Thread Number: 32300  /  Tag: 80s/90s Vacuum Cleaners
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Post# 355216   7/2/2016 at 21:05 (2,848 days old) by myvacsrock (USA)        



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Post# 355217 , Reply# 1   7/2/2016 at 21:07 (2,848 days old) by myvacsrock (USA)        



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Post# 355219 , Reply# 2   7/2/2016 at 21:07 (2,848 days old) by myvacsrock (USA)        
Wow.

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Post# 355220 , Reply# 3   7/2/2016 at 21:09 (2,848 days old) by myvacsrock (USA)        
And finally..

 The famous prototype.

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Post# 355221 , Reply# 4   7/2/2016 at 21:12 (2,848 days old) by cb123 (Mobile, Al.)        

cb123's profile picture

Your vacs really do rock!
Post# 355222 , Reply# 5   7/2/2016 at 21:46 (2,848 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon)        
myvacsrock

 kirbyclassiciii's profile picture
Kyle,

That's terrific you managed to get your hands on that Kirby Generation 3 prototype!

~Ben

Post# 355224 , Reply# 6   7/2/2016 at 22:33 (2,848 days old) by Brando_husky (Las Vegas Nevada)        

Wow that's amazing Kyle!! Congrats! Never a more deserving recipient of some fine machines.

That airway is absolutely fantastic. Do share more pics when you can!

Post# 355228 , Reply# 7   7/2/2016 at 23:37 (2,848 days old) by KirbyCollector (Columbus Ohio USA)        

kirbycollector's profile picture
Could you post a video of the G3 prototype?

Post# 355231 , Reply# 8   7/3/2016 at 00:38 (2,848 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

Very nice collection of vacuums.Hope the Bison cleans up OK-did it have the attchements?Like the Kirby "Prototype" Interesting vacuum.Like other would like to see a video of it working.Is this a "one of a Kind" specimen?Indeed,would be a rare one!

Post# 355248 , Reply# 9   7/3/2016 at 07:38 (2,847 days old) by myvacsrock (USA)        
Yes

 I'll post a video of the Kirby Prototype.

The story of this machine is as follows:

A guy from the Fort Wayne area came into the vacuum store near my University. He claimed to have this Kirby machine that was a working prototype that he bought from a lady who was having a garage sale. Her husband was an engineer for Kirby. He had two of them. The one in the pictures, and the other one that was thrown away by the husband engineer. The kid brought the machine into the vacuum store some months later after he said he had it and wanted to trade it for a Filter Queen Majestic. The Vacuum store owner was very smart. He did indeed trade the kid the Filter Queen for the Kirby.
The Kirby Company has since been into that store, and has confirmed that this machine is indeed a prototype, and while he probably should not have the machine.. i believe they were nicely asked to leave multiple times before something that goes bang was brought out, and they'd be asked again. Someone else who is a current engineer at Kirby also confirms that this is a prototype, and the only other single one that exists is in Cleveland, Ohio at Headquarters. He also is not quite sure how this one got out.

This bring us to today. The store has closed and I have retrieved a few machines from there, and have made friends with the owner who will be opening another store. He's a great guy, and very thoughtful to think of me before doing anything with the machines.

A member of this forum did post about this Kirby Prototype some time ago (around 2011) and this is the machine, and he is the kid who traded it to the store owner. But now, here this sits, and we have not heard from that member since.

Post# 355256 , Reply# 10   7/3/2016 at 09:17 (2,847 days old) by FantomFan (Rochester, New York)        
Wow!

 fantomfan's profile picture
Congratulations on the amazing finds. I especially like the Air-Way!

Post# 355259 , Reply# 11   7/3/2016 at 10:01 (2,847 days old) by vac-o-matic (Saint Louis, Mo.)        

Absolutely amazing finds/gifts! That Kirby is homely but very unique. The Airway is a once in a lifetime score!

Post# 355269 , Reply# 12   7/3/2016 at 15:39 (2,847 days old) by Dysonman1 (the county)        

dysonman1's profile picture
Love the Kirby Prototype. Is there a reason your DirtMasteR doesn't have a cord?

Post# 355304 , Reply# 13   7/4/2016 at 08:17 (2,846 days old) by Centralvacs1928 (Chicagoland)        

Must be the battery-powered version ;)

Incredible finds. I haven't ever seen a picture of the polished hood Dirtmaster, besides in the manual. The very few DMs out there to my knowledge all have the black painted hood.

And that Kirby is so cool! Talk about something NOBODY else will ever find.

Post# 355343 , Reply# 14   7/4/2016 at 21:22 (2,846 days old) by myvacsrock (USA)        
Cordless indeed!

 No, all jokes aside the machine was given to me without a cord in the condition that it sits. This machine was from a really, really old vacuum store that was bought out by the man who gave it to me.

In a few weeks it will be sent off to another collector who has offered and is very excited to restore it. Should come out very well!

Thanks for the note about the hood, Owen. I was actually going to post asking about it because I haven't ever seen pictures of a polished one, so I wasn't sure of the state this is in.

Post# 355344 , Reply# 15   7/4/2016 at 21:25 (2,846 days old) by myvacsrock (USA)        
Kirby video

I did not lower the height adjustment in this video. If you're simply dying to see it in full action, I can make another video.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO myvacsrock's LINK
Post# 355345 , Reply# 16   7/4/2016 at 21:49 (2,846 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon)        
myvacsrock

 kirbyclassiciii's profile picture
Kyle,

I had no idea this Kirby G-series prototype could run without being plugged in!

~Ben

Post# 355346 , Reply# 17   7/4/2016 at 22:00 (2,846 days old) by Brando_husky (Las Vegas Nevada)        

You can see him holding the cord in his right hand in the video


So you can definitely tell it's got the new motor with it. I wasn't sure if to expect a heritage sound or g series. Very cool machine

Post# 355356 , Reply# 18   7/5/2016 at 00:10 (2,846 days old) by hygiene903 (Galion, OH)        

hygiene903's profile picture
Nice finds Kyle! Congrats!
Jeff

Post# 355358 , Reply# 19   7/5/2016 at 03:02 (2,846 days old) by tolivac (Greenville,NC)        

VERY NICE Kirby Prototype-appears to work well.Healthy sound and "poofed" bag.Great Kirby airflow as always!

Post# 355376 , Reply# 20   7/5/2016 at 09:00 (2,845 days old) by myvacsrock (USA)        
Obervations about the Prototype

 It is a really interested hybrid of a beast.
It is clearly very 'hodgepodge-d' together. The handle is completely different from anything we have seen. The handle grip (entire upper area) is unlike anything. Design wise, you may not be able to tell from pictures, but the handle grip is almost a miniature version of what the G3 actually is. Not to mention the plastic is completely different. It is made from the plastic of the Heritage handle. If you go back and feel how a H2 feels vs a G3 they are very different.
The stress relief hook is straight off of a Heritage 2 on the back. The cord is also unlike anything. It is a Heritage 2 cord with a Generation style plug into the motor. The reason I make this observation is because the H2 stress relief is just slightly smaller than the one put onto the G3. At least it seems that way to me, but I could be insane.

Next, the bag. It is clearly a Generation shaped that was made from the H2 bag. The inside components are all H2 parts. It also takes H2 bags. The mini emptor, which does not actually function like a G3, is made from the almost see through plastic from the H2. Very interesting.

There are almost no differences inside of the motor. It functions just like a Generation. The fan is funny. It is made from various melted down plastic colors. (I'll photograph it) Much like the plastic found on some Hoover Convertible bag tubes.

The transmission is where things are different. It not only feels very different. It is clunky, unrefined. It is not just old. It is very linear in the way it moves. I'll make some kind of video comparison.
The mechanism is also different. If you notice in pictures, the transmission does not drop the same. The housing is molded different. Also, the button is teeny tiny. Like a mini neutral and drive petal. When the transmission is out of this unit, the entire back of the housing is gone. Unlike a square hole on a newer model.

The design accents are all very 80's. The nozzle is still rounded, but it is not an H2 and it is not a G3 square. It is the middle. It also has design wings on the sides if you notice. They reflect on top of the bag holder, also.

Overall, it is different screws and various pieces that look like someone just grabbed pieces they had laying around just to hold everything together. It is full of miscellaneous "junk".

I forgot to photograph the Hour Meter and Pass Counter. But I shall.

For now, it has been wiped off. Given a new bag and belt. I also gave it a wipe down with some mothers just to make her happy.

Interesting tidbit... The nozzle does not quite depress the safety switch far enough, so something has to be place there to make it work. If i were to put my Avalir head on it, it works fine. But the nozzle it came with has too short of a metal rod to depress the safety...interesting.


If there is anything else any of you want to know about this machine. Please let me know. Here to share it with all of you.

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Post# 355377 , Reply# 21   7/5/2016 at 09:15 (2,845 days old) by Kirbyg6 (York)        

kirbyg6's profile picture
That Kirby is such an awesome machine I love it theirs a video on kirbys YouTube channel called the the Kirby G3 story and it shows some prototypes G3s been tested and they look like that. One thing why hasn't it got a headlight on it very cool machine.


Post# 355378 , Reply# 22   7/5/2016 at 09:33 (2,845 days old) by myvacsrock (USA)        
You're absolutely right.

There it is! Thank you for telling me about this video. I had no idea.

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Post# 355382 , Reply# 23   7/5/2016 at 09:48 (2,845 days old) by Kirbyg6 (York)        

kirbyg6's profile picture
It's all right




Post# 355457 , Reply# 24   7/6/2016 at 00:03 (2,845 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon)        
myvacsrock

 kirbyclassiciii's profile picture
Kyle,

Wasn't this Kirby actually plugged in? I ask because it baffles me as to why it would run if it weren't...

~Ben

Post# 355476 , Reply# 25   7/6/2016 at 06:02 (2,844 days old) by myvacsrock (USA)        

The cordless joke refers to Owen and Tom's joke about the DirtmasteR not having a cord.
Wasn't referring to the Kirby.


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