Royal 886 or Royal Classic 4000?

[william]

Vintage Royal upright model 886 or Classic all metal 4000? And why?

That is the question. Hello all, Bill here and today is my first day on your site.
Which one should buy?
I am looking for help on a recommendation on a purchase of a Royal upright built and assembled in Ohio that has better features and build quality. I have been looking on ebay for the right one to come along and have found these two. I am concerned about build quality and long for a vintage model from back in the days when they built them well and right with pride. Research here and elsewhere indicates an opinion in favor of the Royals from the early to mid 1990s until 2002 when production went overseas. (yuck!)

I like these two models. Who can advise me on the differences on quality between these two models? Was the 400 made here or China. The box apparently says "Made in Cleveland" but you never know! Please choose and tell me why you think so.
Thanks!
Bill

 

[toastermike]

Either model would be a great cleaner. From my experience, comparing the two comes down to the motors. I believe the 4000 has a 10.5amp motor and they are extremely powerful but also extremely noisy screamers! I have an earlier 886 from 1987. It has a 6 amp motor that I find to be great balance between excellent power, quietness, and weight. My 886 is one of my favorite Royals to use because it is effortless and relaxing to use.

 

[william]

Very helpful answer. Yes. You are dead on regarding the amps for both. Anyone know the year that the Classic 4000 was produced? Hope it was made in the USA and not overseas.
Bill

 

[sptyks]

I believe the Royal 4000 was made 1995 - 2001. I think this is the last Royal to be made in the USA, as production moved to China in 2002.


 


You can read more here:


 


http://www.vacuumland.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?16416

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

william

Bill,

I would suggest getting the 886 as the 4000, like everyone else here says, is plain too loud.

Inbetween these two, may I also suggest the following? List below:
Model 992, 993, 9000 or 9005 (1988-1990)
Model 9089 (1989-1990)
Model 994, 995, 996 or 9700 (1990-1995)
Model 9100 (1990-1995)

~Ben

 

[hygiene903]

Agreed!

If the choice is between the 886 and the 4000, I would definitely go with the 886! I think you'll like it.
Jeff

 

[william]

Favorite Royals

Thank you Ben and Jeff! I was hoping to hear from both of you and I did!
I value yours and others opinions. Ben, thank you for your list and Jeff thank you for your opinion. Consensus is 886 so that is what I ordered!

It is interesting. As I learn from this site about build quality, I had thought Royal was tops but there are many Kirby fans out there. Am I missing the something?!

I also purchased Royal's blue canister vac the 4250 after considering the TriStar Compact. I love it. Heard 4600 was better but don't know. Hope I made the right decision...Also I purchased a Prince 501 from I believe 1978. It has the red and grey bag. Bill

 

[sptyks]

Bill,


 


Here's a good analogy for Royal and Kirby vacuums:




Royal = Cadillac of vacuums


Kirby = Rolls Royce of vacuums


 


Most people would agree that nothing equals the Look, Feel, Build quality, and Cleaning ability of Kirby vacuums.


 

 

[william]

Cadillac and the Rolls

Very Interesting. I would have thought the value relationship would have put off more people. Considering Kirbys cost $1000 or more, people are willing to spend that much? Royals I think are several hundred but could be mistaken.
Bill

 

[sptyks]

Bill,


 


Kirby's are sold only door to door for $1500 - $2000 but the salesman will offer an attractive financing program if the buyer screams "I can't afford that".


 


Royal's are sold only at vacuum stores that are also Royal dealerships for $500 - $750.


 


Kirby's come with an extensive assortment of attachments including the famous Kirby rug shampoo and hard floor care system.


 


Royals do not come with any attachments but an attachment kit is sold separately for around  $100. 

 

[tolivac]

Royal upright attachment kits.You can get a deluxe kit for like $150 that has metal wands and colored,more deluxe tools-like what was on the Royal canisters.Or you could get the "economy"set that had white plastic wands,white hose and lightweight generic plastic handtools.This would be like $75-80.I have both.Both have the metal hose adaptor that goes into the front of the floor nozzle after you take the belt off the motor shaft.

 

[william]

Kirbys and Royals!

Thanks guys for your valuable information! Thanks to Sptyks for the
many insights on Kirby. I learned a lot from you!

Tolivac, I wonder where I could source now the deluxe attachment kit. Is it still available for the Royal 886? Perhaps the kit works with all Royal upright fittings. I should think they would make it that way.
Bill

 

[kirbylux77]

Bill, if it was me, I would choose the Classic 4000.

Why? Well, the 4000 would have a bit more power than the 880, as that's when they started increasing the motor's power & also made changes to the metal fan design. Also, as Ben, KirbyClassicIII pointed out in another recent post, the carbon brushes for the 880 are now NLA, whereas they are still available for the drop-in motor the 4000 uses. Assuming here you are buying this vacuum to use for daily cleaning & not for collecting purposes, the first thing you are going to want to do with the 880 is change the carbon brushes, with how old it is it may just very well be due for them. Considering you can still buy carbons for the 4000 & also buy a spare set to have on hand in the future & be able to maintain & repair it, that would be my choice.

As for the attachment sets, be warned that those are NLA from Royal, & have been that way for a while now. I was able to find a set available from The Henry Company though, as well as carbon brushes for the drop in motors. If you want the attachment set, you had better jump on it QUICK, because I guarantee you if you don't, you will not be able to find it elsewhere very easily.

Rob


http://vacpartsplusstore.com/catalo...roduct_info&cPath=1422_1449&products_id=14026

http://vacpartsplusstore.com/catalo...roduct_info&cPath=1422_1428&products_id=13965

 

[william]

Got last Deluxe Kit

Bought the deluxe upright Attachment kit. With initial 10% off got it for 80 bucks!
Thanks to you! Now all I need is to find a carbon fiber replacement brush roll for the 886. Wondering why they switched to wood.
Bill

 

[sptyks]

Bill,


 


I don't think I've ever seen a carbon fiber brush roll for any of the Royals. Just about every high end vacuum including Kirby uses wooden brush rolls. Wood is used because it is not only light weight but offers an anti-slip surface for the flat rubber belts that Kirbys and Royals use.


 


The exception would be the high end Riccar and Simplicity vacs which have metal brush rolls and use a serpentine or toothed belt. Carbon fiber bush rolls are used in Dyson and many other bagless vacuums that used toothed belts.


 


Kirby and Royal used to paint their brush rolls silver/gray but they were still made out of wood. All Royal and Kirby brush rolls are now unpainted natural wood.

 

[william]

Mine is silver grey...

Wow. Very interesting! Boy, I am learning fast here. Hmmm. Well I just bought the Royal 886 off eBay and it came with a silver grey roll. I didn't scrutinise it but it has hex ends. Maybe it is! Looked like metal. I just like premium quality so I presumed that carbon fiber was the way to go.
I will have to check and get back to you on that!
Thanks for all your help!
Bill

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

william

Bill,

Your 886 would be made after at least 1992 but before 1995.

~Ben

 

[kenkart]

The big difference

Between Royals and Kirbys is the weight,The old Kirbys before the Classic were great,but since they made the head wider and especially since the G3 came out they are WAYYY too heavy,the Royals don't have the self propelled feature and they are not as easy to hook up the attachments to, but they are LIGHT!! easy to push and really clean, but of course, I don't like the new Royals, I just wont have a Chinese vacuum and that's what they are, Kirbys are very high quality, and made in the US, but are just too big and bulky for small homes in my opinion.I like the D-50 ond D-80 Kirbys best and my all time favorite upright is my 1958 Royal 801, its quiet, light, and cleans well.

 

[chicagomike]

What are the other Royal model #'s and MFG dates?

What are the other Royal model #'s and MFG dates besides these below?

Model 992, 993, 9000 or 9005 (1988-1990)
Model 9089 (1989-1990)
Model 994, 995, 996 or 9700 (1990-1995)
Model 9100 (1990-1995)
Model 886 would be made after at least 1992 but before 1995.