My NOS Royal Prince 501 Broke :( The vacuum ate the belt

[eurekasanitaire]

So I was vacuuming my bathroom mats, and I have not used the 501 in a while. As I was vacuuming and it was lifting up the mats, the fan made a loud noise and a smell came out. I turned it back on and it did not turn on at first, and then it made the loud noise again. I then realized that the vacuum sucked the belt up! I am dead serious! My NOS Royal Prince I got not too long ago broke I am not sure if it is fixable. I have to take it to the vacuum shop tomorrow. I did put the belt back on right before I used it, because I used attachments before I cleaned the mats.

Is this fixable? I don't want to have to throw the machine away. I invested tons of money in it. And it was my dream machine at a time.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

eurekasanitaire

Good luck!

~Ben

 

[tolivac]

One of my Royal metal uprights ate its broken belt--made the LOUDEST "SCREEEIINNG" you ever heard!The peices of the belt were in the dump bag!!Vac OK otherwise!!The sound made me jump out of my skin!Shows how tough these vacs are.Could other upright direct vacuums eat their own belts??

 

[electroluxxxx]

sounds like the belt is jammed between the fan and fan housing, completely fixable!

 

[human]

Shouldn't be too difficult

This is a metal hand vac, right? The URL link below is to a parts diagram that shows the machine in an 'exploded' view. Perhaps that will help you see how to get in there to get the bits of belt out. Just make sure you've got everything out of there and the motor shaft is turning freely before you before you button things up.


http://www.appliancefactoryparts.com/images/breakdowns/1000/194066-1.gif

 

[eurekasanitaire]

It made a screaming noise too! I'm glad it's fixable, because it has powerful suction.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

eurekasanitaire

It is crucial to properly attach the belt. If not attached properly the belt will dismount when you turn the machine on.

~Ben

 

[eurekasanitaire]

Well the good news is, I got it fixed. But the motor sounds kind of weird. It does not sound smooth like it used to. The guy told me that next time it happens to not turn it back on. I made the mistake of turning it back on.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

I suppose you would need to find an NOS motor assembly for this.

~Ben

 

[eurekasanitaire]

Well I played with it more and more, and it is just the belt and the brush that made it sound like that. The vacuum is still fine. It still has the strong suction.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

eurekasanitaire

The same belt and brush roll were used in many early Dirt Devil hand vacuums such as the model 103, 500 and 503.

~Ben

 

[human]

Those brush rolls are hard as hens' teeth to find these days. They were discontinued after TTI took over Royal and it's been long enough that most of the NOS spares are gone and no third party manufacturer offers one.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

eurekasanitaire

Here's a decent 501 brush roll for you:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Royal-Dirt-...c-Model-103-/151839802039?hash=item235a5b82b7

~Ben

 

[tylerhawkins84]

I had the same thing happen...

I had the same thing happen with my Dirt Devil 103 hand held vacuum. I was vacuuming my stairs and got to the last step and it ate the belt. I noticed the belt was slipping pretty badly for most of the time I was sweeping the stairs so I am sure it needed to be replaced. Luckily the 103 is a bit easier to tear down than the 501 (it just comes in half with 5 or 6 screws) so I took it apart and removed the belt from the fan, installed a new belt and it was good to go. I also have a 501 Royal Prince I bought NOS, I have yet to use it and I've had it for several years. It is just to nice, I'm afraid I might damage it and the 103 DD works just as well.