Hi There,
Here's a step by step guide explaining what you have to do to change your Kirby from a vacuum into a blower:
Step 1. Make Sure That Your Kirby is Unplugged from the wall. Remove the front nozzle of the machine by lifting the housing that contains the headlight upwards. Now rotate the belt lifter from the green "Belt On" setting to the red "Belt Off" position:
Step 2. With the belt lifter turned to the red "Belt Off" setting, Turn the knob at the top of the bell shaped agitator housing to release the brush housing from the vacuum:
Step 3. Locate the attachment called the saftey cup that attaches on the Kirby in the exact same place as the brush housing did. This part does two things; Activates the safety switch to the left of the fan, and secondly covers the opening to the fan chamber to prevent anything from getting inside the fan housing and damaging it.
Step 4. Once you install the safety cup it is a good idea to check if the vacuum is working. If it is not (assuming it did work with the nozzle) - check if safety cup switch actuator isn't broken (see picture).
If it works then but it does not when you install the hose (next step) you will know that you did not turn the hose far enough.
Step 5. Take the bag off the Kirby. On the bigger end of the hose there is a line that you have to match with a little bump on the kirby fan housing (marked with red dots). Push the end of the hose over the Kirby exhaust as far as it can go.
Step 6. Turn this hose end clockwise (you may have to apply considerable force).
Step 7. It has to be turned far enough to press another safety switch that is on the unit just behind the exhaust neck.
Step 7. You are done and ready to use it as a blower. We would recommend turning it on outside. Hose may have some dust accumulated on the inside and it may blow a lot of dust in the first few seconds of use. Also shake the hose well while outside to loosen any dust/dirt accumulations on the inside.
Be very careful when blowing dust out of computers or other electronics.
- Dirt from inside of the hose may damage components.
- Airflow is so strong that it may break circuit boards if they are not well mounted around the perimeter.
- Using Kirby a lot of static electricity may be generated that may cause circuit failure due to electrostatic discharge (harmless to people - deadly to electronics).
NEVER operate blower with the nozzle on. There are 3 important reasons for that:
- Kirby is designed to have much higher RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) with the hose or safety cup so it will push more air than with the nozzle.
- If you use kirby as a blower with the nozzle - dust and dirt that is in the nozzle from vacuuming carpets and/or rugs will be blown into the air.
- If there is nothing (no nozzle no safety cup) Kirby vacuum simply will not turn on.
I really hope that the above instructions were helpful to you in converting your Kirby into a blower. If you have a question on any of the steps, please feel free to use the comment field to ask them, I'm always more then happy to answer any follow up questions you may have.
If this was helpful to you, please be so kind and rate the repair helpful, or by leaving feedback for me. This is really appreciated by the Fixya community when a repair was able to solve your problem.
Thanks again,
Chris Jones
GoVacuum.com
