Saved a Royal Dirt Devil 08100 hand vac

[human]

Yeah, I needed it like I need another hole in my head, but I stopped off it Goodwill on the way home from work this afternoon, and kind of like an active alcoholic stopping off at a bar, not intending to drink but doing so anyway, I found this dusty Royal Dirt Devil 08100 hand vac (black plastic) in its original, albeit beat up, box with all of its original paperwork and two unused style G paper bag liners, along with one installed that was pristine on the inside and dusty on the outside. It was only $8 and I figured it would be worth that for the brush roll, if I ever needed one for one of my metal Royal Prince 501 handhelds, so I bought it.

I tried it out when I got it home an it was belching dust everywhere and didn't pick up a darn thing, just shifted stuff around with the brush roll. I couldn't see an obstruction from either the nozzle end or the nipple for the paper bag liner, so after I verified the belt was correctly installed, I got out a screwdriver and opened the machine up. What I discovered was a 100 percent blockage between those two ends, made up primarily of paper shreds. I dug out what I could with my fingers, blew the rest out with my air compressor, and when I put it all back together, the machine works great. I still like the metal 501s better, but it's still not a bad deal for the price of a hamburger. I'll post some photos tomorrow.

 

[human]

As promised, here are some photos of the Dirt Devil handheld. I'm not sure what earns it the 'Plus' designation on the cloth bag. When I had it apart yesterday, I saw the manufacture date for the motor was November 1996, making this machine a late '96 model or possibly early '97. While the black plastic gives it a little classier look than the red ones, it's still a bit too much plastic for my tastes. Nonetheless, I do appreciate its accessible and repairable design. The plastic halves are held together with screws, instead of epoxy, and there's not a circuit board in sight. All in all, I'm glad to have saved it from the bin, which is likely where it would have ended up, had someone else found it in that condition.