Some collectables suck....

Could it be your son does not want her to drive it ? I don't recall what/how I did it--as that was almost 40 years ago---- !
Ron Rich

ok....a Vacuum Cleaner Collector to the Rescue....=)....

first off, what the shop is asking to rebuild your Royal is more than fair. that machine with care will last you the rest of your life. but if you absolutely want to that would be the machine to stick with. as much as i like the Eurekas form the 70's and 80's the new wal mart models dont even hold a candle to what they use to be (and just a correction Eureka started using lexan bases in 1976). if you want something more light than a Royal, go look at a Panasonic, or a Riccar or Simplicity. orecks are terrible, we have a saying about those in the VCCC "Why use the whole canister, When you can just use the powerhead" thats all they have is pretty much a pwerhead motor with a small fan attached and a brush roll....not worth the 300 plus dollars....

trimline62 wrote:ok....a Vacuum Cleaner Collector to the Rescue....=)....

first off, what the shop is asking to rebuild your Royal is more than fair. that machine with care will last you the rest of your life. but if you absolutely want to that would be the machine to stick with. as much as i like the Eurekas form the 70's and 80's the new wal mart models dont even hold a candle to what they use to be (and just a correction Eureka started using lexan bases in 1976). if you want something more light than a Royal, go look at a Panasonic, or a Riccar or Simplicity. orecks are terrible, we have a saying about those in the VCCC "Why use the whole canister, When you can just use the powerhead" thats all they have is pretty much a pwerhead motor with a small fan attached and a brush roll....not worth the 300 plus dollars....

It's true.... the Oreck's are basically high-priced "toys" - pathetic suction, miserable in my opinion.
As I stated in a previous posting on here, when I worked for Eureka we did (impartial-unbiased) water-lift testing on various brands of both canisters AND uprights.
The proof was in front of my eyes of course, and I don't care what anybody says, most brands are weak in comparison to the older Eureka's of the 70's and 80's.

what models were around when you worked there?...im guessing since it was 1988, you had the Ultra by that time, and the Express, Rally and some of the last Ironsides. also a good line of ESP uprights and Blender motor uprights.

trimline62 wrote:what models were around when you worked there?...im guessing since it was 1988, you had the Ultra by that time, and the Express, Rally and some of the last Ironsides. also a good line of ESP uprights and Blender motor uprights.

Our big seller back then (1988-89) was the "Boss", and there's an interesting story about it...
The Eureka company mostly geared their products to the woman of the house, naturally, and wanted to advertize towards the man, using the Boss.

The Boss was a low-style machine, dressed in basic black (a manly color?) with a grey bag, no headlight, and upscale motor.
Something the company thought would appeal to the men...
They asked Tony Danza to be the spokesman for the Boss, and wanted to show him pushing the machine around the house - at that time, the TV sitcom "The Boss" starred Tony Danza, playing the part of a male housekeeper/maid, etc. - the manly marketing of the Boss vacuum that Eureka wanted to use was perfect, or so they thought...
But the show's producers would have none of it - I heard something about lawsuits or something when I worked at Eureka, but never got to the meat of the matter - I was only in customer service.

really, thats funny that Tony Danza was asked because of that show, even though in the theme songs he was shown using a Kenmore Twin Fan upright...lol....im surprised Sears didn't sue as well...i had the lower line boss in that set, that had plastic hood and the 4amp motor, and i do have the turquoise and black Boss Self Propelled. but most of my Eurekas are from the late 60's through the late 70's. nothing really past the Eureka logo change in 1983 but those two uprights, and Top of the Line Express (the purple and black model) and a blue and white Rally. nothing really before the 60's but two Automatic's from 1947, and 1955, and two pre war models....

so did you work in the offices on North Main in Bloomington?

No, I worked the branch office in Southhampton Pa, just outside Philadelphia.
We handled customer relations from NY down to Va, NJ, and west to Harrisburg Pa.
My branch office was closed in 1989 due to AB Electrolux's cutbacks at that time, and the job was farmed over to the Pittsburg Pa. office.

If my thinking was correct, Sears was one of the sponsors of the sitcom "The Boss", and likely a reason for Eureka's failure to get Danza to promote their product.
I think the Eureka "Boss" was named after the sitcom originally for a marketing idea, but I can't be sure.
By the way, the Eureka Boss's motor was a 6.5 amp rating - for the model 2034 type A. - Black metal motor hood.

The modded version I designed for myself while I worked there, I submitted to the Bloomington office, but they didn't go for it.
Nevertheless, I still have it, and it still does a great job.

Modded:
Chrome metal 2-piece handle with grey hand-grip.
Metal pushbutton switch.
7 amp motor used in the self-propelled models with high profile fan.
Longer 35 foot cord with quick-release hooks on handle.
Vibra-Groomer1, solid aluminum (twisted) ball bearing beater brushroll.
Gray polyesther Triple-Filter bag.

My cost - $88, but equivalent to a $300 Sanitaire model.

so since you were costumer service, and dealt with merchandise...maybe you could tell me a question i have???...me and anther vac collector LOVE the Eureka metal canisters, he grew up with one, and he got me into them. would you happen to recall when Eureka did away with the metal cased canister. im thinking it was right around 1993 or so....but we have had several doubts...

Btw, He found the story about The Boss absolutely interesting...=)....i know of the model your telling me about. the one i had was the 1934B, which was still being made up to last year. but its still the 70's models for me with he Eureka Williams electric E logo.....=)

Since, as I mentioned, the branch office closed in 1989, and resulted in me being laid off, I have no idea when or what product changes took place. - I simply moved on, going back to electronics servicing.
I do know some canister models Eureka produced had plastic bodies when I was there.

I thought I'd do a final follow-up to my original post describing my adventures with a new vacuum cleaner purchase and my discovery of the world of collectible vacuum cleaners.

The one I bought, the MRY8200 "Everlast," as I noted was sold to me at half-price, with an additional ten percent taken off for the trade in of my 20 year old Royal. I got it home, unpacked the box and assembled it according to the instructions.

While I was amazed with the job it did cleaning my carpet, I was even MORE amazed by the shoddy workmanship -- a loose fitting handle, scratches all over the aluminum finish indicative of sloppy polishing, a depression or deformity on one side of the nozzle, and flaking chrome plating on the handle.

I mentioned this to the owner of the shop that sold it to me, a couple of weeks after I bought the vacuum cleaner, and his initial reaction was to giggle. When I asked him if what he sold me was a factory second or a used returned item, however, his face grew stern and he assured me that it was NOT a factory second or used. It was simply left over stock from a sale he had during the holidays.

I then wrote an email to customer relations at TTI Florecare North America, the Hong Kong based company that now owns Royal as well as Hoover. I explained that while the vacuum cleaner outperforms any I've ever owned, and I planned to keep it, it had a number of deficiencies indicative of shoddy or poor quality control practices at the factory--most of which were cosmetic in nature. Since the full retail price of the MRY8200 was a whopping $650.00--which fortunately I did NOT pay--I thought they should be aware of these issues.

About an hour later, I received a telephone call from one of Royal's Territory Managers, who said that he would ship a brand new Royal all metal (model UR38200) which retails for $669.00, to the store where I bought mine, and I could do a swap. While this new model does not have the headlight, there were some improved design features--according to the representative. (Based on what I found, it's the only all metal Royal produced for the consumer market--going forward. All other models have been discontinued, except for the commercial versions.)

Well, I did the swap--the new vacuum cleaner was still in its carton so I took it home and assembled it--and am very satisfied with its overall performance. The UR38200 is self-propelled, unlike the MRY8200, and literally races across the floor, with no effort involved in pushing it. More important, the issues involving the chrome plating on the handle, and the handle's connection to the base have obviously been solved.

HOWEVER, to put it mildly, the finish on the vacuum cleaner looks like crap--especially the nozzle. They've opted for what looks to be a brushed finish in place of the diamond smooth polish associated with all-aluminum vacuum cleaners such as Kirbys and older model Royals. A brushed aluminum finish would be fine, were it not for the fact that it was done in a haphazard manner--brushed smooth and shiny in some areas, and rough with deep gouges in others. Also, as I discovered when unhooking the belt to connect the attachments, there are numerous slight dents all over the top and sides of the nozzle.

My hope is that the actual mechanical parts are better built. Fortunately, it does come with a five year warranty (parts & labor), so if anything surfaces, I can always take it back to the store. But, I can see why the hard core vacuum cleaner enthusiasts and collectors stick with the older models now. If this one poops out on me, my next vacuum cleaner will be a re-built older model--one that was manufactured in the US and not some place where the average worker hasn't a clue as to what quality merchandise should look like.

JDS

Joe,
I hate to "burst your bubble", but "Made in the USA", no longer insures any "quality" either !!
The claim I "love" is: "Made in America"--or better yet, "Assembled in America (or USA)", as anything claiming this can be produced in any country in the world, shipped in any un-assembled state, to anywhere in north, central, or south America, and "assembled", for sale here, in the US.
Ron Rich

Ron Rich wrote:Joe,
I hate to "burst your bubble", but "Made in the USA", no longer insures any "quality" either !!
The claim I "love" is: "Made in America"--or better yet, "Assembled in America (or USA)", as anything claiming this can be produced in any country in the world, shipped in any un-assembled state, to anywhere in north, central, or south America, and "assembled", for sale here, in the US.
Ron Rich

Ron,
I guess the only REAL statement can be "Designed and Assembled in the United States of America.

Not South America, either..

Matt tech wrote:
Ron,
I guess the only REAL statement can be "Designed and Assembled in the United States of America.

Not South America, either.. :shock

Matt,
You almost have it, but you forgot the phrase "--of foreign or domestic parts origin"
Ron Rich

Frankly, I don't mind where something's manufactured, or even assembled, as long as there's some semblance of QUALITY CONTROL. Based on my most recent experiences -- vacuum cleaner #1 and vacuum cleaner #2 -- there's not much of that going on at the factory where these were made. This will only hurt TTI Floorcare, since one of the reasons people prefer these all metal vacuum cleaners--in addition to their excellent, powerful performance--is their APPEARANCE. If I had paid full price for either of these, you can bet your life they'd have been returned for a full refund. But, the aluminum will cloud and tarnish over time, and when that happens, I can re-do the finish the way it SHOULD have been done.

JDS

I can't tell you how many products I've had to "modify" to improve their reliability or performance.
....for current items, I have a term I use for this: I DE-chinese them.
Replacing those pesky capacitors that resulted from poor manufacturing..
Adding a heat sink because of cost-cutting..
Sometimes rebuilding an entire assembly because of cheap recycled white plastic "milk bottle" parts.

For older products, I take what quality there was, and improve somewhat, using meterials/ideas that wern't available at the time of design/manufacture.
Machining something out of steel or aluminum to replace a deteriorating "pot metal" part.
The use of modern plastics, to replace a deteriorated part too.

It's an art...