cardboard spacers on Royal vacs?

[kenc184]

Just stripped and refurbed a Royal 994 upright. I noticed contrary to all my other Royals that there were no cardboard spacers between the nozzle and fan case. This led me to question why these things exist? There is a rubber ring which fits in a groove on the nozzle and a matching circular "tongue" on the fan case. These nicely compress the rubber ring to form a seal. Add in one big fat cardboard spacer, and a thinner one and now there's no way this metal tongue and groove can function. I tried installing a pair of spare spacers, and it simply left a rubber ring capable of being rotated by hand.
The hole in the thin spacer is larger than the rubber gasket, but not so for the thick spacer.
Interestingly, the Royal 660 parts diagram which I have shows only one spacer, yet all mine except this 994 - where presumably the spacers were removed - have two.

 

[kenc184]

Well, it looks like nobobody knows? Strange.

 

[huskyvacs]

This forum is not that busy and not social media, you're not going to get instant replies.

What I can say they are there for is to deaden the rattle of metal on metal parts vibration, as well as to fill in a air gap and seal the suction path better.

 

[kenc184]

The deadening of metal on metal sound/vibration makes sense, but there's no air gap without the spacers as long as there's a good condition rubber ring seal. Also, the rubber seal is not expanded out by the tongue on the fan case WITH the spacers. And why two totally different cardboard spacers, with different sized holes but yet only one in a parts diagram?
Tis right strange.

Wish I had a cfm test setup to play with it, although after the recent cfm debate on here maybe I don't?