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Thread Number: 41085
/ Tag: Recent Vacuum Cleaners from past 20 years
Anyone else surprised by a found vac that becomes a favorite? |
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| Post# 436084 12/9/2020 at 11:53 (1,227 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA) | ||
My wind tunnel curbside find,a 6200 turbo power was just a free machine with plans to clean up a bit and repair for a friend possibly down the road, but after using it a few times and being startled by the amount of power and carpet lifting it got a thorough cleaning and moved inside. It is now pretty much my go-to for doing the deep cleaning, still surprised! The price certainly was right.
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| Post# 436086 , Reply# 1 12/9/2020 at 12:54 (1,227 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina) | ||
Kirby Gsix
The biggest surprise was the one that started all this madness, my first Kirby Gsix. I had found a few vacs beside the dumpster at the apartment where I was living at the time. They were nothing special but I hate wastefulness so I would fix them up (usually just a bag and a belt) and pass them on, donate them or, on at least one occasion, sell them. But one drizzly December evening, I was leaving for a meeting at church and the polished aluminum of this Gsix reflected my headlights back in my eyes and I could read the word "Kirby" on the handle so I stopped the car, jumped out and grabbed it, and headed on to my meeting. When I got home, I found the machine needed— surprise, surprise—a bag and a belt and it had been subjected to that despicable vacuum-killing carpet fresh powder, so popular with dog owners and indoor smokers, which necessitated a thorough cleaning. In my search online for bags, belts and general information, I came across Vacuumland and have been here ever since.
I had memories of an in-home Kirby Classic Omega demo when I was about ten years old and I recalled being mightily impressed—and disappointed when we didn't buy one—so I really felt like I'd found a prize. It quickly became my new favorite vacuum cleaner. I ordered bags and belts online and even went back to the dumpster the next morning to look for the tools but didn't find them. A few months later, I was at a nearby thrift shop for its monthly half price sale and found a set of Gsix accessories for about $4.50. I like to think I reunited them with their original machine. This machine quickly became my primary vacuum and I quickly became a Kirby fan, although because of its weight, I kept my Electrolux 1205 upstairs and used it there and on the steps. It also was the beginning of my inordinate interest in vacuum cleaners. | ||
| Post# 436111 , Reply# 3 12/10/2020 at 08:48 (1,226 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina) | ||
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Thanks Joe,
Actually, in my day job, when I'm not out rescuing high end vacuum cleaners, I'm an English and humanities professor at a community college. I agree with you about the Gsix; it's as fine a machine as Kirby ever put out. I actually have seven Kirbys in my collection: a Sentria, two Gsixes, a G5 that's a bit of a 'Johnny Cash special', a Legend II, Heritage II Legend, and a Heritage. All four of the newer machines perform about equally, as do the three older ones, and they're all built like tanks. | ||
| Post# 436132 , Reply# 4 12/10/2020 at 18:26 (1,225 days old) by Oreck_XL (Brooklyn, New York 11211) | ||
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| Post# 436133 , Reply# 5 12/10/2020 at 18:53 (1,225 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA) | ||
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Post# 436136 , Reply# 6 12/10/2020 at 19:08 (1,225 days old) by Thevacomaticiec  (Bathurst New Brunswick Canada ) |
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| Post# 436140 , Reply# 7 12/10/2020 at 20:26 (1,225 days old) by Oreck_XL (Brooklyn, New York 11211) | ||
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Thank you for clarifying that. For me, it happened about 10 years ago. I found a Riccar SupraLite RSL1A at a church rummage sale for $10. It is a dowdy machine, straight handle, foot switch, not even a swivel cord hook but it moves an impressive amount of air and does a nice job grooming the carpet. Stronger than the standard 4 amp Oreck upright for sure. That SupraLite will always be a keeper.
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| Post# 436147 , Reply# 9 12/11/2020 at 02:51 (1,225 days old) by MadMan (Chicago, IL, USA) | ||
My Shark Rocket Pro. Honestly, even before I started coming around here, and didn't think much about vacuums (besides antique ones), I was of the mind that modern plastic vacuums were all disposable crap.
Very pleasantly surprised. Not that it just works well, but you can really tell that somebody took time to think about every little thing. The engineering team actually did a wonderful job, and it's obvious. Just as an example, the dust cup has a quick release button on the top of the machine, so you can remove the dust cup with just one hand, without stooping down. I could go on and on. Sharks aren't generally well-liked around here, and I'll freely admit, some of them are less than stellar. But mine is easily the first plastic vac that I liked. Or that I had any feeling for. Y'know? | ||
| Post# 436153 , Reply# 10 12/11/2020 at 08:59 (1,225 days old) by human (Pines of Carolina) | ||
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Oreck_XL wrote:
If I may be so bold, how does a Kirby G5 become a "Johnny Cash Special?" I reply: Suckolux got it right. It's a reference to Johnny Cash's song about an auto worker who smuggles a Cadillac out of the factory, one piece at a time, which is pretty much how my G5 came about. It has a G4 back panel on the handle, G3 replacement cord, Ultimate G bag assembly, a Sentria brush roll and gray Sentria rear hubcaps. I didn't smuggle the pieces out of the factory; I just went with the least expensive parts I could find. Johnny's song is a classic. If you've never heard it--or you just want to hear it again--click the link below: CLICK HERE TO GO TO human's LINK
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| Post# 436161 , Reply# 11 12/11/2020 at 12:18 (1,225 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA) | ||
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| Post# 436169 , Reply# 12 12/11/2020 at 16:26 (1,225 days old) by vacuumdevil (Vacuum Hell ) | ||
My SEBO ET-H | ||
| Post# 436188 , Reply# 15 12/12/2020 at 08:54 (1,224 days old) by fan-of-fans (USA) | ||
Probably my Eureka 1934A. I actually did not like it at first (thought it was very noisy).
But now really like it - cleans carpets very well, lightweight and easy to maneuver, and really not that loud compared to bagless screamers. Also the bag capacity with the F&G bags is of course huge and the Arm & Hammer bags don't smell for a long time. Only complaint I have is very short cord and no quick release, which I guess the short cord kind of helps as there's less cord to have to unwind! | ||
| Post# 436195 , Reply# 16 12/12/2020 at 11:24 (1,224 days old) by suckolux (Yuba City, CA) | ||
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My old Hoover by Wards was a gift, so free but not a curb find it gets a lot of play also! Probably somewhat due to the rust color, one of my all-time favorite colors, the nostalgia as I remember those being around whenever I was looking for early vacuums in my first place and I love how when it beats the rug you can see everything dance! Also a rather pleasant sound, I believe it would have been a ranger model?
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| Post# 436207 , Reply# 18 12/12/2020 at 20:32 (1,223 days old) by vacuumdevil (Vacuum Hell ) | ||
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| Post# 436214 , Reply# 19 12/12/2020 at 21:05 (1,223 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
Eureka Altima. The amount of crap this vacuum finds in the carpet is baffling. The cone is obnoxious to clean off and it makes a mess, but the cleaning ability more than makes up for it. Tons and tons of sandy gritty dirt.
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| Post# 436228 , Reply# 20 12/13/2020 at 04:40 (1,223 days old) by Mike811 (Finland) | ||
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| Post# 436265 , Reply# 21 12/14/2020 at 06:43 (1,222 days old) by vacuumdevil (Vacuum Hell ) | ||
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| Post# 436371 , Reply# 23 12/16/2020 at 21:09 (1,219 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah) | ||
Compact | ||
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