So I decided to go buy bags and a new belt for my Riccar today. I had tested it with the existing bag (almost full) and belt, which I could tell was slipping. I went to my local shop and told the owner what I needed. He was very helpful as always, but for some reason sold me the wrong belt.
I remember when I checked the belt that it was longer than any belt I've seen on a vacuum so far. So when I went in and told him the vacuum he grabbed one from his wall of belts that looked right. Then he found the bags and when he saw the picture on the bag, he said something about "oh, Royal belt" and switched it to one that was half the size.
I took everything, paid and went on my way. I could not shake that it didn't look right, so I went back in before going home (I live 10 miles away from it) and inquired if he possibly had given me the wrong one. He was very polite about it and even called another store to verify that "it's the same as a Royal or an Oreck belt." He even offered to give me a different, longer belt to try. He didn't have any Riccar's on hand, but he did have a Royal that looked kind of similar to mine and he showed me the inside and how the belt looked when stretched. It convinced me that I was wrong and I even told him I don't need the other, longer belt as I was confident now.
Oops. I get home, opened up the bottom, and the belt is not only more than double the size, the width is also thinner. It was too big to fit over the "spindle" of the motor without dragging on the side.
I certainly don't fault the owner, who like I said was very helpful. But now I won't get to go back until next Saturday, since I work during the weekday hours he is open and he is closed on Sunday. No fun with the Riccar this week.
My question though is how am I going to get the right belt? Just take everything in (vacuum and old belt)? Do all belts end up being a certain size, regardless of the manufacturer? I'd feel oh so much more better about it if I could get a genuine belt specifically made for this unit, and not one that "works close enough." Or is that naive of me to expect/want that?
Thanks!
