Dirt Devil Handy Zip Hand Held Vacuum Cleaner Unboxing & Demo

Here's a popular little cleaner from Dirt Devil, the Handy Zip.

[@madabouthoovers9767]

I used to use these to valet pub pool tables for an amusement machine company for years and years (1995 - 2007), and the amount of them I got through was about 2 machines per year. The usual failure point was the spindle would wear down and eventually snap off, meaning the machine was finished, as replacement spindles were not available. I got them from Argos and bought the extended warranty for them, so kept getting new ones free of charge when I took them back with failed spindles. I used the paper bags in them, but the chalk dust from the cloths would clog them quite quickly, so a lot of bags got used and needed changing long before they were full, as they lost a lot of airflow being only single layer. The ones I had the hose would go into the front of the machine like you were trying to do, so I couldnt understand why yours would not click in. We liked using them because the brushroll did a good job on the nap of the baize, and fluff was removed very easily. If only the spindles were more durable, but then, we were using the machines for commercial use, and Argos was never told this when they got taken back as faulty, lol.

[@Homepage.]

They were purposely made cheap. They were made by royal to be purposely bad

[@coreyhallbauer7618]

This was my very first cleaner, at the age of 3 in 1995, my parents went to buy me a toy vacuum, however they were out and they decided to get me the real thing. It lasted a long time too, at least for me, about 1995 to 2004.

[@myckarking7008]

Corey Austin i have it too

[@LlyleHunter]

I have one of these. I hardly use it but it's a great little machine. It's based on the all metal Royal Little Prince that was produced from 1933 until some time in the 1990s. You've corrupted me. Now I want a Royal Little Prince, a Royal Powertank powernozzle canister and an all metal Royal upright. I really have all of the vacuums that I need but....... you know.

[@josephrosamilia9943]

I've had three of these machines over the years; they're amazing little cleaners! I love them! I also have the Royal Prince which was the predecessor to this model.

[@Bunkysworkshop]

Hi Roger, I used a paper clip and some brightly colored string and attached it to my box cutter so not to loose it. Great video.

[@PrincessAshly]

They definitly can be used without bags, they originally didn't even take bags. Where the dirt went into the cloth bag was designed diffirently where you couldn't put a bag on it. They ended up making an adaptor on those models so they could use disposable bags. And of course like yours, they all went to using disposable bags.

[@BethMannPresents]

Thank you for sharing that. I've been trying to figure out whether you can use it without a bag and couldn't find an answer anywhere.

[@kawai4christ]

I had the original version (USA) my parents got me. It had the belt lifter tool and the cleaner had a round rubber cover over the hole where you can access the belt to attach the hose. It didn’t the plate to attach on the bottom to use the hose. The zipper idea in the later version was way better because the original had the cloth bag that fit over the cleaner housing with a rubber gasket and emptied as a shake out reusable bag (very messy). I burnt mine out using it daily. I would keep the hose on there and attach a Kirby Classic III carpet and extension wand and use it to vacuum the house. It did a great job for a good while.

[@ccdogpark]

Yeah I have one of the original models and I can not get the cloth bag off to clean it, no matter what I do. WRZ 2022-11-27 Delaware County, PA

[@PeterWTaylor]

Got one of these, had it about 20 years. Only use it for carpeted stair but it's great for that. Replacement bags and belts still available from amazon.

[@brendalg4]

My mom just got a 1993 version of this. At least that is what it says on the manual. The front guard is a piece of plastic. It is held on by a screw. As far as I know, it does not have a belt lifter. The manual says to use a screwdriver to lift the belt. There is a guard that you flip down to cover the brush so that you can use the hose. It causes a piece of plastic to cover the hole for the hose. It sounds like it wasn't supposed to come with any attachments except maybe one. I was trying to find information about what to do about hair getting caught on the spindle. I know I can use something to cut it off but I thought maybe there would be a way to prevent it from happening.

[@francescadena3075]

Those extra parts, accessories don't go with that model. The hole with the rubber cover is designed to allow access to the belt.

[@TheVacuumWizard]

just so u know you dont need to use the panconverter to use the hose you can also remove the triangle cover and just plg the hose into there but then you must take off the belt

[@patgreen9845]

Hi, the triangle cover? I’m really struggling to get the hose in too, I’m doing it in exactly the same way as the video and it won’t work, do you know of a secret trick way to get it in? Thank you!

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

3:17 - the reason the belt lifter tool looks like what you describe (a flute/pennywhistle): that cutout was to be able to store it on a bag hook. I've actually seen some Royal metal uprights with this lifter tool on the metal bag hook.

[@jakemcintyre4820]

The hose does just push in, you were right the first time. It has to be aligned exactly right for it to 'click' into place, usually wiggling it about a bit once it's in helps, the suction is at least 3 times stronger connecting the hose directly to the fan.

[@AuroraTigress]

We had one of these when I was a kid in the 90's. I used it to vacuum the stairs every Sunday to earn $1.

[@AuroraTigress]

Although, ours wasn't the handy zip. It was the one with the circle front cover.

[@madwatermelon1316]

Dirt devil also had a sister brand of power tools in the uk "Power Devil". I think they were exclusive to Argos.

[@johnaldrich2074]

Just got my hand vac from Ebay recently. It's a 1992 model 103. It has royal branding on the red cloth bag and spec label. Picks up well although sometimes it will spit dirt from the brush. I use the disposable paper bags with it.

[@LlyleHunter]

The reason that the brushes are soft is because the machine is intended for upholstery.

[@louisestirton]

Great video Roger that brought back the memories as my dad had one of these for his car

[@SusanneBiegholdt]

Thanks for sharing this useful video. My model is the earlier one with the round black cap . For changeing the bag I unfortunately have no zipper to open it. So I wonder how to open It. further, I have no manual . Blessings

[@andrewbird6771]

I used to have the older molde n the hose didn't fit very good into the belt charmder loving your channel

[@MattTester]

Still have my Handy F1 from 1995, like a few other people my parents got it for me more as a toy than a serious vacuum. Haven't seen many other F1 models so they must be quite rare.

[@cheapskateaquatics7103]

I remember growing up with the model before that one. Always scared the crap out of me when removing the plug and dislodge the belt. Parents had it up until the early 2010's.

[@dirtdevilhandvacs6803]

I have a dirt devil handy cyclonic its amazing powerful the amount of microscopic dust it sucks up is brilliant and just ordered a dirt devil 150 for 21.95

[@chloewright1]

I've always loved the look of these little vacs, although I've never had one. It's something I've thought about getting from time to time, but then never gotten around to it. I'd buy one now, just for sheer cuteness of it!

[@skhan8759]

Just got mine off ebay brilliant better than dragging the Henry around,and picks up dirt better than the new cordless ones.

[@kirbyskilldustbunnys]

You know on your Kirby vacuum you can adjust the brush rolls bristle height well you can do the same thing on the Dirt Devil all you need to do is remove the screws on the base plate remove the brush roll and look for the numbers on the end caps it's kind of unique actually

[@aarianavaldez4692]

Sir have you considered doing asmr videos? Your voice is quite relaxing I bet people will love you

[@robshorts]

It beats the later 900w bagless dirt devil hand held I made the mistake of buying from Argos a few years back. Very Noisy, poor suction, filter clogs quickly. Worse of all, the motor overheats and cuts out after 5 minutes, even with a clean filter and there is a constant smell of overheating during use. An internet search revealed it to be a common problem, so it wasn't that I had a faulty machine or was doing anything wrong.

[@glocken04166]

I have a Dirt Devil Hand Vac Plus with 1 speed motor (not 2 speeds) that was manufactured in 1998 and was a model 08100RED back in 2016. I even made a video on that particular model of Dirt Devil. Sadly, the handle on it was dropped and broke on accident and I have to throw it away. How I sadly missed this vacuum 😪. I wished to get this back. Also, one of my favorite vacuums of all time.

[@djkain2007]

Thrift stores here in the us have these for $5 in good shape, if you need parts

[@paulillingworth1242]

I had same one back in the 90s as new, was good on stairs and furniture, hose was very weak even from new , I seem to remember it only had ability to connect the hose with the pan converter, the bags and belts were expensive at the time I recall you could get new brush rolls for which was also expensive, I gave it away after a couple of years. I wonder if it ended up on eBay later or if it was consigned to the tip.

[@ToThePoint690]

Best vacuum I am using similar vacuum Dirt devil for almost 15 years.. but modified some suctions hoses for convenient..

[@LlyleHunter]

Royals don't have built in belt lifters like Kirbys. I still love that plaid rug!

[@TheVacuumWizard]

lol we unboxed a vacuum at the same time mine was a kirby g3

[@alfielouissmith2133]

The other model is handy150 and does not have a belt lifter built in

[@gregallsmagic]

My grandma had one of these. I loved using it.

[@myckarking7008]

I have it too but its handy 150.

[@justaskingstoke6139]

Hi roger be careful with non gen belts they are really hard to get on and I have see the melt the plastic cover on the belt spindle these belt fit perfect all the best ( Hometek Hunter Hand Vac HT807 )

[@Razerin]

You should review the shark v15z its similar to that vacuum but bagless and the fan is not exposed to debris

[@austinmaxi555]

I would love to know if you ever got the hose attachment to suck efficiently.... I would love one of these for my car vac but obviously need to be able to use the hose as well for crevices etc

[@dawnleatherlandhunt8722]

You Britten my day roger

[@jamesshore2987]

I’m sure I’ve seen something like this a few years back, it was bagless and made by a firm called “Hometek”. I think the machine was called hunter... just me??

[@sarahlou584]

I had this but I burnt the motor out so looking for a replacement I did not think too much of the attachments

[@PrincessAshly]

I love these!! I have a collection of them!

[@paulmuir7485]

Hi did you work out how to attach the hose,I've just got one and can't work it out Thanks

[@zombiedoggie2732]

I think the earlier still you need the lifter, or a screw driver.

[@adamn7516]

Can you tell me if there are universal vacuum hoses that fit the 103?. The factory hose seems to be unavailable except occasionally showing up on Ebay. What is the outer dimension of the male end of the hose?

[@Kyuk3tsuki]

Yes!! I have the old round one beamed with royal

[@cartervacuumsandmore1188]

The 1990 version did not have a belt lifter bilt in

[@disletic]

Hey ibaisiac what vacuum do recommend for using in versatility,performance,weight and easy to empty

[@Thevacomaticvacuumcorner]

saw those all over the place back in the day

[@davidbell4548]

keep the box cutter in your jeans pocket or a wallet with a zip or keep it on your key ring holder that way you wont lose it

[@tazza5136]

I got a brand new dirt devil Handy 550 plus on eBay for 44 pounds, it's a royal model and the hose will fit on the fan chamber you just have to put it at a straight angle and the original belt cover is just a cover and with my dirt devil it came with a leaflet instructions and the tools it even came with the wall mount screws I have footage of it on my channel

[@soledweller]

I have one but it doesn’t appear to be able to use a disposable paper bag on. It just has a wide wedge type feeder that blows directly into the cloth bag.. a very poor design in my opinion.

[@tylergatt28]

whats the name of the accessiories so i can get some

[@kg5vacuums205]

I have the model that’s like this just with no zipper.

[@Kyuk3tsuki]

Mine is the only one and the bag says royal instead of dirt devil and doesn’t have a zip

[@thomasluckett]

how much was it

[@guitarplayerforu]

Used the have one of these as a kid, great little machine they where for their time. Nowadays I think even a Dyson V6 suction in standard mode would be more than these had ha ha 😂

[@darthgamer6080]

Got one for free at an estate sale in the states.

[@kellyhernandez2503]

Put the belt on the front of the machine like you tried!!! It came off there. Why won't it go back on?

[@Xenon777_]

how many watts is the motor?

[@moviefanmatthew2541]

When I was using mine, it smelt like something was burning

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

Probably a misaligned belt.

[@MartinKubaS5]

Check the motor, it can be burned

[@Midnights06]

My grandma had something similar but it went missing

[@acostin4004]

The only problem with these is the poor suction when using hose.

[@paulcope6217]

I got a hand held duet devil

[@sheppardpat47]

At least they put a man cleaning his house and car and a female on the same box lmao

[@theclassicvacuumcleanersfa2377]

That doesn't sound like the original Dirt Devil hand vac at all

[@wildbill23c]

No the model with the round cover on the front did not have a belt lifter built in. The front round cover came off just as this one does to put the hose in. That's how they are supposed to work is pulling the belt off and inserting the hose into the front, not sure why they had those converters, they don't have much suction to begin with, trying to use that converter on the bottom gives even worse performance. The ones that have the round cover on the front don't readily accept bags either, most required an adapter, and you cannot find those adapters anymore, I got lucky and found one on ebay a few years ago but they're quite rare to find now, so most just use the outer bag which is removable and washable.

[@ghxx5084]

My auntie still has hers in mint condition

[@justaskingstoke6139]

no just a rubber plug

[@therandomman6647]

Willow is my sisters name!!

[@wormishot4559]

I have one in black

[@daveogmiles6152]

I like the dirt devil

[@rudysamuelson7465]

No box cutter Open the vacuum

[@Animevac4874]

17:33 poor suction

[@myckarking7008]

15:11 dirt devil comes a live

[@jakesvacsandstuff7322]

I had that exact vacuum

[@morad140590]

dirt devil hand vac?! oh

[@rudysamuelson7465]

Check the vacuum 📦

[@natyromero762]

Gracias

[@Noahedwardsytchannel1]

On that box I see my middle name

[@FrenchFryCheese04]

royal? lol

[@gregbouchard7935]

See good mate you u or u ok mate I hop you or u ok mate see a good one mate I hop you u hove a good day mate mate see Greg here I hop you u or you or u ok mate hove a good day mate

[@LiftRider24]

13:12

[@gracemetoyer4232]

RhiyM mmjkl.

[@Kentuckyfriedtoenails]

Poop.

[@FrenchFryCheese04]

shut up

[@ccdogpark]

The problem with looking for dirt devil how-to videos is that there are about 4 or 5 different versions of them that all are put together very differently. WRZ 2022-11-27 Delaware County, PA