Kirby Tradition - Newly Acquired/New Member

[lladvac]

Hi folks, First post. I have been reading just about every thread on here regarding the Tradition. I am a total vintage vacuum newbie, but the info I have gained on this site thus far has been amazing.

My Story:
Last year our plastic vacuum broke, we replaced it with another cheap plastic model, of course I was totally disgusted with the options available and costs and knew I was just buying yet another vacuum destined to break in short order. I vowed then that I would keep an eye out on Craigslist, yard sales, etc for a vintage vacuum, one that would make me happy to use instead of the disposables on the market today.

That day came last week when a Kirby Tradition (serial G665305) appeared on Craigslist for $20. The lady could not meet until the following day, that's when I first found myself here cramming to know all I could about the vacuum before meeting her. When I got there I was actually able to pretend like I knew a thing or two as I inspected the speed switch, (mounted on the front, with the blue plastic cover still in place) fan, etc. I knew right away I was going to buy it, all in all it was in great shape for it's age, even still has some shine to it. I asked about attachments, she had no idea about any, said it belonged to her husband before they were married. It was about that time when she said, I'll take $10 for it if you want it. SCORE! I kept my poker face, but boy was I grinning on the inside like the chesire cat. $10 for my first vintage Kirby, I could not be more happy. It needs a little sprucing up and some maintenance, but it sounds great and does its thing as is, which means it can only improve from here.

They clearly used it as their dog bed vacuum. I noticed on their porch several carpet remnants for the dogs. The brush roller was full, and I mean FULL of dog hair and the zipper bag smells like wet dog. But I think that should be easy to overcome with some cleaning, I am not too worried about it.

Thanks to ebay links here for a Kirby parts seller, I've already ordered a couple parts for things I know it needs and I have a wish list for the pricier parts (i.e. speed switch, brush roller)

Brings me to my question, I consider myself pretty handy and like to tinker and I have fixed the occasional electronic or two so I thought I wanted to see what I could do with the speed switch, turns out, not much. But I was able to get it to operate manually, meaning I can pull it up with my fingers to kill the power and I can push it down to re-engage. What I don't know is if it is re-engaging on high or low speed? With nothing to compare it to and never owning one before I don't know what speed it's running at? Can someone explain to me with a properly operating switch how it works? Does it have 3 positions (off,lo,hi) that are triggered depending on what attachment is in play? Is there a way to determine if mine is running on high or low until I can get a new switch?

Thanks in advance for reading my lengthy post.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

lladvac

Welcome to VacuumLand!

I have a Kirby Tradition myself, which runs perfect! Mine is serial no. F315-381, meaning it was not only built in 1979, but it has the right metal fan as well as the locking headlight cap!



About the speed switch cover on your machine, that was notorious for causing the speed selector arm to get stuck in the down (high speed) position. Kirby advised owners of these machines to discard this plastic cover. At the time they did that, it was one of two different ways to keep moisture out of the inside of the motor while the Rug Renovator was used. The other, and earlier one, was the speed switch when it was mounted to the inside of the headlight cap, which had been the case with mine before it was converted to use the speed switch on the fan case.

I do not have a Tradition service manual, but I can give you some pages from the Classic III service manual to assist you about fixing your speed switch.

~Ben

 

[lladvac]

Ben, Thank you, That's great, The service manual info for the speed switch is very helpful!

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

lladvac

Thank you very much - I knew I could be of assistance. BTW, I too am a proud Oregonian!

~Ben

 

[lesinutah]

Ben

Is this tradition the one with switch on the hood. It's on eBay and doesn't show the serial number knowing for sure it's a 1979 tradition.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Lesinutah

Les,

Yes, I saw this one. You can actually see the serial number in another picture (though not very clearly), and it does start with an F (F148-???).

But what I still don't know is if the original top-mount speed switch is there, or not.

~Ben

 

[lesinutah]

Ya

Given the bottom cord hook looks light blue makes me wonder.
Les

 

[lladvac]

I have been slowly chipping away at my Kirby, in between full time job and Dad/Husband duties. I have the whole bag disassembled and in process of cleaning all the various parts. I don't know if I am ever going to get the dog smell out of this thing. I hope several days hanging outside will help.

My question, I removed the hose from the bag attachment, this fitting was already very loose and basically pulled apart with little effort, however it looks like it may have been glued at one time? I am not sure how to best reconnect this to get a good seal? Is it supposed to be glued?

PS. I passed up a Riccar 2150 at a yard sale this weekend for $5, I'm new in this vacuum world and had never even heard of Riccar, did I make a big mistake?

 

[lesinutah]

Hey

Riccar you should have picked up they are great machines.
The adaptor can be glued on but ideally you put zip ties. If you are talking about the bottom to where the emptor is I would silicone that one.
If the adaptor goes on to easy cut a half inch of the hose and see if it fits better.
The silicone seals it good but zip ties are preferred.
If bags smells like dog your can wash. If vacuum cleaner emtor and fill tubes out good. The fan housing clean it out well too. I have a tradition that still smells like wet dog.
Your asking good questions so you are doing well so far. Keep it up you will be done before you know it.
Les

 

[lladvac]

Thanks Les, Yes I was referring to the top of the hose. I left the bottom of the hose attached to the emptor attachment, it still seemed well sealed with glue/silicone, so I just left it alone. I like the zip tie idea for the top, I will do that.

I have not taken apart the fan housing yet, but I now assume it will need attention and a good cleaning if I am to try and improve the wet dog smell, so will include that on my to do list.

So far for the bag I vacuumed it well and for now just letting it hang outside to air clean. My plan is to soak it in a bucket of water and OxiClean, on the assumption that would not harm it. I read that it may fade some with water, but I am ok with that if it helps improve the smell.

Live and learn on the Riccar....I will know next time. Plus that gives me time to ease the wife into this, if she saw me bring home another vacuum already she'd probably think I officially lost my mind, LOL.

 

[lesinutah]

Lucky

I bring in a vacuum my wife already knows I lost my mind lol. She loves when I sell them.
The tradition and classic 3 bags if you use oxiclean will wash some color. You could do a few things soak in water ring out and hang dry. You could turn inside out hang from clothes line spray down with hose air dry flip right side out spray again dry again. If you use dish soap and hang dry might work. If it doesn't bother you use oxiclean but it's going to leave blue water and come out faded. I think any cleaning would suffice for the smell. Bags gone fade anyways.
Les