Thread Number: 38986  /  Tag: 80s/90s Vacuum Cleaners
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Post# 413782   9/14/2019 at 10:30 (1,656 days old) by HonestJoe68 (Mansfield, Ohio)        

Hello!

I have always collected brand new vacuums and 100% of my posts until now have been on the “Contemporary” threads.. but I was feeling nostalgic and bought my first new “vintage” vacuum. Now I cannot guarantee the date it was “New” but I’m hoping someone here might be able to crack the Royal Dirt Devil Manufacture code? Mine is MFG. Code A00A (See Pic 2)

So going strictly by what I could find online, I assume this vacuum is from about 1997.. hence more than 20 years old.

Anyhow, I was checking the Facebook Marketplace and to my shock and delight I found a reasonable good condition Royal Dirt Devil Roommate Upright Vacuum and the other wonderful find was the seller only wanted $15 bucks for it! For a long time, I’d been checking eBay and other online places trying to find one that was in good shape and under $50 bucks! Then when I did find one, some sellers had a few online for sale upwards of $100 so I’d pretty much given up on finding one.

I messaged the seller and picked it up yesterday and it runs beautifully! It took a lot of scrubbing and cleaning as with most vacuum owners, it was not properly taken care of but lucky for me, very lightly used and most likely just stored away and forgotten until now. I ordered replacement filters and belts, but other than that.. it’s in awesome condition. The Brushroll had long hairs wrapped around it but No damage and the bearings are in excellent shape. Other than a few scrapes and scuffs, it is in great shape and the motor sounds like new. I really think this had been stored away for years as the belt it was fitted with, when removed, had a tight bend where it was on the motor shaft and it retained that shape when I took it out.

Well if anyone wants to help me with the Manufacture code, that would be awesome and appreciated. I hope I didn’t ramble on and on too much and if anyone has requests or questions, please let me know. I am excited as this is one of two childhood scores I’m looking to own. If anyone else has a lead on a very clean Royal Dirt Devil Broom Vac 702.. I’m interested. I too would like to eventually replace my favorite Dirt Devil Upright.. my sadly long gone Dirt Devil Ultra MVP Upright!

Thanks, Patrick


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Post# 413786 , Reply# 1   9/14/2019 at 13:31 (1,656 days old) by fan-of-fans (USA)        

fan-of-fans's profile picture
These were neat little vacuums. I would guess from the A00 code it was made in January 2000.

Post# 413787 , Reply# 2   9/14/2019 at 14:20 (1,656 days old) by rugsucker (Elizabethton TN)        
RoomMate

A good small vac that looks good and low milage.The problem with these was users who would never clean thread/hair/strings until the brush ends melted.With care and the clean air fan there are no problems.
There is a 'big brother' that looks like one of these on steroids and has hose and on board storage for full size attachments.I may still have 1 (or 2) in attic.


Post# 413791 , Reply# 3   9/14/2019 at 16:10 (1,656 days old) by huskyvacs (Gnaw Bone, Indiana)        

huskyvacs's profile picture
Great find! These are some rare little sweepers.

The date code is likely 2000. I found an adorable christmas commercial from 1998 that features the RoomMate in it.






Post# 413832 , Reply# 4   9/15/2019 at 14:47 (1,655 days old) by HonestJoe68 (Mansfield, Ohio)        

Thanks guys!

Thank you Cole, the manufacture date now makes sense, so it’s in great shape for 19 years old. It runs beautifully and I’ve really enjoyed using it the last couple days.

Hey Jimmy! Thanks for the information and yes, I’ve seen the awesome Roommate with the hose and I’d LOVE to own one. If you ever decide to sell one and it’s in my price range, please let me know as I’d love to own the Big Brother version! If you’re not wanting to sell it, do you have some pictures of it to post so I can get a better look? Either way, thanks for the comment and I appreciate your sharing.

Huskyvacs, thank you for the comment and commercial.. Love it and I wish I still owned every one of the Dirt Devil vacuums in the video. I have several of the Red Hand Held Dirt Devil and the Roommate of course and the Broomvac I ended up selling years back but it wasn’t really my favorite.. too much like a regular broom instead of a true vacuum cleaner to me.

I got a fantastic deal on eBay for Two Boxes of brand new Filters, Four total for $8 bucks and also bought a pack of #7 Belts for it pretty cheaply too. The only thing I am waiting on is the exhaust filter #1-400321-000 Microfresh Filter because the cheapest (and only) one I found online was $6.99 for one. Anyhow, since everything is so rare and hard to find I stocked up and now have 6 new filters, four belts and I’m considering buying a spare Dirt Bin I found for $15 bucks even though mine is ok. I just wish I would find a spare new brushroll too so I can cover all bases as I really want to use and enjoy this vacuum.

Ok, well thank you all again for your help and I’m glad I posted this in Vintage considering it was made in 2000. I’m so glad I found it and thanks for letting me share with you all.

Patrick


Post# 413841 , Reply# 5   9/15/2019 at 16:35 (1,655 days old) by kirbyklekter (Concord,Ca.)        
Wow Patrick

What a great score you have! It does look brand new. I remember that commercial that Huskyvacs posted, it's definitely a keeper for posterity! The many different Dirt Devil vacs offered by Royal at the time were literally flying off the shelves around here, especially during the holidays. Congrats and thanks for sharing. Billy

Post# 414362 , Reply# 6   9/28/2019 at 14:42 (1,642 days old) by rugsucker (Elizabethton TN)        
Was in attic today and found --

--BIG DD but not the attachment holder.Will try to find over weekend.


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