Introducing Myself

[briankirbyclass]

Welcome Kevin! Very nice collection, and looks well maintained. I too am a Kirby guy. I was a Kirby salesman from 1981-88,,got in on the last of the Traditions, and quit just before the Legend 2 came out.
Its nice to see machines like yours that are kept in buffed up condition.

My daily driver is a 1973 Factory Rebuilt Kirby Classic Omega, with a 4 row brush roll, and a Heritage 2 Mini Emptor and bag, with a G series bag adaptor so that i can use the G series Hepa Bags. Its a cleaning beast!

I have owned practically every Kirby from the DS50 on at one time or another.
Either sold, or gave away (to friends and family) all the other Kirbys.
Now all i have is the Classic Omega, DS50, and a Heritage 2 Legend, like yours.

Im also a huge Electrolux and Filter Queen fan, and certain other cannister with PN machines. I also have Central Vac in the house.
Wish i had room for a large collection, but i have every machine i want, so no complaints here.
Again, welcome to the club!

 

[bvac6]

Welcome!

Welcome, you'll love it here!

 

[alkirbyguy]

mieles7

I've tried multiple off the shelf polishes and they just didn't get that Kirby shine we all love. The only way I have found to get that shine is with a high speed buffing wheel using a cleaning compound followed by a high gloss compound. It is a lot of work... I'm always drenched in sweat when I'm done... but the results are excellent.

 

[hygiene903]

Welcome Kevin!!

Those are some nice Kirbys you have there, and a nice Royal too! Although I have more Hoovers, Royals, and Electro-Hygienes in my collection than anything else, I do love Kirbys too, and have 7 of them. My oldest is a 512, and newest (and most complete) is a Classic III with the Heritage II bag conversion. I also have a 517, 2 D-50's, a D-80, and a Classic. It's a tossup between the D-50 and the Classic III as to which one is my favorite. Here's a pic of my Classic III. Again, welcome!
Jeff

 

[Houston]

Kirby 511 in excellent condition

Hello everyone, I am glad to see that people appreciate quality. I have a Kirby 511 that is in excellent condition with original attachments and original box for the attachments. I am about to put it on eBay or craigslist in Houston, but wanted to see if someone would be interested in it that would appreciate it. Thanks

 

[kirbykid]

i want it. please post more pictures

 

[luxlover]

Welcome

What a beautiful collection you have! and kirbys are great vacuums for sure i dont own one sadly... but ive used one a few times

 

[Miss Mercy]

Hey

Awesome Kirbys and I love your room!!!!

 

[s31463221]

Kevin

They say good things come to those who wait....I didn't quite get the deal you did, but I came across a Sentria in great shape with all of the attachments for $50 on Craigslist today! I called the guy, he still has it and I told him to consider it sold! I'll post pics of it on Sunday or Monday after I pick it up! Hope you're still enjoying the site!

 

[caligula]

Welcome Kevin

I just looked at your pictures and they are fantastic!

A lot of us started out as kids. I was only 2 0r 3 when I saw an Electrolux eject the dust bag. The magazine ad for this was the vacuum of the day last week. To a young boy, this was very funny and it began a lifelong interest in vacuum cleaners.

My main interest is the non electric pumpers of the late 1800's. The oldest vacuum is called the Whirlwind, it was invented by Ives W. Mc'Gaffy who lived in Chicago. It was patented on June 8, 1869, and manufactured by the American Carpet Cleaning Company of Boston. There are only a few of these, most were lost in the great Chicago fire of 1871! I have one, and it is a wonderful addition to my collection.

I favor the early Kirby, and Electrolux models that date back to the 1920's and 30's. I was also a training manager for Kirby from 1975 - 1985.

My interest is mostly history, and I know a lot about the lives of James B. Kirby, and Axle L. Wenner-Gren who started Electrolux in 1910.

As I said you have a great collection, but I have some advice. Change the way you have the cords. I see that they are in a figure 8 pattern, that is very bad for the cords. Also, when you wind the cord, keep it loose otherwise there is a lot of stress on the wires inside.

Feel free to contact me if you want to learn the history of the club, early machines or various brands.

Glad you are with us.

Alex Taber
co-founder of the VCCC.

 

[caligula]

To look at my collection:

Hi Kevin:

If you want to look at some of my vacuum cleaners, click on Alex Taber's collection in California. These are but a few of my machines! Over the next few weeks I will post pictures of how my display rooms have changed over the years, as well as my non electric machines, and early electric's.

My username is in tribute to my pet cat Caligula. The name really means 'little boots.' He was a cream colored cat with gold fur on his paws. In the early days of our club, he was our mascot, and he lived to a month short of 20 years.

My main interest in starting this club was to help collectors learn about vacuum cleaners. My strongest desire is to dig history about vacuum cleaners, inventors, and researching patents.

Alex T.

 

[sanitaire]

great collection. I have quite a few kirbys also. I also have a thing for commerical vacuums. goes along with me being a janitor. I use the mothers mag polish and they shine.....

 

[alkirbyguy]

to Caligula

Thank you for the kind words and compliments. A word on my cord wrapping though... they are not wrapped nearly as tight as they appear. I just wrap them very carefully. All of my Kirby's except the Kirby Sentria are mainly for display purposes so the cords are rarely even removed from the cord hooks. I like the figure 8 style as the cord never tangles when you use the quick release. Tangling, in my opinion, causes much more damage. This is also how Kirby shows the cord wrapped in their demo videos, so it's kind of a nostalgic thing for me.

Just my two cents worth on why I wrap them like that. Again... thanks for the compliments.

Kevin
alkirbyguy

 

[uksausage]

hi

hi kevin welocome to the group your kirbys look amazing i have a couple myself
hope you enjoy it here my experiance is that everyone on here is really cool and friendly and always willing to give advice when you need it
david x

 

[thermokid]

Welcome Kevin!

from another Kirby fan. Kirby's are my all time favorite. I have all other brands as well but I have A Kirby Model 512 and one of every model since then.(sometimes up to six of some models) I really have to get busy and weed out some of my vacuums.I use a 1960 Model 560 Kirby as my daily use vacuum. I love that one the most I have had it since two months after our next door neighbor bought it new and decided she didn't like it, so she gave it to me. And I have been using it ever since then off and on.. It is still all original except for new belts, brushrolls, and light bulbs over the years.So welcome to the club you will find a lot of nice people here and a lot of valuable information.... Dan