Forgotten Dirt Devil/Royal Products

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Reply #26

That hand-vac was made by a Chinese OEM, whoever wanted one bought a batch with custom labelling etc. You can still find them on Alibaba. As for the Dirt Devil Gator, they're still big sellers in the UK under the 'Vax' brand, and are also available in other parts of the world as a 'Hoover'.

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I had two Royal metal uprights before, both from commercial use, one broke it's fan and another had the motor go unbalanced which I ended up throwing away as the result. In my opinion the perfect example of why I don't recommend direct air Royals or any direct air machine for commercial use. That being said, the first picture was a improved Dirt Devil Featherlite. Second one was a improved Dirt Devil Swivel Glide. Third one was a rebranded Dirt Devil EZ Rewind which one of my local stores had when I worked there, in my opinion a good vacuum. Fourth one was a LG made Panasonic copy, also in my opinion a good vacuum. Fifth one was a rebranded Dirt Devil Vision Turbo, I like them for homes but not for commercial use. And I believe the sixth one is the same one as the Dirt Devil commercial I showed earlier, in my opinion perfect for collectibles and something to play around with. I always thought those orange metals looked so similar to the vacuum shown from Mr. Mom
 
Don't get me wrong, I agree that they're a simple design but there are bypass machines that are also simple as well. Reliable? I think that depends on the user because I've seen so many direct air machines come in for service at my vacuum shops mainly due to user neglect. Easily maintained? I've also had people come in at the shops with their direct air machines because they're not comfortable with changing out fans or even belts. Sanitaires are one of if not the worst when it comes to lifespans of belts, that's one of the reasons why I don't use mine anymore. Royal was better but even with those I had experience where I still had to change belts out more often. So overall I still stand behind with these two videos because they were exactly what it was like when I was working at the shops.



 
ANY vacuum can clog when used for foodservice cleanup.Better to use a carpet sweeper or a broom.Some of the clean air machines brought into the vac shop were a MESS--took longer to clean out than the direct ones.And there was a Sanitaire that a place had -it ate a mouse.Half was in the bag other caught in the brushroll.A Carpet Pro even was used to pick up a WHOLE hamburger-bun and all.That vacuum had a paper sign on it saying it was not a "magic" vacuum cleaner.Sure wasn't.Thought you picked up whole burgers with your hand-NOT a vacuum cleaner of any sort.Was helping Bill the vacuum shop operator on these-was GROSS!!!He did sell a lot of Bissel puch trype sweepers to eating places.-Brooms,too.
 
Honestly, I don't think carpet ever belongs in restaurants. But I will say though that I once worked at a retirement community where I was using their Windsor XP15 vacuums especially in the dining room, never had a clog that I can recall but if I did they were so easy to fix. Of course I'd use a broom to sweep up the bigger chunks but really the only thing I've ever done was changing the bags and the filters. However at the furniture store I worked at before where you'd think they wouldn't be as bad as restaurants, I still had problems with using a Sanitaire and a Royal. My regret was loaning that place those direct air vacuums I had cause I thought they were going to do a better job than their clean air Dirt Devil uprights but I was wrong. This was back when I was convinced that direct air vacuums like Sanitaire, Royal, or Kirby were the best. Both fans broke and were put out of service but one Royal was thrown away due to the motor being unbalanced, belts had to be changed out more, I couldn't use a hose, more dust leaked out, I mean these are just the downfalls with using a direct air machine to where it really did bothered so much that I later concluded I much prefer using a bypass machine instead.
 
My opinion on the matter.

For the Most part, I agree with you PanVac, however, I think there are *some* instances where direct-air machines can be used in commercial applications. For example, I have an Oreck XL9100, and I've relegated it to being a "quick clean-up vac for me. Like, whenever I don't feel like bringing out a bigger machine of mine, I'd use it instead. That's kind of my stance on machines like those in commercial settings. They can make good quick clean-up vacs as long as you don't pick up anything too large or gross for it. Also, they should only be used with disposable bags, no dump-outs, period. Also, vacuums should not be used to pick up large amounts of food particulate, regardless of the type, because it can cause to machine to smell awful (I learned that the hard way with my Nacecare Henry).

As for vacuums in restaurants, that's something I'm not too sure on. The best thing I can think of for them is a central vac with an interceptor. I've seen lots of restaurants use push-sweepers, and those seem like decent options for picking up dry food particulate, then you could go back and vacuum up embedded dirt and steam clean/spot clean when needed.

As for carpets not being good in restaurants, I get your reasoning, but I feel like it can be done.
 
RainbowD4C

Me too. When I was little I really wanted to get a 7200 upright and a Power Pak after seeing some ads for them on Vacuum Archive's channel. I still kind of want to, but not as much due to my odds of finding them.
 
An old photo from the site......

Obviously I think it's a dirt devil because it's bright red but it's hidden behind several other Dirt Devils, specifically behind the Broom Vac and the Deluxe/Upright. Can't tell what it is because only a sliver of red is poking out behind them.

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reminds me also....

Theres a plum version of the Deluxe called the Pro Series, not the Sterling Set. Theres photos currently of the navy blue variant on Google.
 
There was a white version that I've seen before from my local middle school but I've only saw like a second of it. Sadly I can't find anymore pictures of it online.
 
Dirt Devil Swivel Glide MVP/Ultra Platinum

Have NEVER seen this particular Swivel Glide outside of this one and only video. Love all of the older MVP line Dirt Devils.

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This was the Dirt Devil my grandparents from my mom's side had, we'll call them tractor grandparents. In 2004, my grandparents were tired of using their Kirby G4 (80th Anniversary) because it was too heavy for them to carry and they wanted something that was easier to use the hose. So when they were in town visiting, they took me out to our local Target and bought this. According to Johnny Vac, it's either a M085830 or a M085830T. Either way, I remembered this is what it looked like. It was basically a red Breeze bagless that had a height adjuster and swivel casters which I both liked. And from my understanding, this was only a Target exclusive model. They've only had it for about 10 years because the motor ended up going bad, my grandfather chose not to fix it so out to the dumpster it went. Honestly, I should've held onto it and replaced the motor. Not only it was nostalgia but also to my surprise back then since I used to be critical of Dirt Devil, it was the best vacuum they've ever had. It outcleaned both of their Kirbys, the G4 and Tradition they later got after the Dirt Devil, and their Kenmore Progressive upright they also later got after the Dirt Devil as well. But it wasn't all the way better. Because I clearly remembered the drawbacks of it. The handle release broke, the handle cracked when it once fell down the stairs, and dirt scattered across my feet on lower pile carpeting. I also changed the belts out alot on that thing but to be fair, I always bought generic belts from Walmart back then. Been trying to find another one for years now and so far not much luck.

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We had.....

A remanufactured Dirt Devil Swivel Glide in plum color. We bought it from Big Lots because we kept getting fed up with the hose popping out on the Hoover Fold Away. From what I remember for the year and a half we had it, we actually really liked it alot! The Velocity eventually caught my mothers eye in the flyers and she wanted that. The DD never broke down she just wanted a nice bagless. This is the ONLY photo I can find of the one in question and its just the bag door.

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I always wondered......

If the Broom Vac is the upright version of the classic hand vac, what's the upright version of the Ultra Hand Vac?
 
Here's something truly forgotten

This bag shows a Lite, a Lite Plus, a Classic, and an...Extra??? Now I know that upright was sold as the Plus and Upright Plus, but WHEN was it sold as an Extra?????

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Never seen that Dirt Devil before, and I've also never heard of a Dirt Devil Extra.

I always thought the Ultra hand vac was the companion of either the Ultra MVP or Ultra Swivel Glide.
 
Panasonicvac

Yeah I initially thought the same. The Ultra is the companion to the ultra models the MVP and Swivel Glide. And the classic hand vacs companions are the Upright/Deluxe and the Broom Vac.with the latter literally being an upright of it.
 

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