late 60s Kirby Dual Sanitronic 80

[northwesty]

I wanted to give a thank you for the heads up on this late 60s Kirby Dual Sanitronic 80 given by Kirbyotronic on my other thread. He mentioned he had one so he didn't buy this one. It was just $7 but has the wrong handle and the bag was no good. Actually Alex, when I went to check it out it was half price day! Anyway I found a good bag on ebay and otherwise it works fine. I am learning how to shine these up and have invested in some stuff to do it.

 

[northwesty]

another view

I'm not too sure this was such a great candidate for a little restoration, but this thift store is one I drive by almost every day. Anyway, in some ways it shines more in person than the photo indicates, but I think I am going to purchase some different compound to try to shine it up some more.

 

[northwesty]

Really like this cool green color

Here is that handle that is the wrong color but I'm working on that. Wanted to also thank the folks that I have talked with for thier help in advice on parts and polishing and overall support.

 

[northwesty]

Before picture

It doesn't look too bad here. Anyway I have had fun with this and it works great. Thanks for looking.

-Brian

 

[kirbyvacuum]

Very nice job

Hi Brian Very nice Jod i also have a Dual 80. Look on e-bay i am sure you will find the right handle. What are you useing to shine it up. Good work Doug

 

[twocvbloke]

That handle looks like a non-Kirby aftermarket part, the pre-Heritage handles never had a lip like that one does, they were just one straight line down to the top of the handle fork...

Still, there's plenty of D80 handles available for sale, like this one...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120539567440

 

[kirbyotronic]

Brian...

Wow! It turned out really nice, great job!

I'll check and see if I can get you the matching green handle this Thursday.

Alex

 

[eurekastar]

That looks really great! I have an original two-piece handle I can give you. Shoot me an email with your address and I'll send it your way!

 

[electroluxkirby]

Looks great, you did an awesome job of shining it up!

 

[kirbylux77]

Brian, that Kirby looks great!

Now all you need is the matching handle & tools & it's all complete. Congrats on an excellent restoration!

Rob

 

[chrisb32]

Nice machine. I have the same model with all the boxes and all the attachments and shampooer that were never used. Mine always ran perfectly but last time i turned it on, it had a real slow sound and had a burning smell, so its pretty much dead. i took it apart and the brushes and all look fine. i have rebuilt kirbys before so I am familiar with the motors pretty much but this one had me baffled. Any advice? I guess I will look for the motor part and just replace it. The rest of the machine is perfect. Almost like new.

 

[eurekastar]

@ Chris

You might find that harvesting a motor from another DS-50 or 80 could be an acceptable alternative. That can be much cheaper than buying a brand new motor. I'm wondering though if one of the bearings is just seized. Also, have you noticed a green residue anywhere on the motor housing. That would indicate arching on the commutator, which is definitely a sign of a bad motor. You might also test the continuity of the each field on the commutator and the motor field itself. Otherwise, I can't imagine what the problem would be either.

 

[twocvbloke]

Chris, it could be that your safety switch may have given up, being jammed between Fast (Hose) and Slow (Carpet) speeds, which can cause excessive arcing and producing a burning smell. Going through the link I posted earlier in the thread, you can find a brand new safety switch from Kent Oyler...

Hope that helps...

 

[chrisb32]

safety switch?

I bet thats it. I never thought of it till you said that, but the safety switch has a crack in the back of it, and where one of the wires plugs in something is wrong on the inside and it doesnt hold the wire right. It has always luckily worked until last time I took it apart to buff it. I had a hard time getting the wire in that time. When I turned it on it acted like it was trying to slowly increase in speed, and even smoked a little from somewhere. Let me know if this sounds right. I was baffled because the bearings and all turn smoothly, thanks

 

[twocvbloke]

Yep, sounds like that safety switch has had it, if the wires are loose, they're arcing and would produce just what you described, just needs replacing which is a pretty easy job, instructions are provided here in this link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350146933225

 

[chrisb32]

whew! thats a relief

Thanks so much for that info. I had thought of the safety switch before, but when I turned that thing on it was so crazy i thought it might burst into flames so I only ran it about 3 seconds, lol. I am relieved, since I know now the motor is probably fine. I will get this replaced as soon as I can afford the switch. This is a near perfect machine. All the trim is perfect, the bag and cord aswell. The cord doesnt have a single nick in it. I have all the boxes in new condition, and the attachments and shampooer were never used, so I would like to have it running properly. One more thing, the light wont work, new bulb or not. Havent put much thought into it since it stays packed in the box anyway.

 

[twocvbloke]

The light socket is probably heavily corroded, a good scratching of the contacts in the socket with a sharp flat screwdriver usually sorts it out...

It's rare for them to break, but there could be a damaged wire somewhere if the bulb still refuses to work...

Just remember, the Pre-Omega Kirbys used 120v 2-pin bayonet bulbs, not the 12v Automotive style bulbs that were used on the Omega to the LegendII...

(Generation to Diamond Editions used a wedge-fit 12v bulb, and the Sentria uses an LED assembly, just to be thorough!!)

 

[chrisb32]

thanks, Ill check it out