Kirby G3 Restoration

[scudo]

You done a good job restoring that considering the state it was in.

Having looked at your images I cant see what the issue is with Kirby re the tech drive and `dont dismantle it` I would have been straight in there.I always take the view if I have to replace it then try fixing it first, probably got a 80% fix rate.

I see the belt housing has a few deep scratches in it, they are a pain to get out, I use wet & dry but it can take a couple of days and it is hard work, and then they have to be polished up.

I also have a 6" bench buffer, it was a bench grinder but bought a couple of spindle converters for under £10 and now use as a buffer, makes a big difference.

I love working on Kirby`s they are a dream to work on.

 

[crazykirbydude]

GOOD LORD!!! What kinda TV could break a Kirby handle? That is insane. Never seen that before!

 

[human]

Has it really been that long...

...since TV sets were monstrously heavy?

Look at the date of when this thread originated. It's a decade old. Back in January 2009, when the OP took that G3 in to repair it, analog TV signals were still being broadcast—although they'd be gone within a year—and newfangled flat screen sets were hard to find with price tags much below $1,000. Many people, including myself, were still using older TV sets with CRT (cathode ray tube) screens; in fact, they had only just stopped selling them in stores. Just about any CRT set with a screen size larger than about 20 inches required two people to carry it safely. Those sets were also very front heavy as the glass screens were about an inch thick and there was nothing in the back to act as a counterweight. Drop one of those suckers on a Kirby and you'd be lucky if all that got broken was the handle. Drop it on a modern plasticrap vac and you'd need a Kirby to sweep up what little was left.

 

[crazykirbydude]

I know how heavy CRTs are. I had a similar one, and it was really heavy, but not break a Kirby heavy. That TV wouldn't have been enough to break through a cast aluminum handle.

 

[vacfanatic]

I haven't been on here for ages and was surprised to see my old thread dug up.

The internal clogged belt inside the tech drive had snapped, and they are not replaceable, Kirby does not sell them as a spare part, so I had to source a used transmission. I took the old one apart to see how it worked

I don't know what brand TV it was, but it was a very early model rear projection I think and it was in a wood enclosure, it definitely weighed over 150lbs I'd say. It didn't survive whatever the hell they did to tip it over either.

This is something similar to what it looked like from what I remember over at her house a few times, before they demolished it. The screen was so dim anyway, and it had this huge yellow dot in the middle of it so the thing was ready to go anyway.

 

[huskyvacs]

vacfanatic

That is a rear projection TV, an early one. It uses a series of 3 separate electron tubes/projector bulbs in red green and blue and then casts them through a focused mirror to make a complete color signal onto the front of the screen from behind.

Over time the coolant oil in the guns gets dirty from dust and being old and it clouds up the lenses and they cannot project anymore. The dot you are seeing was likely the green and blue lenses trying to work and display the picture.

Here's a photo I found online from a newer rendition.

 

[crazykirbydude]

Oh, I was under the impression that it was a CRT TV. Even the small ones are quite heavy, so a 55" CRT would be like 400 LBS! I knew those projection TVs were heavy, but not THAT heavy! Those projection TVs were a product of my time, you know.

 

[huskyvacs]

I think when it fell it pushed the handle down against the carpet and then hit the middle of the handle and snapped it. Like karate chopping wood.