kirby running a little hot and apears to not be running as fast as it should

[outdoorjoe]

Hi there I have a kirby d80 I just purchased. It has extremely little use( still has belt lifter stickers). I greased the bearings and put it all back together. It appears to run warmer than my other d80 and slightly slower.
my normal d80 has new style bearings and runs cool or at least cooler and has great suction. the new one appears to not have as good suction and both have perfect metal fans. both appear to be spinning freely any suggestions? should I change out the 40+ year old bearings to new type or could there be another issue? What do you think? Don't know what to start replacing or should i ship it to one of you guys?

 

[broomvac]

If it sounds fine and works around as well as the other, don't worry about it...

 

[d-jones]

How long has it been sitting without use?

Reduced speed and increased heat can be caused by something as simple as a dirty commutator. The brushes deliver power to the commutator(which sits at one end of the motors armature)and if it's become oxidized due to lack of use you'd have increased resistance to the flow of electricity. Increased resistance means increased heat and reduced performance. A good vacuum cleaner shop should have a substance known as commutator chalk. It's a compressed stick of mild abrasives that is rubbed against the commutator while the motor is running. As the oxidation is removed you can hear the motor speed increasing. I can't say for sure that this is the cause of your problem but it may be worth looking into.

Here's a picture of a commutator that could use some cleaning

 

[outdoorjoe]

great reply thank you.

I'll look for some commutator chalk and go from there. I'll also take some pictures while I'm at it. The parts very unused. I'm out of town for a week and will follow up! thank you so much for your input! Joe

 

[vacuumfreak]

Heres an idea of what you should be looking for. I used it on one of my lux motors, and it seems to have done the trick

Daniel

 

[djtaylor]

Try running it with the belt off. If it works fine with the belt off then it's time for a new brush roller and belt. If it is still running slow it might be time for new bearings.
Justin

 

[kirbykid63]

Check the motor brushes and speed switch connections.

 

[outdoorjoe]

I checked the wiring and all was tight I took the armature out and took chrome polish to the commutator. shined it up, put it all back together and now it runs perfectly. Thank you so much for the advise. now for the 2nd d80 with the frozen bearing plate screws!

 

[d-jones]

I'm happy to hear that cleaning the commutator did the trick. You wouldn't happen to have before and after pics, would you?

 

[outdoorjoe]

you know, I should have taken pictures.
the armature and all inside parts look brand new. the commutator contact area was tarnished. the after looked like a bright shiny penny. the copper couldn't get any more shiny. took maybe 5 mins with the chrome polish. It was very easy.