Kirby D-80 Fan..

[vacmaster0000]

I was going to loan my Kirby d-80 to a friends mom, who kills any vacuum... like, it's not her fault, she'll check the carpet to see if there's anything and there usually is a few coins, but the shag is so thick she can't see embedded coins, and screws... and one time I ran over a drill bit.. how in lords name did that get in the middle of the living room?.. like seriously. But the point of this thread is, if I did, and say she didn't see any coins, and ran over them, would my fan be completely toast? like would it shatter my fan? I was assuming it would.. but her Oreck seems to be fine, but that fans plastic.. You would figure it would shatter before the metal would, but anyways, give me some help.. have you sucked up any coins in a vintage Kirby? and what happened? thanks.

 

[vacman1961]

Sounds like the woman is a vacuum beast, my suggestion would be to get her a "clean air" vacuum like a Hoover Windtunnel upright with a bag system or better yet would be any type of Aerus Electrolux Discovery type upright, atleast she won't be going through belts. I'd keep a Kirby out of that place, especially a Dual 80 with shag carpet, it just won't cut it. The Dual 80 was discontinued as shag carpet was introduced because it wasn't capable of grooming such a carpet, the Classic was introduced and in the height of he shag error Kirby came out with the Shag King attachment on the last Classics in 1972. Good Luck.

 

[kirby519]

There is always that chance that what ever goes thru the fan will break it. I have Knocked off my fare share fo fan blades over the years. Accidents do happen.

 

[kirby519]

Kirby could have made the shag king for the Dual series if they wanted to.

Introducing a new model is a way of keeping sales going. The new machines had a 6 amp motor and a wider nozzle.

Another way to keep the Kirby motto intact. "More leisure time for you".

 

[mister299]

I recommend a Filter Queen

They have awesome suction and can pick up anything except water. Plus you can simply take the lid off and retrieve anything you didn't want to suck up.

 

[vacman1961]

No, unfortunatly the Shag King could have never worked on a small head Kirby. The Shag King Classic was redesigned to specialize in Shag carpets unlike the earlier Classic and the smaller head Kirby's. When the Shag King Classic came out, they redesigned the toe touch control to allow it to raise the TCV head higher off the ground, giving it more clearance for spaghetti shag carpets of the early '70's. When the Classic was introduced in mid 1969 they had skinnier rear wheels to allow the back of the machine to sink into the shag carpet and had wide wheels in the front to keep the machine on top of the carpet, the Sani Emptor was raised 5/8 of an inch off the ground, so the Sani Tray would not rub against the higher carpets. The carpet manufactures and vacuum companies never worked hand in hand, that is why the vacuums had to be redesigned constantly, to clean the new carpets that came out.

 

[dualsanitronic]

Great info here, but a few clarifications. The Classic was introduced in late 1969,and fully launched in early 1970. The Classic Omega with the Shag King debuted in 1973. The 6 amp. rating for the two was on high speed with the hose, they were 4.5 amps on the carpet.The Dual 80 was 4 amp. carpet, 5 amp. hose. The Shag King was also with the Classic III and the Tradition.

 

[djtaylor]

NO!!! Don't do it...

I am sorry, but I must urge you NOT to loan out your D80 to someone that is known to 'kill' vacuums. Yes, the damage can be fixed... but, do you WANT to spend the money to replace the fan? What about the fan housing? I have seen Kirbys that had holes punched through the fan housing when someone vacuumed up screws or nails. And, if you have a metal fan you could have fan blades knocked off, and that's bad for the motor over longer term. I suggest that you go to a thrift store and buy her something that you don't care about, that way it's not your vacuum that needs to be fixed when she sucks up that unseen dry-wall screw that's been hiding in her shag carpet.
Just my two pence.
Justin

 

[kirby519]

As I said earlier an reason to update or improve the equipment. Never said it was wrong or carpet makers and vacuum makers were in bed with each other. So to speak.
We had Shag carpet at home and finally got a Kirby Classic Omega after the Rexair shampooed the living room and made cake batter. We got the shag king to help maintain the Shag carpet. It also will work with plush carpet as well. And YES Kirby could have made some minor modifications to the Dual Sanitronic series to add a shag rake if they wanted to. In an effort to keep that body style and the same size head.

 

[vacman1961]

Beg to differ with you about the dates and info., my family has been in the Kirby business since 1963. The Shag King was debuted with the very last Classic Model 1CR, right at the end of 1972. I could be wrong on the introduction of the Classic machine itself, but I do know our new house was built in 1972 and when we moved in October my Uncle gave my Mother a new Kirby Classic as a house warming present and it had a Shag King attachment on the front, it was a pain because it used to fall off if it hit the wrought iron railing on the upstairs balcony, but it was definitely there. Our living room, dining room, the 2 foyers and the stairs had bright red shag carpet, I remember my uncle telling my Mom to turn he belt lifter to the "off" position so the brush roll would not unravel the carpet, I don't think she ever turned the brush roll off though, I always remember our carpets having that distinct Kirby groomed look. A few years later he fan broke in her Dual 80 and she took it to my Uncle to get fixed and she came home with an Omega, she used the Omega on the first floor, which later had a red Shag King on it, which fastened to the machine more securely than the brown or rosewood ones, and the Classic was used upstairs where we had velvet carpets and bare floors and the Dual 80 got put in the basement where we used it for everything else. I still have my Mom's original Omega, Dual 80 and 518 all with the original signed instruction books.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

The Kirby Classic 1-CR was launched in January 1970 (production would've started in December 1969). Only a few Dual Sanitronic 80s would've been sold in '70 as a result of the Classic production.

The Classic 1-CR's instruction book has a January 1970 printing date.

~Ben

 

[vac_whisperer]

I've sucked uP a few dimes, but nothing too major.
I don't think it should break it; after all it's made of metal. It would maybe put a few dings in it.
I'm not saying you should go and vacuum up coins and other metal objects, and I wouldn't let that lady anywhere near a treasure like a D80, I'm just judging from past experiences.

 

[vac_whisperer]

I've sucked uP a few dimes, but nothing too major.
I don't think it should break it; after all it's made of metal. It would maybe put a few dings in it.
I'm not saying you should go and vacuum up coins and other metal objects, and I wouldn't let that lady anywhere near a treasure like a D80, I'm just judging from past experiences.

 

[dualsanitronic]

Totally SHAGadelic, baby!

Ben is right. The Classic was introduced to the dealers in late 1969, then launched,as I said, in 1970. My info is correct. It could be the Shag King was just introduced in late 1972,and fits the late Classics, but it WAS nationally launced on the Omega in 1973.