I can see your point.

Most of the systems we installed were in 4,000+ sq ft homes, new construction, so that may have colored my experience a bit. In those homes it makes a lot of sense. One thing that undoubtedly makes a big difference, is who installs it and how. We would go out of our way to hide the receptacles and only put them in places where there wasn't likely to be furniture. My uncle had a giant canister vac with a long hose when I was a kid. That thing was a real PITA, but the new systems seem to be a lot less bulky and more user friendly, at least the ones I installed.

I can't believe you guys got on this. I've got a Heritage II that I'm about to open up to replace the sealed bearings and 2 Generation III's, one for each floor cuz they're too heavy to carry up and down stairs. A Kirby vacuum is the equivalent of a late 50's Raleigh Sports. Bombproof.

edit all the parts are available online as well as bags and belts (no chains)

You're tellin' me. The only flaw the Heritage II seems to have is the obscene weight ...and the fact that if the bag gets too heavy, the vacuum leans to the right.

I can't disagree with that philosophy. It should be stated, however, that the replacement balls should be of equivalent quality to the retired ones. I'd rather keep using good balls with life left in them than new ones of questionable quality. And, speaking for myself here (don't do this at home kids ), if my assessment of a particular bearing assembly (based on the known or presumed history of the bike, as well as absence of any negative visual indicators with the bearings in the teardown and inspection process) is that it is early in life and gently used, I have no problem returning the balls to service for another innings.

My parents have 3 Orecks. They never complain about them- but my Dad is always using the old 70s Eureka floor canister sort of thing that they gave to me when I moved out, and then gave back when my wife and I moved in together.

Right now we have a Hoover- I don't know how much longer we'll have it- it's 2 years old, and I noticed that it doesn't have as much suction as it used to.

I would have to agree. Top shelf Campagnolo lasts for years and years of daily use- even the modern stuff! By the time my stuff goes south, I am going to want the newest stuff anyway.

Oh yeah, SRAM makes those...


I dunno. It just p****s me off, the quality of product I'm expected to do good work with these days. Tools especially. Mind you, it's slowly getting better. For a while, say 1995-2005, it seemed like there were NO good tools available anywhere except for Snap-On. That's the period of time I became convinced that in a lot of ways, things really *were* better in the old days. My favorite tool, for instance, is a 1953 DeWalt GH Radial Arm saw. 1-1/2 HP (Big damn horse!), switchable 110/220, I've had a 12" blade on it ripping 8/4 old-growth Southern Yellow Pine and it never even whimpered. It does scare the holy Hannah out of me, I call it Professor McGiggles. And of course I have an Electrolux, I currently have it hooked up to my old metal (American-made, pre-B&D) deWalt randm-orbit sander for dust collection. I like it a lot even if it's hard to find bags for it.

But you can't get 531 anymore. That will probably always bug me.

You can get 631.... close enough?

+1000!

I was going to write a snarky response about how it may be true that you can't tell by looking at bearings if they are still good, you also can't tell if they are shot by reading about them on a forum.

I didn't have the right size in my bin to replace the old bearings and didn't feel like going to the shop for something as trivial as a few new balls. AND when I put it all back together it spins like NEW.

...oh and I love the random turns some of the threads on this forum take. I write about resuscitating an old BB and it turns into a thread about vacuum cleaners.

From C+V I have learned a LOT about vintage stereo equipment, tube amplifiers, old tools, old cameras, and now vacuums!


...and some about bikes!