Your Favorite Kirby

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Still will have to do alot of mix & match there & make one o

I totally agree with that. On the DS50 you put the FnG bag in, the front wheels look like dualies. How did you do that?
 
Nama's little salesman :)

This is a pic of me with my grandmothers D-80 that I had rebuilt this past February. Every time I would go to her and Papa's house (yes I still call them Nama and Papa :) ) I would run and find wherever she had the Kirby hiding at the time and drag it out and play with it ALL day long.. This past Sunday, I surprised her and Papa with a newly refurbished,GLEAMING G-3. It brought Nama to tears... they have truly been the only ones to really ever support me with my hobby...they are awesome... enjoy :)

6-11-2008-21-02-11--thunderhexed.jpg
 
Kirbys

I'll post a pic of my Kirby collection as soon as my Heritage II arrives, which should be sometime between now and Saturday... I will then have 11 total...10 for my collection and inside use, and then a trusty ol' Classic Omega that I keep in the garage for cleaning out the cars.
 
What a dear pic w your granda's d80!

The double wheels came like that

I think it was a 80's fad
They sold longer screws that would fit 2 wheels.

I am going to try to match the original front screws & put back on wheel..

Anyway I can use the 2 extra wheels to the D50 I have that has wide lime wheels
Go figure
 
Kirbys have always been my favorite, as my first vacuum was a FrankenKirby. I will never get rid of that vacuum for sentimental reasons, of course.

But, my favorite of my few Kirbys would have to be my Dual Sanitronic 80, simply because it works like a dream and is in A+ condition! It also has the big box of attachments, including an original hose and the manual. It's on display in my music room now.

~~K~~

6-12-2008-15-00-8--vacuumkid3.jpg
 
For Me it is the Kirby Classic and the Generation 6 2000 Edition. I love the gold bag and the woodgrain handle on the Classic. And I love the black and gold on the G6 and the Self Propelled. I also have become fond of the Kirby Tradition that my Friend has.
 
G6

My grandmother has a beautiful G6 2001. I love it. The transmissionis sooo nice. Sometimes I find Kirbys a little bit hard to push, but the transmission fixes that problem. I also like the kevlar fan and the new style mini emtor.
 
Mine's the G6, the only Kirby I now have. Although I've located a nice G5 I might pick-up tomorrow for $100-to-$125 if it looks pretty decent.
 
Have you ever noticed that the "Bell" shape of the Kirby Classic 1CR and Omega is sometimes more "Box" shaped than on others?

Like the one in HooverElite20's picture with the Classic standing next to the Sanitronic VII,,,,the Classic has a "Flatter" shaped rug nozzle,,, or,its like the curve of the bell of the rug nozzle has a wider slope, which makes it flatter looking,and not as "boxed" looking.

Ive seen some Classic Omega's that have a much more pronounced "Block or box" shaped rug nozzle too.

I wonder if there was a production change in the mold or castings or something during the run of the Classic 1CR?
Or maybe had something to do with the addition of the holes for the "Shag King" rakes?

I dont notice the Classic 3s having a flatter shaped rug nozzle, but sure have noticed it on the Classic 1CRs.

Has anyone else ever noticed this, or is it just me?

I know they did add the Shag King rakes on the later Classic 1CRs,,,ive seen a few 1CR Rug Nozzles with the holes for the rake attachment,,,,but not too many.
 
HAHA, maybe i just answered my own question,,,,did they (Kirby) change the shape of the bell of the 1CR rug nozzle when they added the side holes for the Shag rake attchment? ,,and from then on the rug nozzles were more "Boxed" looking, instead of the bell being more longated?

Not sure on that. Anyone?

I know ive seen some Classic 1CRs with a very pronounced bell shape to the rug nozzle, and others that were more square,,or am i just dreaming it??
 
Thunderhexed,,,i know exactly how you feel about your Grandma's D80. I never got a picture of me with my Grandma's D50, but i absolutely LOVED that machine when i was a kid.
It was like an old friend!,,,id spend hours playing and vacuuming with it. Grandma was thrilled!,,,,she HATED that Kirby, and hated to use it, so she would always "Let" me do the vacuuming,,,haha. Id have the hose and attachments on and off that Kirby so many times,,it would take me all day to vacuum.

HA - these Grandma's are no dummies,,,they get a kid that likes to vacuum, right on! Free housework!
Mine would say hey, go to it honey,,,you like to run that vacuum so darn bad,,,have at it!
 
Post# 44097-6/17/2008-18:48 ||| sbnhvlvr

I've noticed thick & narrow lower handle collars on the Sani's

I thought the thick was the original

It would appear the outer Sanis wirh ORIG BAGS have the wider collar
where as the middle with the later bag has the short one.

Would that be correct?

How ho you tell the original handle?
 
For the D50's and Sanitronic VII's...the bag diffetentiation is described as either "closed top" or "open top". I am not sure without looking but I believe that Kirby closed the bag beginning with the Dual 50. If it's an open top bag it would then have the clasp which would then be shrouded by the top portion of the bag, the cuff. Personally, I like the look of the cuff.

The reason why the bag was designed as an open top was for the purpose of allowing for a thorough cleaning of the filter cloth bag once or twice a year to remove lint or threads that otherwise might not have been dislodged during ordinary or weekly emptying of the bag.
 
Wouldn't the 561 be the last Kirby to have an Open top bag? When the 562 came out, it had the rubber bag top that said "Sanitronic" on it. I've never seen a rubber top go over an open top bag. The clasp is narrower than the open top clasp, the open top clasp wouldn't fit in the rubber topper. And I don't think the handle sizes changed at all from the 516 up to the DS50. They are all the same size as far as I can tell. What may be throwing you off is perhaps some of the handle springs aren't adjusted right and some of the handles lean a little more forward than others. Just an idea.

Chad Cunningham
 
Chad,

I stand corrected. I think you're right. I was trying to recall the bag style from memory. I guess I have CRS!

Louis
 
Here she Is!

This is my Heritage II i recently won from Ebay. Stil In the process of Polishing. Excuse the Hardwood this is down at my dads and hes a carpet hater.My mom is a Carpet Lover..Plush carpet all the way. This has to be my favorite beside my G3.

6-19-2008-11-54-14--Clarkecombi.jpg
 
This is What puzzles me

Ive Hardly Seen a Heritage II with the Big Bulky Classic style Nozzle. This is the Original because as you can see it has no Holes for a Shag Rake. Are these uncommon or Perhaps A little Hard to find. Cause most of the heritage II's ive seen have the cut nozzle with the BPI light as mine doesnt have one.

6-19-2008-11-58-36--Clarkecombi.jpg
 
my favorite kirby....

is the late classic omega with the "armored" bag. once i seen that omega with the shag king on it in the local vac shop i knew i would have to have it! in fact its what got me into collecting kirbys. not to far behind on my favorites list are the dual 80, dual 50, G-5, gsix 2000 and 2001 limited editions, g-4 80th anniversary edition, legend II, and the late model 1-C (with floodlamp).
 
my favorite kirby....

I would have to say that my very favorite Kirby of all time is the Tradition 3CB model. I liked it becasue it did away with the cloth-bag Sani-Emtor dump system (when opted with the new paper bag system), and it was a pretty color IMHO.

We had , grwoing up a Tradition that my parents bought in 1979 when they bought our house. I was never allowed to touch it, or even use it as I got older if she wasn't there. My mom saw how fast I "destroyed" in her book her U4009 Hoover Convertible. If destroyed mean taking it apart and putting it back together, and using it ALOT, then yeah I'm guilty.

So, she stored the Kirby in her bedroom closet. Her room was off limits unless she was in there...Hence... the Kirby survived my "wrath" so to speak for quite a long time.

Later I got it from her when she changed gears at 70 mph, and requested a "canister". She has been using a Royal Power-Tank w/ powerhead the burgandy series for about 9 years now. I took the Tradition with me, and used it when I moved away from home as a main driver. I gave it away shortly thereafter. That was a mistake.

I found a Tradition with almost everything for a song really, and now have a Kirby system in my collection again with everything except the renovator.I have upgraded it to have the four row CWP brushroll, using the knurled belts. I feel that this motor has the ooomph to drive it, and so far have had no problems whatsoever.

I also upgraded the dirt collection unit to comprise of a Mini-Emptor, with a new genuine cloth zipper bag, and a inner hose and bag connector from a Hertiage II/Legend II. That way I can use either the paper High filtration bags, or the HEPA cloth bags at my wish.

I love it, and with the mini emptor is a shade lighter, and a better filtrating machine than when it was new. IMHO of course...

Chad

P.S. That all said, IF I had to pick out my second favourite...that would definitly be the Legend II. It was the "finest pinnacle of Kirby technology" in my eyes, and was the very last "simple" Kirby that wasn't too difficult or hard to repair.

It also seemed IMHO a heck of a lot lighter than the replacement G-3.

Those are my thoughts on that....
 
Chad....

I couldn't agree with you more! I have 6 traditions and only two are exactly alike!

Louis
 
I have 6 traditions and only two are exactly alike!

Hi Louis...

Yes, our original 1979 3CB had a strange headlight lock thing, that slid a small pin into the fan casing, holding the headlight securely down. The one that I have now does NOT have this feature.

Another anomoly between the former and the latter machines, is our original machine had a metal "stickum" on the "Magic Finger" that said Kirby... The latter oone does not, or maybe it fell off at some point. That being said where you should see the metal "Kirby stickum" there is no residue from one ever being there...WEIRD!!!!!

I did uprgrade myself the current one that I have to have a HEPA bag option, by retrofitting a mini-emtor, bag tube and bag holder so it would be more user friendly for today. My roommate has severe allergies, so when I do run it, It has to have a good filtring bag otherwise he sneezes himself into convulsions. Not a pretty sight...

I at first, was wary; (per the other post) of using a four brush CWP with the newer style knurled belt in the Tradition. However a year later, and a belt change or two I'm having no guff. I have the bristles properly extended so they protrude a touch beyond the baseplate. I do see the point tho with the older 500 or Sanitronic series machines tho not having the strength to handle the added stress..

My mom always had Kirby change the brush, and maintain the machine ever two years or so. Over the 19 years we used it, we had a new bag, cord, uppaer cord hook, belts up the Wazoo from cleaning our burnt orange plush shag crap. Numerous brushrolls. But the machine kept on kicking...

Ther used to be a sales and service outlet in Charlotte Mich, that usually had faster service than the main branch in Lansing. Their trade in room (in rememberance),
still gives me butterfly stomach, and goosebumps when I think back about what I used to see in there.

If I could photoshop what used to be in that room, several people on here would wet their pants. NOT JOKING....

I do remember seeing and using a virtually brand new 913 in the trade in room once, the only "old" looking vacuum I can clearly remember from a specific visit around 1985 or so. I know that it was a trade in becasue it had a name na d a phone number on it and it looked like a "toe tag".

I literally BEGGED the guy to let me have it. He told me I could have it all right but for the sum of $99.95.....:-(
I mean Im only 8 years old at this point. Give a kid a freakin break...

Ahh memories....

Reguards,

Chad
 

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