Kirby Tradition found at Goodwill today

[sonnyndad]

After years of searching, I FINALLY found decent Tradition! I had one 4 years ago, but it had some problems, so I parted it out and I don't regret it. I put that good armature in my Omega that I restored. This Tradition runs strong and it's very quiet - no bearing noise. As found, it had a (completely clogged up) paper bag setup, but I changed it to shakeout. Much more airflow. Tomorrow or this weekend, I will give it the spa treatment and give it a mild polishing. And the best part is, it only cost me $10.09.

 

[firebirdman55]

Beautiful Tradition!

They are such attractive machines. I actually own 4 Traditions. And like you, I too opted for the shake out bag versus the disposable setup. The bag kills the performance and I just love the look of the shakeout bag. Take care of her and she'll last forever...just like any Kirby! And congrats! Always exciting to find a "new" vintage machine!

 

[kirbybag]

nice

very nice kirby tradition

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Nate (firebirdman55),

Of those four, which of them has the locking headlight cap and metal fan?

~Ben

 

[firebirdman55]

Locking headlight cap...

Ben,
Unfortunately, I don't own one of the early Traditions. I've befriended a guy locally who works for Kirby and I buy his trade-ins from him. Two of the Traditions are in great shape, the other two have issues. One has a broken handle spring assembly and one has bad bearings. I would love to find an early Tradition, but I highly doubt he will come up with a machine that rare for me.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Nate,

Those early examples also had the speed switch inside the headlight cap. That seemed to be misunderstood by many Kirby users.

~Ben

 

[sptyks]

Ben, do you have a closeup picture of that safety switch in the headlight cap?


I have never seen one before.


 

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Stan,

I wish I could show you one but I do not have one. I will have to make a drawing of it.

~Ben

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Stan,

Here you go: a picture of the early two-door speed switch from the early Tradition.

~Ben

 

[sonnyndad]

The Tradition got

A mini spa treatment and a mild hand polishing. I'll be getting it a new fan and brushroll.

 

[jfalberti]

Wow.

Nice Tradition. It's hard to think of the Tradition as being a vintage machine because I sold that model new when I was with Kirby. It literally seems like yesterday. Where does the time go?

 

[sptyks]

Ben , thank you for that photo of the Tradition safety switch.


 


What do you suppose was Kirby's reasoning to move the safety switch up there? 

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Stan,

They originally relocated the speed switch to the headlight cap so that when you use the Kirby to shampoo rugs (with the Rug Renovator), there wouldn't be any moisture on the speed switch.

Then, when the speed switch returned to its old location (on the fan case below the intake opening) in early 1980, Kirby initially put a blue rubber cover around it, again to keep moisture out of the switch when using the Rug Renovator. This didn't work well in the long run, either, as the plastic covering sometimes caused the speed switch arm to "jam" and remain locked downward in high speed mode (for hose use).

~Ben

 

[Miss Mercy]

Very nice Tradition! I own 2 Traditions. One is brand new 1980 still in the box never used and the other is a 1979 Tradition that has the original metal fan and a fully functional headlight locking switch. It's quite amazing to see them side by side. Enjoy your Tradition and Merry Christmas!

 

[sptyks]

Thanks for that explanation Ben. It all makes sense to me now.

 

[vacuumdanny]

2 speed swtich

Wouldn't it be beneficial to lock the kirby into high speed mode for better cleaning with the brush roller mode? Also you were saying the disposable bag hurt performance a bit so wouldn't bumping it to high speed all the time make up for the restriction of the disposable bag? Doesn't any dust you clean up just blow right through the shakeout bags? Every time I fire up a vacuum with the shack out bags a big cloud of dust blows out of the bag!

 

[beekeyknee]

Can't a Heritage paper bag set-up be installed in Traditions to fix that small bag tube with the reduced air flow problem? Somehow in the back of my mind I was thinking this was possible or am I imagining things?

 

[portapower]

I also have a Tradition with the locking headlight cap. Never knew what it was for.
Now I know. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[vacuumkid47]

Kirby Tradition

Wow, what great Tradition! I own one, but the Bag is too hard to hook over the Sani-Emptor lip.......