Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

I know the g series is easier to push but sometimes I like the old heavy sturdier construction.

I hear the G5 has a kevlar fan & its purpleish which is nice too but also interested in the Heritage 2 or Legend...

Thanks

PS how much should you expect to spend for the older say Heritage 2 models?

Have been looking to buy in bulk from kirby distributors,and other sources.Even a few dysons and mieles on the way.And if i can score an e series rainbow for under 50 bucks,i'll sell it for 200.00 with a 3 year motor warranty. My rebuilt ELECTROLUXES sell like crazy,still the best machines for rebuilding.

M0LE

You have to be in the closet on this site if you love Kirbys.   To be an open Kirby lover is like walking through the lion cage wearing a steak on your tush. 

I on the otherhand have delt with Lions all my life so here goes.  Being a lifelong Kirby lover, I learned to walk pushing my Mother's 1960 Kirby, I believe it was a 516.  I have later had an Omega, which I still have and hold dear to my heart.  A Tradition and a Ultimate G.

Don't let the fact that the G's push easier fool you if you need to carry them up stairs as they are much heavier.  In comparing the Omega to the UG, I think the Omega (1975) has a lower almost throaty sound.  There is really no mistaking a Kirby when you hear it running.  The newer G series have a higher pitched sometimes almost shrill sound to my ear, though I believe the db level is lower. 

The older models, up to the Tradition had a 10 blade aluminum fan which could break rather easily if you sucked up a coin or rock larger than a small pebble.  I only did this once while vacuuming out a car, (I use a shop vac for that job now).  The repair was actually quite minimal at the time I think $25.  Starting with Tradition they had a Lexan fan that was much tougher, I never broke one of those, but I did wear one down when I lived on a reclaimed sand pit where the fan had to be replaced.  I did that job myself and I believe it cost me $12-$15.

I am not sure when they started using the Kevlar fans, I think I heard with the G series.  I again have never had any problems with that fan, but I am pretty careful but an accidental coin in the couch could still do some damage when it hits a fan spinning at high speed.

BTW--Though looks are deceiving the G series looks like it has a smaller head than the Classics/Omega/III/Tradition/Heritage models.  I recently put them head to head and they are the same width.  BUT--the UG weighs in at about 10 lbs more, and tends to be front heavy when you carry it.  As far as the pushing.  It like any vacuum depends on the surface.  I currently have a deep saxony plush in my living room.  The UG pushes with barely a finger to guide, whereas the Omega requires a bit more effort it isn't uncomfortable, but you need to use your whole hand to guide it.  On my lower pile carpet (indoor/outdoor/kitchen style)  the Omega is a dream to push across, whreas the UG seals so tight the transmission struggles with it.  If you take it out of drive you can barely budge it.  On berber style carpet they both push about the same.

As far as sturdy construction, I think all the Kirbys will be around for awhile.  They are built to last.

Mole

What is your best selling most abundant Lux?  I still see some of the old XXX at the flea market.  They must have sold a million of those.  My Mom's friiend had a Super J back in the early 80's I always thought that was a sweet machine, and so quiet.

My sister's husband traded her Kirby for a gray plastic model in the early 90's.  I think she kept that only until the next Kirby dealer came through her town and it was gone. 

I like the deeper sound being loud is not a bad thing if it sounds good, its those shrill ones that whine as they glide & vibrate thats annoying. I would like disposable bags though & the olkder Kirbys are shake out. Guess theres alweays a trade with the advance in technology & I understand they are continually cutting corners to keep the profit margin high.

Guess I'm just feeling like a new old vac & trying to figure which one.

The Filter queen cannister is sure appealing too as I love the sound of the motors.

I'm still a bit old school when it comes to vacs...\

Shhhh we'll keep the Kirby in the closet...LOL

A new fan of the rainbow myself but more fond of the older ones. New ones are brushless motors?

Can I put an entire D3C assemlbly into a D2 case? I'm pretty sure I can do the bottom but I'm thinking the top might not work..

Always had electrolux even the old metal tanks that look like something out of flash gordon.

Too bad I don't have that one any more

They are great long lived machines for regular vacuuming.

I think what you will find is the brushrolls and the airbleeds on the nozzle that make the difference.   Kirby is known for their "Tripple Cushion Vibration system" much like Hoover's "Beats as it Sweeps as it cleans".  Kirby will seal to the carpet, then slightly lift it into the nozzle thus allowing airflow under the surface to pull dirt from the bottom up at the same time it is viberating the carpet to release all the debris.

Mole can probably update us on this, but  there are some brush rolls that can't be interchanged on the Kirbys and some that can.  This is also true I believe of the Royals.  if you get a stiffer brush it will do a better job of lifting the pile of the carpet. 

Just the XXX, ran from 1937 to 1952, the longest production run for the company, The machines i look for are superJ's,olymipa1's, and early silverardos, stay away from rennys, epic 8000 are a great performer,L.E, ambassadors, epic 6500's sell well. I'm still looking for a hospital G,i have lots of blue and brown ones out there.The best kept secret with electrolux is their discovery,genesis,legacy,uprights along with the pro lux commercial machine machines. These machines will and have lasted over 25 years,with service in between,Another odd machine to play with lately is compacts,and tristars, I sold a lot of filterqueens,feedback always the same like kirbys [too hard to use].The machine is no good to you if you cant use it, i dont care how many cyclones it uses.

MOLE

I'm lthinking of selling the O for space...LOL

Has the PN4 power nozzle

I don't know what the old one I had was & we had one with that round thing on the back too

Darn wish I had them now.

I left it when I moved & it worked but didn;'t suck as well as the 2100 but now I;m thinking it probably was just a bad hose

Boy was I naive...

You know what H.S., I would agree with you the hoover windtunnel is a little more messier to empty than the dyson, But when both machines are running right the W.T will clean faster than the dyson.........

MOLE

I do not agree, however, the WT will only clean for a few minutes before the filter is clogged.  That screen is even more difficult to clean on Hoovers.

My experience is that Hoover also has poor hose suction.

I literally am combing the hepa after each use as the pleats are coated with a powder. I don't know what it is

maybe cement dust from the concrete under the padding? but Ihave done this now for a few weeks & it never ends.

Thing is I'm glad its getting this stuff but the cleaning the filter is an awful mess. I do it outside & ity flies everywhere.

I suppose its really doing a great job of filtering so I am putting up with it but thought it would end & it still picks up things.

So it works well but is very limited time use & for me just a after vacuuming additional pain just to see the rugs still are a mess.

Maybe we are not meant to be filtering that highly but to think all that powder crap is around is not pleasant.

Reg vacs must just blow that crap out the exhaust containing just the large particles.

Maybe we should have air filters instead.

Did you see that Mielhe guy w his meter

Seems every vac but the miele is not good at capturing all the particles.

I lug that Hovver around for a few minutes just to have the fun of purging the filter of that dusty filth but I don';t have anything better to take care of it

but that windtunnel sucks amazing & the naps stands up better than anything I've used yet so I deal w it

Dog and Pony show--Gimicks.

He was holding his particle counter at the motor cooling vent.  

He had the outer bag open when measuring the particlees emitted by the Kirby. The outerbag is part of the filter system.

Most of what I have been reading just marks him off as over zellious.

He did the rainbow & particle count went down then it went up again so perhaps water can only dissolve so much.

Guess the Miele is good but his test dpesn't prove the others are bad.

Camelotshadow,

Is it possible the former occupants used capture to clean the carpet?

When I first moved into my house last  summer I was pulling piles of fine gray powder out of the carpet with my Kirby.  I mean bags full.  I couldn't figure out what it was until the guy from Service Master told me he thought it was capture that was deep in the pile of the carpet. 

I don't know much about capture, or how hard it is to suck up but this may be a possible explination to your powder mystery.

Just the XXX, ran from 1937 to 1952, the longest production run for the company, The machines i look for are superJ's,olymipa1's, and early silverardos, stay away from rennys, epic 8000 are a great performer,L.E, ambassadors, epic 6500's sell well. I'm still looking for a hospital G,i have lots of blue and brown ones out there.The best kept secret with electrolux is their discovery,genesis,legacy,uprights along with the pro lux commercial machine machines. These machines will and have lasted over 25 years,with service in between,Another odd machine to play with lately is compacts,and tristars, I sold a lot of filterqueens,feedback always the same like kirbys [too hard to use].The machine is no good to you if you cant use it, i dont care how many cyclones it uses.

MOLE

What is the problem with Filte rQueen? I suspect the weird filters & the dumping of the cannister? I would suppose its upkeep not actual difficulty with operational use?

Still I might like one in my closet...

It seems all the luxes you look for have the same motor & maybe subtle differences. How can you tell a early Silverado from a late?

http://www.137.com/lux/luxlall.html

http://www.137.com/lux/luxfg.html

I think the one I had was the G in a silver color...Never seen the Hospital G

Cool

The down side is that they are a bit heavy when loaded with tools, that you have to stop and remove the caster set if you want to clean stairs more easily, and that contained dust may be set airborne quite easily when emptying.  Same as with Rainbow, this not a vacuum I'd want to tote around when attempting to get at high spot while cleaning.  Placing fresh filter cones may be a bit of an annoyance to some as well.  The cones have three tabs that must be visible to be sure they are porperly seated when the motor unit is placed back on the dust container. 

Filter Queen now uses a single wand for power nozzle and tool use.  A telescopic wand would be more the ticket since, for economic's sake I guess, the curved wand set that was used for years has been abandoned in the basic package.  You now have to purchase them as an option.

Nonetheless, they were amazingly quiet even back in the day when quiet wasn't much of an essential in vacuum sales campaigns and were best in show regarding air filtration as well.  I have not owned any in the recent past and do not know if the new models are of the same quality as the older ones though they are similar in look.

Regards,

Venson

Interesting, I am concerned what the heck is in there. I can smell a sort of vinegar smell when wet. I'm thinking its not good!

I don't know what capture is? I was told there was a flood here before I moved in at one time & they let it dry. Could be fine particles of wool padding?

I used to sprinkle carpet fresh at one time but haven't in long time as its not good for the bird. Cockatiels make a powder but hard to think how a 3 ounce bird could make a pound a powder

Older electrolux have no filters at all just the bag but I suppose if you got a microlined bag you'd be ok.

I really can use a cannister more than an upright.

My friend has a Dyson & is in love with it.

All I know is I'd like to be rid of the fine powder finally