Kirby 50th anniversary ?

[odavid123]

Here is a fun fact ! Kirby 50th anniversary was celebrated at least twice based on different years span what?!!

-With the intro of the model 516 in 1956
1906 (Jim’s first vacuum) -1956 (new redesigned 516 ).

-Then in 1965 ( 1915-1965 ) both are incorrect in my opinion .

Why ? Bc although Scott and fetzer machine company started production on various machine parts in 1915 it wasn’t incorporated until July 1917 and only began the production of vacuums with the Vacuette in 1919 . So a more reasonable anniversary for the 50th would be
either 1967 ( 1917-1967) or 1984 which would mark 50 years from when the first Kirby was introduced (1934) .

Your thoughts ?

 

[paul]

From Wikipedia.com:

"An anniversary can commemorate not only a firm's founding year but the introduction of a successful company brand, a merger, a patent, or some other milestone."

I get your point, but I think that many organizations mark their anniversary years according to their foundings - not necessarily by incorporation.

A church, for example, may begin functioning in one year but not be officially organized until the next; however, most often that initial year is the benchmark for anniversaries. I do know of one church that began as three congregations in the 1800s but merged in 1919. However, likely due to ignorance, one of the first anniversaries after the merger marked the origin of a congregation that was newer than the oldest congregation. The anniversary celebrations since then have marked the first service of the oldest congregation.

So The Kirby Company seems to have faced that same situation and at one point voted to set 1915 as its anniversary benchmark.

The Eureka Company, dealt with something similar. Although Fred Wardell founded it in 1909, it was incorporated in August 1910. While its 50th anniversary year was observed in 1960, later anniversaries, such as the 75th in 1984, marked the 1909 origin.

 

[odavid123]

Hi Paul , I see your point . It’s true that they can set whatever dates they
like. I just wish there’s more literature about it . It’s like the C model that showed in previous posters and literature as model C then 1C and then in newer posters as model 2C…. It’s not the same vacuum lol and they’ve been doing this with a lot of historical facts . The Ezee is another example , it was produced by Premier vacuum co. between 1912-1914 but shows as the first model Kirby on that poster .. I guess I’m being a bit too extra on this LmAO

 

[paul]

Yeah, David, I appreciate complete accuracy, too.

Another example I have is the Electrolux Model 1451 and 1451E ('enhanced') automatic uprights. These two similar models often get meshed together in referencing; yet they also were made during consecutive years — not concurrently.

 

[lesinutah]

I

Believe ds80 is the 50th anniversary kirby vacuum.
I know they bought janatronic company that ultimately came to the shampoo attachment setup. I wonder if ds 50 I'd for the size of the motor amps. Maybe ds80 is a metric conversion idk.

 

[superocd]

I've always wondered why they made the jump from Dual Sanitronic 50 to Dual Sanitronic 80.

I've also wondered what the meaning was behind the name "Sanitronic". The -tronic suffix usually implies electronically or computer controlled.

If it was because of the relative complexity of the dual speeds as introduced with the DS50 (yet simple enough not to be considered solid-state, as none existed within the machine), then what about the pre-DS Sanitronics (562, S7)? These had one-speed motors.

 

[odavid123]

Lesinutah ,super ocd

The 50 in DS50 refers the 50 year anniversary of the company (1915-1965) the DS50 was released in 1965

The 80 in DS80 refers to the 80 different tasks that can be achieved with the Kirby system .( far stretch )

It’s so random but I guess that’s what their marketing dept decided to do back then .

Hope this info helps clarify the reasons for the numbers

[this post was last edited: 9/9/2023-00:51]

 

[odavid123]

As for the Sanitronic part


Sanitronic - sanitation and electronic word combination

Why would they combine these two and what is the connection

Sanitation -cleaning

As for the electronic part :
A conventional, vacuum cleaner often relies on an unprotected brush-style electric motor, which generates sparks upon contact. These sparks give rise to RF EMI, or in simpler terms, electrostatic interference that can manifest in a wide range of frequencies. This interference is then intercepted by antennas or unshielded components.

 

[aussie-plugs]

Electronics versus Electrical?

I'm in Australia. Back in the day the department you bought mixers, vacuums, washers etc was often called "Electrical" or "Appliances". The word "electronic" referred to solidstate devices, such as transistor radios. There's a possibility TVs and radios were also reffered to as "electronic" because of their valves, however that's a bit before my time.

When travelling in the US, I noticed that what I thought of as the "Applicances" department was often called "Electronics", not "Electrical".

If this is common usage in America, is the "tronic" part of "Sanitronic" perhaps simply referring to the fact that the device runs on electricity, rather than it having any solidstate componentry?

 

[vacmadman]

I believe

the DS50 came out in 1965 the DS80 came out in 1968 it had the 50 for 65 and the 80 for 68, they were model numbered much like the model numbers of the 500 series.

Jim

 

[odavid123]

Aussie-plugs

I like your take on the electronic part more than mine . I feel like the 1960s was when the word “electronic” became so popular .
Thanks for the insight !

 

[odavid123]

Hi Jim

Hi Jim ,
That might have had somewhat of an impact on the naming but I think the
50 is for 50 years and the 80 is for the 80!tasks that can be achieved with the Kirby system .
The picture of the “ashtray” is pretty straight forward and here is a brochure for the 80 tasks for the DS80 . ( (brochure owned by Chad Cunningham)

 

[vacmadman]

To me the first 'Kirby" was the Model C in 1934 before that it was the "Scott Fetzer" company. Yes they were designed by James Kirby, but they were not Kirby's by name, and did not go by the Kirby company as they do now.

So as such the first Kirby came out in 1934 making the 1984 the true 50th anniversary of the "Kirby" vacuum. The DS80 was the 1968 model and I think that the 80 "tasks" was a company afterthought that just sounded good, but was a stretch to say the least.

Side note: If the DS50 was the 50th anniversary model, I find it interesting that there was no mention of it in the DS50 manual. One would think it would be something worth mentioning or pointing out. Also there is no mention of the 80 tasks in the DS80 manual, to me confirming it was an afterthought. According to the Kirby website The DS50 was from 65 through 67, and the DS80 was from 67 through 70.

Jim[this post was last edited: 9/9/2023-11:29]

 

[lesinutah]

David

Holy jeebers
Where do you find all this literature.
I do recall people saying that ds 50 was not named after 50th anniversary. I've seen the ashtray and logo of the 50th anniversary but seen a few tomes its not where the ds 50 wasn't named for the 50th anniversary.
562-1962
S7- 1963-64
Ds50-1965-1966
Ds80-1967-1969(the first year 1967 had a letter at the beginning of the serial number. I believe it's an A.
Cr1-1970-

 

[odavid123]

Lol well I try to be as thorough as I can bc I like facts . Again I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they marked the 50th on the same year the DS50 came out .. (it also marked the Dual speed motor launch ) that said I don’t have more proof on the DS50 besides putting one and one together .

 

[lesinutah]

Meh

I try to be thorough too. I've just been chastised for false information. The motor is 5.0 2 speed. If I find anything I'll let you know. I wasn't aware of the ds 80 explanation but it makes perfect sense.

 

[odavid123]

Les

When you say 5.0 dual motor where did you find that info that has the 5.0 part on ?
That would also make sense why it’s named DS50

 

[lesinutah]

Motor

The pic of the model plate amps-5.
Dual 5 amp motor sanitronic from newly acquired janitronic.

 

[odavid123]

Nice! I should have looked closer lol .