Royal prince hand vacuum

It doesn't have a great bagless design. (Just an empty bin with a single filter that all the dust clings to, no cyclones or anything) I haven't done any testing but I assume the filtration isn't great. (Tbf it wasn't great on the 90s handhelds either with the paper bags)



But if you're willing to look past that the Dirt Devil Platinum Force Hand Vac from early 2000s is pretty cool. It has an electric head that you can detach and use extended with the hose. Or use the hose with the included crevice tool.



It has better suction than the 90s red ones, but it doesn't come with any other tools so you'd have to use PVC and retrofit stuff. (I used all my Dyson tools on it that way)

The bag adapter will not work on the 501. The plastic Dirt Devil models directed air out the center of the rear, the 501 directed the air out around the motor housing at the top so I can’t imagine it would be compatible. When your vacuum was manufactured Royal didn’t even produce paper toss-out bags for this model. Just use your cloth bag and throughly empty it out after each use to keep it looking clean.

You might want to try the ebay store electricvac for the type H bags for your 501. As of 7 years ago, they had plenty of them. Nice looking 501 you have & great that you got all the paperwork with it! I have the same one, built a few months before yours, in August of 1985. It's the newest of five 501's that I have, 4 Royals and one Electro-Hygiene.
Jeff

Started disassemble

Brushes look good

Just realized that the guy ubergreenguru, who was selling the prince gaskets, is the same person who's teardown video for the prince vacuum I am using. So, left a comment there. His last video upload was 4 months ago.

keldrin said:

Brushes look good

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What an unusual brush holder! Is that some sort of fiberboard or is it metal?

The video said the board is bakelite
Couple more pictures

To me, the board feels like a fiberboard, not bakelite.

keldrin said:

To me, the board feels like a fiberboard, not bakelite.

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That is what it looks like. Bakelite is hard, black and oh so brittle.

cheesewonton said:

That is what it looks like. Bakelite is hard, black and oh so brittle.

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I hint the Kirby Classic Omega 1-CB's original motor bellhousing plastic was also black Bakelite, because it too had been subject to recall for replacement by the later and stronger white polycarbonate motor housing plastic.

~Ben

Bakelite is also fairly heavy. It has a nice solid feel, at least the thick bakelite hood on my hoover 612 does.

keldrin said:

So, received a royal prince hand vacuum today. Needed a new belt, after putting one on, works great. Brush is good on the 1 position.
Two questions
1) does anything need lubricating on this 40 plus year old hand vac
2) the rubber gasket seal for the vacuum bag is falling apart. Anyone have suggestions on replacement
And the bonus question
The manual (which is complete but falling apart) states the vacuum does not require a liner. Is there a liner for a prince 501 vacuum? And if there is, should I use it.
Will try and post pictures tommorow.

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I have one of these from 1985 pretty much identical to yours. As far as the bag goes you can use Permatex Gasket Maker I will include links below also the motor has sleeve bearings but there are oil ports the rear bearing is at the bottom of the machine there is a # 2 phillips screw I would unscrew that and then put 3-5 drops of 3 in 1 electric motor oil inside the port and let it sit for 30 seconds to a minute. Now put the screw back in and then remove the four handle screws, under the handle you will find the top oil port screw for the front bearing unscrew that and put 3-5 drops of oil in there and let it sit then put the machine back together, one thing to be cautious about when doing this and why I say to put the screws back for each port is because the motor is mounted in place with the oil port screws so if you take both port screws out the motor will be loose and you will have to realign it with the housing and that is a pain.


Now for the bag you want to completely clean out the inside of the bag then use steel wool and rubbing alcohol to remove the old gasket material once it has dried I would put on some gloves and apply the gasket maker where the old gasket went inside the bag collar groove and spread it out and form it around the bag collar to make a good seal then allow 24 hours for the material to cure and then put it back on the vacuum and test it out I hope this helps!

Below I have attached amazon links to the products I've used they are roughly $7 a piece overall this vacuum was the cheapest one I own to get up and running they run reliably for decades with little to no issues if you have any questions or need help let me know.

Links
Gasket: https://a.co/d/4x3dhTz
Oil: https://a.co/d/jjopqRT

hygiene903 said:

You might want to try the ebay store electricvac for the type H bags for your 501. As of 7 years ago, they had plenty of them. Nice looking 501 you have & great that you got all the paperwork with it! I have the same one, built a few months before yours, in August of 1985. It's the newest of five 501's that I have, 4 Royals and one Electro-Hygiene.
Jeff

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They were still manufacturing them then, they have not been made for about 3 years now and have become very hard to find. Whenever I see some cheap I snag them as they sell for good money now.

I am like that too.