Now, I own a Royal

[justjunque]

Hey Ben!

I like it!
Is that a thrift store price sticker I see? They don't seem to show up often at thrift stores. At least around here.
Over the years, I've maybe seen two or three Kirbys. And, on a recent trip, I saw two shampoo kits in the boxes. I believe they were for an Avalir, or maybe Sentria. And I have no idea if they were complete.
But, this Royal that I caved and brought home is the first of that brand that I've ever seen while thrifting. Not counting Dirt Devils, of course.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

JustJunque

Barry,

Yes it is. The last person who owned this before me bought it used at Goodwill in 2007.

~Ben

 

[justjunque]

Well, I guess it's done, to the best of my abilities.
Sorry I don't have a good camera, or a good place to take pictures of it.
I put it in basically the same spot as in the "before" picture. I'm sure this one will post sideways as well.
My HEPA bags arrived today. So, I was able to pop one into the clean outer bag, and flip the switch for the first time. While not exactly soft spoken, the motor sounds great. I made a couple of passes over one of our braided rugs, and it seemed like the belt was slipping. So, I'm thinking I'll be getting my first experience with replacing a Royal belt.
I don't know if the factory replacement is still available, or if I will need to go with aftermarket or another brand. I didn't get a manual with it, and I'm not finding much information about this model on the interweb.

 

[vacuumman]

Belts

You can probably use a knurled Kirby belt in your Royal.

 

[justjunque]

Thanks, Vacuumman!
Now, I do also see some genuine Royal belts that say they're for all Royal metal uprights.
It's funny though. Whenever I look up parts, I rarely, if ever, see this specific model number listed.
Does anyone know any details about it? We've established that it was made in 1997.
It seems like a very basic model. No headlight, no Adjust Rite or Adjust-O-Rite, etc.
It says "Commercial Quality" on the Royal decal. But, I don't think that means this is a commercial model. It seems more like simply a claim that it's of the same quality as a commercial machine.
I'm just curious. I don't know if I stumbled upon something kind of rare, or maybe just unpopular.
Thanks!

Barry

 

[vacmadman]

Looking good!

Barry,

Your Royal looks great you've done a wonderful job.

Jim

 

[justjunque]

Jim,

Thank you so much for the kind words.
I'm my own worst critic. All I can see are the parts that didn't come out good. Kind of like my Kirby. I have to try to learn to be satisfied with "better than it was".

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

JustJunque

Barry,

I got your e-mail.

~Ben (KirbyClassicIII)

 

[tylerhawkins84]

Commercial Uprights

Royal was actually a pretty popular commercial vacuum supplier in the 80s and 90s. Once they outsourced production in the early 00’s I think their reputation and quality started to slip to the point they are basically defunct now. The commercial models were generally basic machines as you would expect to sell them at a lower price point. I know the 4150 canister vacuum that was marketed as commercial had a heavy duty 3 wire cord as opposed to 2 wires in the residential models. Not sure if this was true of the uprights

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Tylerhawkins84

Tyler,

Yes, it's true: the commercial metal uprights did have a three-wire cord (usually 50 feet long, sometimes 35 feet) for OSHA compliance. Royal did that since 1973 with all their metal uprights for commercial use, including my 1987 model 662Z.

~Ben

 

[justjunque]

A little more good news for me.
Thanks to members who know more than I ever will, I now know that I can use Kirby 301291 belts on my Royal.
It just so happens, in the box of attachments and extras that I got with my free G4, there's a Ziplock bag of spare belts!
I'll try my hand at replacing the belt. Hopefully, that takes care of the slipping issue.

Update:
So close.
I've got the belt.
While I had the brushroll out, I took the opportunity to clean off some threads and hairs that were wrapped around the end.
When it came time to put everything back together, I found that I simply don't have the arm/hand strength to get the belt over the shaft.
I don't know if the belt tool would make it any easier, but I don't have one. I was using a screwdriver; which I've seen other people use successfully in videos.
It would be kind of embarrassing, but I'll probably have to take the whole thing to a vacuum shop, and have them put the belt on.[this post was last edited: 9/22/2023-13:18]