Thread Number: 13422
New Kirby addition, at last!!! 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 142778   7/11/2011 at 12:15 (4,671 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

And it's green, as Scotty once said to an attempted starship hijacker... :D

After a few years of looking, I finally got the one Kirby I really wanted, the Dual Sanitronic 80, in it's wonderful Avocado green, and the best bit is, there's not transatlantic shipping involved, cos it's here in the UK already, only issue is I haven't got a 110v transformer for it, yet... :P

Anyway, observations from the pictures, it appears to have been rebuilt, with a grey Lexan plastic fan (I can remedy that with a nice 10-blade Metal fan which I need to pull from my gold tradition), I'm not too sure about the bag's originality (as to whether it's a modern replacement with a vinyl Sani-Scraper pocket, or original with a cloth pocket), but I'll find out about that when it arrives, and of course, it runs, so, that's a good thing at least... :)

So yeah, I'm happy, I have one of the vacs I really wanted, the next one being a HeritageII with a custom shake-out setup (black "Classic replacement" bag, black emtor assembly, narrow rear wheels, etc.), but that can wait I think... :P

I can't wait for it to arrive, even if I can't actually power it just yet... :D

Anyway, a link and a pic (and if you're quick, they have a Hoover 612 for sale too, no bids as of yet, but only 20 hours to go):


CLICK HERE TO GO TO twocvbloke's LINK on eBay


Post# 142780 , Reply# 1   7/11/2011 at 12:56 (4,670 days old) by hoover1 ()        

looks like it is in great shape!

Post# 142782 , Reply# 2   7/11/2011 at 13:09 (4,670 days old) by Brandon_W_T ()        

Wow! David I'm excited for you! I know how much you always wanted one!

The bag is a replacement. I have the same one

Post# 142785 , Reply# 3   7/11/2011 at 13:53 (4,670 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

Got to wait until something like Saturday before it arrives, cos the seller just informed me that the 12th and 13th are Irish holidays (cos it's in Northern Ireland), so won't be posted until the 14th, and as it's going by ParcelFarce48, so, should arrive within 48 hours... :D

All I need now is a transformer, that's easy to find, but, I'm a cheapskate and don't want to pay full whack for a site transformer (big yellow box thing usually used with building site tools, and certain 110v Henry vacs), so will have to scout about for a used one to repaint and rewire with US wall sockets... :)

Post# 142786 , Reply# 4   7/11/2011 at 13:58 (4,670 days old) by henry200 (Saint Paul MN)        

Congratulations!  It's hard to compare the joy of finally getting something you've wanted for so long.  I finally got my D80 this year, only about 43 years since I first saw one and fell in want!
Post# 142794 , Reply# 5   7/11/2011 at 14:22 (4,670 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

I remember when I first discovered there were other Kirbys than the Trad, Heritage & Legends, that was about 6 years ago of course, and the Sanitronic series was one of the first "other Kirbys" I came across on ebay.com, I think it was a V.II, but it was a while ago... :)

I did buy a D80 (along with a trad motor unit) in poor shape about 3 years ago from a US seller, but for whatever reason, the seller stopped communicating with me and I had to get my money refunded by ebay, so I've still been wanting one since then, and now, I have, so I'm happy, but I'll reserve the excitement for when it actually gets here... :P

All it needs next is a tool set, but I'll sort that out in due course... :)

Post# 142798 , Reply# 6   7/11/2011 at 15:03 (4,670 days old) by vac_whisperer ()        

Beautiful D80! I know how long you've wanted one!

Some people think the green is ugly but I like the uniqueness of the color.

VW

Post# 142864 , Reply# 7   7/11/2011 at 21:28 (4,670 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

The thing I find funny about the colour is when I see it on TV (such as a british daytime show "Homes under the Hammer") as part of household fittings, such as a bathroom suite, and personally, I quite like it cos it's different, but on TV they always say "We're going to rip out the horrid green stuff and replace it with clean white fittings", and it's so boring having white everywhere, it's nice to have some variation, cos the same thing everywhere is dull and rather repetitive... :\

Still, I have what I wanted, well, I bought it at least, when I have it here I'll be very happy indeed... :)

Post# 142903 , Reply# 8   7/11/2011 at 23:36 (4,670 days old) by vac_whisperer ()        

I agree, everything white is just...Boring. I would LOVE to have those tacky late-60s colors in my bathroom!



Post# 142971 , Reply# 9   7/12/2011 at 16:03 (4,669 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

I wouldn't consider them as tacky, just a colourful deviation from the sheeple norm, I just like colours rather than shades of white, even my G3 looks a bit boring in white, there are places where white is useful, but when you have a white bathroom or kitchen or whatever, it make me wonder where the walls end and the fittings begin... :S

Not to mention, white things begin to look dirty very fast, so you absolutely must always keep them clean or they look neglected... :P

Post# 142972 , Reply# 10   7/12/2011 at 16:06 (4,669 days old) by vac_whisperer ()        

I agree with you there; white is appropriate sometimes but its just so BORING when its everywhere.

VW

Post# 143331 , Reply# 11   7/15/2011 at 09:24 (4,667 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

I do hate the waiting on delivery, not to mention I'll have to stay indoors tomorrow waiting for the delivery van (no "Leave on the porch" thing here in the UK, at least, not on terraced houses, too many thieves!!!), that's assuming it actually arrives tomorrow, it should in theory though if the seller sent it yesterday as they said they would... :)

But still, I hate waiting, waiting sucks...

Post# 143739 , Reply# 12   7/18/2011 at 06:04 (4,664 days old) by thermokid (Casper, Wyoming)        
OK so I'm Greedy!!

 Kirby Dual 8o is also one of my favorite Kirby's. (because of the Avacado Green color) Any way I have 5 of this model. And lot's of extra attachments.I will have to try and round up a set of Green attachments for your new Kirby Dual 80. when I do I will get them to you. Do you just want hose and hose attachments or do you want the floor polisher and rug shampooer also????? I think I have extra of those also.....

Post# 143746 , Reply# 13   7/18/2011 at 10:02 (4,664 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

Hi, hanks for the offer, I'm still waiting on the thing arriving (didn't turn up on Saturday, nor have I gotten the tracking number, so, I haven't a clue what's happening!!), but tools aren't too urgent at the moment, one of those "cross that bridge" things... :)

And yes, 5 D80s, that's just plain greedy... :P

(Though having owned three LegendIIs in one go, I'm not too innocent of that myself I guess!!)

Just sent the seller a message asking about it's whereabouts, hopefully nothing's wrong, just a slight delay... :)

Post# 143767 , Reply# 14   7/18/2011 at 16:02 (4,663 days old) by turbomaster1984 (Ripley, Derbyshire)        
patience is a virtue

turbomaster1984's profile picture
Ian, I daresay your Kirby will be on its way when Royal Mail/Parcel force get their asses into gear,

Always amuses me that 24 and 48 hour promises mean nothing to them :P

Post# 143868 , Reply# 15   7/19/2011 at 01:00 (4,663 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

Erm, who's Ian? :P

And yes, there's a reason I call them Parcel Farce, they're a pain when it comes to getting things here, not to mention the 1 nanosecond they give you to answer the door before they impatiently speed off, that can be annoying, especially if I'm upstairs or something... :\

Got a message from the seller though saying it should have arrived by now, but, hasn't sent me the tracking number so I can track it myself... :S

Post# 143869 , Reply# 16   7/19/2011 at 01:14 (4,663 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

ooooh!! It's "Out for Delivery", so, should be here today, fingers crossed!!! :D

Post# 143887 , Reply# 17   7/19/2011 at 06:56 (4,663 days old) by KirbyLover (Louisville Kentucky )        

excited for you to get it and take more pics (or videos)!

The older "pre-Classic" Kirbys I think the D80 is by far the nicest looking. For one thing it has the wider fork handle with label, which looks better than the metal "broomstick" look of the older ones. And yes, the green!

Post# 143911 , Reply# 18   7/19/2011 at 09:53 (4,663 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

Well, it arrived a couple of hours ago, and it has a few flaws, but I can overlook those, cos all I care about is that I have a D80 at last!!! :D

And, I risked my 425VA transformer (on paper not capable of powering the D80), and powered it up, and I've read people's comments about the D80 being quiet, and, they're not wrong!!! In comparison to my Tradition which has a metal fan and often a shake-out bag, it is VERY quiet!!! I love it!!! :D

The flaws;
The handle spring hinge thing was bent out of shape (looking at the pictures, you can barely see it), I bent it back to get it "working", buy I have a spare somewhere so no matter...
The green paper backing on the handle is hanging loose, but I'll try and carefully stick it back down, though interestingly, there's another paper backing underneath!!
the ID plate is missing, so can't offer up a serial or anything to work out it's age, which is disappointing... :(
The bag is faded, it's bordering on being tan-yellow in person, but is in great condition otherwise...
And lastly, the cable's a replacement, but after about 40 years, that's not much of a surprise... :)

But, despite those issues, it works, it looks great, it's light and easy to use, all I can say is I'm chuffed (as we say in the north of England!!), needs a bit of a polishing, but that's easy to do with the Handi-butler... :D

I'm just waiting for my camera's batteries to charge, and I'll get some pics up... :)

Post# 143912 , Reply# 19   7/19/2011 at 10:00 (4,663 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

Oh, forgot to say the height adjuster's slipping, so falls straight down to the floor when I press the pedal...

Post# 143935 , Reply# 20   7/19/2011 at 13:17 (4,662 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

And it's now fitted with a metal fan, and sounds more like it should... :D

The Lexan fan that it was fitted with though is pristine, and as I'm guessing Kirby stopped making them in the early to mid 90's when they replaced them with the Kevlar fan, then this fan has seen little use, and the pulley is perfect too... :)

One interesting thing though was the motor case had this hand-written on it:

"Do not repair
89
Award"

I have no clue what that is about, I would have gotten a pic, but need to wait for my batteries still, they're taking their time to charge!! :S

Anyway, had a bit of "fun" trying to get the metal fan out of my gold Trad, it was stuck fast, so ended up ruining the armature from that (wasn't exactly the best armature I had anyway, so no loss, the motor was only meant to be temporary to show it working), but, either way the D80 has it now and sounds amazing, I just need a bigger transformer cos I don't want to burn out the one I have... :)

Oh, and the paper backing on the handle is re-attached, I got a bit lazy and used a glue-stick, which is usually used for paper anyway, but it's back in place... :)

And another bad point, the brushroll is on it's last legs, I've got it adjusted as far as it will go and the bristles only just poke out of the nozzle at a proper length, so, I'll have to get a new one (plus it's a sleeve-bearing one, so replacing with a Ball-bearing one would be a good idea), but it's working as it is... :)

Still, I'm just happy I have the small green cleaning machine, just need to give it a polish up and wash the bag & emtor, the latter two first though I think... :P

Post# 143946 , Reply# 21   7/19/2011 at 15:54 (4,662 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

And some pics at last, though I can't be bothered doing 7 posts for 7 pics, so I'm using my webspace... :)


CLICK HERE TO GO TO twocvbloke's LINK
Post# 144077 , Reply# 22   7/20/2011 at 15:42 (4,661 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

Well, that's the bag cleaned and washed, though I think it lost a rather unnerving amount of dye, so, I'm pretty concerned about how it's going to look once it's dried out... :S

And seeing as the bag is drying out, I thought I might aswell construct a conversion bag for it, and as the only spare bags I have are a pair of LegendII bags, I decided to use one of them... :P

Thinking back to school though and doing colour matching stuff in art classes, I do recall red & green being opposite colours, so, technically speaking, the maroon of the LII bag and the avocado green of the D80, they should match, but either way, here's the first pic, in my wonderfully tidy bedroom:



Post# 144078 , Reply# 23   7/20/2011 at 15:43 (4,661 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

And while it's running:



Post# 144080 , Reply# 24   7/20/2011 at 15:51 (4,661 days old) by RainbowJoel (Dexter NM)        

Awesome pictures.

Post# 144215 , Reply# 25   7/21/2011 at 13:10 (4,660 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

Thanks, I'm having a ball with this D80, it's light and easy to use, still needs a few bits sorting though... :)

I have swapped the height adjuster pedal using one borrowed from a LegendII, so it no longer falls straight to the floor when I go to lower it, plus it's easier to press than the small pedal in my opinion... :)

And the bag's clean, dry and ironed (using that mysterious "iron" device!!!), doesn't look like it has lost too much dye, infact it actually matches the cable... :)

Post# 144285 , Reply# 26   7/22/2011 at 01:07 (4,660 days old) by Craig_1982 (Newcastle Under Lyme (England))        

craig_1982's profile picture

That looks a really nice machine David well done on your find I hope to have one myself some day lol

Post# 144288 , Reply# 27   7/22/2011 at 06:22 (4,660 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

Thanks, it was a stroke of luck that I found it really, I was just doing a general search for "Kirby" on ebay, and saw that and a ClassicIII, and I had to have the D80... :D

If I get a moment's peace this weekend I may try and get a video of it (aswell as a couple other vacs I've been meaning to video), but no guarantee of that though... :)

Post# 144297 , Reply# 28   7/22/2011 at 07:06 (4,660 days old) by KirbyLover (Louisville Kentucky )        

That LII bag looks interesting, I assume you are keeping the original in storage for if you decide to change it back? (how did it come out anyways?) Nice to see that you intend on using it anyways! I hate shakeout bags.

The Tradition in the background you have the 2 sexiest Kirbys ever made. ;)

Post# 144301 , Reply# 29   7/22/2011 at 07:53 (4,660 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

The LII bag was just for playing while I washed the original bag, it's not my best LII bag that I have (seeing as one of my charming young moggies used it as a scratching post when it was attached to my CIII), the original bag is now all dry and refitted where it belongs... :)

And the bag has come out looking okay, I think it was stored for a while in a sunny position, as it's faded where it was exposed, so has light patches and dark patches that match it's position behind the handle and whatnot... :S

And the Trad, that was my 2nd ever Kirby, cost £30 total (£15 Buy it now, £15 postage) about 5 years ago, needs a good polish though, and I just recently converted it to 2-speed (as the UK Omega, CIII and Trad models were single speed), it also has a metal fan too to complete it, and bag fitted there is a modern replacement I was recently given (kind generosity!!), I just fitted that to see how I liked the look of a modern style bag... :)

Post# 144325 , Reply# 30   7/22/2011 at 12:36 (4,659 days old) by Craig_1982 (Newcastle Under Lyme (England))        
Tradition bag set up

 craig_1982's profile picture
David do you run the Tradition with the mini-emptor or it's original sani-emptor?

Post# 144331 , Reply# 31   7/22/2011 at 13:41 (4,659 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

I've been going between the two actually, the Sani-emtor is set up for shake-out though and the filltube assembly from that is in my Golden Trophy Tradition, I just do it as a money saving exercise cos Kirby bags are a little on the expensive side!!! :P

I now actually have three bags for my Trad, the original Long-zip it came with, the shakeout bag (and metal fan) I bought from "kirbykid63" via his ebay shop a few years ago, and the new modern style bag in the picture came recently (but not saying who from cos I respect his privacy), so plenty bags to choose from... :)

I bought a 12-pack of Kirby Poly. bags yesterday (see link below), so once they get here I'll be on the disposable setup again for all my Kirbys with such setups, I like the Polypropylene bags a lot, mainly cos they filter superbly, and cos they're easier to work with compared to the paper based varieties... :D

Though, I just realised, as the bags I bought are coming from the states, I'm probably going to have to pay import tax on the things, plus Royal Fail's handling fee (I never asked them to handle my items, so why should I pay them to???), d'oh!!! :S



CLICK HERE TO GO TO twocvbloke's LINK on eBay


Post# 144354 , Reply# 32   7/22/2011 at 16:57 (4,659 days old) by twocvbloke ()        

Here's a side view of the D80's bag (there's another two pics via the link to my photo collection of the D80 above), I had to alter the image to exaggerate the colour difference to make it more obvious, basically it's suffered from the effects of sun exposure, and the unexposed parts have stayed near the original colour, and the exposed parts faded like an old photograph, it is an impressively large bag though... :)




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