Well, scratch one Kirby...

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Got it together!

After a little cursing and creative bending, I finally got the dad-blame thing together, as the photo below will attest. And yes, I am well aware the bag is technically wrong for the machine (although the stickers on the front of the fan shroud and on the bottom of the machine identify it as a Heritage II). I knew when I bought it that the mini emptor was busted all to hell and when I went looking for a replacement online, the best deal I found was an entire Heritage II Legend bag assembly for several dollars less than the cost of a new mini emptor, including shipping. It turned out to be a good call because that's one less thing to fuss with right away--just stick it on and go. It would be nice to eventually swap the mini emptor (probably with the whole fill tube assembly) over to the original red Legend II bag, but I'm going to save that for another day. I got as far as pulling the red collar band off of it but I'm a bit lost from there. Do I try to push the mini emptor up into the bag and out or pull everything down through the bottom of the bag? I'm sure there's a trick. Think I'll go finish vacuuming my bedroom...

Of course, nothing can be completely easy and this machine is no exception. When I plugged it in to make sure it worked, I discovered the power switch is stuck in the 'on' position. I guess that's better than being stuck in the 'off' position, but still, that's just one more thing to sort out. I need to find a tear-down tutorial so I can see how to take it apart and either fix or replace the switch. Oh well, I feel like I've accomplished a lot in the past couple of hours and there's no time limit on getting it all done.

human-2019092715295702386_1.jpg
 
Heritage 2

They are very good machines. I like the tradition A little more. The heritage 2 legend 2 I have 2 currently. I used wheels and handle on other Kirby's. I took all the wheels off and made it a cannister vacuum. I like it has a lot of power and compact mode vacuum stairs, bed, chairs , dusting fans. I figured make it cannister mode I can use it instead of taking time to change vacuum owner. This one is prettier than your other one more than likely too.
Les
 
human,

On your switch that's stuck on "on", I would take a look first at the plastic foot petal to see if it's mounted correctly. There is a screw that needs to be screwed all the way in. It holds the petal in position. If you can push it up and down and it makes contact with the actual on/off switch below it, then it may be the switch.Before replacing it, make sure to unplug the motor and spray some contact cleaner down into the switch and work the button, on and off for a few times. If that frees up the switch then you're good to go. Be sure to let the switch dry out after spraying it before plugging back in. Hope that helps. Billy
 
Thanks Billy. I'll look into that as soon as I figure out how to take the cover off. I'd like to be able to fix the existing red switch, if possible, and not have to replace it with a black one.

After comparing the two bags, I've determined that the Heritage II bag is in enough better condition that I'm leaving it on the machine for the time being or at least until I can remove the fill tube assembly from the red Legacy 2 bag and give it a good washing. It's pretty nasty. I did, however swap the red Legacy 2 bag topper and bag guard band over onto the H2 bag to make it look more like it belongs. It actually doesn't look bad.
 
Clean red bag...

So after a close encounter with a large flat-blade screwdriver, I was able to convince the red Legacy II bag and its fill tube assembly that their relationship was over. I just finished laundering the bag and have it loaded onto the solar clothes dryer (aka clothesline). It looks a lot better and I may well decide to put it back on the vacuum cleaner sooner rather than later.

I'm glad I decided to go with the whole used bag assembly instead of paying a couple of dollars more for a brand new mini emptor alone, because I haven't a clue how to remove the broken mini emptor from the end of the fill tube. I've decided that can wait for some time when I really have absolutely nothing better to do, so it's on a shelf down in my barn for the foreseeable future.

The renovations will continue...
 
On mine, the fill tube is just threads into place,and zip ties are placed over the threads to lock it on. Post a pic of what yours looks like. Mine just be a one off hack job.
 
There's no zip tie on mine. There's one on the top piece that holds the paper bag but not on the bottom where the mini emptor connects. I've tried twisting it but it doesn't want to budge. I'll try to post a photo tomorrow. It's really a low priority item, though since I have a complete mini emptor and fill tube assembly for that machine.
 
Yeah David, that looks like the same setup mine's got, except for no zip tie. Wish my machine were that shiny; right now, it looks like lead. I have no idea what's holding it on so tight. Maybe I just need to get over my fear of further breaking an already busted—and therefore useless—mini emptor and just get brutal with it. The only real reason for taking it off at this point is to throw it away
 
Human

If no zip tie no big deal. You could use adhesive and hold into place. If it's too tight try heating it up a little might get over the lip.
Les
Ni
 
Something's burnin'!!!

So I decided to try out the Legend II on my bedroom floor a few minutes ago and all was working well for about five minutes when I started so smell something burning. This wasn't the hot rubber smell associated with a belt overheating. This was a smoky burning smell that I couldn't ignore. I'm getting ready to take this machine apart to see if I can spot anything blackened or melted inside the machine but I'm not running it again until I get it sorted. My money is on that non-functioning switch that pushes but doesn't click. The good news is I bought in the Sanitaire to finish the job and it did great, even on the Persian rug, with the height selector all the way up on the highest 'Shag' setting.
 
Okay, that turned out to be easier than I thought. The culprit turned out to be burning paper. When I dropped the nozzle off of the machine, I spied a burnt tissue wrapped around the motor spindle!!! Who knew the motor spun fast enough to create sufficient friction to generate heat of 451 degrees Fahrenheit (Thanks to Ray Bradbury for that little piece of trivia)!

While the unit is apart, I decided to go ahead and take a look at the switch. The good news is nobody's buggered with it or bypassed it. The bad news it still just pushes without clicking and it's a sealed unit so there's not much to do other than order a replacement--and figure out how to remove the old switch without cutting any wires. Oh well, may as well start cleaning the thing up while it's torn down.
 
Edgar:

I hope this video will help you to tear down your Legend II and replace the switch if necessary.


 


Also, while you have it apart, you should replace the gray Lexan fan with a new white Amodel fan. The old Lexan fans are prone to crack and break apart causing damage to the fancase and motor.


 





 


 
 
On the Sanitaire

That 2-3 dollar belt probably gave you more bang for the buck as far as repairs go than just about anything else. On the Kirby, the switch that you're talking about is the one you step on to start the machine, right? I got to thinking maybe you meant the safety switch that the nozzle etc. make contact with up front. That switch could also benefit from a blast or two from a can of good electrical contact cleaner. They both see a fare amount of dirt and dust. I use a cleaner that has a lubricant in it which I use primarily when cleaning the 'pots' and rotary dials in an old Marrantz Stereo I have. That's weird about that burning paper up front.Wow.One of my early model 500's had a short in the safety switch that when I was vacuuming and the rug plate made contact with the medal strip that the sliding glass door rolls on, P O W! Tripped the breaker switch on the panel etc.You should be able to gently pry that cover off around the step on switch with a flat screw driver.Sorry for the novel!
 
The belts weren't even that much. I got eight of them for $7.91, so that's roughly 99 cents a piece. Definitely money well spent. The cord hooks should arrive tomorrow, so then the Sanitaire repairs will be completed.

The Kirby is going to need a little more work, though. Its belt is toast (the burning tissue melted it) and I don't seem to have any more Kirby belts on hand, so I'm going to have to wait until I can replenish my supply. Meanwhile, I need to figure out how to get melted belt crud off of the fan spindle.

The switch to which I'm referring is the foot-operated power switch. It pushes but doesn't click on or off. I did figure out how to remove it, though. There's a little hole directly below where each wire goes into the switch. Just press in there with something like a nail or a punch and the wires come right out. I took one out and will wait until the replacement switch arrives to do the others. I don't want to be plugging wires into the wrong holes.
 
Human,

"Meanwhile, I need to figure out how to get melted belt crud off of the fan spindle."I had some pretty crusty pulleys on dumpster finds etc.What I've done is remove the big stuff like yards of carpet twine or hair first and then run the motor with the fan on and use a little piece of fine sand paper or emery board, steel wool pad works good if there's rust. You just don't want to use anything too coarse that would scratch up the spindle. Depends on how bad it is. As always wear eye protection if running the motor while cleaning it.Like others have mentioned, you might want to replace the fan if it's the grey one since they tend to fatigue and break up doing damage to the fan housing, not pretty.Does your Sanitaire have a gasket on the coupling for the bag where you clamp it to the base? That clamp alone isn't always enough to seal the dust bag up tightly, I see evidence of leakage down there. That happens on some of the regular Eurekas I have and they use a couple screws in addition to being a bagged unit. Not a perfect seal with either set up, there must be a gasket that's missing. I could always make one myself. Haven't seen the conversion kit, maybe that's addressed.
 
I cleaned the spindle with a Scotch Brite pad and a little bit of Goo Gone. I just turned the spindle by hand and the soot and burnt belt residue came off quite easily. I'm thinking I should probably wipe it down with alcohol before I put a new belt on. Not sure what Goo Gone residue on the spindle would do to the belt. I haven't done anything about the fan yet but it's definitely on my list. I've never replaced one before so it'll be a new experience.

There's no gasket on the opening where the bag connects to the Sanitaire's motor housing but there is one on the bag opening. If that's the original bag from the early '80s, I'm sure the seal is a bit deteriorated. But what the hell, it was never designed to be hypoallergenic, germophobe friendly, sealed environment air filtering device. It's a dust-belching artifact of mid-20th century American industrial technology that cleans the hell out of carpets. It's real good at what it does and not much else, but that's okay. It just is what it is, it makes no apologies and you sorta have to respect that.

The cord hooks came today and I installed one to replace the missing bottom hook. The color is a little off—more of a dove gray than an ivory—but I'm okay with it, especially for the price I paid. I guess at some point, the original top hook will probably break—not that I'm planning to arrange for any unfortunate accidents, mind you—and then the top and bottom hooks will match. While I had the Goo Gone out for the Kirby, I took the Goodwill price tags off the Sanitaire and gave the machine a good wipe-down so not only is the price tag residue gone, the whole machine—especially the motor cover—is nice and shiny.
 
That's way cool

the way things are shaping up with both machines. Your middle paragraph had me cracking up, your accurate description of the Sanitaire and it's place in this world.Reminds me of what people used to say about my old '71 Super Beetle. Over engineered with mature technology. Just kept improving on the same old design. I'm sure rubbing alcohol would be fine on cleaning up the spindle on the Kirby.All of this will pay off in spades whether you keep or sell them, for sure. Someone posted a pic of a double Sanitaire, couldn't see all of it but it looks like two side by side 'm not sure if it has one wide base and super-wide roller or if it's just two vacuums hooked together, I saw two bags with handles. Maybe used to vacuum Astro turf at an indoor stadium. Crazy. Sounds like you're stocked on belts on Sanitaire for 8-10 yrs now. One thing that my vacuum guru told me was to be sure to store un-used belts in air tight sandwich type bags to preserve the rubber. He reminded me to twist the belt lifter off the belt if I'm storing the cleaner with nozzle off for a while.I don't have room to display all my Kirby's at once so some are stored partially dismantled. You can also use car polish on parts of either vac. It will slow down the oxidation on the Kirby's bare aluminum. Still there? Lol.
 
Yeah, I saw that double Sanitaire. It looked like two vacuums sharing a common chassis, sort of like vacuum equivalent of conjoined twins. It would be interesting to see underneath and find out whether it has two standard bush rolls one double-width one and whether it used two standard belts (most likely if it uses two brush rolls) or if the motors are ganged together on a single belt which could be practical if it's using a double-width bush roll.

Glad you enjoyed my description of the Sanitaire. I had fun writing that.

I'm waiting on a few pieces to arrive for the Kirby so I can start putting it back together. I did some cleaning on it Sunday and the aluminum now looks like shiny lead. I'll be working on it some more, once the weather cools off a bit and I can stand to be outside.
 
@crazykirbydude

So it's two motors,two brushes with two belts. Wow, have you seen one and do you know when they were made? @ human, you were talking about waiting for cooler weather,check this: A week ago we hit 103F and today was in the low 70's with a freeze alert tonight in the central valley, about an hours drive from where I live. Crazy Calif! Hope your belts are good quality. Bought a three pack for a friend and he said the first snapped within a week. They were generic belts like you see at Target and other dept. stores. They had a more plastic, harder feel to them. So I went to a reg. vacuum shop and bought a couple and you could tell the difference. Softer and I could tell they would have better grip on the pulley.Five months later now, still going strong.
 
tolivac,

Thank you for taking the time to post those two great videos. I've seen you vacuum your house with a single Sanitaire, and with the double there was way less back and forth, push pull. Nice even grooming and even got under the bed. I think I have an idea for the next Double Mint Chewing Gum commercial. Ehh?
 
Today's mail brought a bevy of needed Kirby parts and supplies for the Legend II including a package of six genuine Kirby belts with the knurled surface, a new power switch (albeit with a black button) and a new bush roll. The Kirby is back together and working great. At some point, I'll tear it back down for polishing, but not today.

Wiring up the switch was a breeze. There is a little hole below where each wire attaches. Just poke a nail or very small screwdriver into the hole and it releases the wire. I just unhooked one wire at a time and inserted it into the correct hole on the new switch before disconnecting he next wire. It's the same method I use for changing out spark plug wires on a car. Oddly enough the replacement switch did not have the little metal fastener into which a screw goes to secure the switch to the motor housing. It was easily harvested from the original switch. I seem to have lost one part, though. On Sunday, I disconnected the little light that shows the machine is powered on from its socket to make it easier to remove the wires from the old switch and now the piece the little light snaps into is gone. Oh well, it'll show up at some point and I can put it all back together properly. For now, I just shoved the light up under the bracket to which it is supposed to attach, if the piece hadn't gone missing.
 
Oh so it was the switch

on the front of the motor, not the step on switch at the back. You were definitely smart to do the wires one at a time. I've read horror stories on this sight of wires getting mixed up, more so on the older models.Do you think this Kirby will be even nicer than the one you had previously when you're all through? Did you get a chance to view those two videos that vaclab posted here? Really something. I thanked tolivac instead of vaclab for posting those by accident,(morning fog)so I apologize, vaclab, and thank you for those videos. @human how many amps or watts does your Kirby list on the serial plate on bottom of motor shell? I swear I saw a Heritage with 4.5 amps which threw me off, because they were using 6amp motors on classics, omegas, before Heritage. Scratches head.
 

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