A friend asked me if I could save either of these old Dirt Devil Hand Vacs. I was able to save one machine, using parts from both. Once it was working again, I did a demonstration of it, to show how it works.
I want to tell you! You really have to take VERY good care of these babies. They don't make them anymore. I actually have one of these Dirt Devil handhelds, same model and everything, same vacuum. It was given to me by my real dad. He used it in his pop-up camper and when he sold it, he gave the handheld to me and I use it for my stairs, couch, computer chair, and my upholstery and I like it. I have a central vacuum system in my house and I actually love it but it's a pain to get out that long hose for upholstery so I use my Dirt Devil handheld hand-me-down for upholstery. Knock on wood, still works! 😊
We used to have this vacuum and we called it the mama cleaner, when I was 3, that thing would scare the crap out of me and I would run up to my room before my dad started running it, this gives me memories of that time
The 80s Kenmore Powere mate JR were awesome as well, I remember ours mom used in the living room, and my 17 year old brother would use it to clean out the floor and mats in his 1971 TransAm.
Thanks for a great video. My wife picked one up for $2 at a local thrift store. I thought the beater brush was air powered and couldn’t figure why it wouldn’t work. Now I see it’s belt driven! Duh!!
😆 LOL!! The ultimate "Dirt 😈 Devil Test". I remember vacuuming the basement floor of my parents 🏠 house in 1987, at 4:00 am. Just the sound of the motor takes me back to then. The motor was surprisingly quiet, but this machine delivered some serious 👊 punch, as far as cleaning goes. The Dirt 😈 Devil was available for about $34.99 (varied by store), and I remember buying a couple of them in my time. My 🚶 stepmother"s Dirt 😈 Devil ✋ hand vac was the neatest thing, being the black Royal 500 model. It was irresistible to use, and I'd find my way, down to the basement, to 🔌 plug her Dirt 😈 Devil in, and start vacuuming the basement floor on several occasions(👍 yes, around 4:00 am). Dirt 😈 Devil is an Ohio-based company, and has been since somewhere around 1930(I need to ✔ check it out). Taking note around 1990, I noticed that there was a Royal Prince ( or close) ✋ hand vac. This was a silver aluminum version of the later plastic Dirt 😈 Devil, but I think they made both models through the years. I received my 🚶 stepmother's Royal 500 ✋ hand vac in 1994, for my own apartment. I also 👍 like Dirt 😈 Devil's 1980's ☝ upright vacuum. It's so easy to push it around the 🏠 house, and it used the identical belt that your ✋ hand vac uses. Got a used one for $5.00, or $10.00, for my Casa Grande, Arizona apartment in 2009. One word of ⚠ caution about changing belts, right after shutting off the vacuum. ✋ Wait for at least 10 minutes, to do so. The motor shaft gets freaking 🔥 HOT!! Also, perform the belt changing task with your vacuum unplugged, to avoid injury. Someone, or you, could accidentally turn it on. Your friend, Jeff.
You for sure, want to pull the end caps off the brushroll, and service the bushings. If they get hot, they can actually get hot enough, to deform the plastic slots that the end caps fit into. To do that, I chuck the axle in a drill, douse the bushing with "Zoom Spout" oil, spin it, then, blot the oil out with paper towel, then repeat. Do that, until the oil no longer comes out dark. After that, re-assemble the brushroll, put it in the vac, and run it with the sole plate off. Touch the endcaps with your fingers, and make sure they aren't any more than luke warm after a minute or two of operation. You cannot replace those brushrolls, so, if there's bristles on the one out of the other vac, it's definitely worth salvaging, servicing, and keeping as a spare. These were the best hand vacs out there, and I don't know why they discontinued them!
I was given the same model of dirt devil the other week . It had the same issues with the cord splitting at the grommet where it enters the machine at the handle and the motor sounded like it needed the bearings greasing/ oiled . Stripped the motor down to regrease the bearings and solved the cable problem by boring through the grommet so that the cable passed right through to the terminal block for the wires . Our newly acquired Dirt Devil Handy work perfectly again and my wife loves it for cleaning the car . Great and interesting video from you . Being from the United Kingdom I have a great collection of Differing models of the Hoover Junior
I had the same issue with the bag wearing out. I used one of these in the early 90s to vacuum the stairs and my mom's car back in the day. These are great for cars. If I find one somewhere I am so getting it.
Thanks so much! I have one I’d forgotten about, used it today, & was grossed out by the bag when I opened it! I got online & saw that some had a disposable bag that went inside, so as I was investigating, I came across your helpful demo. Guess I’ll just vacuum out the bag & wash it.
I have 2 of these from thrift stores. Very common thrift find. They both work. I just can't ever find hoses for them anywhere. I try to connect hoses from other vacs but I think I'm missing a needed accessory to fit them in properly. I love 90s dirt devils. Just not as much as I love my 70s Kirby. The Kirby's weight and solid steel construction made me keep it around all this time. Very low maintenance and still works like new.
You mentioned the Prince model was quieter, so now I hope to find one at a thrift store some day! They are available on Etsy & Ebay of course, but not as satisfying as finding one for a very low price. I have 4 or 5 of these red plastic Dirt Devils obtained free or for a few bucks but rarely use them because they are so loud.
I am absolutely obsessed with little vacuums like this the little portable vacuum and I needed one for my basement because it gets dirty down here really quick and this is also where my art studio is so my neighbor who passed away recently his daughter gave me a bunch of his stuff because our families are really close yes he passed from Covid anyway got me one of these little vacuums I hope it works good I watched your video just to make sure I knew how to clean it the right way thank you for the vid
