Royal: Dirt Devil 103 vs. Prince 501

[kirbyclassiciii]

Hi,

What do you think was the best Royal hand vacuum ever made? The all-metal 501 Prince or the first Dirt Devil plasti-vac, model 103?

The Prince 501 was first introduced circa 1954 and had replaced the earlier 157, while the Dirt Devil model 103, introduced in 1984, was the first in Royal's attempt to break into retail stores including KMart, JCPenney and WalMart (their all-metal stuff was sold exclusively through their network of authorized dealers/distributors, including Stark's Vacuum here in Portland, OR).

The 103 was so successful that it spawned other Dirt Devil products such as the 503 Plus hand vac, 702 Broom Vac and the 2003 Can Vac, and later the hardbody and softbody uprights.

I would say the 501 is forever the best hand vacuum Royal did.

~Ben

 

[tolivac]

I would go for the Royal metal 501.Stupid TTI for discontinuing it!

 

[lux1521]

Both models are classics, and I have been collecting both metal and plastic models for a few years now. The 501 outperforms the 103, but you need to remember how much more it cost.

The 501 (and most of the classic Dirt Devil model line) was discontinued before TTI ever came into the picture. When Royal was bought out, it wasn't what it had been, and has gotten worse since. Some people might say it went downhill starting with the plastic Pro Series line, which were the blue or green Dirt Devils that were sold by dealers. I think my local vacuum dealer told me that he stopped selling Royals after that. This would have taken place way back in the 90s.

 

[kirbyclassiciii]

Nothing beats the ol' 501, they say.