Kirby Vacuette

Hello Jim.

It was good talking with you the other evening. I'm glad your Legend II is back in FULL functioning mode.

As for the Vacuette (hand held one), customers who have them seem to always rave about them. After introducing them back in the late 80's, early in the 90's Kirby discontinued them; [I surmise it was because there were not enough sales of them]. Then as people who had them, complained that they were not made anymore, Kirby decided to bring them back.

This is what happened with the 'missing' BPI light on the first few months of the Kirby G5 model. People's voices were heard, & it was brought back. It was deleted in an effort to avoid a cost increase to the distributors.

Several times Kirby has pulled a product or feature, even if it was a great one. I attribute a lot of that to distributors not training or promoting of the item. Two examples I have are: the delicate switch feature on the Diamond Edition Kirby & Kirby's 'shower cleaner' product. Many times a year, I have customers who are 'new' to me, come into my location & L@@K around at 'products' & say, "I didn't know Kirby made all these things."

As mentioned above it is shakeout bag with the elastic cuff to hold it onto the Vacuette itself. If you leave it turned inside out after shaking it out, they do well in the laundry periodically, if you like. Retired ([[ wiser in years ]], ie: limited mobility ~~lol~~)) customers love them because they are easy to wield. I hope NOT, however someday that may be a concern for all of us. :-)

All three of them, (Zipp Brush, Vacuette & the regular, full-size Kirby hand-portable), all have their place for what they are designed to do; & those areas do overlap. However that said, as an example, I am NOT about to attempt cleaning 'stair risers' or a vehicle floorboard areas with the full-size hand-portable as it is NOT practical.

And no Jim, the Zipp Brush is NOT a chew toy. That's why they have places like PetCo, where the pets go! ~~lol~~ (I had to say that) /:-)

Ps: Shoot me an email on those items you wanted to order, with your shipping address, Jim.

Rob.
The light is replaceable, if you are interested. I've only had to replace two of them over the years. They don't fail very often, but when it's yours it's the one that counts. :-)

Any questions anyone, just drop me a note.

Cheers & hagd all,

Bill


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Post# 105901 8/13/2010 at 20:15 (4,998 days old) by electroluxkirby ()
Checkrate/Likes How good are these little hand held Kirby's? I'm thinking about getting one to use on the carpeted stairs.

Post# 105911 , Reply# 1 8/13/2010 at 22:07 (4,998 days old) by bagintheback (Flagstaff, Arizona)
Checkrate/Likes I won one from a Kirby video contest. IT'S AMAZING! It very loud, but it cleans very well. Much better than the Dirt-devil. The only thing is that it is a shake-out bag, which is very disappointing.

Post# 105912 , Reply# 2 8/13/2010 at 22:09 (4,998 days old) by williamr1248 (USA)
Checkrate/Likes *Kirby Vacuette* Not sure if we are talking about the same thing but I have a hand held Kirby that came with my Kirby Legend ll. Mine has a very nice long cord but I never use it becuase it is very loud and it has a messy hard to empty cloth bag. Mine also had a built in light that burned out after only a few uses. I have no other hand held or small vacs so I really don't know how it measures up in the suction level. It does have a revolving brush. The brushes are soft so it could be used on a sofa or chair. I prefer to just use the suction tools that came with my Kirby or just convert the upright Kirby to the hand held mode to clean my carpeted stairs.

Post# 105916 , Reply# 3 8/14/2010 at 00:08 (4,998 days old) by electroluxkirby ()
Checkrate/Likes I've been told that the Zip Brush is great for stairs. I had one until my puppy decided it was a chew toy.

Post# 105958 , Reply# 4 8/14/2010 at 12:06 (4,997 days old) by a007kirbyman (--->> Originally My Mom <<--- (now Wisconsin))
Checkrate/Likes *Vacuette...* Hello Jim. It was good talking with you the other evening. I'm glad your Legend II is back in FULL functioning mode. As for the Vacuette (hand held one), customers who have them seem to always rave about them. After introducing them back in the late 80's, early in the 90's Kirby discontinued them; [I surmise it was because there were not enough sales of them]. Then as people who had them, complained that they were not made anymore, Kirby decided to bring them back. This is what happened with the 'missing' BPI light on the first few months of the Kirby G5 model. People's voices were heard, & it was brought back. It was deleted in an effort to avoid a cost increase to the distributors. Several times Kirby has pulled a product or feature, even if it was a great one. I attribute a lot of that to distributors not training or promoting of the item. Two examples I have are: the delicate switch feature on the Diamond Edition Kirby & Kirby's 'shower cleaner' product. Many times a year, I have customers who are 'new' to me, come into my location & L@@K around at 'products' & say, "I didn't know Kirby made all these things." As mentioned above it is shakeout bag with the elastic cuff to hold it onto the Vacuette itself. If you leave it turned inside out after shaking it out, they do well in the laundry periodically, if you like. Retired ([[ wiser in years ]], ie: limited mobility ~~lol~~)) customers love them because they are easy to wield. I hope NOT, however someday that may be a concern for all of us. :-) All three of them, (Zipp Brush, Vacuette & the regular, full-size Kirby hand-portable), all have their place for what they are designed to do; & those areas do overlap. However that said, as an example, I am NOT about to attempt cleaning 'stair risers' or a vehicle floorboard areas with the full-size hand-portable as it is NOT practical. And no Jim, the Zipp Brush is NOT a chew toy. That's why they have places like PetCo, where the pets go! ~~lol~~ (I had to say that) /:-) Ps: Shoot me an email on those items you wanted to order, with your shipping address, Jim. Rob. The light is replaceable, if you are interested. I've only had to replace two of them over the years. They don't fail very often, but when it's yours it's the one that counts. :-) Any questions anyone, just drop me a note. Cheers & hagd all, Bill

Post# 105962 , Reply# 5 8/14/2010 at 13:17 (4,997 days old) by vinvac (Dubuque IA)
Checkrate/Likes Wasn't the Vacuette the same machine as the Bissell, Douglas, and I think Sears carried one that was very similar. I have the Bissell version, it works as well as the Royal, but noisy and not built as well. Mine doesn't offer a paper bag, not sure if any of the models did. Mine is very hard to get the bag off or on.. It could be that the owner is not very handy.. Morgan

Post# 105965 , Reply# 6 8/14/2010 at 13:40 (4,997 days old) by a007kirbyman (--->> Originally My Mom <<--- (now Wisconsin))
Checkrate/Likes *Similar...* Hey Morgan. Douglas is a sister company to Kirby. I'm not sure if they would build them to the same standards for each company. I know lots of times this is the case. Each company will require the products to a different standard. As an example, I've seen what L@@Ked like the Vacuette, only it had hose & attachments, so obviously it would be of a different setup. Whether the standards are the same or not in this case, I don't know. Cheers & hagd all, Bill

Post# 105986 , Reply# 7 8/14/2010 at 19:39 (4,997 days old) by electroluxkirby ()
Checkrate/Likes Bill, I sent you an email.

Post# 106009 , Reply# 8 8/15/2010 at 00:33 (4,997 days old) by a007kirbyman (--->> Originally My Mom <<--- (now Wisconsin))
Checkrate/Likes Jim, I rec'd your email.

Post# 106020 , Reply# 9 8/15/2010 at 12:48 (4,996 days old) by vac-o-matic (Saint Louis, Mo.)
Checkrate/Likes *Oreck too...* We sold the same unit for years with the Oreck name on it, but it's not available anymore. It came with a wall hanger to hold the attachable hose and tools. They sold well, and we could still sell them if we had them. We just had one in for a tune up a couple of weeks ago, and the owner said she wanted another for her house up in Mich. and we had to disappoint her. I did direct her to the Kirby dealer about a vacuette, out of earshot of my manager of course! I think we sold them for 89.99. Our Ironman canister is also from Douglas but is being disontinued as well. Maybe our relationship with Douglas is over, or they just stopped making these machines.

Post# 106086 , Reply# 13 8/15/2010 at 22:49 (4,996 days old) by vac-o-matic (Saint Louis, Mo.)
Checkrate/Likes *Royal...for sure* I definitely prefer the Royal metal handvac over the Vacuette. It's not only more vintage looking, but made better in an old-school way, and sooo much quieter. I have a blue Royal Prince that I got for my mom probably about '83, and I now have it and use it on my furniture cushions when my dog forgets she's not allowed on them. It gets the dog hair up in the first pass! You might pay some bucks to get one from ebay, but it would be worth it. Mine came with tools but I have never tried them. You can still get new brushrolls for them too, and the originals are adjustable for wear, don't know if the newer ones are or not.

Post# 107484 , Reply# 15 9/2/2010 at 16:59 (4,978 days old) by richardc1983 (Leeds, UK)
Checkrate/Likes My vacuette that I bought on ebay arrived today, what a mess it was in! Have stipped it down it was filthy, hardly been used though by the looks of things as the fan doesnt have a nick in it but the brushroll is full of hair!! Matted to high heaven! I have taken the fan off too as hair was stuck behind that and the motor still feels stiff to turn, the front bearing is lovely and smooth. I think the brushes might still be wearing in though as when I take the brushes out its lovely and smooth. I have even oiled the rear bearing and left it to soak and its all back together. Cant believe the state it was in but its come up great after parts and even motor shell were put in the dishwasher. Bag has been in the wash and has come up like new and the whole thing arrived in its original box with instructions and looks like its just been bought... well please :) The first one I big on ebay went for �37 and I lost out to that one and this one I got for �27 so I have saved all round! Fab!

Post# 371747 , Reply# 16 5/3/2017 at 19:03 (2,543 days old) by viewfinder (WV)
Checkrate/Likes Hi, I would like to know how to get the fan off the motor so I can clean mine better. I modified a Dirt Devil Handvac disposable bag to my Kirby. I just took and cut the bag put it on and held it in place with a rubber band then slide the Kirby bad over top of it. I found that the Dirt Devil handvac belt (Dirt Devil Style 2) fit it as well. The headlight bulb is a 194 Automotive bulb.

Post# 106021 , Reply# 10 8/15/2010 at 12:54 (4,996 days old) by electroluxkirby ()
Checkrate/Likes *Vacuette vs. Royal Hand Held* There are plenty of Royal hand held vacs on eBay. I like the older ones that are metal like the Kirby. If I get one it will be mainly for stairs and furniture. How good are the Royal hand held vacs?

Post# 106040 , Reply# 11 8/15/2010 at 14:55 (4,996 days old) by thevacuumguy96 (Pocatello, ID)
Checkrate/Likes i hav a Bissell handvac but, it's a PowerPartner handvac. Is that the one u were talking about Morgan or no?

Post# 106062 , Reply# 12 8/15/2010 at 19:38 (4,996 days old) by kirbyeureka95 ()
Checkrate/Likes oreck used the design too my grandpa has it and the tools in his garage...its loud but works very well

Post# 107259 , Reply# 14 8/30/2010 at 00:07 (4,982 days old) by a007kirbyman (--->> Originally My Mom <<--- (now Wisconsin))
Checkrate/Likes *Version made by Douglas 4 Sears...* (Per the description on the box itself, attachments were available. The Vacuette never had any.) Cheers & hagn all, Bill CLICK HERE TO GO TO a007kirbyman's LINK on eBay