Another royal joins the family

[rivstg1]

Woohoo. Got a great looking 886 model Friday and it works and feels great except it’s missjng the on/off toggle switch ( it was pillaged by someone else). After a thorough cleaning and tear down , this 6 amp wonder sucks hard and I like it! The model 4000 thats red on the photo has the 2 lever pedals for adjusting the height and this one is the adjust-o-knob...not sure which I prefer , the 2 pedal one is easier for the foot to use and quicker on the go...but I rarely can get it at the desired height in first try, the dial one can be adjusted ever so slightly to get just the right height...but one must bend down to do it by hand. The outer bag was really dusty ...surprising me more than I expected....it had a paper bag and clamp to seal it on this type ‘A’ bag set up...aka it fills from the bottom. Can this style be converted Toto the B’ style which loads/deposits the dirt from the top of the bag? I know I can just take the bag assembly off the 4000 model and use it but I want the blues bag utilized .

I like the slightly lower pitch/noise of this 6 amp vs the 10.5amp of the red one ( model 4000), but. It, these things really are easy to use....powerful and so light....I dare say that I like them more than my Kirby’s??? No, not more...just equally as well....except that Kirby has all the attachments I enjoy using and I don’t have any for the Royal and I hear they are rare anyway

 

[rivstg1]

Does anyone know if there are ‘hubcaps’ that go on these wheels? I haven seen any but they look like they’d accept them

 

[rivstg1]

What year is it?

Anybody decipher the serial number and tell me which year it was made?

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Rivstg1

Kelton,

Your 886 was manufactured in June 1991.

No hubcaps (1-889712-000) were ever used on this model; they were reserved for those equivalent models sold by Royal dealers who did excellently; among them were models 6103, 9100 and 9700.

You are correct, also, that the deluxe attachment sets Royal once offered (kits 303 and 305G) are now tough finds, especially a complete set. For many years, these kits could be had in the color that matched up with the model (i.e. light blue for models 790, 870, 880, 886, 887, 888, 893, 895 and 990, and red for models 786, 787, 880EH, 890, 903 and 980, etc.), but by 1991 they were produced only in gray. The holy grail of all Royal tool kits today would be the 268 and 368 Extra Equipment Kits, which include a spray gun, a lifter grip, a small shake-out bag, a special cord and switch assembly for operation with the lifter grip, and a floor polishing brush!

~Ben[this post was last edited: 7/28/2018-22:19]

 

[dartman]

They are great vacuums. I have a Starks/Royal 5700 that a guy on Craigslist was just giving away and I have a 413 canister and a 4650 canister. The 413 was my main machine for years then when I bought this house I found the 4650 for 25 bucks needing a new hose, it's even better than the 413, much better powerhead, then this spring I lucked into the 5700 upright. I like them both depending on what I'm doing and which one is easiest to grab. I actually sucked up a long self tapping screw I didn't see and it just made a nasty noise and rattled around a bit till I shut it off. I don't think it dinged up the impeller blade any worse than it already was and it still works fine. It does use the type A top load bags and I bet you could get the bag filler tube or whatever it's called to convert it over if you checked around. I do know the bags can be had cheap and they hold a lot compared to the canister vacs.

 

[lesinutah]

Observation

Hey
On my 880 and my 8000 I had a couple observations. I disconnected all wiring on 880 tore apart cleaned motor housing put back together.
The caps for carbon brush are iffy. I cracked screw on cap and cracked housing on both models. The 9000 I left wires connected so I didn't mess that up. I got replacement parts and put housing in 9000.
I noticed that other than carbon brush issue they are well constructed and easy to work on.
In motor housing I was using new air compressor and there was lots of fuzz. Like little strings with what looks like lint. I believe some of blow out gets caught in it. I say there was a lot I was amazed.
The design keeps armatures clean carbon brushes don't wear like Kirby. It's only negative I have.
I do like the light weight of 880 and it's not overly powerful but it picks up very well and is super light and easy to vacuum.
The stickers are peeling off and bumper gaurds could be replace. The question I have is do they sale trim and stickers.
I! Also putting tubes in all 2.5 in tube Kirby sentria bags. I hope I can get a camera or camcorder tomorrow postnpics and videos.
Les

 

[lesinutah]

Hey

I found the bags there type h bags. Got 3 for $9 on Amazon.

 

[rivstg1]

Type h is for handheld vacs

I need ones for this 886 that are hepa
FYI I found them fairly easy to work on too, plenty powerful I'd say

 

[ultralux88]

I've got one of these! I really love the Royals in this blue color myself!

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Rivstg1

Kelton,

If I know correctly, your model 886 would use the type "A" disposable bags (3-088147-001 for 3 bags and 3-088747-001 for 10 bags) which have since been NLA from Royal, but an acceptable substitute would be the Eureka/Sanitaire style F & G bags.

~Ben