Kirby 518 find!

Very cool find!

Until the mid-1960s, Kirby sold their product in Canada through an exclusive distributor channel.

In the 1930s and '40s, Kirby products in Canada were manufactured under license by Gelling Limited, and then in the '50s by Switson Industries, which at the time was said to have been Canada's largest manufacturer of vacuum cleaners. The latest model under this last licensing deal was the 562 Sanitronic (1962-63), which in Canada was known as the 662 Sanitronic. Switson was later bought out by General Signal Appliances.

The Switson connection explains why certain attachments were similar to those other brands Switson also distributed and license-built, including Regina. But this white nozzle I see, I think, appears to be from a Eureka cleaner (which at the time was represented in Canada by Onward Manufacturing, Ltd.).

After the Switson deal ended in 1965, the Canadian Kirbys were then imported from the Cleveland, OH factory in toto, until Kirby established, in 1969, its own Canadian distribution and manufacturing facilities somewhere in Welland, Ontario where Gelling and Switson were also located; they would move their Canadian base of operations to Whitby in 1973.

~Ben

This post was last edited 02/16/2019 at 20:23


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Post# 405516 2/16/2019 at 15:07 (1,894 days old) by macroadrunner (Toronto)
Checkrate/Likes I just wanted to share my latest auction score at less than 10 bucks Canadian! It is what is called a model 518 in America but is called a 616 here in Canada. While it seems to have all the regular attachments it does not include any of the "Handi-Butler" attachments for grinding, buffing and polishing,nor sanding and sharpening. It is in pretty good shape and was factory rebuilt in 1989. Not sure if I will sell it or keep it. Photos... < > Photo 1 of 8 View Full Size

Post# 405518 , Reply# 1 2/16/2019 at 15:13 (1,894 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *macroadrunner* Very cool find! Until the mid-1960s, Kirby sold their product in Canada through an exclusive distributor channel. In the 1930s and '40s, Kirby products in Canada were manufactured under license by Gelling Limited, and then in the '50s by Switson Industries, which at the time was said to have been Canada's largest manufacturer of vacuum cleaners. The latest model under this last licensing deal was the 562 Sanitronic (1962-63), which in Canada was known as the 662 Sanitronic. Switson was later bought out by General Signal Appliances. The Switson connection explains why certain attachments were similar to those other brands Switson also distributed and license-built, including Regina. But this white nozzle I see, I think, appears to be from a Eureka cleaner (which at the time was represented in Canada by Onward Manufacturing, Ltd.). After the Switson deal ended in 1965, the Canadian Kirbys were then imported from the Cleveland, OH factory in toto, until Kirby established, in 1969, its own Canadian distribution and manufacturing facilities somewhere in Welland, Ontario where Gelling and Switson were also located; they would move their Canadian base of operations to Whitby in 1973. ~Ben This post was last edited 02/16/2019 at 20:23

Post# 405523 , Reply# 2 2/16/2019 at 15:42 (1,894 days old) by macroadrunner (Toronto)
Checkrate/Likes 1 Great eye Ben! I just checked the white nozzle and it is only firmly attached because of some tape that has been used to increase the diameter of the swivel attachment and right you are it's a Switson! The warranty page in the manual is showing a sales date of December 12, 1959. Merry Xmas to the "little missus" as they used to say. Maybe I'll polish her up and see how she looks before deciding what to do with her :) Photos... < > Photo 1 of 2 View Full Size

Post# 405524 , Reply# 3 2/16/2019 at 18:55 (1,894 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)
Checkrate/Likes *Merry Xmas to the "little missus"...* My (thankfully now ex-) wife would have gone freakin' ther-mo-nuclear on me if I'd given her a vacuum cleaner for Christmas, Kirby or otherwise. She was adamant that appliances weren't suitable gifts. That's one of the many reasons I left her ass.

Post# 405528 , Reply# 4 2/16/2019 at 20:39 (1,894 days old) by Superocd (PNW US)
Checkrate/Likes *My wife doesn't like appliances...* Or she does, but she doesn't like what I like and vice-versa. Fortunately, she doesn't really care. She likes Dyson, I like Sanitaire (and my recently acquired Kirby Sentria and Royal 884), though she admits that all three perform very well and will outlast a Dyson) She likes Samsung kitchen appliances, I like Whirlpool/KitchenAid (we have Whirlpool appliances - built in USA, reliable, and cheap/easy to fix and find parts for). She likes Samsung laundry, I like Speed Queen laundry (though we have an LG-built Kenmore FL as Speed Queen FL's never seem to be available and when they are, they're kind of pricey. Plus, I've heard that LG is probably the best mass-marketed FL out there in terms of reilability, which is something I didn't expect. We've had ours for four years and never had a problem, knock on wood). She likes the iPhone, MacBook Air and iPad (and has all three), I like PCs and cheap Android phones/tablets. She likes luxury cars (and has a Mercedes C300), I like whatever is middle-of-the-line (and have a Ram 1500). We still get along though. She lets me make the decisions for most of the big ticket items so that makes me happy. I welcome with open arms any tools, electronic gadgets or appliances for gifts!

Post# 405530 , Reply# 5 2/16/2019 at 21:26 (1,894 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah)
Checkrate/Likes *Hey* You know she didn't want appliances she would burn the house down. That would imply learning to cook or clean you pig. Jk about the pig part. Nice vacuum I'd keep it. The 4 amps have lots of power and just change belt as needed and brush roll carbon brushes and bearings as needed and you and you got amazing machine. Les