I like the metal fans best-Oh if you want to see broken plastic(Lexan) fans--come out here-Kirbys come into the vac Hospital or Greenvile Sew&Vac all the time with broken fans-the metal ones are more durable-and as found on another thread-actually improve the performance of the Kirby.Please go back to them.I have seen more busted lexan fans than b roken metal ones.
As far as performance-the machines are pretty even.Tool use with Kirby is easier.
Oh yes-years ago a Kirby dist rep came to the Vac Hospital to delivor some machines and give Bill and I an interesting demonstration of the metal fans-this would have been when the machines were still US built.He put the hose adpator on one of the new Royals and let it suck several pennies out of his hand.The machine had the grey dump bag on it.He emptied the pennies out of the bag-they were bent-and then he took the front of the fan housing off the machine-the fan was OK-just a nick in one blade and another blade just slightly bent.I am afraid that test would have DESTROYED a Kirby lexan fan.The metal fans rule.I have some Chinese royals-only one has the bad handle latch.the others are fine.And on the older Kirby plastic fans-beware-the plastic suffers age cracking as it gets older-I got an older Heritage with one of those fans and it weent CRAAACK when I put the machine into the hose mode.A metal fan no matter how old wouldn't do that.Kirby PLEASE go back to metal-MUCH better!