Nearly Unused 29 Year Old Royal

[toastermike]

My Royal upright that has been my favorite to use is my 9700. It has the best balance power, quietness and pleasant sound from its 7amp motor, light weight and agility. It has the classic Royal look with nice features of some of the newer models. I like the red color, but I've always wanted the same thing in the beautiful dark blue. Last week I found a 994 on Ebay and bit the bullet. When it arrived, I was surprised to see that it looked 99% like a new vacuum! It has that mirror like shine, the bumper is free of scars, and the brush roll and nozzle interior is spotless. The bag shimmers and clean inside, and even the nozzle decal advertising the 6 year warranty looks like new! It was missing the belt cover but I had the correct one in the right color. According to the serial number it was built in January 1993; I can't imagine ever finding this model brand new, but this nearly is!

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

toastermike

Mike,

What an awesome find!

Speaking of Royal metal uprights, I managed to grab this one for free this past January: a 1987 model 662 Heavy Duty Commercial. The 50' long cord helps me clean almost the whole house without changing outlets.

~Ben

 

[huskyvacs]

I have a Kirby Classic Omega that someone spent so much money on to have it rebuilt by Kirby - and then it was never used again. Only 2 small threads wrapped on the brushroll, that's it. No damage to the finish or dirt in the bag, nothing. It just sat unused since 1989 and I won it on eBay for about $40 with shipping.

This Royal, yours probably may have just been an extra ordered from a company by mistake and never used, or it was still in its box and the box was rotten and thrown away recently leaving it preserved without much dirt or dust.

 

[kirbyklekter]

toastermike,

My nearby Kirby dealer was also a Royal dealer and he had this model on display back when it was new. I remember thinking wow what a beauty. He only sold new Royals, so out of my budget at the time. I'm glad you are enjoying this model, it has a sweet spot in my heart, maybe someday...

 

[centralvacs1928]

That's awesome! Great find. The last of the good Royals before they became way too loud.

My favorite is also the burgundy 9700 ("Master Dealer" limited version of the blue 996).

I'm curious what the differences were between your 994 and the 996. Maybe motor amps, warranty, cord length? I also recall the outer bag material being different on the TOL models ("Scafitex" vs the softer/fuzzier but apparently less tightly woven "Microtex").

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

CentralVacs1928

The difference between the 994 and the 996 is that the 996 also has the brushroll performance indicator light on the back of the nozzle which shows you if the brushroll is working properly or not.

The same feature was on the 9700 and the prior 9089.

~Ben

 

[tylerhawkins84]

Believe it or not

There was a NOS 994 exactly like this on eBay still in the box about a year ago. I think it only sold for around $600 which all things considered is pretty reasonable. I have bought a few NOS Royal tanks over the years (a 4600 from 1993 and a 4150 from 2001). It’s been several years since I’ve had one and I hope to find another one day. My dream would be to find a NOS 4600 or 4700 from 1994-2002 with the Panasonic style power nozzle!