Goodwill Finds.

[Kirby Guru]

A G5 with a diamond bag. 54.99
Heritage without nozzle 54.99
Kinda asking a lot. They marked the Heritage as a collectible. We’ll see if they are still available on half price day.

 

[kirbylux77]

In that 1st pic with the G5, there is a Patriot vacuum wand in behind. So there must be the rest of the vacuum somewhere. I would definitely pick that up, they are great canisters!

 

[keldrin]

Yeah, the g5 is a nice find. Having to source a front nozzle for the heritage definitely increases your investment.

 

[cheesewonton]

In that 1st pic with the G5, there is a Patriot vacuum wand in behind. So there must be the rest of the vacuum somewhere. I would definitely pick that up, they are great canisters!

Magnify the image. If you look closely you can see the metallic gray handle and cord of the canister.

 

[Kirby Guru]

In that 1st pic with the G5, there is a Patriot vacuum wand in behind. So there must be the rest of the vacuum somewhere. I would definitely pick that up, they are great canisters!

Good idea. I’m going back there tomorrow and check out the Patriot. I wasn’t able to go there myself but I’ll check it out tomorrow!

 

[human]

That's funny My G5 also has an Ultimate G outer bag, but not the diamond version. I put the burgundy G5 bag topper on it, but it still has the gray emtor at the bottom. I still have the original burgundy one, and I keep thinking I'll change it out, but I haven't gotten around to doing it and I've had the machine for more than ten years. The cord on it was kind of trashed, so I replaced that with a gray one to match the bag.

But yeah, Kirbys at thrift stores around here have suddenly shot up in price, far in excess of other brands. Last fall, I saw a Gsix with a full set of accessories priced at $150 (see thread referenced below), and it eventually sold. Within the past month, I saw a Sentria with no accessories at another thrift store, priced at $99. I went back a week later and it was gone. In its placed were four plasticrap vacs, priced at $10-$15 each, Three or four years ago, a G-series Kirby in decent shape and with a full set of accessories would run about $50, while one without accessories would be about half that. I'm glad for the thrift stores that they can get that much for them, but it also makes me glad I've maxed out on Kirbys (and vacuum cleaners in general) and am not tempted to buy any more.

https://vacuumland.org/threads/walked-away-from-a-kirby-vacuholic-victory.45854/

 

[Kirby Guru]

I bought the Patriot. I guess it’s my day today. Went back just now and it was 34.99 and a blue tag. A really good deal anyway. When I checked out it rang up at 1.99! Looks like I’m the lucky owner of an awesome canister. My first canister and first non Kirby in my collection! What a score!! Thanks for noticing that in the background!

 

[kirbyman65]

I have to say,
Patriot might be one of my favorite canister vac brands. One of my family members has one and I love that thing! What a great price you paid! I hope you enjoy your find.

 

[keldrin]

Impressive find. Very nice

 

[Kirby Guru]

Thank you everyone who commented. I am in shock. Cleaned up nicely. The hose was fun to clean. I wonder how I can tell how old it is.? And it came with the blue washable bag and one Stormy bag. I’m wondering if it would be worth it to buy the exhaust filter also? I took it for a test drive and WOW! I’m sold on the performance of it. Hate to say it but it might be better than my Sentria 2… I emptied the paper bag and couldn’t believe how much was in there. Whoever spotted this last night Thank You! And thank you to all the people that walked by it and didn’t feel like paying 2 bucks for it!! I’m sure impressed!

 

[cheesewonton]

I have the exact same model from Schoettler. It's an early 2000s machine. Power wise they are mild. The Ametek 116884-49 motor is rated at only 356 peak air watts. Same motor used in a Tristar DXL. Mine, after a thorough scrub and fresh filters including a big Medick Aire exhaust filter, manages about 30 cfm airflow and mid 60s inches of sealed suction both measured at the end of the hose. My VAPamore ( CRAPamore ) MR500 Vento pulls 80-82 inches of water lift and 40 cfm at the hose end ( amazingly it hits the suction number the manufacturer claims in their data sheet for the vacuum ). A modern Kenmore 600 is pulling over 80 cfm and close to 90 inches of sealed suction. But the Patriot is durable. You would just about have to bounce one off a concrete patio from a second story window to break one. Nothing really to wear out except the motor eventually. The big Sebo ET350e is a workhorse that will outlive most of us given anything even remotely resembling reasonable care.

 

[cheesewonton]

Here is a tip for the Patriot. You will soon find out why it was in a thrift store cheap. Using the open top Stormy bag it is nearly impossible to change bags without having a bunch of dirt fall back into the vacuum. The lid is angled down towards the front of the body. Dirt piles up on top of the bag under the lid from the cyclone effect. When you open the lid dirt falls out on the floor and no matter what you do dirt always manages to fall into the bag chamber as you change the bag. It is the reason I parked mine. I did try their closed top Hybrid bag ( which requires use of a rubber inlet spout extender to poke through the rubber seal in the bag, available from Schoettler ), but it leaked so much dust that I had to rewash the cloth bag after only one use. Terrible bags ! Switching to a VAC USA synthetic bag doesn't solve the problem as the dirt still piles up on top of the bag and falls into the bag chamber and inner bag during bag changes. Mega frustrating!

I am going to try a synthetic dust bag from Ghibli Vortech intended for use in the Vortech XR3000. You can buy these on eBay. They are nice microfiber dust bags with a round card on top like a Miracle Mate bag so it is sealed to the spout in the lid. If these fit then the problem is solved. I also intend to try them on my Miracle Mate.

 

[Kirby Guru]

Here is a tip for the Patriot. You will soon find out why it was in a thrift store cheap. Using the open top Stormy bag it is nearly impossible to change bags without having a bunch of dirt fall back into the vacuum. The lid is angled down towards the front of the body. Dirt piles up on top of the bag under the lid from the cyclone effect. When you open the lid dirt falls out on the floor and no matter what you do dirt always manages to fall into the bag chamber as you change the bag. It is the reason I parked mine. I did try their closed top Hybrid bag ( which requires use of a rubber inlet spout extender to poke through the rubber seal in the bag, available from Schoettler ), but it leaked so much dust that I had to rewash the cloth bag after only one use. Terrible bags ! Switching to a VAC USA synthetic bag doesn't solve the problem as the dirt still piles up on top of the bag and falls into the bag chamber and inner bag during bag changes. Mega frustrating!

I am going to try a synthetic dust bag from Ghibli Vortech intended for use in the Vortech XR3000. You can buy these on eBay. They are nice microfiber dust bags with a round card on top like a Miracle Mate bag so it is sealed to the spout in the lid. If these fit then the problem is solved. I also intend to try them on my Miracle Mate.

Definitely wonder why it was at GW so long either. I think it was there over a month in order to be at the 1.99 price! I guess people didn’t know what it was or didn’t bother to do research on it. And I took apart the power head to inspect the belt and brush roll too ans make sure someone didn’t suck up water too. I noticed exactly what you were talking about with the dirt on top of the bag and chamber. I just took it outside and dumped it and brushed any remaining dust off. There really isn’t a lot of information about them and how to age them by colors. I do know they started around 1987. I believe Vortech Force canisters are a similar concept with the power switch on the handle? My brother got one from a door to door salesman and I think around the early 2000’s it was over two grand! He loved that thing and said it was the best vacuum ever… I wonder if those bags will work? I’m gonna take your advice and get the bags you recommended. I just wondered about on the bottom on the label what the ABCD 1234 number thing is about? Mine is punched with the C and the 3 punched out. The dirt situation is kinda weird but I’m wondering if that’s why the blue bag is there. Also mine came with a weird attachment coming from the exhaust port. You can see it in one of the goodwill pictures. I happened to find what was supposed to be on there inside the machine. Kinda strange. Hopefully I can find exactly what year it is and acquire a manual or something. Thanks for sharing your experience and knowledge about these interesting machines. Also saw a sign outside of our local vac shop that said (Saving Good People From Bad Vacuums)

 

[cheesewonton]

You can find the "thing" on your exhaust port on the "Patriot Filter Store". It is their "Room Fragrance Air Filter". I couldn't make that up.

https://patriotfilterstore.com/collections/all

Harold Schoettler was the President of Interstate Engineering until 1989. At the time, in addition to Tristar vacuums they were making cast aluminum wheels for USA Mags and for their own brand along with security systems, heat and smoke detectors. He left in a dispute with other board members whether to change the material used in their heat and smoke detectors from metal to plastic. Schoettler Research and Engineering was formed in Seal Beach CA shortly thereafter. His son John now runs the business.

Patriot is a Compact / Tristar copy rendered mostly in plastic rather than the magnesium-aluminum alloy used to make Tristar bodies. Just as with Tristar ( and Miracle Mate and Vortech) the cloth inner bag supports the disposable paper bag and the rubber lip is the lid seal. Originally Compacts only had the cloth bag. You dumped the dirt and reused it. Disposable paper bags came along soon though. Compacts were originally designed at the behest of Howard Hughes for TWA. After WWII the demand for aircraft was greatly reduced so Interstate Aircraft sold it's aircraft tooling and became Interstate Engineering making vacuums at a new factory in Anaheim CA. Interstate also had a defense electronics side, Interstate Electronics that still exists in Anaheim ( next door to the former vacuum factory ), now owned by the defense conglomerate L3 / Harris. They are a major supplier to US Navy submarine programs.

I did like you and would take the whole canister out to the trash, open the lid and flip it over to dump it. PITA. Might as well buy a bagless POS if I have to do that to empty the thing. I have a Ghibli backpack vacuum bag from Johnny Vac in it now but the mounting card has to be trimmed to fit. The Vortech XR3000 bags are a touch smaller so hopefully I can just drop one in and use it. If that works then I can bring it back into the mix cleaning my home.

Btw, those Vortech Force vacuums are an interesting story. Harold Schoettler's replacement at Interstate, Lee Zobel, was more of a sales guy and not a production guy. He has this notion of farming out production to another company. There was a Canadian dealer who spoke fluent Italian who Interstate asked to approach Ghibli about making Tristars. At some point this Canadian got sideways with Interstate management over his relationship with another dealer who was selling Patriots. He lost all his sale staff in this disput. Angry he decided to commission Ghibli to make the Vortech as his own brand and sell them. The guy who founded Miracle Mate was also a former Tristar dealer.