I was wondering if anyone could tell me, in their opinion, which machine would be better for cleaning carpets. Right now I am currently using a Kirby Dual Sanitronic 50 that I have fitted with a brushroll with the 4 rows of stips on it (similar to what the Heritage models and up use), but I'm also wondering if a newer,more traditionaly styled upright would clean better. Something similar to the Sanitaire styled machines. What about the Royal metal uprights? I love my Kirby but would possibly like to get something that uses a paper bag system due to my severe allergies (thanks mom). My brother uses a Sanitronic that has been fitted with a paper bag system. Does having this type of system on an older Kirby affect its cleaning ability? I have new carpet and just want to make sure that I'm taking the best care of it that I can and that I'm getting out as much embedded dirt that I can. The thing I like about my kirby is that since I live in a rather small one bedroom apartment, the Kirby's size makes it easier to move in tight spaces so I can have anything with a very large head on it. I have a Kirby Classic that just sits right now cuz it's too big to use. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Cory
Oklahoma City

How about a kirby heritage II or Legend II with a optional small head?!
That way you get the power of the newer kirby's with the size head of the older kirby's.
You could even use the new kirby Hepa H11 filter bags for your allergies!

Thanks

James

In addition to what James said, I have a Dual Sanitronic 50 that I use regularly. I did not want the mess of a cloth bag so I put on a mini-emptor, (with fill tube), an additional rubber gasket, cut in half to make sure the fit was really tight on the machine. I wanted to keep the vacuum looking vintage, so I took the bag to my tailor and she installed a brown zipper down the back.

I can now use the Kirby Filtrete bags on a 40+ year old vacuum. I upgraded to the better brushroll and belt. In the original bag, I cut the "scraper cleaner" off at the base to make room for the bag.

Here are some pics. And it does work very well. This first picture shows the mini-emptor fitted on the vacuum.

How it looks after installation by my tailor. She does great work!

Is seen here attached to the fill tube. The tailor also sewed in a cloth bag hanger. I took a Legend II outer bag to show her what it should look like.

You can see the hanger here and how the bag with fill tube looks when assembled.

Put back together and ready for action!

The filtrete bag is so large you have to carefully place it inside the cloth bag to allow for maximum inflation. It allows a lot of air flow so suction is good.

Aren't those kind of hard to find? The Legend II with the small head would be awesome to have.. I have only seen one Heritage with the small head on it and it was a few years back in the Kirby Shop here in town. It was the first Heritage with the orange bag. They don't have ANYTHING for sale now.. I have a Heritage I that is out at my parents right now since I don't have room to store it. How hard do you think it would be to find a small head for it?

You can see how well the bag inflates. And, yes, the bag does have some fading as it is original and has had some wear.

So, here is a 40 year old vacuum with 2006 technology! All parts including the bag, fan, wheels, cord, bumpers, bag topper and lower protector are all original.

This makes cleaning a heck of lot easier and in my opinion it works better than when using the cloth bag as once those pores are clogged, the air flow is never the same unless the bag is removed, turned inside out and REALLY cleaned after each use and who would want to go through all that?

Hope this helps!

So out of curiosity.. how much did it cost to have a tailor install that zipper? I bet if I went to one here in town I'd get some STRANGE looks with that type of request!

The vac looks AMAZING by the way! My DS is in pretty decent shape itself but has an aftermarket bag on it.. bags are hard to come by around here.

It was a reasonable $20 and so what if you got strange looks..........there are worse things in life! If somebody wants the business and the money, they will treat you well!

My tailor has done all kinds of things for me with bags and she always does it perfectly. (I bet she laughs all the way to the bank!) Business is business.

I have a current Kirby replacement bag done the same way as a back up. It actually was my test bag so I could see if I liked the look. The only difference is that the Kirby logos are spaced apart and the color and texture are slightly different but if works just fine and keeps the vacuum looking original.

Linda did such great work that I will probably have my Classic III done the same way.

And thanks for the nice comments on the DS. The DS 50 and 80 are my two favorite Kirbys. I really like the colors.

It does look nice and 20 bucks is a lot less than I would have thought. Something to think about because I'm loathe to use my Dual 80 or Classic III without paper bags.

Would it be possible for me to print these pics to use as an example if I do decide to go this route? I think it's a brilliant idea. I love my DS 50 to pieces as I use it as my daily vac. I keep it as polished as I can by hand since I don't have any other means to do so but it still looks good! The mini-emptor and tube shouldn't be hard at all for me to find. Let me know.. and thanks and Happy Holidays to ALL who have provided feedback.


Cory

Cory,

You should be able to print them from your screen. If you need me to send them to via email, please let me know your email and I will send them to you.

Charlie

Charlie
That zipper bag set up is fantastic! Thanks for sharing the
pictures and details. I have a Dual 80 just given to me by a friend at work. It was his grandmothers, w/attachments, no
manual. It is one of my very favorite Kirby's. I am planning on working on it this week and next. It currently
has an after market zipper for F&G Eureka, so no emptor. The new
set up would be perfect for my allergies and daily use!!!
Many thanks Charlie
PS I just received an Air Way 77 from Ebay to go with the 55
and 66 I bought from you awhile back.
Norm

Very nice bag conversion and restoration of your Kirby. It is simply beautiful. However, neither the Kirby nor the Royal, good as they are, can hold a candle to a contemporary Hoover with its steel agitator with steel beater bars. Nothing at that time cleaned like a Hoover.

Great conversion to a bag cleaner!
Love the work your taylor did on the bag.

OH! Cory you did the wright thing by keeping the kirby.
If you want to keep the embedded dirt out with out damaging your carpets.

Hope you get a small head for your machine.

James

James..
I agree with you.. even with as clean as i "think" my carpet is.. I'm still amazed at how much grit and stray carpet fibers are complied in the emptor when I clean it out. I have always adored Kirby's ever since I was a child. The first I ever fell in love with was my grandmothers DS-80. Almost everyone in my family has had Kirbys. My parents have TWO heritage I models (one is actually on loan from me until after the first of the year) My moms parents have a Kirby Classic Omega that I got for them, my uncle has a Classic I that I got for him, my brother has a Sanitronic , my Aunt at one time had a Dual Sanitronic 50. I currently have a Classic I, a Dual Sanitronic 50, and of course the Heritage that my parents are using. Dad bought mom a Dyson for Christmas because she wanted on board attachments and a bagless sytem. I tried to talk him into the new Kirby Sentria but he didn't want to spend that much on a vacuum again. I, at one time, had a rather large collection but i had to downsize due to lack of space. I am slowly starting to rebuild. I'm hoping to eventually find a decent ds-80, classic omega, classic III and tradition. The Tradition and Classic Omega have always been two of my ultimate favorite machines.

Our family has been a Kirby family as well-loved them since I was a kid-our Kirby 511 got lost in a flood in 1972-been hunting for one ever since.It was a tough machine to stand up to 4 boys at that time they didn't like to vacuum-Iloved using it-then dumping it in the garden by the garage-My Dad wanted us to dump it there.Lots of carpet fluff and lint in there!Loved its throaty "Roar" and the brush really shook the floor.I don't understand-The Kirbys could shake the floor just as good or even better than Hoovers.Now I have many kinds of Kirbys-have all of the "G" machines including the Sentria.

Who would of thunk it but you!!!! Great design but better filteration. I think you should sell Kirby on your retro design w/up-grade filteration, maybe lower cost like Electrolux offered. Cory, I also live in OKC. Feel free to call anytime, I believe my info is in system. Happy Holidays, Russ

Who would of thunk it but you!!!! Great design but better filteration. I think you should sell Kirby on your retro design w/up-grade filteration, maybe lower cost like Electrolux offered. Cory, I also live in OKC. Feel free to call anytime, I believe my info is in system. Happy Holidays, Russ P.S. Please be patient with me, I'm tring to get my skills back after a loss of brain cells. I'm almost up to the "Bob the Builder", level "CAN WE FIX IT?"----"YES,WE CAN!!!"

man.. Russ.. if you ever get that Bison.. I want to be the first to see it! What part of the city do you live in?

Kirby G series models:
6 amps floor/7 amps hose
QuadraSweep brushroll
Kirby Heritage models:
4.5 amps floor/5.5 amps hose
QuadraSweep brushroll
Kirby Classic models:
5 amps floor/6 amps hose
Standard brushroll

In my opinion, The Kirby G series models offers the best overall performance.

I will go along with Kirby as well-Royal metals next, then Riccar Radiance-Brilliance,simplicity "Synergy" vacs with "Push-pull" airflow.

Kirby G series Normal/Delicate switch:
Normal:
6 amps floor/7 amps hose
Delicate:
4 amps floor/5 amps hose