American-Lincoln Super-Sweep/Super-Vac 180 Thoughts

[kirbyclassiciii]

The American-Lincoln Super-Sweep and the nearly-identical Super-Vac 180, would seem to have had poor suction distribution.

As is the case with most Kirby Heritage/Legend users favoring the rarer 13" nozzle over the standard 16" nozzle for all the obvious reasons; the same logic would mean that the 18" super-wide path of the Super-Sweep/Super-Vac did no favors for the by-then antiquated 4 amp motor whose first use was in the model 513, and neither was the single-bristle brush roll which unlike the Kirby Heritage and COMVAC lines, was not upgraded to the double-bristle type those machines bore. Even the 10-blade metal fan, something we Kirby fans actually prefer over the Lexan and later plastic fans, remained intact in the A-L model until the series was discontinued in 1984.

I theorize this may be why the Super-Sweep had fallen out of favor among janitorial firms in the years after 1983, preferring such competitive models like the Eureka C2770 (and the similar Sanitaire SC899) and the Hoover Conquest 18" U7071. Royal's first super-wide commercial metal upright, the model 618 (the model 620 was similar, but with a headlight), first appeared in 1984 (the same year Scott Fetzer sold off American-Lincoln). It was the super-wide vacuum that the Super-Sweep had longed to be, with a larger 6 amp motor and a double-bristle brush roll (which didn't reach the standard 13" wide models until 1986-87).

~Ben

 

[super-sweeper]

As long as you're not trying to vacuum up giant chunks of crud at the ends of the nozzle, the suction should be adequate for vacuuming. Remember that when properly sealed to the carpet, suction should spread evenly throughout the nozzle, but will still be strongest in the center. 

 

[ultralux88]

They intentionally made the 16in nozzle on these to discourage household customers from buying them over a Kirby. The SuperVac and the others sharing its castings were sold thru vac shops, and intended strictly for the commercial market, now nothing was stopping a dealer from saying something to the effect of "Well, we have this machine made by Kirby that costs less from us..." so Kirby in an effort to protect their dealers from losing sales over this decided that making the nozzle much wider would discourage home use while remaining ideal for commercial use.

 

[kirby519]

And yet it didn't catch on in the commercial market. I did see one when I was in High school It sat in the corner of the library office.(It was badged as a Janitronic with a painted housing the Soroco tan color) I never did see it in use at any time. And after a remodel of the school never saw the vacuum again. (Early 80's) The middle school that I went to had the Domestic Kirby classic. It too was in the closet of the library. I did how ever use that one.

The down side to the commercial version was that it didn't perform any better or was it any easier to use than the original domestic version. Hence it never caught on. I have seen many Domestic Kirby's in use in any number of facilities over the years. There was a Dual 50 Kirby at the Palace Hotel in Cripple Creek colorado in the mid 70's