Kirby Gsix poor rice pick up??

[mike811]

Now I have done multiple tests with the Kirby G2000 Gsix Limited Edition and so far results are showing great performance compared to my other vacuums.
However when I tested the rice pick up performance on the medium pile shag rug result wasn't impressive at all.
So test went like this: I put down one cup full of rice to the Kirby and the Shark Rotator Pro Lift Away NV500. Then I rubbed the rice deep to the carpet and vacuumed 5 full passes with both. After that I vacuumed both paths VERY thoroughly with the Shark and I was shocked. Kirby left much more rice behind.
All is right with the Kirby. I just changed the belt. So what I did wrong?

 

[kirbysthebest]

Without being there, one can only guess.


 


I would wonder about adjustments, maybe up or down a notch to see if things improve,  since belts and brushroll is ok.  I may also check to see if there are any clogs in the fill tube that might be restricting airflow. 

[this post was last edited: 1/5/2017-16:45]

 

[suckolux]

Are you adjusting the head height correctly? Is the brushroll on the right setting for the length of bristles? It can take a bit to get used to setting up and using a Kirby correctly I feel.Did the brushroll keep spinning and is it the correct belt?

 

[mike811]

Brushroll light is in solid on position so it's working. I have a bit of trouble to set the height right on the shag carpet. Like on the "normal" carpet shag don't make any noticeable tone change in the motor. So it's pretty hard to set the height right. I did test the airflow and my most powerful canister vacuum didn't have a change against the Kirby. This was so called paper roll tug of war and Kirby didn't lose the roll even once.

 

[suckolux]

Sounds good so far, the brushroll, is it on 1, 2 or 3? Does it stick out past the baseplate just a hair??

 

[panasonicvac]

One time at my Grandpa's, someone spilled a bag of dry snow salt pebbles on the carpet. After getting most of it out by hand, we used the G4 to clean the rest of it up. It had a difficult time vacuuming up with just using the carpet nozzle so I later swapped the nozzle with a hose and it did a better job of sucking those pebbles out.

 

[suckolux]

Thinking snowplowing?

 

[electromatik]

I've used a Kirby for 17 years. They snowplow up front. The lower the head the more big objects just get raked ahead of it. There are no openings for frontal, or side/edge airflow. My G5 will even refuse to pick up dead leaves from my plants. A lot of times I have to raise the head up and set it down upon the leaf. Kirby's clean well but there are many places in my home they cannot go...

Kirby's are made to last and are great carpet cleaners, but the 1950's era engineering doesn't do it for me anymore. I don't mean you must place a lot of electronic gadgetry on vacuums to be modern, but Kirby's are obsolete in a lot of ways in my book.

 

[mike811]

Deep Cleaning

I just looked how the brushroll is set and it is in 2 position for some reason. Brushroll is new replaced by the seller.
I didn't have any snowplow effect, because rice sinks in to the shag rug.
I have seen one thread on here VL about the same problem, so this just make me wonder if Kirby just don't like rice.

I did test oatmeal deep cleaning ability Kirby VS Electrolux UltraFlex with big powerhead. Kirby did clearly better job on that test than the Electrolux.

 

[suckolux]

new brushroll should be on 1 if it's the correct one

 

[kirbykid63]

Kirby airflow

I work on many kirbys and the fan blades do wear down,this influences air flow. If the fan is original chances are it may need replacing.

 

[sptyks]

Suction vs Airflow...

Mike,


does the carpet you are using in this test have a rubber backing?


If so that could explain the problem. The Kirby is designed to pull air up through the carpet to maintain proper airflow. A rubber backing would prevent proper airflow through the carpet thus greatly hindering performance.