Mardie
Member
LOL Hey I have had repeats thank me for the advise when I came back for the second time.
Help me find the right vacuum cleaner
- Thread starter Mikey P
- Start date
LOL Hey I have had repeats thank me for the advise when I came back for the second time.
Zee
Supportive Member
I also make it a point to somewhat educate them about proper vacuuming..which way to go how fast and other points like that... But I only do it if I sense that they are actually interested...otherwise I wouldn't bore them or bother them.
Mardie
Member
I was going to say that I only do this if I feel they are interested defently not all the time so I guess you can say we actually agreed on something and you are just going to have to live with that LOL
I can see there is this perception that if you clean a nasty carpet with small and hard debris in it, your direct air system vacuum, Kirby, Royal or what have you will just break and you're then out of luck.
I just wanted to comment on this a bit as I have some first hand experience which is relevant. As well as cleaning carpets, we will clean vehicle interiors. Now anybody who does this will know that in spite of being a small area of textile of perhaps a few square metres, vehicles are a genuine challenge for any vacuum cleaner. They are like vacuuming the worst of carpets, and the worst of upholstery in a single sitting.
Stones, rocks, piles of beach sand, garden soil, shells grit, nuts, washers, screws, rivets you name it and it's in there. Of course irrespective of what type of machine you use, it's just good sense to try and pickup any of the larger stuff you find. But no matter what, some always escapes you. And your vacuum cleaner will find it.
As an example here are a few vehicles I have cleaned for customers. And they have been vacuumed with - what else - but our Kirby.
Here's a particularly nasty Nissan Dualis. It had loads and loads of crap in it of all kinds. Screws, washers, you name it - as well as plenty of general soil much of which was very ingrained.
And after a lashing with the Kirby.
How about a Toyota Hilux (what is it about SUV owners?)
This kind of soil was found throughout the vehicle, it was heaviest in the driver's side footwell. With no hot water extraction and just dry soil extraction again with a Kirby, all the bits of sticks, pot rivet shafts, stones and soil are removed and things look pretty decent.
This notion that if you have to pickup some hard debris, then your fan is a goner is quite wrong. And thanks to the numerous - fiddly to install - but useful and tractable tools that come with the unit, I'm able to recover the vehicle to a good state before the commencement of wet cleaning procedures.
And when I'm done, I take out the bag, which obviously - is - our filter, a whopping nine litre filter. I install a new one and the machine is at peak performance again.no mess, no fuss.
And I can give my customer the faith, inside a nice hygienic container; that we pulled out all the stops and a huge amount of soil.. They get to feel the mass of the recovered soil in their hands without being exposed, and if anything is missing they have an easy way of looking to recover it.
On all sides it's a solid win. And my machine soldiers on and on, job after job with no silly maintenance issues, no need for continual replacement. And I only throw away soil in some bags and not whole machines and their soil too. No tree hugger myself, but going through a few whole machine every year, year after year becomes quite obviously - very ecologically unsound. And when this is added to the reality that our direct air machines use a mere fraction of the electrical energy that our cheap bagless counterparts do, the issue of the terrible ecology is further compounded.
And when our "a few good men" Bissell model is finally discontinued and replaced with another cheap something that may or - may not - work as well, I am still on the same unit I started with, getting the same top of the class soil recovery, with access to the same spares and the same tools for any incidental breakages or wear that may occur.
Obvious really.
Grant
I just wanted to comment on this a bit as I have some first hand experience which is relevant. As well as cleaning carpets, we will clean vehicle interiors. Now anybody who does this will know that in spite of being a small area of textile of perhaps a few square metres, vehicles are a genuine challenge for any vacuum cleaner. They are like vacuuming the worst of carpets, and the worst of upholstery in a single sitting.
Stones, rocks, piles of beach sand, garden soil, shells grit, nuts, washers, screws, rivets you name it and it's in there. Of course irrespective of what type of machine you use, it's just good sense to try and pickup any of the larger stuff you find. But no matter what, some always escapes you. And your vacuum cleaner will find it.
As an example here are a few vehicles I have cleaned for customers. And they have been vacuumed with - what else - but our Kirby.
Here's a particularly nasty Nissan Dualis. It had loads and loads of crap in it of all kinds. Screws, washers, you name it - as well as plenty of general soil much of which was very ingrained.
And after a lashing with the Kirby.
How about a Toyota Hilux (what is it about SUV owners?)
This kind of soil was found throughout the vehicle, it was heaviest in the driver's side footwell. With no hot water extraction and just dry soil extraction again with a Kirby, all the bits of sticks, pot rivet shafts, stones and soil are removed and things look pretty decent.
This notion that if you have to pickup some hard debris, then your fan is a goner is quite wrong. And thanks to the numerous - fiddly to install - but useful and tractable tools that come with the unit, I'm able to recover the vehicle to a good state before the commencement of wet cleaning procedures.
And when I'm done, I take out the bag, which obviously - is - our filter, a whopping nine litre filter. I install a new one and the machine is at peak performance again.no mess, no fuss.
And I can give my customer the faith, inside a nice hygienic container; that we pulled out all the stops and a huge amount of soil.. They get to feel the mass of the recovered soil in their hands without being exposed, and if anything is missing they have an easy way of looking to recover it.
On all sides it's a solid win. And my machine soldiers on and on, job after job with no silly maintenance issues, no need for continual replacement. And I only throw away soil in some bags and not whole machines and their soil too. No tree hugger myself, but going through a few whole machine every year, year after year becomes quite obviously - very ecologically unsound. And when this is added to the reality that our direct air machines use a mere fraction of the electrical energy that our cheap bagless counterparts do, the issue of the terrible ecology is further compounded.
And when our "a few good men" Bissell model is finally discontinued and replaced with another cheap something that may or - may not - work as well, I am still on the same unit I started with, getting the same top of the class soil recovery, with access to the same spares and the same tools for any incidental breakages or wear that may occur.
Obvious really.
Grant
Last edited:
ruff
Member
Grant, I think the concern was with bolts and small metal parts that we unfortunately get in some carpets.
What is your experience with those and do they damage the fan?
What is your experience with those and do they damage the fan?
instead of reading 5 pages can someone just tell me the name of some top bag-less vac's?
the Dyson refurb that i like the best, DC07, is nearly extinct...or will be in a year or less.
does the Momentum have a larger dust cup? some are very small on various vac's.
also what about a foam filter? easy to clean and doesn't have to be replaced like paper.
the Dyson refurb that i like the best, DC07, is nearly extinct...or will be in a year or less.
does the Momentum have a larger dust cup? some are very small on various vac's.
also what about a foam filter? easy to clean and doesn't have to be replaced like paper.
It really depends on the size of the bolt. I have had no issues with broken fans in my Kirby. The vehicles above had a number of self tapping screws and one had pot rivets stalks too. I missed a few and the Kirby "found" them. They had hard metal objects and the went through O.K. Same with some pretty big bits of rock etc.
At some point in the future the fan will fail and I will spend $20 on a replacement and fit it myself while I watch some TV and relax. It isn't at all difficult.
To date though, no failures of any kind.
Grant
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Mikey P
Administrator
Alright Grant, your conviction has me willing to spend $50 to see if you know what your talking about.
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/app/4094908129.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/app/4094908129.html
I don't think it will be a biggie, but please be aware that the machine you have linked to has an Ultimate G head on it but the unit is itself a G4. This in itself should how many spares parts are available to you as heads, hoses and just about everything else is transferable from one Kirby to another. In this case though be aware that the owner has potentially done other things to the unit. Make sure it is complete and works before leaving with the unit.
The Kirby G4 was manufactures between 1993 and 1996, so the machine is between 17 and 20 years old.
If I can help. You in any way, please feel welcome to message me.
Grant
The Kirby G4 was manufactures between 1993 and 1996, so the machine is between 17 and 20 years old.
If I can help. You in any way, please feel welcome to message me.
Grant
Russ T.
Supportive Member
Hi Grant, and all. I've read most of this thread and appreciate the education. You are obviously a big fan of the Kirby. Do you sell them? What model, price, etc. for someone looking for a great commercial grade vac that will be easy to maintain and last for years? Thanks!
Russ
Russ
G'day. We don't sell the Kirby, Mrs. GeeeAus does servicing for Kirby and sell bags and dry foam shampoo and cleaning,chemicals. She also does service and sales of spares for Electrolux. I am the carpet cleaner, and look, after that side of the business. I just bought a few used ones from eBay because I wanted sometime serious to do dry soil extraction with. The photos provided above were from some vehicle interiors I cleaned a while back. Never bought a new Kirby though I have nothing against it. Just see so many plastic vacuums with motor burn outs, crapoy small filters and substandard performance. This is why I use an recommend what I do.
Because of Mrs. GeeeAus' regular turnover of bags, belts, suds and cleaning supplies from Kirby and the apparent good quality we've seen in them; I buy my carpet cleaning chemicals from Kirby's sister company Scot Laboratories and have them shipped to Australua.
I have no idea what a second hand Kirby is worth in North America. I paid I think $250 for one of my work machines, the other was $400 and the one we have at home was a bargain $100.
All work well, no failures and the ones I use for work get a fair hiding.
It's only in the spirit of wanting to help and contribute I bothered to john this thread. I genuinely hope everybody who goes looking finds a bargain and gets along well with it.
Grant
Dolly Llama
Number 5
Kirby's "sister" Co??
you mean Scot labs makes Kirby chems
as well as many other "name brand" chems you see in stores
Scot Lab is appx 40 miles north me.
I've been there and toured their facility
at one time (maybe still do?) they were marketing their own encap shampoo
..L.T.A.
Well when I spoke with Dave Lupyan he described Scot Laboratories as "We're Kirby's best kept secret". And if we visit Scot Labs page there is a historical description if the company's background and focus. They reason for being is to make the chemicals for Kirby, after that was established they began to entertain other markets. All my goods are shipped via The Kirby Company and come in Kirby branded boxes with Kirby's Cleveland address in the carton.
I personal really dig Scot's Tuff chems. They are really effective and the encapsulating technologies they offer in a HWE product is pretty clever.
Terrific people too. I'm on the other side of the world, and represent a logistical nightmare to ship product too, but they get it done and never complain,
Kirby has other sister companies that are primarily about supporting Kirby manufacturing but also do other work. Cleveland Wood Products comes to mind. They make all Kirby brush rolls and cloth bags.
Interesting little cluster of companies.
Grant
Lee Stockwell
FOJL
Scot Fetzer has been around for many decades.
Bought the kids World Book over 30 yrs ago and 1st noticed the connection to Kirby.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Bought the kids World Book over 30 yrs ago and 1st noticed the connection to Kirby.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Dolly Llama
Number 5
kind of interesting that Scott Fertilizer owns both Kirby and Scot Lab
EDIT....duh
put your glasses on dumazz
..L.T.A.
EDIT....duh
put your glasses on dumazz
..L.T.A.
Russ T.
Supportive Member
There is an Ultimate G Series on Craigslist locally for $300. Is that a good deal if it's in nice shape? Can I vac stairs with it? Thanks guys.
The Clean Machine
The Clean Machine
Russ T.
Supportive Member
It does come with some kind of attachment kit and shampoo kit...not sure what that means.
The Clean Machine
The Clean Machine
If the machine were in good condition and complete then I'd have thought $300 represented fair money for the quality and function it offers. You can vacuum stairs and mattresses with the Kirby and save for it being a bit of a workout for you (the Kirby is heavy) it allows you to clean stairs really effectively as a "deep cleaning hand portable. What this means in practical terms is that the Kirby can be setup as an upright cleaner with that wide hammer head carpet nozzle, but the upright handle piece can be removed and a small hand held piece attached in its' place. This gives you the power of the upright in a hand held machine you can deep vacuum stairs and mattresses with. It is very tiring until you get into shape a bit, but the results are excellent and its' standard of soil recovery in this mode is much better than using a typical hose canister machine.
As to the shampoo tools.
The Kirby can be setup as a rudimentary rotary brush encapsulating machine. A mini Von Schrader if you like. It blows air generated by the machine's fan into a solution tank containing an encapsulating dry foam solution, the pressure from the fan forces the solution to be pushed from the tank through a hose with a gauze screen on it turning the solution into a rich lather of foam. The foam is dispensed directly into the path of a grooming brush roll which works it in and then lifts it out along with the soil and other foreign bodies. This detritus is then cleaned off the brush by a blade which then drains into a tray mounted to the front of the head.
The residual cleaning solution encapsulates and achieves brittle dry down as the water evaporates. The user then sets the machine up as an upright and dry extracts the carpet upon completely drying.
Obviously the system is not as comprehensive as hot water extraction, and the machine doesn't offer the same level of agitation as a much heavier single disc machine; but in respect of its' size and complexity, it offers a pretty respectable standard of encap maintenance cleaning to owners who use the system properly. Of course, this is contingent on the condition that they don't buy rubbish after market or supermarket chems. Customers who clean for maintenance with their Kirby shampooer make good clients because their carpets respond well to deep restorative cleaning. The contractor and the customer have a share of the responsibility of the carpet upkeep and the customer has a tool of a known standard which means fewer surprises for the contractor during scheduled restorative cleaning.
The encap crystals in the Kirby suds offer a degree of soil resistance and so make for easier cleaning when restoration time comes. The genuine Kirby dry foam product (not alternatives) also plays nice with extraction equipment and rinses away relatively freely without causing over foaming in vacuum hoses which obviously frustrates contractors who clean after a dry foam products has been used.
In fact when we clean wool, we actually pre-spray the carpet with Kirby dry foam and agitate with our floor machine prior to extraction. It is friendly to wool fibres with a PH of 6 and any residual solution not recovered during extraction will encapsulate. It doesn't hurt that it smells pretty decent and suspends soils pretty well too.
The dry foam system is not typically of much interest to a professional carpet cleaner in most settings. There are some instances though where I have used the system to apply and work in pre-treatments where I have encountered pretty nasty carpets. The grooming brush is a first rate grooming tool, better than a. Grandi Groomer and less tiring.
Grant.
cu
Supportive Member
Iv cleaned a kerby sales and training center office a few times, it's always filthy and they never vacuum the place before I get there. So I do it with a Dyson out of spite..
Mikey P
Administrator
You ever see those twerpy geeks who seek those tanks?
Mikey P
Administrator
This all sounds good SIr Dyson, but you overlooked one thing..
Your floppy ass head bounces around so much all suction is long gone.
http://youtu.be/KCn10bkLnAI#aid=P7mMiwkWXwA
How was this overlooked by all these smart sounding intellectuals?
Your floppy ass head bounces around so much all suction is long gone.
http://youtu.be/KCn10bkLnAI#aid=P7mMiwkWXwA
How was this overlooked by all these smart sounding intellectuals?
Mardie
Member
No weight no dig.
Joel D
Member
Yep all about the british accent.
I should try that accent to sell scotchgard
Just checked amazon. $500 is a bit much
I should try that accent to sell scotchgard
Just checked amazon. $500 is a bit much
Mikey P
Administrator
I went and looked at the $50 Kirby.
Passed. THe top part of the handle is plastic. It flexed so much I was convinced it would be breaking off real soon. No way to adjust that I could see.
Does the handle really not lock up into position on these?
This guy has it down
http://youtu.be/5k1jrqTuQlI
Passed. THe top part of the handle is plastic. It flexed so much I was convinced it would be breaking off real soon. No way to adjust that I could see.
Does the handle really not lock up into position on these?
This guy has it down
http://youtu.be/5k1jrqTuQlI
Mikey P
Administrator
hogjowl
Idiot™
I love my Dyson, but I ran into a job yesterday where I was afraid to use it. It was a very tall, thick smartstrand. The Dyson was hard to push and I was really afraid that the brush might damage the silky soft fiber. I have read others talk about Dyson brushes ruining warranties and such over the years and scoffed at bulletin board experts, but in this case I took it to be a real possibility.
I asked the lady what vacuum she used and she pulled out a $50 Bissel. She told me her carpet salesman told her to buy a cheap vacuum with a manual height adjustment on it.
I asked the lady what vacuum she used and she pulled out a $50 Bissel. She told me her carpet salesman told her to buy a cheap vacuum with a manual height adjustment on it.
Mikey P
Administrator
Was she a democrat or republican?
Russ T.
Supportive Member
Several Kerby's for sale locally at a vacuum supply place. All professionally cleaned, polished, tuned up. They have the older versions like the G4 all the way up to the newer Sentria G10. All have a 2 year warranty. Which one should I get? Older ones are @$175 and the Sentria with all attachments is $300. Are they all pretty much the same for dry soil removal, stairs, and convenience? Are bags available for all?Any suggestions? Grant or others...Mike did you buy that older one for $50? What do you think?
Russ
Russ
