The Kirby Challenge...

[animasinsulin]

Royal fan?

Hey, Eric. What would happen if you could fit our Royal Everlast fans on a Kirby?....Bill in Az....

 

[tristar]

A Royal fan won't fit a Kirby. They have a different shaft size, thread, and depth of the blades. It simply won't fit the fan chamber!

 

[animasinsulin]

My G4

When I bought my G4 at a Goodwill, in the emptor thing was bent screws, a mangled dime, shared glass. How can a lexan fan do that kind of damage? I checked the fan and it still looks new.....Bill in Az....

 

[vacuumfreeeke]

I am glad you are going to do a retest. I also thought upon first reading this that the original test could in no way be called fair since the Sanitaire had been used more than the Kirby. Both fine looking machines, though.

 

[tristar]

Retest...

I'm not doing a retest. I'm doing a continuation of the test, but in reverse.

If anything, using the Sanitaire more gave the Kirby an advantage since the F&G bags clog a LOT quicker than the Kirby bags do.

The pictures weren't designed to illustrate that the Sanitaire picked up more. It was designed to show how much filth was actually picked up in 3 days and how little was actually left behind.

This seems to be a hard concept for a lot of people to follow. This isn't that complicated.

If you have a problem with the test, do one yourself! Document it. Just be FAIR about it. Repeat the same circumstances and don't purposely mangle one machine just because you don't like it or WANT it to lose.

 

[tristar]

Water Lift Results...

So here's the results of the Kirby Generation 3 with the Metal fan vs. the Kevlar fan:

Kevlar Fan: 24" of water

Metal fan: 36" of water

The lift reading of the Kevlar fan Kirby was confirmed by another friend of mine who has the same machine and a vacuum gauge.

Result: The Metal fan DOES increase suction. 12" of water is nothing to scoff at for a dirt-fan machine.

Below is a picture of the vacuum gauge with the metal fan in the Kirby.

 

[tolivac]

That is interesting about your G3 and the metal fan-sure shows the diffrence as read on your meter.Guess we can put to rest about overloading the motor as the Kirby dist showed when i asked him about the metal vs lexan fan several years ago.You do get about 50% increase.Nothing to scoff at.Kirby should go back to the metal fans!And your wattmeter test shows the motor current draw is within tolerence.Sounds like a good improvement.Eureka is going to different bags for the Sanitaire uprights-they are phasing out the F&G bag system.They are going to Filtrete bags too.I beleive it was an S&P bag is what they use on new Saintaire machines.The outer bag has a rigid fill tube like the Royal "B" bag system and the Kirby bag system.

 

[tolivac]

The new Eureka bag system is "ST".Wonder if the newer ST outer bags can be used on older Eurika machines.Would be interesting to try.

 

[vac-o-matic]

Conversion Kit

My buddy Phillip (Kirbyvertibles) gave me a conversion kit for my birthday last year so I could use the filtrete bags on my mom's Eureka which is often my daily driver. It works great, and I believe it just pops into the original tube. It definitely made it quieter, as it has just the vinyl outside bag, but what a difference in filtration! I have a lab that sheds 24/7 and even with a spa day every six weeks, still manages to smell like a dog. I was using the pet Arm and Hammer F & G bags but they seemed to cut the airflow a little. The conversion kit and the Sanitaire ST bags have been a blessing! Thanks again Phillip!

 

[tristar]

One of these days I'll find the conversion kit for the F&G style machines so I can try out the ST bags. They seem like they'd probably work a bit better since they're actually the cloth bags. That's my biggest gripe about the F&G style is how FAST they clog up! Even the filteraire bags are a pain with clogging.

 

[ridgidvac]

Conversion kit for F & G bag system

I'm happy 4 the conversion kit b/c it's a pain 2 change the Eureka F & G bag, but with the new ST bag converter things WILL be easier when I need to change bags.

About which vac is the best carpet vac, it depends on type of dirt being vacuumed & style of carpet pile, etc.

 

[tolivac]

The gripes I have about the F&G bags is the awkward way they go onsometimes you tear the paper bag feed tube while putting it on the main bags tube.Also on some F&G bags the feed tube rips unexpectedly causing a mess in your cleaners main cloth bag.This happens when I use F&G bags in my Royals that use "A" bags.And if you are not careful in putting the band over the paper feed tube-the area there can leak.Sometimes the paper tube clogs.Glad to see the F&G system phased out-guess it was the earliest top fill disposable bag system.I have one of the conversion outer bags for a Kirby-got it in a box of Kirby parts from a former Kirby dealer.The retrofit system cuts down the performance of the Kirby greatly-would NOT reccomend it.Tried it on a Dual 80 Kirby.Disappointing results.Beleive the bag was made by DG or whatever they are-the outfit that makes most aftermarket bags.Don't know why the Kirby dealer had it-maybe it was on a customers machine.

 

[tristar]

I've never had any of the problems you describe with the F&G bags, however I did once have a stick launched through the filltube. THAT made a mess....

Compared to the Hoover Type-C setup, the F&G bag is a CAKEWALK to change! At least you're not trying to keep all the dirt and mess from going everywhere in the process!


BTW, I'm about to do the final vacuuming for this week to round off this test. Results should be in somewhat shortly.

 

[ohio_tuec]

Forgive me for not saying it sooner, but thank you Eric for doing the waterlift test. Clearly, a metal fan DOES make a dramatic difference. In regards to the bag setup, Eureka was ahead of Hoover by leaps and bounds. It's a wonder they kept the "Type C" setup as long as they did. I use an F&G bag in my Hoover 61, which makes changing it so much more convenient.

 

[tolivac]

Heres how to deal with the Hoover "C" bags for replacing a full one-learned it from Bill at the Vacuum Cleaner Hospital out here-Turn the machine upside down and support the front of the floor nozzle on the workbench,counter or table top.open the zipper on the outer bag and take out the full C bag.Now-turn the machine back right side up and put on the new empty C bag-its quite easy once you try this.I can do this while holding the machine against the bench with my body and using my hands to change the bag.Try it and you will see-easier and no mess.

 

[tristar]

I had my own method for the Type C's. I would lay the handle down and pick up the front and shake all the crap towards the handle. Then remove the entire bag from the machine and hold it upside down and take it to the trash. No acrobatics required to hold the machine in position and it was a lot easier to reinstall the bag when done!

 

[tristar]

So here's the results...

So here are the long awaited results. God this house gets NASTY during a week!

Here is the Kirby bag. Keep in mind, this is the souped up Generation 3 with the metal fan. I've used it 3 times this week on the same days that I vacuumed with the Sanitaire last week. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Here's the mess it got. Notice the hair? Sophie's started throwing her coat for summer...

 

[tristar]

Now for the Sanitaire's bag...

Remember.......this is the SAME test run in reverse from last week. If everyone's claims were right, the Kirby and the Sanitaire should have about the same amount of crud in their bags in the "they went last" run right?

For perfect clarification.......

This week the Sanitaire went last only on the very last day. The Kirby has been used 3x this week ONLY. New bags were in both in the beginning.

Last week the Kirby went last on the very last day. The Sanitaire was used 3x last week ONLY. New bags were in both at the beginning.

So......here's what the Sanitaire got up chasing the Kirby....

 

[tristar]

Meh you say....

Scroll up and look at the Kirby bag from last week's run for a very good comparison as to what I'm talking about here. The Sanitaire pulled a massive amount of dirt from this carpet! FAR more than the Kirby ever dreamed of last week! There's fur, dirt, dust, and a LOT of grit.... See below for a better picture of how much grit we're talking about. That's at least twice (if not more) than the Kirby grabbed last week...

 

[tolivac]

Can we call the match between Kirby and Sanitiare a "Draw"looks like they both picked up about the same amount of stuff.Both of yours are good machines.Was an interesting test.