Replacement & Upgrade Bag Gasket/Seal For Royal Prince m501/m5000's!

[ubergreenguru]

So! With 10+ Royal Prince 501's and M5000 Hand Vacuums in my collection that I've been working on restoring & refurbishing... One of my primary issues was finding replacement Bag Gaskets/Seals for them, as the bag gaskets on many of my Royal Prince's had worn out, dried out, or simply deteriorated with time.

Since replacement Bag Gaskets for the Royal Prince are NLA, I set off on a mission to find the correct gasket material that Royal originally used for the seal within the Bag Ring on their metal hand vacuums. - I initially purchased some 1/4" x 1/4" adhesive-backed neoprene foam rubber strip, which worked, but lacked the amount of "sponginess" the original bag gaskets had.

Finally, after some more trial-and-error with assorted strips of foam-rubber gasket material, I FOUND THE CORRECT GASKET MATERIAL!

Unfortunately, the "Natural Foam Rubber" gasket material I needed only came in gigantic 50-foot-long rolls. - But with the number of Royal Prince Hand Vacuums I'm refurbishing, I was able to justify my purchase. Plus! I figure there are plenty of other Royal Prince owners out there who would LOVE to have access to replacement Bag Gaskets for their Prince(s) without having to purchase 50-ft rolls like I did.

Not only did I purchase 50ft of the original 1/4" Wide x 1/4" Thick Gasket Material... But I also went one step further and ordered the next larger size available, which was 3/8" Wide x 5/16" Thick. - I did this because one of the primary complaints I've heard from Royal Prince owners was the issue of dirt leaking from around the metal Bag Ring - which is something I personally encountered while vacuuming with my Royal Prince Hand Vac... So I ordered a larger bag gasket that is both wider (by 1/8") and thicker (by 1/16") than the factory gasket, in an attempt to improve/upgrade the seal between the main housing & bag ring on Royal Prince's, whilst still maintaining the ability to use disposable paper bags with the vacuum!

Attached are photos that show a side-by-side comparison between the original bag gasket found on Royal Prince m501/m5000 vacuums -and- the new/improved/upgraded bag gasket material I recently purchased. - I also included pictures showing the new/upgraded gasket material installed within the bag ring on one of my Royal Prince's.

For those who are wondering: I will be making a separate thread in the Classifieds / For Sale section of the VacuumLand Forum where I will be listing this gasket material available for sale in both the original 1/4" Wide x 1/4" Thick -AND- the New/Improved/Upgraded 3/8" Wide x 5/16" Thick sizes. - I will make both of these available in pre-cut lengths to fit the bag rings on Royal Prince Hand Vacuums for anyone who may be interested, with Continuous Lengths Available Upon Request. - I also intend to create an eBay listing for these bag gaskets so that Royal Prince owners everywhere can have a reliable source for replacement bag gaskets for their Vintage Royal Hand Vacuums!


Please post here or contact me if you have any questions or concerns. -- I will provide a link to the Classifieds thread for the purchase of these bag gaskets as soon as I type & post it.


Thanks For Looking!

Sincerely,
~Justin in Chicago
Royal Hand Vacuum Enthusiast & Collector

 

[centralvacs1928]

Looks great! I applaud your detective work and would be interested in buying some from you for my 5000 and 501, which are both just about like new except for these gaskets!

Do you use yours with the H bags inside?

 

[ubergreenguru]

Centralvacs1928, Yes, I generally use Royal Type H bags inside my Royal Prince's - or at least inside the ones I actually use on a regular basis.

In regards to these new bag gaskets, I do have to say that the "improved/upgraded" bag gaskets that measure 3/8" wide x 5/16" thick -- make it substantially harder to lock the bag in-place when using the thicker gasket in combination with Type H paper bags...

...Not to say it's "impossible" to use them together, but with a brand new 5/16" thick gasket + Type H paper bag, it *IS* rather difficult to get the bag assembly to lock into place - but it *CAN* be done! And once I got the bag to properly lock in place, I could immediately tell that the new, thicker gasket made a *substantially better seal* with the vacuum housing.

I'm hoping that as the thicker 5/16" gasket material gets broken-in over time, it will become easier to remove & replace the bag, whilst still maintaining a good, firm, dust-tight seal between the bag ring & housing.

Typing this reply began to get me thinking... And I'm tempted to see if the supplier of this gasket material offers it in a 3/8" wide x 1/4" thick size...

...Which I hope would be able to offer improved sealing capability over the factory gasket - but yet in comparison to the 3/8" wide x 5/16" thick gasket - wouldn't require as much force/pressure to compress the gasket ring it in order to remove or replace the bag assembly.

Hrmph! I think I'm going to look into this right now! If 3/8" wide x 1/4" gasket material *IS* indeed available in the same material from this supplier, I'm probably going end up purchasing yet another gigantic 50-foot roll in my quest to find "A Better Royal Prince Bag Gasket".

 

[ubergreenguru]

"A Better Royal Prince Bag Gasket"

So! Earlier today I received the [3/8" Wide × 1/4" Thick] version/size of this same "wear-resistant foam rubber" gasket material w/ adhesive backing from the supplier!

In my quest to find an "improved" bag gasket for Royal Prince m501/m5000 Hand Vacuums, so far I have tried three different sizes of this adhesive-backed foam gasket material:
>> [1/4" Wide × 1/4" Thick]
>> [3/8" Wide × 1/4" Thick]
>> [3/8" Wide × 5/16" Thick]

... After much trial-and-error (and money spent ) I have reached the conclusion that the [3/8" Wide x 1/4" Thick] Foam Gasket Material is the overall best possible sealing solution for the bag ring on Royal Prince m501/m5000 Hand Vacuums.

Here’s a summary of my findings that led me to this conclusion:

>> In comparison to the factory [1/4" x 1/4"] bag gasket, the [3/8" × 1/4"] gasket material provides an improved seal between the Bag Ring & Housing.

>> The "improved" [3/8" × 1/4"] bag gasket maintains *full compatibility* with the use of Royal 'Type H' paper bags.

>> The "improved" [3/8" × 1/4"] gasket material minimizes the force necessary to remove & replace the bag assembly when used with 'Type H' paper bags. - With this gasket, it is no more difficult to remove & replace the bag assembly than it is with the original bag gasket.

>> In contrast, the thicker [3/8" × 5/16"] gasket material made the bag assembly substantially more difficult to remove & replace. (Due to the additional force required to compress the thicker 5/16" foam.) -- IMHO, the [3/8" Wide × 5/16" Thick] gasket provides an even better seal than the [3/8" Wide × 1/4" Thick] gasket. - But the added thickness simply makes it too difficult for the average user to remove & replace the bag assembly; thus making it less practical for real-world use.


Overall, I'm extremely happy to have found a reliable source for replacement bag gaskets for Royal Prince Hand Vacuums that are an *exact match* to the factory/OEM Royal bag gasket material. -- Plus! It's been 25 Years since the production of Royal Prince Hand Vacuums has ended, and I'm seemingly the first individual to have successfully found "A Better Royal Prince Bag Gasket" that fits properly & provides improved sealing capability over the factory bag gaskets, which have long been notorious for leaking dirt.


To anyone interested in acquiring replacement bag gaskets for their Royal Prince m501/m5000, Please be patient & bear with me! -- I will be making all three sizes of this adhesive-backed foam gasket material available to VacuumLand.Org Members very soon! -- By the end of today or sometime tomorrow, I should have an official For-Sale thread typed up & posted in the "Supermarket" section of VacuumLand.


Attached below are pictures comparing the three different sizes of foam gasket material I have acquired - as well as pictures showing the [3/8" Wide × 1/4" Thick] Gasket Material installed on the bag ring of my Royal Prince M5000.


Thanks For Looking!

Sincerely,
~Justin

 

[drew15401]

Royal Prince bag gasket

Most definitely interested in purchasing bag gaskets for the Royal Prince. I have 3--main floor, upstairs and one in basement for use in the car and truck. They are amazingly powerful. Please let me know when the gaskets are available. Thanks!

 

[2011hoover700]

@ubergreenguru what website did you buy this gasket material from?
Thanks.

 

[lesinutah]

3m

Has double sided mounting tape. The plastic window guards are installed with it. I also use it to seal plexi glass in my window opening during the summer in the opening where I place my swamp cooler. They make various sizes and I found mine next to frog tape at home depot.
They have single sided as well. 3m is the gold standard at what they produce.
I've added a link it comes it various sizes.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RMDWJ5...abc_6HZBX9W4DH0D6NX7G1GR?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[ubergreenguru]

Bag Gaskets Are Now Available For Purchase!

<span style="font-size: 24pt; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva;">THE FOR-SALE THREAD FOR THESE REPLACEMENT BAG GASKETS IS **OFFICIALLY LIVE!**</span>


 


<span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva;">Please Visit The "Supermarket" Thread Below For Information On How To Order:</span>


 


<span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">https://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?41722</span></span></span>


 


 


<span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Thank You!</span></span></span>


<span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva;"><span style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva;"><span style="font-size: 24px;">Justin in Chicago</span></span></span>



https://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?41722