Dark blue Royal hand vac

[hoover_elite_20]

I haven't posted a little while and I'm back!! I've got all sorts of new vacs now: a hoover bagless dirty air vacuum, a hoover whisper cyclonic(awesome!), an older shop vac 1x1, and two more on the way: a royal 501(possibly the dark blue one) and some giant 16 gal shop vac pumpzilla. Getting to the royal, it meets a description(I think) for a dark blue one wanted on a thread quite a while back. Tell me if I'm wrong,lux1521. The bag looks a little darker than it should. It may be a trick of the camera and i have not seen this vac yet so I don't know.

 

[lux1521]

I'd guess its a dark blue model, or the dark blue bag. The handle looks a bit lighter, but cameras play tricks with these machines. Just avoid washing the bag if its dark blue. Royal bags from most eras of production tend to fade rapidly. I would almost be tempted to keep it in a dark closet. Once and a while I see one that has been stored like that and the colors seem to be much darker.

The other things I can tell you is its a newer one (sometime after 1980) because of the sticker on the front. Its not ultra new because it does not have the switch thumb guard and the nozzle plug is not black. It might have the newer 1.8 amp motor but I suspect it has the older 1.2 amp unit with metal fan and oiling ports. Its a nice cleaner regardless of details.

I have not posted in a while either, and plan on posting more in the future. If you have any other questions, just ask. I'm at a point now where I could restore these in my sleep. I just finished 2 more last weekend.

 

[petek]

Nice. I always liked those little metal Royals. We never had one growing up but I've since found two. They're very handy for doing carpeted stairs having that extra long cord. That's what I use mine for mainly. Or the car mats. I had a plastic Hoover brushvac but the downside of it was that it shot more sand and grit across the carpet than it picked up for some reason or other. And it seemed to gather a static charge which made dog and cat hair cling to the body of the vac like a magnet.. very annoying. I stopped using it for that reason and use the Royal now.

 

[hoover_elite_20]

1.8 amp

It is 1.8 amps with the ball bearings and no oiling port. It is in extremely good shape and has pretty much lived in a closet for all its life, and I store all my hand vacs in a closet except for when I use them. I always take very good care of my vacuums and plan to do the same with this one. I'm going to buy some type H bags to preserve the bag for when my grandparents bring it in a couple of days along with my grandfather's former 16 gal shop vac pumpzilla. I have never owned or seen one of these Royals in person, but I do have a blue 880 and a plastic dirt devil 103. I'm So exciteded! Here are more pics:

 

[hoover_elite_20]

Only cost $5 at a garage sale

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[hoover_elite_20]

The bag looks as if it has never been emptied but is in exce

.

 

[hoover_elite_20]

.

 

[hoover_elite_20]

By the way...

This machine runs great and has EXCELLENT bearings. the brushroll is in great shape and the fan is not damaged. Does this version have a metal fan? My grandfather says everything is great and I have heard it over the phone and it sounds excellent. What year is this version? I don't know much about these. I'll post whenever it comes in a few days. Sorry for the large pictures.

 

[hoover_elite_20]

i forgot to say

my grandfather bought two belts and installed one but did not include a picture

 

[lux1521]

I'm guessing that it is late 80s based on the features. It certainly looks dark blue.

I think the 1.8 amp motor has a plastic fan. Still pretty tough though. If you want to make it a top notch rebuild, you can also replace the brushroll with a new one. It takes the same brush as the plastic dirt devils.

Good idea with the paper bags. Just make sure the dirt does not pack around the motor and overheat it. The paper bags cause this to happen sometimes. If your reasonably observant you should be quite alright.

 

[lux1521]

I though I'd post the model changes over the years for those who are interested. The old black and red machine is a model 157, the blue one is a 1980 75th anniversary model 501 (most common model number), and the burgandy model is a 5000.

 

[lux1521]

#2

#2

 

[lux1521]

#3

 

[petek]

Yikes,, thanks for that.. I had no idea they needed oiling.

 

[hoover_elite_20]

carbon brushes and oiling

since my vac is most like #3, i was wondering how you can oil the bearings and replace the carbon brushes if desperately needed

also thanks you guys for the info and tips. though i do think us collectors are careful enough stop a clog and overheat

 

[lux1521]

Unless your really clever, I think its a wise idea to leave the new style motors alone. There not exactly "tinker friendly". When you get right down to it, these cleaners (regardless of generation) are a real pain to work on once you go beyond general maintnance issues. I've done it, but its not much fun.

Luckily they're built well enough so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[hoover_elite_20]

great!