New in box Kirby Heritage II

[vacfanatic]

Hey Kirby Fans!

I finally had to give in to an eBay item that I've been eyeing for about 5 months now. What were my chances in my lifetime of finding my absolute favorite pre-Generation Kirby new in box after all these years? Slim to none, so I had to do it!

$503 later... She will be sent to me in additional packaging so the original boxes are not mangled, taped up, etc during shipping. This seller had about 15 of them, and they are down to the last 3 now. They had taken 1 of them out of the box to show and assemble, but the one I'll be sent has never been out of the box. Smoke free storage facility and warehouse that these have been sitting in for all these years, no water damage, etc.

I am so excited!!!! I'll be doing an unboxing video in HD on my YouTube channel, and will share a lot of the photos with everyone.

It was an expensive purchase but one of them that you just can't pass up!

Andrew

 

[vacfanatic]

 

[vacfanatic]

 

[vacfanatic]

 

[vacfanatic]

 

[kirbyloverdan]

I had to get one also !

I bought this one also a few months ago . I have all the generations in the box but my new Heritage I bought when it first came out is now used . So this is the replacement. Now I always buy two of the newest so I have one in the box and one to use .

 

[twocvbloke]

I'd love to have one of them NIB HII's, I've seen them on and off over the past year and wished I could get one, but alas, no, I can't afford it...

(never mind the extortionate shipping required on such a thing!!)

 

[vacfanatic]

Shipping

Yea the shipping was $64 and I agreed to pay $15 extra for extra boxing so the original boxes did not get damaged. Overall, this purchase was a huge splurge but one I won't regret! This was a once in my lifetime chance to get one, so I had to do it. LOL

 

[twocvbloke]

The main issue I have with shipping is that it'd be international, even the empty shell of my Tristar (aswell as some other bits and pieces) cost about $120, and that was a pretty light box compared to how heavy a box with a Kirby in it would be!! :S

I'd probably pay as much as the Kirby alone would cost to ship one to the UK...

 

[vacfanatic]

Yea it would be very pricey to ship one of these to you in the UK. :-( Hopefully the YouTube unboxing will give you almost the same joy as real life

I wonder if there would be any concern about the condition of the motor bearings sitting after all these years? I know Kirby's have the sealed ball bearings, but I wonder if they can somehow dry out like a sleeve bearing could. I plan to use this cleaner for fun but I guess I'm wondering about the motor bearings...

Andrew

 

[kenmore81]

Wow

That is awsome! So happy for you Andrew. I cant wait to see the YT when you get it. As far as the bearings I think they shoud be ok but Im not an expert in that dept. If I were to get someting older used or unused I always give the motor a hand spin to see if it sounds dry.

 

[eurekastar]

That is very cool! Congratulations! I look forward to seeing the video.

 

[twocvbloke]

Bearings...

I think you would want to replace or repack the bearings as they can dry out from lack of use, after up to 27 years in a box, the solvents in the grease will have managed to escape, so replacement/repacking would be a good idea before using it properly...

You'll know if they're dry cos they'll sound rough after a short while, if not, then you could be lucky, but, you never know...

 

[scvacuumguy]

It would definitely be worth repacking the bearings. Even if they don't sound dry, after a little use the layer of 30 year old grease residue/gunk will be circling around the bearings and damaging them.

Remove/Clean with WD40/Dry thoroughly/Repack

 

[vacfanatic]

Thanks for the suggestions! If the bearings give me any guff, I'll just have to order new ones. I've already got a Kirby bearing puller around here somewhere.

Now the hard part... waiting for it to get here LOL.

Andrew

 

[eurekastar]

I think the Heritage series was already being built only with sealed bearings, so you'll have to just replace them.

 

[jfalberti]

If I remember correctly

Sealed bearings started with the Classic Omega 1-CB. The original Classic had the same bearings used in the 500 - Sanitronic lines that could be cleaned and re greased. I serviced many Omegas/Classic III/Traditions in my days at Kirby that had sealed bearings.

 

[twocvbloke]

Some bearings have plastic covers over the bearing race which you can pop off and then clean out the bearing's innards and repack, then snap the covers back in, but later ones have metal covers which while they do pop off, they don't go back on properly, so you either have the grease ooze out though the gaps, or you have to use them as open bearings, which need maintenance more often...

I like the plastic covered ones, most of my Kirbys have those, much easier to maintain and clean up...

 

[eurekastar]

That is correct. Sealed bearings were introduced on the 1-CB. But they are so cheap, I'd just replace them.