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i have 3 working kirby vacuums. i have a 1981 kirby heritage, a kirby tradition, and a recently acquired Gsix a few days ago. i also have a riccar vibrenece. i paid $20 for the Gsix and it was quite the steal, it is a 2001 limited edition model. it came will a whole set of brushes, an awesome bare floor nozzle, and a suds-o-gun. the Gsix had no mechanical issues at all. i did a quick teardown of the machine, i checked the motor brushes and they were barely broken in. i blew the dust out, did a quick polish with mothers, and ran the bag through the washer and drier. i put the bag back on and installed a bag(it came with 8 micro majic bags). this machine really does run perfectly and im impressed with the machine. i am still partial to my heritage and the tradition; i think will be a good machine too but i dont have any style 1 bags yet. i love the style of the tradition with the pretty blue bag. i dont have a hose for the tradition yet but the other 2 have hoses. i noticed that the safety switch on the tradition is different and the heritage hose will not work although it will attach to the front of the vacuum. the heritage has been in our family for 15 years and has been a primary workhorse for most of that time, it still runs great although it has minor issues. motor brushes on the heritage are still good but getting worn down, probably replace them soon to protect the armature, i just replaced the headlight lense it needs a handle spring repair kit (the bushing that the handle pin goes through wore out and when i pulled the handle pin out to do some work on the vacuum the spring poped out, oh well i'll fix that too. the heritage is a 1981 and it has worked hard for us the last 15 years, when my mom bought it; i was only 15 now im 30 and it still runs strong. my mom bought that vacuum for $100 used at a vacuum center, i cannot complain. kirby vacuums are extremely reliable and the quality is outstanding. hopefully the Gsix is as good as the heritage has been. my wife likes the tech drive.

i paid $25 for the tradition; no mechanical issues at all, $20 for the Gsix, and $100 for the heritage 15 years ago. are people really that dumb to give these things away. very old for most vacuums is young for a kirby. a 2001 Gsix is hardly even broken in unless it was abused.

i would like to eventually have complete attachment sets for all of them including shampoo units (i have 1 for the heritage, have to find the tank. i have used that unit many times)


anybody have any experience with these things; they look interesting


as far as the riccar is concerned its a nice cleaner but the handle broke which i am not entirely happy with. when it comes time that i repair it; i am going to use the newer style handle. i was at a riccar dealer and i noticed they changed the design. the riccar is a great machine with a good motor; i feel the quality is much better then the deptment store dysons, hoovers, and eureka machines, but riccar handles at least the older design suck. my riccar is 4 years old. riccars are good cleaning machines but i dont feel they equal kirby performance. i bought the riccar so my wife would have something lighter to lift then the old heritage

 

[kirbykid]

welcome to the forum

 

[lillylux]

Welcome...and cool Kirbys and more!

 

[eurekastar]

Welcome to the Forum!  Sounds like you have a great collection too!


 

 

[thermokid]

Welcome!!!

I have all models of Kirbys. Kirbys are my alltime favorite vacuum. The Kirby I use everyday is a model 561 from 1961, that is 51 years old. It is all original except for the brush roll. And that vacuum purrs like a kitten. You won't find a plastic vacuum that will ever last that long. My Kirby has always been taken good care of and serviced when it needs it just like a fine clock....

 

[caligula]

Welcome.

For me it's a real toss-up. While my favorite brand of vacuum is Electrolux, and favorite model is the LX (60) which I fell in love with back in 1953, I was about two years old at the time. seeing it eject the wrapper (bag) was awesome! I also have a strong interest in Kirby. My grandmother had a Kirby 512 (1952) and I loved it too.

Over the years I devoted a lot of time in research of both of these companies, as well as patent searches. Then in 1975 I got a job with Kirby, and eventually became a training manager dealing with the Omega, Classic 111, and Tradition. By that time I'd acquired a number of non electric vacuums that were all pre 1900, as well as a lot of background info on Kirby. Naturally, being a vacuum cleaner historian, I worked a history session into every class. My idea was "know your company, know your compeditor!"

Then in 1981 I got to know a fellow collector through the Hoover company. This was John Lucia, and as I listened to the stories he had about digging info, I realized that we were not alone! The result was that he and I decided to form this club.

Now I have a wealth of Kirby information that I love to share, so if you have questions about the older models like the 505, and earlier. I also know a lot about the first vacuum cleaners Jim Kirby designed in 1907, 1910, 1914, and 1917 (all pre Vacuette). I also know a lot about Georg H. Scott and Carl S. Fetzer, as well as James B. Kirby.

We are all here to help you, and are glad you are part of our forum.

Alex Taber.