Elector-Hygiene

[phaeton]

Hello Jeff of hygiene903,
I need to let you know I found what you wrote on the history of P.A. Geier Co., Royal, Good Housekeeping and especially the Elector-Hygiene really interesting and I appreciated it. I now have a better understanding appreciation of their straight suction machines thanks to you. I do enjoy some of the old vacuums. I was always fond of Royals so now I guess I will be keeping all 3 of them. My 2-230 has a few problems as you noticed and a few more that I took pictures of for this Post. Whoever dressed it up in baby blue did do a nice job. Whoever put the cord on did not run it up inside the handle the right way and the yoke/bail/fork is wobbly those things I will try to fix. I don't believe the long screw was put in properly. It also needs the correct hand grip with the little metal tab. I also don't believe the hexagonal handle stop is correct. The others Good Housekeeping and Model 189 are missing the bottom plate, handle spring and brush roll. The Royal 129 is missing bottom plate and correct hand grip. I think I have located the bottom plate. The 129 sort of reminds me of the old Royal her aunt gave when she got a new vacuum in in 1949. My mom used the old Royal until my dad bought her a new Eureka canister in 1954, I think it was maroon and gray.
Thank you again Jeff.
Well thanks for looking,
Pete

 

[hygiene903]

Hi Pete!

Thanks for posting these additional pics of your Electro-Hygiene. I can see that the cord has also been replaced. The original would have been a black Belden cord. You are correct that it is not routed through the handle properly, should have come out through the hole & grommet. It also would not have been direct wired at the motor originally, but would have had a female plug where it comes out of the handle and a short pigtail where it comes out of the motor. This was so the handle could be removed and replaced with a short handle, small bag, and cord to use as a hand vac. Think you can see what I mean from the partial brochure shown here.
You are also right about the handle stop. It was actually a small stud with no head of any kind. Also looks like the hex head may have slightly damaged the yoke a little, but it should be easy to smooth out the rough edge. Unfortunately, the original rubber hand grip with the metal tab may be hard to find. However, be patient, as one might turn up when you least expect it.
As for the parts for the 189 Royal and the Good Housekeeper, the brushroll and the handle spring can be found on ebay, or you could also check out your local Royal dealer, if there is one in your area. An original bottom plate will be harder to find, and you may have to substitute one from a later model, such as an 801.
Besides the 230 brochure, I also posted a pic here of my 2-230 and one of my 153 and 189 uprights and 157 hand vac. I call it "Ensemble in Red & Black," thought you might enjoy it.
Jeff

 

[phaeton]

Hi Jeff,
Thank for the pictures. I had no idea you could use it in a hand held mode nor the smaller bag with a second power cord. I never knew these details and I really appreciate you Posting it. My poor Electro-Hygiene may have to stay with its baby blue trim for now or ever. Finding all the bits a pieces like you have in today’s world is most likely impossible. When I worked in the shop we put the red and black bags on the Royals but they were on genuine Royal as I don't seem to remember the crown, I remember seeing Royal on them. I might have located one bottom plate that might be a bit rusty, but it is better than none I guess. I am happy with the Royal 129, Good Housekeeping 189 and the Electro-Hygiene which I think is a good selection for me.
Your vacuums are great and thank you for sharing,
Pete

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Phaeton

Pete,

I believe at one time you could order a replacement top handle assembly, with the black grip, under part no. 2-088032-600 (stationary cord hook) or 2-088732-600 (swiveling cord hook). The correct trim color for the (2-)230 was black. The correct replacement long cord would be 1-028537-600 (black, 40 feet long), while the short (pigtail) cord was last available under part no. 1-285322-600.

The 2-088732-600 top handle assembly would be more convenient with the swiveling hook!

All that baby blue trim I see on this must indicate whichever Royal dealer had rebuilt this must have done so back in the late 1960s, when the 880 was just being sold (that was the first machine to have such a trim color). If you ever want to just find a complete 880 handle group assembly, in baby blue, with the cord (1-028536-200) included, try to find either part no. 2-088030-200 (stationary cord hook) or 2-088730-200 (swiveling cord hook). I am not so sure if Royal ever officially made the straight-suction nozzle bumper in baby blue (1-130201-200).

The rear bearing oil cap is also missing.

For your other two Royals, a replacement rug guard for both of them was part no. 1-393270-000.

~Ben[this post was last edited: 9/4/2017-23:52]

 

[phaeton]

Hello Ben and Jeff,
I call a few Royal dealers here in Los Angeles and I might be a few years late. I will give it another try during the week with some out of state dealers during the week.
I was looking for a Hoover 305 bottom plate and that didn't go so well either.
But on the good side, I gave up my Hoover 700 many years ago along with a Hoover 28. Now sort of strange I fell into a Hoover 28 in really nice condition and 2 Hoover 700's plus 3 Hoover 725's that would be usable for parts. I needed 2 fans for my 725's and I got them. These and the Bison Mark II, I turned the Bison down once, were all accidents and 3 miles and 10 miles from my house.
Do you think I can do the with the Royal 129, Electro-Hygiene 2-230, Good Housekeeping 189 and Hoover 305 items I need, LOL.
Regarding the Good Housekeeping Model 189 was there a brand known as Good Housekeeping like the Electro-Hygiene?
Thank you for looking,
Pete

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Phaeton

Pete,

eBay is one source to find many discontinued Royal metal upright parts, but I can also recommend you this source: Vac Parts Plus, which is associated with the Henry Company of Hammond, IN.
https://vacpartsplusstore.com/catalog/

~Ben

 

[phaeton]

Hi Ben,
WOW, Ben I have an order going on with Steve Henry of The Henry Company already. He is a really knowledgeable nice person and a patient person also. He found me 1 used bottom plate for the old Royals 129 and 189. They had some black Royal grips and I also bought some none original shake out bags for Royal and Hoover 700 style and some other items. So all and all it was good. The Electro-Hygiene items are gone at this point. The Henry Company and its parts division is great. When I worked at the shop in Glendale CA the was a Wholesale house known as Crown where the owner of the shop bought all the parts we used for the repairs and his used sales machines. The Henry Company reminds me of Crown from 40 years ago. They even had a few Hoover 28 hoods but no Hoover 305 bottom plate. I don’t think one will show up to soon, might have something to do with those Hens Tooth we seem to find.
I do have some old Hoover 700, 725 and 800 question regarding handles and 1-speed/2-speed motors which I guess is okay to add to this Thread?
Thank you all for looking,
Pete

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Phaeton

Pete,

As long as they are vacs you own, then that is OK by me!

~Ben

 

[phaeton]

Wow Ben, I don't own the handles they were just on some vacuums I have taken pictures of.
Good luck all,
Pete