Metal Hand Vacs- Royal 501?

[danemodsandy]

Hello:

I'm kind of hankering to replace my Royal Dirt Devil M500. It hasn't really lived up to my expectations of longevity; it has had several repairs, and now it wants more. I don't think we're particularly rough on it, either; it's used primarily for the stairs and to get cat hair off the sofa.

I would really like a metal hand vac with a power brush roll; does anyone know of a good one that has good parts availability? I've looked at vintage Royal 501s, but their cloth bags seem to be hard to find. Any advice there?

Thanks in advance!

 

[lux1521]

As the Royal 501 guy (check my profile), I'd say go for it. They're not all vintage anyway. The contemporary 501s have 1.8 amp motors, Royal lables on the front of the machine, and have a thumb guard in front of the switch. If you want the most power I'd look for one of those. The older ones have 1.2 amp motors with carbon brush caps and oil fill ports. They can all use Royal Type H bags.

The cloth bags were available up until recently. If you get one with the square pattern of "Royal" and crowns, then it should last a while. Those bags seem to be made of heavy material. The belts and brush rolls are the same as the Dirt Devils and are still available. The attachments are also compatible.

The other big advantage is they look so cool.

Shown Below: Contemporary 501, Pro Series, Thin Bag.

 

[lux1521]

In the image below you can see the thicker type cloth bag but the machine is one of the 1.2 amp vintage ones, built for Royals 1980 75th anniversary. You should be able to find the thicker bag on one of the newer ones.

 

[danemodsandy]

I'm a Little Muddled...

Hi Erick:

Do you mean that a version of the 501 is available new? Or do you just mean that there are newer ones and older ones? If there is a new version available, what's the availability on its bag? Cloth bags are kind of important to me, because the stair carpet is rough on them; they tend to wear out where they rub it during use.

 

[lux1521]

No, there are just newer ones and older ones. Cloth bag availibiliy is low at this point, so I'm pointing you towards a version with a tougher cloth bag that will hold up better.

 

[danemodsandy]

One More Question:

Erick:

Since you're so familiar with the 501, maybe you know...

Can the cloth portion of the bag be replaced by home methods, or is that metal band put on by machine in a way that makes it permanent? I wouldn't mind buying a yard or two of twill and running up a replacement bag's cloth portion, if that was feasible.

I just don't want to get into something that's not readily replaceable; we wear through a bag on the M500 about once a year. Thanks for all your help.

 

[lux1521]

Very interesting question! Up until a minute ago I hadn't thought of it. I experimented on my 75th anniversary with the thick bag and it looks possible to remove the bag from the metal ring and sew a new one onto a ring that holds the bag to the larger ring. I think it is very doable with a bit of effort.

If you have any questions at all, just ask. If you are looking on ebay, you can just post or email the item numbers and I'll check them out for you so you know exactly what your buying.

 

[danemodsandy]

Hey, Thanks!

"Very interesting question! Up until a minute ago I hadn't thought of it. I experimented on my 75th anniversary with the thick bag and it looks possible to remove the bag from the metal ring and sew a new one onto a ring that holds the bag to the larger ring. I think it is very doable with a bit of effort. "

Now that's the kind of info I like to get! Anything that keeps good vintage stuff going is worth looking into, right? It's amazing how often older stuff can be repaired with DIY techniques. Newer items, of course, have to have the exact ungodly expensive moulded piece of plastic, which is never available, it seems.

I will now keep my eyes peeled for a 501. Being metal and well-made, I think it would be a very fitting companion for my TriStar CXL.

Hmm, wonder if the Dirt Devil attachment kit fits it? This is getting exciting...

 

[lux1521]

Dirt Devil attachment kits fit just fine. The nozzle adapter is the only part which does not fit properly, but I was never a big fan of the adapter anyway. Too much suction loss.

 

[petek]

I love those little Royals, have two of them. I keep the 75th anniversary one in the front closet for doing a quick clean on the stairs as required but more regularly use the Electrolux Sidekick