He wasn't a genius. Just a vac shop repair man who had some good ideas that didn't pan out. In the 1980's he 'devised' a way of adding a Hoover Dial-A-Matic transmission and wheels to a Kirby (and a Bison), along with the Hoover handle. The Kirby was another six inches longer than usual, making it VERY hard to use. He marketed his 'conversion' to power drive kit, directly to other vac shops. You could either buy the 'kit' or buy a Kirby already converted to power driven wheels. It was a tragedy. You couldn't give one away, they were so big and heavy.
His next 'invention' was the bagless conversion kit. In reality, it was a Eureka Optima dirt bin and filter, with a Kirby coupler. Talk about cutting down airflow and suction to the point of almost non-existence. Because the Kirby is always running as if the bag is full, the motor speeds way up - using your carbon brushes at a tremendous rate. Truly bad for the machine. Not to mention the person who has to empty it, and bang the filter.
Instead of 'inventing' a different use for an existing product, he should have spent his time actually inventing something useful and novel that he could sell and make money with. Kind of like what James Dyson did.
