first post.

Hi! I've been a long time reader but this is my first post on vacuumland.
I'm not the greatest typist or writer so please bear with me...
I've really enjoyed reading everyones different vacuum stories and seeing the pics of all the cool vintage vacuums of all brands! :)
I figured its about time I share my small collection of Kirbys and Royal hand vacuums.
first and second pic: Kirby 519, D50, Classic III, Tradition, and a 1981 Heritage 1.
Third pic: 3 Royal prince 501's, 2 red Dirt devils, and 1 Kirby Vacuette hand vac.

The 519 was given to me by my grandmother. She bought it refurbished from a local vac shop when they built their new ranch style house in 1965. My grandparents were farmers and had numerous Irish setters over the years. The machine was run every day for many, many years! The wheels have been replaced more than once and the cloth shake out bag was changed twice! ( the bags where washed a lot because of dog smell) she kepted and still keeps her house so clean, you could practly eat of the floors in that house! I honestly don't know how she still keeps up with every thing at 85 years old. Id say my grandmother got her moneys worth out of this one lol. she only parted with it because she hated the shake out bag and was tired of cleaning it out all the time. I've since upgraded it to HEPA bags and offered to give it back to her, but she is happy with her Oreck.

The D50 I found in the trash in the late 90's around the time I was moving into my first apartment. So this was the first Kirby I could call my own ! :) all it needed at the time was a new brush roll and the rubber bag guard around the emptor. That's why it's dark brown instead of tan.

The Classic III belonged to my great grandmother. She bought it new in 1977. She gave it to me because it just became too heavy for her to use. She used it until she was in her mid 90's.(around 2006 or 07) She was just a little frail old lady lugging that monster around when she finally decided to replace it with an Oreck. that she never really liked.

The Heritage 1 was given to me by my mom last year. once again, it just became to heavy for her to use as she has had some health issues the last few years that started to effect her mobility. This is the vacuum I grew up using. It's a year younger than me! lol. I can honestly say I put this one through hell when I younger and deftly as a teenager cleaning out my car. I'll say it's on its 3rd maybe 4th fan blade. It was usually me being in hurry and dropping the hose in the drive way sucking up gravel or change. ugh ! I was so terrible about that. I quickly became very fast and good at changing the fan in that machine.( not Sure if she knows to this day how many times I broke the fan. shush its secret ;) ) My mom has often said the heritage was worth every Pennie she paid for it. ($800 in 1983) This machine is kind of like an old friend. If I had a choice of keeping only one out the 5 have I have. This would be the one I'd keep.

The Tradition is my latest addition. I bought it a few weeks ago on eBay. its become my problem child... ugh. new fan blade, new cord, and its going need bearings now. I tried repacking them. with in a week they started squealing again. (I've re-packed the bearings on all the other 4 Kirbys in the past with out issue) then the switch assemble cracked where the cord connects, and the safety switch is kinda wonky, good thing blue is my favorite color or it would become a parts machine lol. I was half tempted to try sending it off to Kirby for a rebuild, as I'm adding the cost of parts up. But then I'd miss out the fun doing it my self... haha.
all of the Kirbys have Been converted to use Hepa bags because I have developed bad allergies over the last few years. I actually miss the shake bags and how they looked all puffed up. sadly, it now only takes using one of them for few minutes and my eyes start getting red and watery. it's funny how you can become allergic to things later in life that never Bothered you before. I have saved and stored away the shake out bags and emptors for who ever may end with machines after me.

all three royals 501's came from either eBay or yard sales. I kinda forget what came from where or when lol. The red dirt devils, one was Given to me by Mom when I moved away from home ( second one in from the right. I also put that poor thing through hell when I was younger lol ) and the other I bought cheap on eBay for spare parts, it was in better shape than expected ! so I ended up cleaning it up and putting it to use. the little Kirby had vac, I found on eBay and just had buy it because I didn't know they existed until stumbling across it on eBay. sadly I can't really use it because there is no paper bag option for it.

side note: Ive recently gained a new Appreciation for the toe touch hight adjustment on the Kirby's. I've recently started a second job cleaning offices in the evenings and I have to use this screaming loud !!!! Green Bissell upright that I have to actually stop, lock the handle up and then reach down to turn the dial for correct hight. After basically using nothing but Kirbys my entire life, I find this bissell to be very annoying!

Thanks for Reading
AJ

Photos... < > Photo 1 of 3 View Full Size


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Post# 468381 12/30/2023 at 21:56 by ajc31980 (Johnstown PA USA)
Checkrate/Likes 5 Hi! I've been a long time reader but this is my first post on vacuumland. I'm not the greatest typist or writer so please bear with me... I've really enjoyed reading everyones different vacuum stories and seeing the pics of all the cool vintage vacuums of all brands! :) I figured its about time I share my small collection of Kirbys and Royal hand vacuums. first and second pic: Kirby 519, D50, Classic III, Tradition, and a 1981 Heritage 1. Third pic: 3 Royal prince 501's, 2 red Dirt devils, and 1 Kirby Vacuette hand vac. The 519 was given to me by my grandmother. She bought it refurbished from a local vac shop when they built their new ranch style house in 1965. My grandparents were farmers and had numerous Irish setters over the years. The machine was run every day for many, many years! The wheels have been replaced more than once and the cloth shake out bag was changed twice! ( the bags where washed a lot because of dog smell) she kepted and still keeps her house so clean, you could practly eat of the floors in that house! I honestly don't know how she still keeps up with every thing at 85 years old. Id say my grandmother got her moneys worth out of this one lol. she only parted with it because she hated the shake out bag and was tired of cleaning it out all the time. I've since upgraded it to HEPA bags and offered to give it back to her, but she is happy with her Oreck. The D50 I found in the trash in the late 90's around the time I was moving into my first apartment. So this was the first Kirby I could call my own ! :) all it needed at the time was a new brush roll and the rubber bag guard around the emptor. That's why it's dark brown instead of tan. The Classic III belonged to my great grandmother. She bought it new in 1977. She gave it to me because it just became too heavy for her to use. She used it until she was in her mid 90's.(around 2006 or 07) She was just a little frail old lady lugging that monster around when she finally decided to replace it with an Oreck. that she never really liked. The Heritage 1 was given to me by my mom last year. once again, it just became to heavy for her to use as she has had some health issues the last few years that started to effect her mobility. This is the vacuum I grew up using. It's a year younger than me! lol. I can honestly say I put this one through hell when I younger and deftly as a teenager cleaning out my car. I'll say it's on its 3rd maybe 4th fan blade. It was usually me being in hurry and dropping the hose in the drive way sucking up gravel or change. ugh ! I was so terrible about that. I quickly became very fast and good at changing the fan in that machine.( not Sure if she knows to this day how many times I broke the fan. shush its secret ;) ) My mom has often said the heritage was worth every Pennie she paid for it. ($800 in 1983) This machine is kind of like an old friend. If I had a choice of keeping only one out the 5 have I have. This would be the one I'd keep. The Tradition is my latest addition. I bought it a few weeks ago on eBay. its become my problem child... ugh. new fan blade, new cord, and its going need bearings now. I tried repacking them. with in a week they started squealing again. (I've re-packed the bearings on all the other 4 Kirbys in the past with out issue) then the switch assemble cracked where the cord connects, and the safety switch is kinda wonky, good thing blue is my favorite color or it would become a parts machine lol. I was half tempted to try sending it off to Kirby for a rebuild, as I'm adding the cost of parts up. But then I'd miss out the fun doing it my self... haha. all of the Kirbys have Been converted to use Hepa bags because I have developed bad allergies over the last few years. I actually miss the shake bags and how they looked all puffed up. sadly, it now only takes using one of them for few minutes and my eyes start getting red and watery. it's funny how you can become allergic to things later in life that never Bothered you before. I have saved and stored away the shake out bags and emptors for who ever may end with machines after me. all three royals 501's came from either eBay or yard sales. I kinda forget what came from where or when lol. The red dirt devils, one was Given to me by Mom when I moved away from home ( second one in from the right. I also put that poor thing through hell when I was younger lol ) and the other I bought cheap on eBay for spare parts, it was in better shape than expected ! so I ended up cleaning it up and putting it to use. the little Kirby had vac, I found on eBay and just had buy it because I didn't know they existed until stumbling across it on eBay. sadly I can't really use it because there is no paper bag option for it. side note: Ive recently gained a new Appreciation for the toe touch hight adjustment on the Kirby's. I've recently started a second job cleaning offices in the evenings and I have to use this screaming loud !!!! Green Bissell upright that I have to actually stop, lock the handle up and then reach down to turn the dial for correct hight. After basically using nothing but Kirbys my entire life, I find this bissell to be very annoying! Thanks for Reading AJ Photos... < > Photo 1 of 3 View Full Size

Post# 468382 , Reply# 1 12/30/2023 at 22:34 by JustJunque (Western MA)
Checkrate/Likes 2 Hey, AJ! Nice post! Glad you decided to jump in! For some reason, I like those little Douglas made hand vacs. I have a few different versions of it, including the one with Douglas' name; the Busy Bee. I certainly don't have all of them, but I keep my eyes open for good deals. I don't have the Kirby, the Craftsman, or the Kenmore. And, there may be others. I have the aforementioned Douglas, an Oreck, and one or two more that I forget right now. I haven't seen them in a while. They're packed away temporarily. Very nice collection of Kirbys! And it's great that you have a personal history with some of them!

Post# 468383 , Reply# 2 12/30/2023 at 23:15 by ajc31980 (Johnstown PA USA)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *JustJunque* they are neat little hand vacs ! I wasn't aware that they were sold under so many different names. thank you for the info! If they had better filtration I would be more tempted to hunt down the other models. sadly I'm going to have stop using my royal prince hand vacs soon. My stash of style H bags is almost depleted and finding those bag now are like finding hens teeth! I really wish one of the after market companies would start making them. thankfully the dirtdevil bags are still easy to find

Post# 468387 , Reply# 3 12/31/2023 at 03:35 by hygiene903 (Galion, OH)
Checkrate/Likes 3 *Welcome AJ!* Welcome to Vacuumland! Nice Kirbys and Royal 501's you have there, and also enjoyed your stories on how you got them, especially the ones passed down to you from your family. Family vacs are always a special part of our collections and I have a few of them too. Again, welcome to the group! Jeff

Post# 468390 , Reply# 4 12/31/2023 at 09:52 by odavid123 (Los Angeles ca )
Checkrate/Likes 2 Very nice collection! Loved reading your post .

Post# 468399 , Reply# 5 12/31/2023 at 21:55 by Lesinutah (Utah)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *Nice* Set of kirbys and handvacs. They all look like there in excellent shape. I have 1 Question? Is your ds 50 emtor on all the way. The bag gUrd is on an angle that it looks like it's not twisted all the way in. I have burgundy vacuette and the black one. I have the Douglas busy bee NIB Douglas aardvak NIB, a craftsman version and another version I can't think of. It's very nice vacuums again. It's amazing your mom and grandma's could push around kirbys at their age. Welcome to the boatd.

Post# 468401 , Reply# 6 1/1/2024 at 02:30 by ajc31980 (Johnstown PA USA)
Checkrate/Likes Hey! thanks everyone for all of the kind comments and welcoming me the forum. Jeff/ hygiene903 there is always something specially about items passed down from family. It also makes all the little flaws, special too. I've been debating on and off about trying get some of deep scratches out the finish. but knowing how some of them happened, I Kinda hate to do it.. odavid123 Thanks. I never really thought I'd have this many Kirbys or royals. It just sort of happened haha. I had chance to check out your web page! very nice ! awesome job! Lesinutah Thank you! but they look better from a distance lol. they are all in good working order though. I use them on a rotating basis. The emptor on the D50 is on all the way. I think it's just the way it looks in the picture. the bag guard always seems to sit crooked on that cloth bag. one of these days I intend of trying add A fill tube to the ordinal emptors on the 519 and D50. I've seen different ways of doing it on YouTube and FB. just sure how I want to do it.

Post# 468411 , Reply# 7 1/1/2024 at 16:49 by convertible18 (Utica, New York, USA)
Checkrate/Likes 2 *welcome!* hope to see more posts :)

Post# 468430 , Reply# 8 1/3/2024 at 00:41 by ajc31980 (Johnstown PA USA)
Checkrate/Likes 1 *convertible18* hey thank! and when the next Kirby joins the family I'll be sure to post it :)

Post# 469298 , Reply# 9 2/5/2024 at 22:34 by Durango159 (State College, PA)
Checkrate/Likes *Welcome to the group!* Great looking collection you have brewing. Are you in any Facebook vac groups too? You're in a good neck of the woods. I'm in State College.

Post# 469305 , Reply# 10 2/6/2024 at 00:42 by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)
Checkrate/Likes Welcome to the forum, nice to see another Kirby fan. :)