Picked up a Kirby G5 and the BPI is missing

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wyaple

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 2, 2015
Messages
360
Location
Pickerington, OH
What I mean is that there is no provision for it on the power nozzle. No hole. And the brush roll plastic end caps say "Delicate" on them, just two instead of three positions to choose from. I went to YouTube and watched Kirby's owners videos for the G5 and lo-and-behold, no BPI light! I also have a G4 and G6 and they both have the little green light (although on opposite sides).

Would anyone know why Kirby eliminated the green BPI light on just the G5?

Bill
 
The first G5's didn't have the light. It was added back, albeit on the opposite side as the G4, later in the run. So a number of G5's have them.

Back when I used to belong to the VCCC (more than a decade ago), we went to the Kirby factory when they were building G5's brand new. Several people remarked upon the absence of the BPI light. We were told it was coming back, and it did.

That's the same convention where Kirby was talking into giving me the test rug for the club - I believe it's the same orange rug with the arrows on it that the current VCCC still has.
 
My G5 does indeed have the BPI light, so I can verify that it was added back in. The brush roll you have would most likely be a replacement as Kirby in recent years, I think during the Sentria's production run, began offering two brush roll options—regular and delicate. The regular roll is a bit stiffer than what would have originally come with a G5 and is what mine has. It's engineered to work well on most carpets, leaving distinct grooming lines. The delicate roll is for more fragile carpets and rugs that might be damaged by the more aggressive brush roll.
 
My Heritage II actually doesn't have one. So I guess mine is probably one of the first Heritage II models that first came out, Or maybe the rug nozzle got replaced when this was rebuilt by Kirby a long time ago from the original owners.

panasonicvac-2016081116241603196_1.jpg
 
Thanks for the info everybody

I just wanted to know if my 1997 G5 was "abnormal" or not and what Kirby was thinking by eliminating the BPI, then bringing it abruptly back.

Bill
 

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