Kirby???

[TMurphy]

I always liked Kirby, too....

[Lew]

I do seem to remember Consumer Reports reviewing vaccuum cleaners and determining that Kirbys didn't clean any better than machines that cost a fraction as much, and that the Kirbys were actually less reliable based on their stats.

Any idea when that was?

As I said above, I'm not real sure about the newer, Generation, series, with the transmission and lot's of plastic parts.

I guess any 40 year old vaccum is built better than the current, throw-away crap. The questioon then is which ones can you get parts for, how easily and how much.

Can you get parts for a 60's Hoover or Eureka?

I wanted to correct my statement. I received the September Consumer reports, and it was the Rainbow that I was thinking of as being at the bottom of their ratings, while costing much more than almost any other. Even so, the Rainbow's reliability was better than other canisters.

The Kirby was number 6 in performance, and tops in reliability. Still at 4 to 5 times the cost of others that worked better, it's hard to justify the new price.

[Rick Denney]

My home has one, but hauling the head with the hose around is a drag and the upright does a much better job on the rugs--and it's lighter.

One thing a central vac does is vent all the filtered air to the outside. So whatever gets through the filter goes out into the yard. The bag is also very much larger, requiring replacement much less often.

The outside venting is why they are recommended for those with allergies. No need for HEPA filters or the like--just send the really fine stuff out the vent.

I found a hose that stretches to 30 feet and is about 8 feet long for storage. Works fine.

Rick "who didn't realize the benefits of outside venting until he had it" Denney

[windshieldbug]

This topic sucks!

(Oh, c'mon! You had to see that coming 1.6km away!)