opelgtkarl
Well-known member
Can someone please post some pictures of Bison vacuums?
Bisons?????
- Thread starter opelgtkarl
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compactelectra
Well-known member
Here's One
Found brand new in the box. A Centurion. A beast!
Found brand new in the box. A Centurion. A beast!
impressive!
These look kind of "kirby-esque" but with a touch of Star Wars helmets to me.
Rumor has it that they need no belt lifter for the power heads. How does it work then? I can see belts on the brush rolls, slightly off-center. Is Bison an independent company or are they in a manufacturer's merger pool like so many others?
Would love to have one, they were never in Europe.
These look kind of "kirby-esque" but with a touch of Star Wars helmets to me.
Rumor has it that they need no belt lifter for the power heads. How does it work then? I can see belts on the brush rolls, slightly off-center. Is Bison an independent company or are they in a manufacturer's merger pool like so many others?
Would love to have one, they were never in Europe.
djtaylor
Well-known member
The Beltless Bison
I understand that the Bison was belt less. The brush roller was driven by gears. I was also told that the gears were prone to break, were very loud and the company had many complaints. However, the idea was good. You could push a leaver on the side with your foot and disconnect the nozzle from the motor unit. I believe that the designer of the Bison had worked for Kirby, had the idea for the belt-less design but Kirby did not want to use it, so he started his own company. My former boss told me that a lot of Kirby salesmen went to Bison. Someone once told me that he had converted a Bison to use Kirby belts, but I don't know how well that worked.
Weather it was a good design or not I'd love to have one. It's certainly a one-of-a-kind vac.
I understand that the Bison was belt less. The brush roller was driven by gears. I was also told that the gears were prone to break, were very loud and the company had many complaints. However, the idea was good. You could push a leaver on the side with your foot and disconnect the nozzle from the motor unit. I believe that the designer of the Bison had worked for Kirby, had the idea for the belt-less design but Kirby did not want to use it, so he started his own company. My former boss told me that a lot of Kirby salesmen went to Bison. Someone once told me that he had converted a Bison to use Kirby belts, but I don't know how well that worked.
Weather it was a good design or not I'd love to have one. It's certainly a one-of-a-kind vac.
electrolux~137
Well-known member
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- Jul 23, 2009
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Here's a link to my Bison on YouTube.
electrolux~137
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And here are some photos of my Bison.
It really is an ugly thing, isn't it.
It really is an ugly thing, isn't it.
the Bison is Ugly-but BEAUTIFUL too.would love to have the green one and the brown one(Mark3,Centurion).the plastic motor housing looks fragile though,how many housings out there are cracked or broken?
heres mine.....
i always thought these were UGLY as sin!!!...i have to admit though the green with the chrome is sightly more attractive...
now..i have a question....Freds brown bison is exactly like mine...but Joes has the same body and color scheme but a sightly different bag style....the pattern is different and it looks a lot stiffer than the bag Fred and i have...was that the only difference between those two machines?
Jason
i always thought these were UGLY as sin!!!...i have to admit though the green with the chrome is sightly more attractive...
now..i have a question....Freds brown bison is exactly like mine...but Joes has the same body and color scheme but a sightly different bag style....the pattern is different and it looks a lot stiffer than the bag Fred and i have...was that the only difference between those two machines?
Jason
thunderhexed
Well-known member
one of my dream machines..
I have been looking for one of these for years... still have yet to locate one..
I have been looking for one of these for years... still have yet to locate one..
kirbyeureka95
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- Jul 27, 2010
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- 294
2 questions...
1. can someone post a picture with the nozzle removed please?
2. isnt the geared belt drive what weve seen in the new kirby copyright plans?
1. can someone post a picture with the nozzle removed please?
2. isnt the geared belt drive what weve seen in the new kirby copyright plans?
ugly? not ugly!
I find them more attractive than any Kirby (facewise, that is) - but then again I do like all kinds of kinky masks and mirrored visors as well (talking about sinister looks *g*
)) I think a grumbling Zylon face would become my collection perfectly.
Kirby vacs look too innocent, almost "vanilla" *duck and run*
But yes please, a pic of the coupler would be nice. Is it running in the dust air stream? Could this have caused trouble to the gear wheels?
Or was it in some extra tunnel so the dirt would fly by sideways without too much clogging the toothed sprockets? Just wondering.
I find them more attractive than any Kirby (facewise, that is) - but then again I do like all kinds of kinky masks and mirrored visors as well (talking about sinister looks *g*
)) I think a grumbling Zylon face would become my collection perfectly.Kirby vacs look too innocent, almost "vanilla" *duck and run*
But yes please, a pic of the coupler would be nice. Is it running in the dust air stream? Could this have caused trouble to the gear wheels?
Or was it in some extra tunnel so the dirt would fly by sideways without too much clogging the toothed sprockets? Just wondering.
electrolux~137
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2009
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There is a principle in architecture known as the "golden ratio" or "golden mean."
Basically, this principle states that there is a certain mathematical relationship between the width and height of an object that appears "aesthetically pleasing" to the eye.
Architects and industrial designers have striven to proportion their works in accordance with the Golden Ratio at least since the Renaissance era.
Granted, this does apply more to buildings and structures than to industrial design, but the same general aesthetic principles do follow.
If you were to examine a given object and it seems to be innately attractive to you, the likelihood is great that its design is proportioned in accord with the Golden Ratio.
The 516-D80 and Classic series Kirbys, I believe, more follow the Golden Ratio than any other Kirby models. The proportions of the motor housings not only are perfectly balanced, ratio-wise, but also beautifully designed.
Then you have the Bison.
Its design from nearly every angle flies in the face of the golden ratio, especially from this perspective:
The lines of the body are jangled, disproportionate, angles oddly jutting out in visual dissonance. It looks klunky and disorganized. And indeed, it is. The inventor of the Bison may have had some good ideas but he had no concept whatsoever of pleasing industrial design and the golden ratio!
See link for more info if you're interested.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio
Basically, this principle states that there is a certain mathematical relationship between the width and height of an object that appears "aesthetically pleasing" to the eye.
Architects and industrial designers have striven to proportion their works in accordance with the Golden Ratio at least since the Renaissance era.
Granted, this does apply more to buildings and structures than to industrial design, but the same general aesthetic principles do follow.
If you were to examine a given object and it seems to be innately attractive to you, the likelihood is great that its design is proportioned in accord with the Golden Ratio.
The 516-D80 and Classic series Kirbys, I believe, more follow the Golden Ratio than any other Kirby models. The proportions of the motor housings not only are perfectly balanced, ratio-wise, but also beautifully designed.
Then you have the Bison.
Its design from nearly every angle flies in the face of the golden ratio, especially from this perspective:
The lines of the body are jangled, disproportionate, angles oddly jutting out in visual dissonance. It looks klunky and disorganized. And indeed, it is. The inventor of the Bison may have had some good ideas but he had no concept whatsoever of pleasing industrial design and the golden ratio!
See link for more info if you're interested.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio
The difference...
Between a Bison and Kirby, beside the fact that the Bison is basically a backwards copy...is that the Bison, when operating properly will clean RINGS around even the newest Kirbys,they are so powerful it is almost unbelieveable!
Between a Bison and Kirby, beside the fact that the Bison is basically a backwards copy...is that the Bison, when operating properly will clean RINGS around even the newest Kirbys,they are so powerful it is almost unbelieveable!
electrolux~137
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2009
- Messages
- 2,950
@Hans - I didn't know that -- I've never actually used mine for cleaning, just pushing it around my (former) workshop. Glad to know it has SOME redeeming qualities, hahaha!
How about the straight suction through the hose?
How about the straight suction through the hose?
Adjustable Speed by Dial
What made the Bisons unique was the ability to adjust the speed with a dial.
Some Hoover Turbomasters in the UK had adjustable speeds, too, including this example (on which you must push a button several times) in the link I'll give you.
What made the Bisons unique was the ability to adjust the speed with a dial.
Some Hoover Turbomasters in the UK had adjustable speeds, too, including this example (on which you must push a button several times) in the link I'll give you.
bisonian
Well-known member
NOT beltless, NOT geared
Folks, the Bison was NOT beltless, and was NOT geared. What it did have was a separate shaft for the motor and the nozzle. Unlike a Kirby, the motor shaft doesn't extend out of the housing when the floor nozzle is taken off, so the belt doesn't go directly onto the motor shaft.
A matching shaft on the nozzle fits INTO the motor shaft. The whole apparatus fits together like a socket and socket wrench. When you put the nozzle on the machine, the nozzle shaft fits into a square opening in the motor shaft. (Think of the nozzle shaft as the wrench and the motor shaft as the socket.)
The nozzle shaft has a conventional belt that drives the brush. That plate on the front of the nozzle covers the belt opening. As a matter of fact, Kirby belts work fine on them.
My understanding is that the square opening in the motor shaft would eventually become rounded from an improper fit, and would no longer turn the nozzle shaft. But no, there were no gears, in the airstream or otherwise.
Incidentally, the Bisons were made here in Ocala, Fla. The former plant is now the welcome center for the E-One fire truck factory.
Hope this helps clarify things.
Rick C.
Folks, the Bison was NOT beltless, and was NOT geared. What it did have was a separate shaft for the motor and the nozzle. Unlike a Kirby, the motor shaft doesn't extend out of the housing when the floor nozzle is taken off, so the belt doesn't go directly onto the motor shaft.
A matching shaft on the nozzle fits INTO the motor shaft. The whole apparatus fits together like a socket and socket wrench. When you put the nozzle on the machine, the nozzle shaft fits into a square opening in the motor shaft. (Think of the nozzle shaft as the wrench and the motor shaft as the socket.)
The nozzle shaft has a conventional belt that drives the brush. That plate on the front of the nozzle covers the belt opening. As a matter of fact, Kirby belts work fine on them.
My understanding is that the square opening in the motor shaft would eventually become rounded from an improper fit, and would no longer turn the nozzle shaft. But no, there were no gears, in the airstream or otherwise.
Incidentally, the Bisons were made here in Ocala, Fla. The former plant is now the welcome center for the E-One fire truck factory.
Hope this helps clarify things.
Rick C.
