My new Kirby G4 $20.00 "Blown Motor" Special

[kirby508]

I found this one on CL, owner said it had a "Blown Motor" so I took a chance, paid $20.00 as it looked nice....no attachments etc......
Reeked of nicotine and all other bad things......removed copious amounts of hair from brush roll........replaced belt with burnt through area........put on a new bag....and it started working....but then it was too good to be true.....motor slowed and sparks from motor area......

Ordered a new set of motor brushes, installed them this weekend, plenty of old brush left but on one side the spring was not working....cleaned commutator.......put it all back together....and it runs like a champ.

So, new belt, new headlamp, new brushes.......

Washed bag to get rid of funky smoke-o-rama odors.......

Looks pretty nice.....fun project.

 

[briguy]

That's a sharp looking G4!! I have one as well. I originally found mine at a yard sale for $5 & it was pretty gross too. Later found the complete set of attachments for $6. The G4 is one of my favorite colors of Kirby.

 

[blackheart]

A good deal.

$20 is a pretty good deal for a G4 i've seen quite a few for sale over the past few years, is that emptor a G6 emptor or am i seeing things?

 

[mr_mom]

not bad

i found a g6 2000 with everything and three Sentria without the tools didnt need anything got $20 at the flea market and the guy was really nice he let me open them up and look at everything and test them both and i picked the g6 and i might go back and get one more i polished it up and it looks brand new there's some big deep gashes on the front

 

[eurekastar]

Very nice deal!

 

[kirby508]

G6 Emptor?

The lady I bought this rig from claimed to have worked for KIRBY...........I asked her about "Scott & Fetzer" and she knew crap........but who knows, this might be a "KIRBYSTEIN"

 

[madabouthoovers]

Thats an even better bargain that mine was, and yes, its not the original G4 emptor. Always wondered why they changed the side the brushroll LED was on from the G4 to the G5. I paid £50 UK ($80) for my G7e on EBay, seller getting rid due to intermittent cutting out, just a power lead breakage so put a connector in for now, polished it and cleaned it internally. Tech drive a bit noisy but I think they all do this when they get a bit older? How's your tech drive sounding?
Yeah, it sure is amazing what they cost new, and what you pay when they get a bit older lol. My Kirby:

 

[kirby508]

But wait...........

That looks like an "Ultimate Kirby" of later vintage?

To tell the truth, I don't see much difference in any Kirby models from G3 up until Sentria...........colors etc, but I doubt even a Sentria out sucks a G3?

 

[mark40511]

I know Kirby's are great vacuums

but I've never been an upright fan. But I too have wondered what the differences are between the later models other than color.

Glad you got the smoke smell out of everything. That is NO easy task! So the bags can just be easily taken off and thrown into the washer?

 

[jodan3399]

Congrats! Nice find.

I curbed a set of attachments (no hose), front piece, & shampoo attachment, still in the box last month I think for a G4.

Unfortunately there was no G4 or someone beat me to it.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Yes, the bags can be washed - just slip a screwdriver under the tie wrap and whip it off the mini-emptor, and detach the bag from the emptor and hose, remove the plastic top trim and turn inside out, then I laundered mine on 60Deg C synthetic cycle, with plenty of fab con, and it smells a treat now every time I use it - better to use the cloth hepaflow bags as they are better than the paper ones, but pricier!

 

[madabouthoovers]

Differences were small in the years from 1991 - 2006, These changes were: The style of the mini-emptor from G6 onwards, rounded off. The G7 Diamond edition had a twin speed button by the foot switch, and G5 and later had a Kevlar fan which was better quality than the G4 and G3. G4 and onwards had minor mods made to the Tech Drive, and each generation had a better type of paper filtration bag to go with it, starting with the micron magic bags on the G4, and later becoming Hepa compliant on the G6 models onwards. The hood was rounded off and the headlamp lens altered from G5 ownards. Notice also the brushroll LED was moved from the right side to the left side from G5 onwards. The Sentria is a G7 with improved part plastic handle , LED headlight, and redesigned belt lifter and nozzle bumper strip. I think there were other subtle differences, but essentially, the Sentria uses a G3 bodyshell with all the mods since the G3. The Kirby has just evolved really over the last 22 years.

 

[kirby508]

Curbed G3

Years ago, I was driving home near my house, it was a rainy night.
It was trash night and as I drove past this one house, I noticed a chrome looking vacuum cleaner...."Royal or Kirby?" I thought as a slammed on the brakes....I grabbed a very nice G3 and a full set of attachments, book and bags hose and all.....brought it home plugged it in and nothing...hmmm......then I seated the EMTPOR and it came to life and it has been my every day driver downstairs for years......
I am going to polish it up and make it look good.......

 

[madabouthoovers]

I think the G3 will be more collectable in years to come as it was the very first of the Generation range, and at launch, was such an improvement over the outgoing range (Classic - Legend II) with its new lines and tech drive. I think the tech drive is what is so great about the Generation range, makes the cleaner so much more manageable (even if it does make that annoying noise lol).
That safety switch on the emptor caught me out as well, forgot that the cleaner wouldnt operate without the emptor correctly fitted.
Polishing a Kirby is like polishing your car lol - it can never be shiny enough! Dont know where all that black tarnish on the cloth all comes from when I polish mine - its like T-Cutting a car thats had its paintwork neglected.

 

[mark40511]

What is an emptor?

 

[madabouthoovers]

The Emptor is the plastic shoe that the bag clips on to - it is designed to contain larger debris that is too heavy to pass up the fill tube into the bag, such as screws, coins, jewelery etc, and makes it easier to get items back that are sucked up by mistake (Assuming they arent destroyed by the fan that is)

 

[jmurray01]

If you do suck up some of the said material you may find sheared bits of fan in the emptor too, ha ha.

 

[madabouthoovers]

Well Jamie - I'm surprised that you dont have a Kirby yet? being dirty fan, is one on the cards? You can pick them up so cheap now as well - what would be your ideal Kirby? Heritage? Legend? G3? G4?
It really worth getting one as their old slogan used to say "Where there's Pride, There's a Kirby"

 

[jmurray01]

Pride is one of the Seven Deadly Sins you know Steve

Well, who knows, perhaps.

I'd rather have another dirty fan Hoover though, as THAT slogan went - However clean, Hoover cleaner!