Thread Number: 39148
/ Tag: 80s/90s Vacuum Cleaners
Help! I bought yet another Kirby!!! |
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Post# 415339   10/26/2019 at 23:29 (1,642 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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If there were a Vacuholics Anonymous, I'd be picking up a white chip at the next meeting for sure. I needed another Kirby like I need another hole in my head but I just couldn't help myself.
I was on my way to a friend's for dinner and found I had a little time on my hands and the Goodwill store where I found the Sanitaire a few weeks ago was on the way, so I wheeled in for a quick walkthrough and was feeling pretty good about myself because I wasn't seeing anything to tempt me to open my wallet. But then I got to the vacuum cleaners and lurking behind a bunch of ugly plasticrap vacs that no one in their right mind would want was the prettiest, shiniest Kirby Heritage II Legend you'd ever want to see and the prettiest part of all was the price tag, which was just $15! At that price, I just couldn't leave it behind. Not surprisingly, it has a full bag and a bad belt but what is most surprising is the cord is missing. Yeah, I know. That's why it was so cheap. The only thing I can figure is whoever donated the thing must have kept the cord, cut off the end that plugs into the machine and made a drop cord out of it. I'll be testing it tomorrow with the cord from the Legend II and if all goes well, I'll be shopping for a new one that will doubtless set me back more than the machine itself did. Right now, it's late, I'm tired and I have to get up early in the morning so I'm going to leave the testing until tomorrow and I'll post photos once I've inspected it further. I really do need help... |
Post# 415340 , Reply# 1   10/26/2019 at 23:49 (1,642 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)   |   | |
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You're lucky, I have never found a Kirby at my Goodwill. I got all mine on eBay that I have now for $40 or around that. BUT this was before the USPS increased their dimensional rates. Nowadays getting a Kirby on eBay is a thing of the past, like $60-$90 for shipping alone!
I just have a 1CR as my oldest, a Heritage II, a G3 as just the motor, a G5, a G6 2001 Edition, a Ultimate G ($2 grand bought new from Kirby salesman), and a Sentria. My local ReStore was using a G4 to clean the entry rugs for awhile (they will put the vacuum for sale when the bag has filled to the maximum) but it disappeared quickly after that and never got a chance to buy it. |
Post# 415341 , Reply# 2   10/27/2019 at 01:07 (1,642 days old) by rivstg1 (colorado springs)   |   | |
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Post# 415348 , Reply# 3   10/27/2019 at 11:05 (1,641 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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After starting this thread last night, I just couldn't wait for today to see how she ran, so after brushing my teeth, I grabbed the red cod off of the Legacy II and fired the Heritage II up. I was very pleased to see how well it runs. When I got further into the machine a little while ago, I found it held a couple more surprises for me. Once I took the nozzle off to replace the belt, I was taken aback to see how pristine the nozzle housing was, inside and out. There is absolutely zero crud on the inside, virtually no battle scars on the outside and there isn't even a paint scuff on the rubber bumper. The wheels also show almost no wear. But the biggest surprise came when I peeked into the fan housing and spied a white Amodel fan. There's only one possible conclusion I can make: It's been rebuilt. Whether it was a factory or third party rebuild is anybody's guess but you just don't find a 30+ year old Kirby in that condition every day.
The missing power cord is still a bit of a conundrum but not a deal killer. I have one on order and it will be here later this week. Under other circumstances, I might have gone with a second hand cord and saved a four or five bucks but I decided this machine deserved a brand new one for the modest difference in price. I don't have time to do it today, but I'm going to have fun putting a spit polish on it. |
Post# 415350 , Reply# 4   10/27/2019 at 13:12 (1,641 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
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Post# 415352 , Reply# 5   10/27/2019 at 13:19 (1,641 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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So I was getting ready to put the red cord back on the Legend II when I got the bright idea to take a couple of family photos of the two siblings. For the last photo, just for fun, I was going to put the red Legend II bag, which is presently wearing black Heritage II Legend plastics, on the machine. I never could unhook the Heritage II's bag from the top of the handle, so I decided just to drape the red bag over the gray one to get an idea of what it might look like. I kind of like the look, so a swap might be ultimately be in order, but not today.
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Post# 415358 , Reply# 7   10/27/2019 at 16:40 (1,641 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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Yes, I always tend to go overboard. Since losing the Heritage 1HD in September, I've acquired a total of three vacuums--the two Kirbys and the Sanitaire. The funny thing about the one I picked up yesterday is that it needed a cord because the cord on the one I lost also needed replacing. Either way, I would have been buying a cord.
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Post# 415382 , Reply# 8   10/28/2019 at 15:38 (1,640 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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It's a pleasant, sunny afternoon here in the Piedmont, so I decided to pull the Heritage II Legend out on the deck for some polishing, not that it needed a whole lot in that department. When I got finished, the late afternoon sun was hitting it just perfect so I had to show it off gleaming in the sunlight. While I had it apart, I went ahead and threw the red Legacy II bag on it and I really like the look. It picks up the red accents on the body of the vacuum. I think Kirby missed the boat on both this machine and the Legacy II with the monochromatic color schemes. I've got a cord ordered and it should be here Thursday. It cost a little more than I paid for the vacuum cleaner but it's worth it.
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Post# 415394 , Reply# 11   10/28/2019 at 21:04 (1,640 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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I looked for the attachments but didn't see them. This store is pretty good about keeping the cleaners and their attachment kits together, usually with about a mile and a half of cling wrap. I bought a Gsix there a few years ago that had a complete set of tools bundled with it like a cellophane mummy.
I agree. I rarely see a worthwhile vacuum at a thrift store. The past month has been unusually fruitful with two really nice machines for dirt cheap prices: a $10 Eureka Sanitaire SC686 last month and this Kirby last weekend. I can go literally years without seeing that many good vacs at the thrift stores around here. |
Post# 415396 , Reply# 12   10/28/2019 at 21:46 (1,640 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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Now that I have the red Legend II bag on the Heritage II, I'm running genuine Kirby G3 paper bags in both machines. They were my last two genuine Kirby bags. The bag I took off the Heritage II has an Envirocare paper bag in it. I've got a huge stack of those.
I haven't been able to run the Legend II and the Heritage side by side because I only have one cord for the two machines. That will be remedied later in the week when the cord for the Heritage arrives. That said, I did have the impression when I ran the Heritage II that it was a bit quieter than the Legend II. I'll be see if that impression was correct. |
Post# 415400 , Reply# 13   10/28/2019 at 22:46 (1,640 days old) by gottahaveahoove (Pittston, Pennsylvania, 18640)   |   | |
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Post# 415402 , Reply# 14   10/28/2019 at 23:39 (1,640 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA)   |   | |
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Post# 415419 , Reply# 15   10/30/2019 at 14:57 (1,638 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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Post# 415474 , Reply# 16   11/2/2019 at 17:08 (1,635 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah)   |   | |
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The thrift store I seen a sanitairre 667 blue line edition and a heritage legend. I have a 667 sanitairre and the one they had looked trashed. The heritage was on good condition. It had a new brushroll and bag.
In last 5 weeks I've got a 518 in excellent condition, tradition in fair condition, and classic 3 2cb in excellent condition. I didn't get heritage or sanitairre. I don't know how many heritage's I have. It's 6 to 8 range. The heritage 2 legend 2 is my favorite heritage model. Glad to see you made lemonade out of situation. The Kirby bug is contagious. The vacuums look great. Les |
Post# 415497 , Reply# 17   11/3/2019 at 21:52 (1,634 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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Les--sounds like you've been having pretty good luck where you are. Sometimes when I go into a thrift shop, I find other things like the HP workgroup laser printer I picked up for $13.50 with my educator discount last Tuesday. It's total overkill for my needs but the price was better than right. I'm thinking I might need to stay away from thrift shops for a while. Don't want to be pushing my luck.
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Post# 415786 , Reply# 21   11/11/2019 at 16:23 (1,626 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina)   |   | |
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In reply #10, Kirbyklekter asked about the difference in sound between the Heritage II Legend with its new Amodel fan and the Legend II with its (presumably original) Lexan fan. Things have been a little hectic of late but I finally had the opportunity a little while ago to do a side-by-side comparison. It's actually the first time I've had the opportunity to run the Heritage II Legend since I put the new cord on it. Neither machine is appreciably louder than the other but they do sound quite different. The Legend II has a bit of a low growl to it while the Heritage II Legend is a bit higher-pitched but also more melodic, if that makes sense. Of course, then I stuck the hose on the Heritage II Legend and used a Zip Brush to get some dried cat barf off of the sofa and it turned into a real screamer.
Then, as I was taking he hose off to put things back together, I decided to be semi-scientific about the whole thing and swapped the nozzles to account for other variables. Lo and behold, the difference in sound was from the nozzles, not the fans!!! While it's possible the two brush rolls have differing amounts of wear, I think the more likely explanation is that the Legend II nozzle has a moderate amount of crud in it, which served to deaden the resonance, while the Heritage II Legend nozzle is almost completely crud-free, thus maximizing the resonance. To completely eliminate nozzle variations, I made one final test, running each for about three seconds with a bare hose instead of a nozzle. Unlike the previous tests, I had to swap my one hose over from one machine to the other but I could discern no major difference between the two. |
Post# 415812 , Reply# 23   11/11/2019 at 22:50 (1,626 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah)   |   | |
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Post# 415868 , Reply# 24   11/13/2019 at 03:48 (1,624 days old) by rivstg1 (colorado springs)   |   | |
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