Husqvarna Viking Mega Quilter and Inspira Quilt fram - Opinions please?
 

I ran across a Husqvarna Viking mega Quilter and Inspira Quilt frame on Craigslist this afternoon. I'm still waiting on the details to be emailed from the person but in the mean time -- can any of you shed light on this machine, the good, the bad and the ugly please. :)

It can be a nice starter setup, especially if the price is right. I'm pretty sure the harp size on this machine is only 9" (similar to a Jukie harp size), which becomes limiting. Mid-arms have 13-15" or so harp sizes, and longarms go 16-26" or so. I ran across a website that sells the machine for $750. I would definitely check prices for the machine and frame online before deciding if the price is good. I would probably not want to pay more than half of the price new for this setup.

Been searching
 

I've been doing some searching online to check prices and try and get reviews. What website did you see one for $750?

I have a Pfaff Hobby Grand Quilter 1200 (actually two of them). They only stitch straight stitching but I am happy with the machine and love the the 18" throat space. I also bought the Next Generation quilting frame they were a set at a quilt show. I have issues with the machine working on the frame, the thread breaks constantly but I know there have been others who have the same set up and have been successful.

Yikes! Not sure where I saw it but I will look again and post if I find it. I did a little more checking after I posted and found this:
The Husqvarna Viking Mega Quilter, the Janome 1600P QC and the Pfaff Grand Quilter are all made in the same factory (Janome) and are exactly the same machine, just with a few cosmetic differences

They are all fast straight-stitch machines with a 9" harp, I think. I tried out the Janome 1600P at a quilt show -- very nice, although I have seen online that some people complain that it is touchy about tension. Amazon has the Janome, so you may want to read the reviews there.

Another place to check for reviews is http://www.patternreview.com

Here are some websites I found that talk about the Viking:
http://kateconklindesigns.blogspot.c...or-janome.html
http://artisanssquare.com/sg/index.php?topic=6206.0

The harp size is 9" wide and 6" high (which is why I would not call it a midarm or longarm). That is not a lot of space for rolling up a queen size quilt. However, a lot of people start with a harp size like this and work their way up to larger harps.

Edit: Aha! Here's where I found the machine listed for $750:
http://www.alvasewingcenter.com/shop...ga-Quilter.htm

For some reason, Viking named their mega quilters the same for their 9" and 18" machines so you need to figure out which one it is. The 18" inch one is made by Tin Lizzie and is identical to the TL 18SL. I have this one on the inspira frame and like it very much.
$750 is a good price for a used 9" one, expect to pay thousands for the 18" version.

Here's the one I am talking about:
http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/us/3537.htm
Also found this:
http://www.husqvarnaviking.com/us/In...uilter_FAQ.pdf

But I don't know anything about the longarm version.

Mega Quilter and love it. I use it on the kitchen table. No room for a frame.

Lori -

If you're talking about the 9" version, we have the Pfaff 1200 on Imperial frame and we love it. As others have mentioned, the space is a bit limiting, but it's a great entry into frame quilting. We have only done pantographs, but I think we've saved money in the long run by not having our quilts done by a LA'er, and I'm sure we would never be able to learn to quilt on our DSMs.

We had some issues when the machine was new, but after we got those ironed out we haven't had any trouble.

Let us know what you decide.

Darren

I don't know where you're from, but I've seen the same set up on our local CR for $1500. A while back I even went to see one that was on CL, but I think it was listed for $2000. I was worried about the same thing, the 9" harp. Still seems like a good choice for beginning quilting machine. My problem is it would have to go in my DR area and I would have to move buffet cart and table. Good luck