Thinking about sending a 1CR off to Kirby for a rebuild

[superocd]

I have a 1CR that's in pitiful condition sitting in my garage, waiting to roam the carpet once again. I've been too busy to pay any attention to it. Pretty much, I've only sanded out the scratches and cleaned out the motor. Put new bearings on but the cooling fan seems to come in contact with the bearing plate after a minute or two of runtime, and I haven't had time to diagnose. I want to turn this into a daily but have no time right now to restore it. I have five other Kirby vacs I've restored myself but want to see how well Kirby rebuilds a vac.

Some information/questions...
-I do have a metal fan I managed to acquire. I read somewhere that Kirby replaces metal with Amodel, should I spring for an Amodel & put it in before shipping it off, and hold on to the metal fan for dear life?

-How much is the restore? Last I heard it was about $400. A bargain considering that they basically make a new machine and we all know how long Kirbys last.

-I've seen a video of a 1CR and it sounded like my Heritage II Legend. Do they use D50-80/1CR motors or do they (somehow) squeeze a Heritage motor in there?

-I replaced the rusty field coil screws with some off-the-shelf screws. They work, but aren't Kirby parts. Also spliced a longer wire from brush wire to switch, and it has a wire nut on it. OEM Kirby has no wire nuts in any wiring runs. Is that a big deal? Do they replace the motor and wiring regardless?

-I have a worn out Kirby Sanitronic bag with some wear but also have the original 1CR bag in excellent condition. Obviously I want the 1CR bag, is it OK to throw the Sanitronic bag on if they replace the bag anyway?

-The wheels are OEM. Will they replace those with a different color?

 

[panasonicvac]

Here's what I know of. Kirby no longer makes metal fans, yours would be replaced with a plastic one. Kirby did raised the prices for the rebuild just recently. It was $350 plus shipping but now it's $375 plus shipping and that's if you're not the original owner. I believe they will replace the motor and everything else other than the metal parts that can be polished up. If so, I think it will be a 1-CB-Legend II motor. I remember a while ago one of the members here sent their 500 series Kirby in for a rebuild and the motor got replaced with the 1-CB-Legend II motor. It's possible the D-50-1-CR motor has since been discontinued, I'm not completely sure. The replacement outer bag will be black so if you want to have the original bag for your 1-CR, throw in the Sanitronic bag on instead. And it's possible the wheels would be black as well including the trim but I remember another member here sent in their 1-CB Omega if I recall correctly a while ago and the replacement wheels were brown like the original ones. Though maybe they don't have brown ones anymore.

 

[lesinutah]

Nope

If you have a 505-515 the rebuild gives you a 4 amp motor similar to 516 to sanitronic 7. The 516 to s7 you get a 4 amp motor. You can't fit a 2 speed coil and a bigger armature in the pre ds50 vacuums. The dual sanitronics get same motor put In the 69 ds 80s. Cr1 would have a slightly bigger coil but similar motor to ds80s. The classics can't fit a heritage motor.
The omega thru tradition had similar motors they came from the factory with.

 

[panasonicvac]

I'm a little lost Les. I need some clarification or maybe pictures perhaps?

"If you have a 505-515 the rebuild gives you a 4 amp motor similar to 516 to sanitronic 7. The 516 to s7 you get a 4 amp motor." So both the motors are 4 amps but what's the actual difference?

"You can't fit a 2 speed coil and a bigger armature in the pre ds50 vacuums." I could be mistaken as I'm not familiar with those older Kirbys but I swore that one member's Kirby I heard running after it got rebuilt sounded like a Heritage. Perhaps that's just what a plastic fan sounds like.


"Cr1 would have a slightly bigger coil but similar motor to ds80s. The classics can't fit a heritage motor." That was one of the motors I was referring to earlier, or at least the coils. Again I don't know if those motors are still being made today or not, actually I don't even know if Kirby still makes other parts for the models that they can support. If they still make or have parts for my 512, then I shouldn't have a problem sending in my Kirby for a rebuild. The Heritage coil may not fit in the Classic but from my understanding it can on the later models. At least that's what I read online, also when I saw some videos of another member's Omega and Tradition on YouTube after they both got rebuilt by Kirby.

 

[lesinutah]

The

505-515 4 amp motor/armature is shorter than the 516- sanitronic 7.
Kirby ds 50 and mid run ds 80 kirby switched manufacturers of the motor. The motor from mid run of ds 80 is still produced today.
The back of the cr1 switch is different from cb1-cb3.
The cr1 is made still for cr1. Cb1 through tradition use the same motor and coil they were produced with. The heritage motor and coil are the same as manufactured with.

 

[panasonicvac]

Anyways, I did some digging and this is what a Classic should look like if you were to send it in to Kirby today for a rebuild minus the bag and the cord cause I know for certain brown cords are no longer made today.

https://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?15209

https://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?474

https://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?24029

https://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREADM.cgi?26780

 

[repairman]

The only reason it would sound like a Heritage is due to the lack of a metal fan. I rebuilt a 1CR myself years ago and replaced the metal fan with an amodel one since the metal fan was missing a blade.

Kirby is also starting to discontinue many parts for the older models and who knows if they will even offer the rebuild program in the future. Safety switches and power switches for the Omega, Classic III, & Tradition units have been discontinued.

In regards to the old bag, it's a genuine Kirby part so I don't see why that would be a problem. Contact the rebuild program and see what the situation is.

 

[texaskirbyguy]

The 1CR motor was a one-of-a-kind creation for this model only.
It was a 'souped up' D50/D80 motor to give more power for the new 16" wide nozzle.

When the Omega came out next, it got the new double insulated motor as required by UL. This motor was used until the G series came out.
If it is good they would probably not replace it unless they had stock on the shelf.
However anything is possible...

DO keep any unique and nice parts and put on some expendable parts that you would not mind loosing, as lots of stuff may be replaced just because.
Metal fans are usually replaced with white plastic. Trim/bags will be whatever color they have at the time.

I contemplated sending my mom's original D50 in for a rebuild a few years back (for only $50 plus shipping since she is original owner) but I did it myself so it would look like the day she bought it with original trim and fan.

 

[human]

1CR bag conversion

That's a pretty slick bag conversion in reply #5. I love the way it keeps the flavor of the original while bringing the machine up to date. I'm sure that wasn't part of the factory rebuild. I envy people with that level of skill/talent.

The best I've ever been able to do to rid myself of a dump bag on an older Kirby is to swap on a Heritage 2 mini emtor and fill tube assembly, which is pretty much a plug-and-play solution. I've done it with two Heritage 1HD's and a Classic III. One of the 1HD's came with a dump bag and is the most extensive rebuild/restoration I've ever done. I'm quite proud of it. At first, I initally just went with the gray H2 bag, but a kind member here supplied me with a brand new orange 1HD bag, which really sets it off. I just love those orange bags.

The other 1HD, a Heritage '84, had a type 2 filter bag setup on it, but I never could get the original emtor and fill tube assembly back on it after I washed the bag, which was disappointing. Had I known that would be a problem, I would have hand washed the bag without taking things apart. Fortunately, I had an extra H2 bag assembly on hand, so I gutted it and moved the 'innards' over to the orange 1HD bag, which is the 1HD's most distinctive and attractive feature.

The Classic III got a red Legend II bag assembly, but I retained the Classic III bag topper. It came out looking pretty slick, even if its performance is a bit lackluster, compared to the newer machines I own. I really like the red tartan plaid of the original Classic III dump bag, and wish I had the skills and facilities to do the zipper conversion like was done on the one in the video, but that's a bit above my pay grade.

 

[lesinutah]

Rob

Is correct on the motor. I know the heritage has a reduction in power from the omega.
If you get he heritage 1 or heritage 84 emtor and bag assembly. The emtor tray could be swapped out for a original brown bottom. You get a zipper installed on the black bag and easily access the disposable bag setup.
If you have kirby do it I'd get a disposable bag setup on it. I'd get a zipper on the black bag. If kirby does it that machine I'd going to ne brand new. I'd get it done.
If you get a hold of Mike baldo he could do just as good of a job as kirby.