Kirby G4

Owning a Kirby is a bit of a personal statement, like running a vintage Bentley; it is semi-self propelled, big, simple, and designed so that all the components can be serviced. Given a choice I would not drive a vintage car to work every day and the G4 might be seen to have similar disadvantages when compared to the latest designs. However we very recently acquired another brand of machine and found that the Kirby stands up rather better
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...brushes

The Kirby is marketed worldwide but only through a network of independent agents who demonstrate and sell it in customer's homes, therefore it has no recommended retail price

Some reports refer to Kirby agents indulging in 'high pressure selling', and this seems to have coloured views, which is understandable. I can only suggest that the sales techniques can be dealt with, and do not reflect the quality of the ... more

Owning a Kirby is a bit of a personal statement, like running a vintage Bentley; it is semi-self propelled, big, simple, and designed so that all the components can be serviced. Given a choice I would not drive a vintage car to work every day and the G4 might be seen to have similar disadvantages when compared to the latest designs. However we very recently acquired another brand of machine and found that the Kirby stands up rather better

The American manufacturer is proud of the traditional qualities of its 'home care system' as we were told in 1994 when we bought our G4. It is still in the flush of youth and has so far only required new bags, and occasional belts and wooden brushes

The Kirby is marketed worldwide but only through a network of independent agents who demonstrate and sell it in customer's homes, therefore it has no recommended retail price

Some reports refer to Kirby agents indulging in 'high pressure selling', and this seems to have coloured views, which is understandable. I can only suggest that the sales techniques can be dealt with, and do not reflect the quality of the machine or backup services

When we had our obligatory demonstration I was impressed by the solid polished cast aluminium construction, but fainted when the price of £800 was quoted. Upon my recovery the salesman asked what I thought it was worth. I offered £400 and that was that!

Anyone interested would be well advised to have some smelling salts handy and to employ a better Dutch auction technique

The manual
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This consists both of an exceptionally clear and well illustrated printed booklet and a rather soothing and friendly video, excellent for stress (sic) relief or wet afternoons when you want to drop (sic) off. The video stars an American housewife who thoroughly explains and demonstrates all the features

Transmission
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The self-propelling drive system is very well thought out, and has been completely reliable. This is essential Kirby engineering and must be expensive to produce

The manual says "Up to 90%" of the required motive power is provided. You certainly do not have to yank the machine about, and can determine exactly how fast it moves

Neither G4 nor our new, other brand, machine requires much push/pull effort, but in spite of the fact that it is 3+ kilos lighter in all-up weight and is significantly narrower, the newer machine actually feels heavier in use. This seems to be because, unlike G4, the handle has a fair bit of equipment attached and, effectively, when the top half is at 45 degrees during operation, it has to be partly 'carried'

The mechanism is very robust and effective. It involves a metal carrier in which a plate runs on adjustable roller bearings. A spring beneath the carrier requires to be compressed before the movement is transmitted to engage the gearbox, which is driven directly by the motor

There is no belt in the main drive to stretch and slip, and I guess that the engagement is entirely mechanical rather than electrical

When light forward or backward pressure is applied through the handle the machine is assisted to move in that direction. You have to push a bit, or pull, so that it does not tend to run away with you, or run you over

You can kick a lever, which is conveniently placed behind the body and near your toe, to release the drive so you can wheel it around freely with the power off

With the drive disengaged and the power on, it is interesting how much drag the suction causes on the carpet (which is sucked up onto the brush surround), so the drive is really doing quite a lot of work when it is called upon, while the gearing still allows the motor to run at full speed

The drive should be released for cleaning hard floors. I think there is even a differential mechanism between the two wheels so that when the drag, which occurs on carpet, is absent, one or other wheel tends to spin on the smooth surface and this could cause unnecessary wear

There is an optional floor pad for dusting wooden and tiled floors, and this fits onto the standard brush housing

We do not have the optional floor polisher kit but the drive is not used for this either. It involves a different special brush carrier and the manual says the polisher-brush tends to move the G4 forward anyway

Height adjustment
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To set operating height for maximum performance you touch a well made two-way ratchet, again with your toe, until the motor note changes. This is accurate and quick to do. The highest setting is used to get proper access before exchanging the brush housing for the flexible hose adapter

Adjustable Brush
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The brush is a durable wooden item which is centrally driven straight off the specially shaped spindle of the motor by a 2.5 inch diameter 15 mm wide belt (rather than the round section ring used by some machines). This takes years to start slipping

The brush itself is easy to get out and can be reset at one of three levels to compensate as it wears; this is a definite improvement on some machines where the brush stops working properly after a short time

The bearings are well protected to prevent them getting jammed or destroyed by debris over time

Bag
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The dust bag uses a micro filter system and is easy to change, each bag currently costing about £3 (i.e. too much, but apparently about average). Non Kirby bags are about half price

Handle
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The handle is a detachable all-metal item

It has a three position catch which can allow the body of the machine to be locked vertically in line with the handle to save storage space

Another position of the catch frees the handle to move back from the vertical for normal use, and a third position introduces a stop a few degrees from the horizontal so G4 can be levered over low obstacles

Brake light
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The brush rotation indicator consists of a lens on top of the brush shroud which lights brightly when the brush is rotating correctly. It appears to generate its own current by employing the rotation of the brush, so it dims or flickers if an obstruction such as wrapped cotton or hair slows the brush. You do not have to wait for the smell of burning rubber. Nice

Headlight
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There is a light which does not dispel much of the gloom in dark corners, vintage again

Modes of use
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The machine can be used upright or as a portable on stairs etc., with an alternative short and fixed handle

It can be used like a cylinder vacuum cleaner by exchanging the brush housing for the hose adapter. You do this by turning a cover to retain the belt out of the way, and then replace the brush carrier with the hose attachment piece. This triggers the motor to speed up and give even more suction (which is better than our industrial large capacity cylinder machine)

Tool kit
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Provided as standard are various tubes, brushes and tools for cleaning carpets upholstery and curtains

Another standard attachment kit allow it to inflate toys etc. and there is a spray set for water based paints or fluids

Optional accessories include a carpet shampoo system which spreads, brushes in, and levels a light foam layer before this is allowed to dry prior to its removal (together with the grime) by vacuuming, and an interesting air-turbine-driven 'zippbrush', both of which were supplied to us notionally 'free'

Another optional accessory set polishes hard floors

Power
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On the bottom plate of the G4 it says: "250 volts 700 watts, 3 amps - United Kingdom only: 5 amps". Since most powerful vacuums seem to be rated well above 1000 watts, it may be that 250 volts and 5 amps means: 5x250 = 1250 watts

Conclusion
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After 12 years I still like our G4 because it works as well as ever. My wife finds it too heavy although there is a comfortable grip near the base of the handle which helps. Luckily we now live in a bungalow so it only needs a bit of steering to wheel it around

The body is certainly taller than most and this could be a problem with some furniture

I cannot comment on how it deals with dog hairs because we do not have one, but it seems to cope with cats and humans and keeps on doing it. I have noticed that there is a blast of air on one side which could spread some of the bits and peices but apart from this the Kirby picks up dust, debris, and fluff a lot better than the others we had before it, and about the same as the new machine of another brand which we recently acquired

The G4 is quite noisy and the air filtration may not be as good as some but I think the G4 has natural bristles in its brush, which might be less rough on carpets than nylon ones. The bag is a lot bigger but is more tricky to change and, although it is quick to do, the machine's height needs to be adjusted for different carpets or surfaces

G4 is an unusual, powerful and effective system which should last indefinitely. Because it is largely self-powered it is light in use but is tall and heavy in weight, and modifying it to cylinder mode takes time. It has been superceded by several generations but the main problem with the current model, as with the G4, could be that its price is indefinite and could be too high

Tranx @ (updated 28/6/06) 

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