Kirby Classic Omega 1973 Fire? Black Shell Housing?

[chicagomike]

Hi, has anyone else had experience with the black motor shell housing melting on the Classic Omega from 1973? In 1974 Kirby changed their design on this part to a white color shell housing and the service manual said they did this to improve upon the part.

I can't believe how much of the plastic around the motor brushes has melted and I assume a part melting this bad could even start the vacuum on fire??...

 

[bikerray]

Is that one of those " Quick honey get the marshmellos, the Kirby's on fire! "

 

[jeschbac]

Time to call Cleveland?

Mike, I wonder if anyone at the factory would tell you what caused this?

 

[kenkart]

Our local Kirby office

In my hometown said the first Omegas were terrible, She said she replaced a bunch of the motors, they got it straitened out after a year or two, same with the D-50, the D-80 was much better.

 

[oreck_xl]

Wow, this harkens back to a story I heard over ten years ago. I was doing a trade show, and I happened to mention Kirby to a perspective customer. He told me "I'll never buy another one!" So of course I inquired why. He told me he purchased a new Kirby Classic Omega that set his oriental rug on fire. When he brought the Kirby back to the distributor, the owner simply said "oh SH*%!, looks like I'm gonna have to rebuild the motor." The owner was furious and told him "you're gonna pay for a new rug too!" To me, the story sounded a little fishy, but now it all makes sense...

- Hershel

 

[kirbysthebest]

I've hafd my Omega

since it was new.  It was purchased May of 1975.  I've never experienced any problems, hopefully I got one of the upgraded ones. 


 


 

 

[jeschbac]

serial numbers

Does anyone have start and finish serial numbers so we can identify Omega's with black motor housing?

 

[jeschbac]

Follow up

If we were to get ahold of an Omega with black motor housing, is it a matter of salvaging the field and just reinstalling it in a newer, white shell?

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Here's My Omega's Bellhousing

Serial #N125785. This one's a survivor!

~Ben

 

[kirby519]

My mom has had an omega model since 73. We never experienced any melting of the motor housing. We did go thru a few fans tho. That one seemed be hard of Bearings. in spite of having broken fans replaced right after the damage was done. Therefor we had ours in the repair center several times.

I had seen some where the Omega models seemed to need bearings replaced more often than other models. Not sure how true that is. I however could vouch for the fact at least one of them did.

It is a small wonder that we didn't have a melt down as I gave that machine a regular work out from the time my mom would let me use it. until I moved out of the house.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

kirby519

Steve,

I would have a hunch those users might have used the hose more often than they did the nozzle or any of the other front-mounted accessories.

~Ben

 

[kirby519]

I used the hose on the vacuum on a very regular basis.

 

[lesinutah]

Besrings

The reason the bearings were needing replaced is the location of the bearings. The omega had the metal plate which was one piece. The d80 and cr1 had another open ended bearing and a felt washer to absorb vibrations. The omega jammed the motor in and it didn't have anything to help the wear on the bearings.
Les

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

LesinUtah

Les,

Hence why they reworked it for the Classic III 2CB; that time around they also added a retainer ring to keep the front bearing itself in place. It may be possible, even for the Omega, to fit this retainer ring over the front bearing by using the special pliers shown in the service manual (Waldes Truarc model 0300).

~Ben[this post was last edited: 8/2/2020-22:15]

 

[texaskirbyguy]

Interesting discussion here - turns out my Omega is a survivor as well.
The black bellhousing on mine was in perfect condition and the bearings were replaced once during its restoration a few years back (thread below).
https://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?33991_12
I used it on a regular basis from 1995 to 2017, when other vacs come into use.
I used the hose a lot with this unit, but it was wired to run at low speed only. The front bearing is a TIGHT pressed fit into the housing, where as later models used the snap-ring and a slightly looser press fit.
The rear bearing was a little sloppy in the rear holder and I used a thin spacer to tighten it up some.
Unit still has its original fan.

I believe the felt washers were more for dust sealing rather than shock absorption, as the bearings still had a somewhat snug fit in the bearing bores, as well as hard seating stops. The spring finger washer in the back was more of the shock absorber and thrust device.

In order to use the snap ring, there must be a slot in the housing for it to fit in. Not sure if the slots were in the earlier castings. I also remember my Omega bearing seating flush with the inside of the casting, not allowing a ring even if the slot was there. Adding the snap ring was a logical step in my opinion.