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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Topic: Vacuum Cleaner Anyone?
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James Wyrembelski
Expert Film Handler
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Posts: 114
From: Beaverton, MI, USA
Registered: Sep 2015
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posted 12-04-2016 08:51 PM
I can attest to Kirby's reliability through the years. They're tanks and require little maintenance. New ones are pricey...for a good reason. You'll never buy another one. I have two...one from 1963 (i keep it because it looks so cool) and the other I use regularly from 1995. You can find used, refurbed ones on places like ebay relatively cheap. Even new models.
The new ones have a built in drive system (since the early 90's)...you can push it with one finger. They have tremendous power, and can convert between a canister mode or upright. They still use bags...which actually are better at filtering than using the HEPA filters contrary to popular belief and generally bagged vacuums last longer....there's less stress on the motor. They're also still made in the USA at the original factory if that matters.
Royal also makes an all metal upright very comparable to Kirby and are generally cheaper. Same good quality too.
I used to repair and sell these and generally push people to buy these over the plastic throw outs.
As far as commercial I'd go with the older style Eureka or Hoover bagged ones. They still make them and the extra long, heavy cord is nice. They're simple and easy to maintain, but they've cheapened out over the years, and you cant use any attachments. They generally go for about 120 bucks. Or even Royal in this case. They're the same as the home models but have a long, heavy duty cord. Insanely reliable, but pricey, and do have attachments available. Kirby would also work, but no long cord makes large commercial applications a bit irritating.
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Jim Cassedy
Phenomenal Film Handler
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Posts: 1661
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Dec 2006
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posted 12-07-2016 10:07 AM
In my younger days, I was quite a dumpster diver.
Vacuum cleaners were always a treasure to find, being s source of wheels, wires, switches, motors, etc from which I could build other things.
Two brands I rarely ever found in a trash heap were Kirby and Oreck.
I can attest to what Mitchell and James say about Kirbys. My mom had one from the early 1960's and she gave out before the vacuum cleaner did. It's now owned by an elderly aunt, and is still going strong. (The vacuum cleaner!; my aunt - - not so much so... )
I have an Oreck upright. I see them used commercially in a lot of the hotels and convention centers I do shows at. They seem to be well built, and I've been very happy with mine.
I'm not too impressed by the fancy new Dysan vacuums. They may look modern, and perhaps they work well, but based on the number of them I've seen discarded in trash piles, I get the impression they're not built to have a very long lifespan.
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Jim Cassedy
Phenomenal Film Handler
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Posts: 1661
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Dec 2006
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posted 12-07-2016 11:42 AM
Well, Scott, you might be right about the carpet piles.
I can't really judge, since all my floors are either hardwood or tile, and this hallway runner is the only thing I have that comes close to being a 'rug', except for a couple of rug-mats by my kitchen & bathroom sinks. The Oreck does a great job on these, as well as in the hallway in the common area outside my front door, but this runner, the mats & outer hall carpets are short-pile. ![-](http://www.film-tech.com/uploads/uploads0503/JimsHallCarpet2.jpg) I spent a few days in a Holiday Inn outside of Phoenix last week, and I noticed when I was checking out that the cleaning staff there were using Orecks.
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Frank Angel
Film God
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Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 12-22-2016 07:24 PM
We are pretty lucky...our theatre complex of 4 theatres was built in the mid-50s and in many areas, it was seriously over-built -- i.e., built to last. One of the features they designed into the building was a central vacuum system using two massive units the size of Mac trucks in the basement with piping that allowed hoses to be hooked up to brass intake openings flush with the wall in multiple parts of each theatre. Suction at the end of that hose is fierce. With a 50 ft hose, you could reach any part of the theatre. The company has gone out of business since, but the things were so well built that other than oiling and cleaning the motors, they work as well today as they did when the place opened. Very neat not to have to lug a vacuum clearer around a 2500 seat theatre.
For the few places in the builds where there are no intake nozzles, we just use ShopVacs; these things produce suction exponentially greater than home-style vacuum cleaners. But one con is their limited types of available attachments for them, BUT, if you like to add the better designed and more elaborate attachments that are found on home-type vacuums, you can easily use an opening reduction adapter that will allow you to use the more fancy attachments.
We found on carpet attachment that used the suction of the vacuum to spin a brush in the attachment head much like those that have motors in the attachment itself. With a ShopVac hooked up to that thing, the brush spins like it going to fly out of the attachment and go airborne.
Thing is, ShopVacs can be had for MUCH cheaper than consumer-type vacuum cleaners -- much more suck for the buck, as it were.
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