Just scored a Sentria

[human]

I can't believe I just did this but I just bought my first 21st century vacuum cleaner. I stumbled across a nice, shiny Kirby Sentria with a full toolset on eBay that was flying under the proverbial radar and snatched it for $110 plus $20 shipping. The only thing it doesn't appear to have is a shampooer. The item description said it had a shampooer but the photos told a different story and I bid accordingly. Looking at the photos, I think the seller was calling the Zip Brush a "shampooer" but that's okay. I can add a shampoo kit later if I so choose. I still can't believe I paid that much; it's a hell of a lot of money for me to lay out on a vacuum cleaner, but if the thing is as pristine as it looks, I guess it'll be worth it. I saw plenty of other Sentrias listed in lesser condition and without the tools for the same money. I like the fact that it uses the older style bags, same as my G5 and Gsixes, and I like the gray and orange color scheme a little better than the Sentria II's teal and brown. Oh well, we'll see just how insane I was when it arrives later in the week.

http://https//www.ebay.com/itm/KIRB...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

 

[honestjoe68]

Wow Congrats! Looks like a great deal and a really nice Kirby. I just picked up mine from a local FaceBook sale and it’s like it was never used. I got the Sentria 2 and everybody will probably laugh but I Love the colors and the bag design. I paid a bit more for mine but it has everything (including the sander/buffer I’ll probably never use Lol) shampoo system and full kit of attachment tools, but I had to buy my Zipp Brush on eBay for $19 bucks. I see in the pictures you get the Zipp Brush included. Also, everybody here has been so helpful, you can pick up the shampoo kit for a modest price if you decide you want it.

I think you got an excellent deal as I’ve been watching pricing for about 4 weeks and I’ve seen Sentria’s in worse condition priced higher. I bet you’ll really like it.

Let us know and I hope you post pics when it arrives. I’m going to take some of my Sentria 2 tomorrow and post it here. Thanks for sharing!

 

[human]

I'm not laughing at you for liking the Sentria 2 color scheme. Lots of people do. I'm glad you got a good deal on yours and I hope you enjoy it. The gray and orange of the earlier Sentria just speaks to me a little more and since I have a couple of older G-series machines, the ability to use the same bags on all of them is a bonus for me. I'm looking forward to it arriving later this week and will post pictures and impressions of it when it does.

 

[honestjoe68]

Hey I saw this on eBay and thought of you!

Kirby Sentria Carpet Shampoo System for $20 bucks!

Not sure you wanted to buy one, but hey sounds like a great deal and it matches your sweet new Sentria!

http://https//www.ebay.com/itm/Kirb...:3tEAAOSw~o5afL4W:sc:USPSPriority!44903!US!-1

 

[human]

Thanks Joe. That one's on my watch list but my inclination is to wait until the Sentria arrives, then start thinking about a carpet shampooer. Having only two carpeted rooms, I'm not sure how much of a priority it is.

 

[human]

I just checked USPS tracking and it says the Sentria is out for delivery, so it should be waiting on the doorstep when I get home from work (hope I didn't just jinx it).

I also found a matching shampoo kit for it on eBay last night for $17.50 plus $9.00 shipping, which was considerably cheaper than any I'd seen, so I went ahead and pulled the trigger. It was one of those 'buy it now or best offer' deals and for some reason, I enjoy playing that game almost more than auction style bidding. The seller accepted within half an hour, which meant it wasn't an automated acceptance; he or she had to think about it but didn't do so for very long. As always in that situation, it made me wonder momentarily how much cheaper I could have gotten it for, not that I'm going worry about that when I've got other new toys to play with.

 

[human]

The Sentria has Landed!

I went home briefly between my afternoon and evening classes and found a very large package waiting by the front door. The Sentria arrived intact despite having been poorly packed--a testament to how well these machines are made. I had just enough time to inventory the package contents and assemble the vacuum cleaner before getting a bite to eat and returning to school to teach my evening class but I'm very pleased with its condition. The thing looks lovely. The only cleanup it'll need is to maybe hit it with a little Mother's but maybe just a little 409. We'll see. I may do the 409 tonight and then decide.

There was one little piece loose in the box that I can't figure out what it goes to. It looks sort of like a hex key without the 90-degree bend but with a little groove running its full length. Hopefully that isn't the piece that holds the whole thing together.

I'll definitely give it a little test run this evening to see how it performs.

 

[human]

When I got home from teaching this evening, I went over the Sentria with a paper towel and some 409. It was already so clean the paper towel was still white when I was done. Either that machine has had a really easy life or somebody did one hell of a reconditioning job on it. I'm thinking could be a combination of the two since it's a very early Sentria with a date code of 206 (February 2006), That makes its condition all the more amazing. But it hasn't been a complete closet queen as the seller packed the dirty micron filter bag with it, maybe 25-30 percent full. The weird thing was he took it out of the machine before packing it. Really? Why bother doing that? Needless to say, it was the first thing out of the box and straight into the trash it went. I had some paper G3 bags on hand, so it got one of those. But what the hell, it is a genuine Kirby bag, right? It's late and I'm tired, so I just gave it a two-minute test run to verify everything is in operating as it should and since it ran flawlessly, I'm happy with it. I didn't really need another vacuum but I got caught up in the moment and I do have trouble passing up a deal.