Do My Airflow Measurements on the Kirby Avalir 2 Make Sense.

[vacuumwars]

I bought a slightly used Avalir 2 off Ebay. It seems to be great after inspection but I am wondering if these airflow numbers line up with what is expected.

7126 FPM or 185 CFM when measured directly on the fan (with PVC Pipe)
4685 FPM or 122 CFM at the cleaner head (when sealed to an airflow box)
3878 FPM or 101 CFM at the hose

I think the model number on the bottom of the unit was G10D but I could be wrong.

I test a lot of vac for my Youtube channel but this is my first Kirby and its a bit of a learning curve any help would be appreciated.

 

[royalfan]

Those numbers seem about right from the other CFM numbers I see posted on here. Question is how much working water lift ?
How many air watts does it make?

 

[blackheart]

Not at the head

I've measured an Avalir to get 137 cfm at the head. Vaclab has measured a Sentria II and got 137 as well. It doesn't makes sense that it would decrease. I have heard they put more insulation around the motor to quiet it down but i can't imagine that would bog the motor down. I can't speak for the other measurements though I haven't personally taken those measurements.

 

[vacuumwars]

I dont have the exact water lift numbers handy but it was about 40 inches at the hose.
That seems low compared to other vacs (I get about 96 inches with the high end Sharks and Dysons) Though the Kirby obviously destroys all of those with Airflow.

Yeah I have seen Vaclabs vids on this (and have talked with him on youtube) I guess I will retest this changing a few things to rule out user error, but I guess I am wondering about the water lift numbers are Kirby vacs kind of average in this area? Or is there something wrong?

 

[dysonman1]

40 inches of water lift? If my 1936 Rexair model A only had 40 inches of water lift, I'd take it apart because something would be wrong with it. My 1978 Filter Queen has 100 inches of lift.

 

[vacuumwars]

according to this site http://dpvac.com/chart.html 40 inches was standard water lift for whatever Kirby they were referencing. Still not sure if that is normal though.

Later on I am going to retest the airflow at the cleaner head with a few changes. I think the holes were a bit too small, also I had the anemometer fixed to the hole before (using duct tape). So I am going to do it free hand so I can angle it a bit better Ill post the results when I am finished.

 

[sptyks]

Kirby Water Lift...

The cleaning power of all Kirby's is based on Airflow and Agitation, not water lift. It is normal for Kirby's to have around 40" of water lift. You do not need much water lift when you have high Airflow and good agitation. This is the same for the Royal Metal Upright as well.


 


 

 

[royalfan]

@sptyks so what you're really saying is that you're too ignorant to understand that you need both water lift and suction.

@vacuumwars direct air machines rarely have a lot of water lift. 40 would be on the high side for a Kirby. I tested my Kirby G6 at 32,with a new fan.

 

[vacuumwars]

Well after making the airflow box intake hole exactly the dimensions of the kirby inlet, and using the anemometer free hand, I got the cleaner head numbers up to 4962 or 129 cfm still not 137 cfm.

I have not taken it fully apart, as Im not confident enough yet, but I have taken it apart enough to be able to inspect the front of the fan and it looks clean and unbroken.

I suppose I am going to continue with the other tests as I cant think of anything else to do, to get the numbers up. I am hoping I wasnt sold a bad unit (Ebay) but everything does seem fine from what I can tell.