when I first got it.

I will say that the full size floor nozzles on both machines were absolute overkill for the tight spaces in that room and made the machines difficult to handle. I'd love to try a 13-inch nozzle in that space. That said, based on the machines I've used in there, the ideal seems to be an Electrolux upright, prefereably with a PN2 or PN4/4A power nozzle with a Discovery II style upright as a close second.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

human

Edgar,

About your Classic III: I think the bristles need to be re-adjusted to at least 1/8" out the rug plate, or that your belt needs to be changed. If your Classic III has the new-style ball-bearing brush roll, you can use part no. 301291 (inside tread).

~Ben

 

[human]

Thanks Ben. That makes good sense and sounds like an easy fix. The belt was entirely missing when I got it last summer so I replaced it with a smooth one. I've also got plenty of knurled ones so I could easily swap that out. I'll check the bristles and see what they look like and try to determine which type brush roll it has.

 

[human]

Problem solved...

I just took a look at the Classic III and the brush roll was totally out of whack. It was actually in there completely backward—flipped left to right and with the screw heads pointing up instead of down. The bristles were recessed about 1/8 inch inside the sole plate instead of extending beyond them. I flipped it back the way it's supposed to be, adjusted the screws and gave it a quick try. It's much better now. The brush roll appears to be identical to what's in the Heritage 84, although the bristles are a bit more worn, so I'm assuming it has ball bearings and thus can take a knurled belt, which I may swap onto it tomorrow. I may also have to dig out my spare Heritage/Legend brush roll and see how it compares with what's on there.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

human

Edgar,

I'm glad you took another look at the brush roll assembly and corrected the error of who installed it last. Yes, the heads of the two adjustment screws on both ends of the brush roll need to face at you when looking through the rug plate, so you can adjust them when needed.

~Ben