Sentria II Dilemma

[jkbff]

Well.. If you guys recall I had purchased a Sentria II for my mother last year for her birthday... Well, she has done nothing but complain about it since I got it for her...

Let me start this by saying She loves Kirby's and won't have anything but a Kirby...

I tried my hardest to talk her out of it but she wouldn't listen... So I purchased it. She has a sculptured carpet... The vacuum ratchets when she vacuums... What I mean by that is if you watch the fork from the transmission to the pivot as it goes forwards and back, as it hit a divot in the carpet, the transmission is pushing forward, jolts because of the divot, the pivot pushes the fork to neutral, but the vacuum is still propelling forward and so the fork slams into forward again, repeating the process multiple times per second... Making the transmission ratchet...

One would think this wouldn't be that big of a deal.. Change vacuuming speeds or angles or something... But the jolt of the handle being slammed/ratcheted combined with the fact that my mother is getting older and her skin isn't like what it used to be, she is getting bruised when she uses her vacuum...

She had a G3 that she got rid of when I got this for her, the G3 didn't ratchet because the transmission wasn't as sensitive, it had more of a gap from the forward distance to the neutral position to the reverse... It didn't have the center slide plate that had a self centering spring. (I am very tempted to put a g3 slide plate in the Sentria II!) Also, the seal on the nozzle was worn to the metal so it didn't gasp for air when it hit the divots of the carpet...

I've tried monkeying with the forward position and the reverse set screws, have gotten it to where it doesn't spin the gears when its in neutral and doesn't ratchet *as* much in drive, but I don't think this will last long or things will function properly set this way...

I don't want to be stuck with a vacuum that I DO NOT want (aside from the fact I have a new transmission coming in case I have to sell this machine but I already have 3 machines on hand). Do you guys have any suggestions on what I can do to make this machine more comfortable for her to vacuum with?

Here is a pic of the carpet... It is evil..

From Requested Vac Pics

 

[ncovert]

Try to modify it and put the spring assembly from the Generation 3 into the Sentria II, but beware that the SEII tranny is a bit slower running than the G3's. You might just want to try and swap the whole transmission!

 

[jkbff]

When I go over there today, I'm gonna take the centering spring off of the plate and see if I can adjust a bit more of a forward gap... after that I'm gonna see if I can find a g3 tranny and slide to put in it...

I rebuilt a g3 for her but you can tell she's upset about going from something brand new to something so old.. It ratchets too because the nozzle seal is brand new so it gasps for air and makes the vacuum jump..

When I was monkeying with the tranny last night, I did start to get a whine from it, but it had been runnung for a long time as I messed with the set screws on the plate and the back of the tranny while it was in neutral ... I'm hoping it was just warm and I didn't mess anything up beyond repair..

I wonder how far I can go before it does break...

 

[kirbysthebest]

If it's only a year old

Have it looked at under warranty. Maybe there is an adjustment they can make.

 

[jkbff]

Lol I work for the kirby service center. The owner can't figure out how to adjust it for that carpet type.. We've tried two brand new ones on her carpet and they ratchet worse than the one she has.

I dunno where to turn.

 

[ncovert]

Try the brush roll for delicate carpeting, available from Kirby's website or your local distributor...

 

[Miss Mercy]

I had a similar problem with my Sentria II. It got to wear it would hop on the carpet. I applied some fresh grease the the rear axle. Helped tremendously and works like it should. It glides on the carept and doesn't hop or ratchet.

 

[jkbff]

I ended up taking it back and now have a sentria II with a warranty replaced tranny to sell :/ oh well...

On the upside she got an ULW maytag.

I appreciate the replies!