Kirby Brush Roll Changes

[kirbyclassiciii]

KIRBY BRUSH ROLL REVISIONS THROUGH THE YEARS

1953 - Brush roll made with metal body, end caps, solid axle

1971 - Brush roll made with silver-painted wood body, and new clear plastic thread guards on both ends; still solid axle

1975 - Brush roll thread guards are flatter

1981 - Brush roll now has double bristles

1986 - Brush roll, still a solid axle, non-removable bearing type, adds a magnet on the right end to jibe with the BPI (brush roll performance indicator) light on the nozzle

1987 - Brush roll no longer a solid axle; hence the removable end caps (and sleeve bearing) for better access to ensure removal of hair and tufts.

1990 - For the new Generation 3, the brush roll now has a three-position brush height adjuster instead of a screw, to better compensate for wear during use. Sleeve bearing was still used at this early stage. This early Generation 3 version is very rare, since not long after the model's introduction, the brush roll was changed from having a sleeve bearing to a ball bearing.

This early revision did so well that the other sleeve-bearing-equipped brush rolls, for the older machines, are re-engineered to use the ball bearing around the time of the G5.

1994 - Brush roll re-engineered during G4 production

1997 - Brush roll has no magnet in observance to the temporary discontinuation of the BPI feature with the early rollout of the G5. When it does return, the BPI magnet is on the left end of the brush roll (when viewed up front)

If there are any corrections or additions regarding these, please feel free to reply.

~Ben

 

[vacman1961]

Ben, are you sure about the 1971 plastic thread guards, I remember them coming out with the Omega, I don't remember any Classics with them ?

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Charlie,

Here is a picture of the brush roll with the early clear plastic sleeves... on an Omega, of course, so you may be right. That design was replaced by the flat sleeve when the Classic III came out.

~Ben

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Charlie (vacman1961),

I was also going to add that in the Classic Omega's instruction book, the brush roll seen in the pictures on page 32 is of the original Classic (1CR) style (155169S) with the metal end caps on them. An example of that is in the pic attached below, where it is installed in a Classic 1CR nozzle.

So, this again proves you're right that the plastic thread guards first showed up on the brush roll during Omega production. However, I wonder if anyone has an Omega with the metal end caps on the brush roll? That would be quite rare now.

~Ben