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Thread Number: 43116
/ Tag: 80s/90s Vacuum Cleaners
Guess Who Owns a COMVAC Now?... Me! |
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Post# 450966 3/22/2022 at 14:14 (766 days old) by KirbyClassicIII  (Milwaukie, Oregon) |
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I was given this 1982 Kirby COMVAC 1600 by Rick Nye, who used to work as the museum director at Stark's Vacuums at 107 NE Grand Ave. I could not be much happier today!
The other vacuum he gave me, at left, is a Kirby 515, my second such model. ~Ben This post was last edited 03/22/2022 at 14:29 | ||
| Post# 450968 , Reply# 1 3/22/2022 at 14:34 (766 days old) by Blackheart (North Dakota) | ||
Nice! | ||
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Post# 450970 , Reply# 2 3/22/2022 at 14:42 (766 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon) |
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Blackheart | ||
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Post# 450971 , Reply# 3 3/22/2022 at 15:01 (766 days old) by Thevacomaticiec (Bathurst New Brunswick Canada ) |
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Post# 450975 , Reply# 4 3/22/2022 at 17:31 (765 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon) |
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Thevacomaticiec | ||
| Post# 450983 , Reply# 5 3/23/2022 at 05:10 (765 days old) by kirbyklekter (Concord,Ca.) | ||
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KirbyClassicIII Ben, Can you tell me a little about this machine? Is it a commercial machine? I'm glad you finally got one, congratulations! I'm sure it was worth the wait. Is this model a cousin to the heritage line as I see a lot of those cues. Billy | ||
| Post# 450984 , Reply# 6 3/23/2022 at 05:15 (765 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana) | ||
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Post# 450986 , Reply# 7 3/23/2022 at 07:36 (765 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon) |
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kirbyklekter | ||
| Post# 450988 , Reply# 8 3/23/2022 at 10:23 (765 days old) by dysonman1 (the county) | ||
By the early 1980's, many door to door vacuum companies were looking for a way to make more profits. Women were working during the day, so not as many home to see a demo.
Filter Queen came out with the Princess line to sell in stores. Interstate Engineering made the Compact for vac shops and the Tri-Star for door to door sales. Kirby made the ComVac for janitorial stores and the Kirby Heritage for door to door. Even Electrolux got in on this (in the later 1980's) with a line of plastic canisters and uprights for catalog stores as well as Sears. | ||
| Post# 450992 , Reply# 9 3/23/2022 at 12:24 (765 days old) by vacuumdevil (Vacuum Hell ) | ||
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| Post# 451017 , Reply# 10 3/24/2022 at 13:40 (764 days old) by toastermike (Milwaukie Oregon) | ||
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Post# 451018 , Reply# 11 3/24/2022 at 14:36 (764 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon) |
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toastermike | ||
| Post# 451019 , Reply# 12 3/24/2022 at 14:37 (764 days old) by kirbylux77 (London, Ontario, Canada) | ||
Congratulations Ben! You now own a rare piece of Kirby history. And that someone was nice enough to give it to you makes it even better. :)
The only thing I would suggest if you actually plan on using it is to take off the original bag and put a Heritage 2 bag assembly on. Not only to preserve the original bag, but for improved performance. Also it might not be a bad idea to get a spare set of carbon brushes for the motor. Rob | ||
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Post# 451020 , Reply# 13 3/24/2022 at 14:49 (764 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon) |
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kirbylux77
Rob,
Thank you! Although, if I were to install a large Emtor on this machine, I'd have to change out the rear axle to the shorter, 4.5" long version (102080) in order to support it (just as I did with my 1987 Heritage II). ~Ben This post was last edited 03/24/2022 at 18:43 | ||
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Post# 451053 , Reply# 14 3/25/2022 at 22:39 (762 days old) by rivstg1 (colorado springs) |
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Post# 451056 , Reply# 15 3/25/2022 at 23:33 (762 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon) |
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rivstg1 | ||
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Post# 451064 , Reply# 16 3/26/2022 at 01:44 (762 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon) |
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Me at Stark's Old Museum in 1998 (for toastermike)
Mike,
Here was I at Stark's, at age 17, visiting the old museum, and you'll see the COMVAC 1600 in the background. ~Ben
View Full Size
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Post# 451076 , Reply# 17 3/26/2022 at 16:38 (761 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon) |
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Stark's Old Museum, 2016
And here's more pictures of Stark's former museum in 2016, its last full year of existence.
~Ben | ||
| Post# 451079 , Reply# 18 3/26/2022 at 17:57 (761 days old) by Hoover300 (Kentucky) | ||
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| Post# 451099 , Reply# 19 3/27/2022 at 10:55 (761 days old) by toastermike (Milwaukie Oregon) | ||
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Stark's museum
Thanks for posting these pictures of the old museum Ben. I occasionally would stop by Starks and check it out before they downsized the store. The new museum on the wall is nice but just not the same. I noticed in your 1998 photo there is a Kenmore Commander cart model top and center. I just found one at the Goodwill Outlet store. My grandmother had one just like it but without the cart.
Mike | ||
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Post# 451100 , Reply# 20 3/27/2022 at 14:57 (761 days old) by KirbyClassicIII (Milwaukie, Oregon) |
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toastermike | ||
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Post# 451185 , Reply# 21 3/30/2022 at 14:35 (758 days old) by gottahaveahoove (Pittston, Pennsylvania, 18640) |
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Congrats on your machine! | ||
| Post# 451326 , Reply# 22 4/4/2022 at 22:03 (752 days old) by Lesinutah (Utah) | ||
Ben
Congrats on the super rare large nozzle Comvac.
Don't put an emtor on and ruin it. If you try to take it off you could cause issues. You likely would need a pipe wrench with a rag over it. If you want a better setup get a eureka st type bag adaptor or get a royal setup. The vacuum won't need it. Really nice vacs and I'm glad to see you own one. | ||
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