Kirby 2c

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kirbymodel2c

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 23, 2006
Messages
1,836
Location
Nottingham, England
Hi I might have a kirby model 2c with original bag 4 trade/sale soon.

Things I'm on the look out for, for a possible trade...

Still missing little bits like original plugs 4 the C/R series/Rubber hanger cover for the C/R series
Big shipping box for the 508/9 R ollo waxer 4 the dual 50 and 80.
Got one 4 the Dual 80 once but it went missing in post!!!
manual for the vacuette electric and the box as well as the hose connector.
then the 3r 4r ezee and aer rotor. thats about it really oh and a waximagi thingy lol

chat soon.

James
 
I think just about every one of us Kirby buffs and our brothers are looking for those lol. I don't think I've ever seen an Ezee or Aer Rotor on eBay. If I didn't know better, I'd swear they were S & F one-off prototypes. I'd die for that Kirby Utility hand vac.
 
I've seen the Aer Rotor in person at the Kirby factory - but what is the Ezee? Don't think I've heard that one mentioned before?
 
The Ezee, or "grasshopper" as it's sometimes called was Kirby's first vacuum cleaner in 1914. It looks like a giant tin can with a large set of bellows in the back. If I had a scanner, I'd post a photo from one of my Kirby posters.
 
umm

The Ezee was b4 Jim kirby joined up with scott/fetzer.
And Jim kirby got someone else 2 manifacture them. He stated the ezee about 1912 I think. But scott fetzer got together in 1914.

I know some1 who saw a ezee in a second hand shop in the NW USA.
went back 2 get it and it had gone!

Th Ezee in the kirby factory is on loan 2 them!!
Wonder who owns it???

Ha ho

James
 
Kirby 2C !

A Kirby 2C to trade or sale. Yes, I would have to agree, any of we Kirby - Scott & Fetzer collectors would love to have a
chance at having that Kirby !
I would not have been interested before I got my Scott and Fetzer machine this summer. It is a honey ! Wish I could salvage the org. cloth bag. It has a few holes on the right
(outside) side of the emptor. So I am Leary of trying to take the bag off
to gentle wash and repair. I don't want to disrupt the originality of the machine.
Norm
 
At some point, I recall a forum member saying he was going to try and fabricate the original black duvetyne bags with the red and gold graphics. I would much prefer something like that on my 1C than a later replacement Sanitronic style or aftermarket bag.
 
Its on ebay...

Well its now on. and yes I post 2 the USA but it is more expensive around... but hay I had to import all of my old kirby's/scott fetzers in to the UK from the USA to begin with lol...Vintage Kirby Model 2C Vacuum Cleaner hoover 1930s - 220504742335
 
Todays History lesson- Kirby

There is talk that the 'Grasshopper' or 'EZee' was Kirby's first vacuum cleaner. While it may have been his first cleaner manufactured by
Scott & Fetzer, it was by no means his first.

The first was called 'The Domestic Cyclone' a non electric hand pumper, introduced in 1906. It was a pot like machine that took two people to operate; one to create the suction, the other to move the hose and floor tool over the carpet. This machine drew the dirt into a water pan. The idea was reworked in 1907, outfitted with an electric motor and the water pan was replaced with a cloth bag. In 1910 Kirby worked with a few friends including three guys named Black, Decker, and Lamb. The machine they designed was his first upright and became known as the'Broomstick!' So indirectly Jim Kirby was responsible for Black & Decker power tool co, and the Lamb motor.

Jim Kirby was only 22 when he marketed his 'Domestic Cyclone.' As for the Grasshopper, it was marketed under the name 'Ezee' or sometimes Eezee!' However, as we all know, it was his non electric 'Vacuette' that was his first most sucessfull cleaner at that time! Jim also is responsible for the 'Apex' vacuum cleaner. It was with his model 1-C, introduced in 1935 that all his ideas came together. Toe Touch Control, The Safty Switch, the Belt Lifter, Triple Cushion Vibration and the Sani-Em-Tor are all standard Kibby ideas. Aside from minor changes the Kirby didn't change until about 1970 when they introduced the Classic.

For the complete history on Kirby feel free to contact me.

Alex Taber.
 
Triple cushion vibration

That is a tall order!

As I don't have my kirby instruction books with me, I can't explaine the exact process. Basically, it was a way to lift the carpet off the floor, let the brush vibrate the dirt to the surface and draw it into the bag. This is the same idea used by all upright vacuum cleaners that have a belt driven brush. Kirby called it "Triple cushion vibration" while Hoover used the term "Beats, as it sweeps, as it cleans," and Eureka went with
"vibra-Beat!"

Perhaps some Kirby collector can post pictures, etc.. Being a trainer for Kirby, I knew this stuff by heart and could recite it in my sleep. However, it was all a sales gimmick. Kirby claiming to be better than Hoover, Air-Way being better than Electrolux, and so on. Hoover was so popular in England that the term for vacuuming became "Hoovering!"

We all know the games every vacuum cleaner company played; the stories they told, and the methods they used to "pull" the old vacuum cleaner. It was all about the sale. As I said, any vacuum cleaner with a rotating brush will do the job.

Alex Taber
 
"Hoover was so popular in England that the term for vacuuming became 'Hoovering!'"

Do you suppose now that Hoover (as we know it) is no longer in business, vacuuming in England will someday come to be known as "Dysoning?" Lol
 
Don't blame the Brits!

Blame Hoover, they introduced 'Hoovering' as the verb meaning 'vacuum cleaning'!

'I hoover.'
'He hoovers.'
'She is hoovering.'
'They have just hoovered.'

Excerpt from 'How To Judge an Electric Cleaner' - UK, 1921:

12-7-2009-17-47-52--VintageHoover.jpg
 

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