Kirby Lust!

[human]

So I was at a nearby Goodwill store earlier today and what did I spy but a gorgeous, shiny Kirby G6 with its accessories for $50. The metal was absolutely gleaming and has almost no signs of use, just a few very light scratches. Oddly enough, several of the accessories showed more signs of use than the nozzle. When I turned it over, I found an AA battery jammed in the brush roll. I wonder if that's what prompted its former owner to donate it.

If I hadn't just gotten that G5, I would have pounced on it--and it would have been a far better value. Although it took a maximum effort of will, I managed to make myself walk away from it, at least for the time being. Tuesday is educators' day and I can get a 10 percent discount with my faculty ID, if it's still there. We'll see. At least I'll have a couple of days to let the thought simmer.

 

[human]

I just couldn't stand it...

I sat here for a couple of hours trying to talk myself out of that Kirby and I just couldn't convince myself not to do it, so even though it cost me an extra $5, I went back and got it--apparently just in the nick of time. When I got there, another couple was looking at it and an employee was telling them how nice this "older Oreck" was. REALLY? an older Oreck? I maintained my poker face while the wife pushed it back and forth a couple of times and said it was too heavy. As soon as they walked away and started looking at a couple of plastic Dirt Devils, I calmly swooped in without a word, claimed my prize and wheeled it to the checkout.

The cashier said the machine had just come in today and she hadn't thought it would last long at that price. She also said she had one like it that she'd bought new from a door-to-door salesman for $2,500, except hers had come with the carpet shampooer, which this one did not have. About that time, the employee who had been helping the other couple walked past, saw what I had. He grinned, and said "You knew just what you were looking at, didn't you?" Apparently, that machine had been a topic for conversation around the store today, even if some folks there didn't know a Kirby from an Oreck.

When I got it home, the only thing I could find wrong with it was an overly full bag, a stretched out belt and a missing lower scuff plate screw, which is apparently very common with G-series Kirbys. I think they vibrate out and get vacuumed up. I had supplies on hand to fix two of the three and the screw just isn't that serious. I'll get one for it eventually, along with a tube of thread lock from the auto parts store. I just have to wonder if the AA battery I found jammed in the brush roll is what did the belt in. At any rate, I love easy fixes.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go vacuum my living room...

 

[kirbymodel2c]

Hi,

<span style="font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">I'm glad you got it. I think you did the right thing...

</span>


 


<span style="font-family: book antiqua,palatino;">James

</span>

 

[vac-o-matic]

Oh yeah...

You got a great buy, I wouldn't have left it either.

 

[human]

Yes, I feel like it was a good move, even if I didn't really need it. It's in much better shape than any other vacuum cleaner I own and the price was definitely right, especially compared with what comparable machines go for on eBay.

There is one thing of which I have no doubt—it definitely would not have still been there had I waited until Tuesday.

 

[human]

Substitute scuff plate screw

You know that little lower scuff plate screw that always seems to work itself loose from G series Kirbys and disappear? I just found a viable substitute to go on that otherwise pristine G6 I got at the the thrift store a few days ago.

I was taking the mini-emptor loose from my other G6 in order to polish the motor housing and nozzle and I heard a rattle, so I shook the emptor and out falls a little flat-headed brass screw. It looks like one that would have been on a light switch or electrical outlet to hold a wire in place. Regardless of where it originated, it is a perfect fit for the lower scuff plate. I mean perfect—same size, same threads, same everything, except it's not a Torx; it's a combo head, designed to work with a Phillips or flathead screwdriver.

Not only am I glad to have found a screw that will work for this purpose without having to go buy one, but I think it's extra cool that I found it inside a Kirby! I guess the moral to this story would be if your lower scuff plate screw suddenly goes missing, check your emptor; you just might get lucky.