Royal 880

[SeboU1]

I’ve had this Royal 880 for about 13 years. What light bulb is anyone using in this? I currently have a 15w in that does not work. Secondly, what oil is anyone putting in the oil port? Lastly, is there anything I can apply to the bag to help preserve it? I’ve decided to dust off my Royal this morning and can figured it could use a bit of extra care. I do run the hepa F&G bags in it.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Do you have a picture of the bulb?

 

[hygiene903]

I’ve had this Royal 880 for about 13 years. What light bulb is anyone using in this? I currently have a 15w in that does not work. Secondly, what oil is anyone putting in the oil port? Lastly, is there anything I can apply to the bag to help preserve it? I’ve decided to dust off my Royal this morning and can figured it could use a bit of extra care. I do run the hepa F&G bags in it.View attachment 172355

Nice looking 880 you have there, and I can tell by the squared-off fan case that it's one of the later ones, yet old enough to still be using type A (or F & G) bags. As for the bulb, any bayonet base appliance bulb should work, but be sure to check the voltage rating as well. I put a bulb in once that looked right but blew immediately when I turned it on, turned out that the bulb was rated for 12 volts, not 120, so make sure the bulb is rated 120. Since the bulb is clear, check for broken filament wires, which should be easily visible. If the bulb is OK, look next at the pins, and you will notice one is a little higher on the base than the other, and the slots in the socket are the same way--one is higher than the other. Make sure the higher pin is in the higher socket. If it isn't, the bulb won't make proper contact, so take it out, turn it around, and reinstall. If none of this makes a difference, you may need to check the socket and/or wiring for any possible problems there.
As for the oil, I use and recommend 3-In-1 Motor Oil. This is a blend made by 3-In-1 specifically for electric motors. It comes in a blue, white, and red bottle with a picture of a motor on the front of it. It should be available at your local hardware store or Lowe's, but if you can't find it, my second choice would be SAE 30 automotive motor oil which is more readily available. Any brand should be OK, but I kind of lean toward Valvoline. But whatever you do, DO NOT use regular 3-In-1 Oil, as it is too thin.
About the only thing I can think of for the bag is to wash it with mild soap & water, but it looks like you've already done that. And you might want to give the zipper a VERY LIGHT spray with WD-40 every now & then to keep it moving easily.
Jeff

 

[centralsweeper63]

Very good info.

 

[SeboU1]

Nice looking 880 you have there, and I can tell by the squared-off fan case that it's one of the later ones, yet old enough to still be using type A (or F & G) bags. As for the bulb, any bayonet base appliance bulb should work, but be sure to check the voltage rating as well. I put a bulb in once that looked right but blew immediately when I turned it on, turned out that the bulb was rated for 12 volts, not 120, so make sure the bulb is rated 120. Since the bulb is clear, check for broken filament wires, which should be easily visible. If the bulb is OK, look next at the pins, and you will notice one is a little higher on the base than the other, and the slots in the socket are the same way--one is higher than the other. Make sure the higher pin is in the higher socket. If it isn't, the bulb won't make proper contact, so take it out, turn it around, and reinstall. If none of this makes a difference, you may need to check the socket and/or wiring for any possible problems there.
As for the oil, I use and recommend 3-In-1 Motor Oil. This is a blend made by 3-In-1 specifically for electric motors. It comes in a blue, white, and red bottle with a picture of a motor on the front of it. It should be available at your local hardware store or Lowe's, but if you can't find it, my second choice would be SAE 30 automotive motor oil which is more readily available. Any brand should be OK, but I kind of lean toward Valvoline. But whatever you do, DO NOT use regular 3-In-1 Oil, as it is too thin.
About the only thing I can think of for the bag is to wash it with mild soap & water, but it looks like you've already done that. And you might want to give the zipper a VERY LIGHT spray with WD-40 every now & then to keep it moving easily.
Jeff

Thank you for the suggestions! I found the 3 in 1 easily on Amazon. I’ve never looked at the way the contacts line up with the bulb, that could be my problem. I actually rub petroleum jelly on my zippers, I found that silicone lubricant did not work as well, and I’ve never tried WD-40 on the zippers. I believe my 880 is from 1985, as it has the 80th anniversary sticker.
Thank You,
Doug

 

[centralsweeper63]

Nice.

 

[lesinutah]

Iirc 1157 sylvania is the oem bulb used on 880s. Its a dual bayonet dual polararity bulb.

 

[centralsweeper63]

That looks (from a google search) to be right.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Doug,

Yes, this is a 1986 model. I believe your 880 was made in January or February 1986, if you look at the nameplate on the back of the nozzle by the front wheels.

~Ben

 

[centralsweeper63]

How do you date code a Royal?

 

[orchard-8921]

I’ve had this Royal 880 for about 13 years. What light bulb is anyone using in this? I currently have a 15w in that does not work. Secondly, what oil is anyone putting in the oil port? Lastly, is there anything I can apply to the bag to help preserve it? I’ve decided to dust off my Royal this morning and can figured it could use a bit of extra care. I do run the hepa F&G bags in it.View attachment 172355

Beautiful machine. I bought one for my mother in 1981, as I recall. It had the earlier light blue bag with the red "ROYAL" lettering. It served in her house for forty years. I have it around a somewhere.

 

[centralsweeper63]

Did you get tools with it?

 

[hygiene903]

Thank you for the suggestions! I found the 3 in 1 easily on Amazon. I’ve never looked at the way the contacts line up with the bulb, that could be my problem. I actually rub petroleum jelly on my zippers, I found that silicone lubricant did not work as well, and I’ve never tried WD-40 on the zippers. I believe my 880 is from 1985, as it has the 80th anniversary sticker.
Thank You,
Doug

You're welcome, glad to be able to help! And yes, 1985 sounds right, especially with the 80th Anniversary sticker. If you look at the serial number on the data label on the back of the nozzle, you'll be able to narrow it down to the exact month and year. You'll see a letter, 2 digits, another letter, then a string of digits. First letter is the month, first 2 digits are the year, 2nd letter indicates the plant where it was produced, and the string of digits is basically a sequence number. For example, a serial number of F93 B 5432120 would indicate it was built in June of 1993 at plant 2. Royal used this code from 1977 on, at least until TTI took over & they started building them in China. Don't know if they kept the code system after that or not.
Royals produced from 1971 to 1976 used a similar code, except that the digits for the date were reversed. On those models 17 would indicate 1971, 47 would indicate 1974, 67 would be 1976, and so on.
Models built before 1971 are more difficult to date, as they don't have a date code in the serial, just model, hyphen, sequence, for example, 801-23456 could be a model 801 built anywhere between the 1950's and 1970. Last listed patent number could give you a ballpark figure, but the only way to find the exact month and year of production on those older models would be to take it apart, then you'll find the month and year stamped on the armature. However, I don't recommend taking one apart just to find out when it was made.
Jeff

 

[SeboU1]

My 880 was made in April of 1986. I guess my model is technically the 81st anniversary model.