Littlebearquiltingboard

Happy New Year!

My Elna No. 1 arrived this morning. She arrived beautifully packaged but swimming in oil. The oil was literally pooled in the bottom of the case and the packaging and was seeping through the extra thick cardboard outer box. During the journey it appears the oil has made it's way everywhere and consequently the motor is swimming in oil (I opened it up to check).

The machine is missing a couple of parts, it has no bobbin, the lower part of the knee lift isn't there and I need to get a power cord. I was happy to try and get these parts but now I've seen the motor I am worried that the oil will have ruined it or made it unsafe to use and I'm wondering if it would be a waste of time and money getting the spare parts?

For those that no more about motors than me, do you think the motor will be safe to use?

Kind regards.

Clare

J Miller

Clare,

Can you post a clear pic of where your cord plugs into? I have a cord that I need to identify ...... wait a minute, here the thread I did about it: { http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...t-t208658.html }

Joe

Caroline S

Many years ago my ex husband's grandmother gave me an Elna Supermatic. It was also missing the lower extension of the knee controller. I improvised and used a very sturdy wire coat hanger as a replacement. It was not pretty but it worked. If you dig deep in your closet you may find a vintage one, LOL. Yes, they don't even make coat hangers like they used to. All are plastic now.

As for the motor, wish I could help. If it were mine I would try to wipe as much of the oil off of it as I could before testing it. It will likely smoke a bit. Won't hurt to try once you get a power cord.

Littlebearquiltingboard

Hi Jo,

I thought that was the plug for a moment! On closer inspection yours has three prongs and mine looks like this:-

J Miller

Clare,

Well, darn it, so close yet so far. Good luck finding your cord, and that should be a good machine once you get the bugs out.

Joe

Littlebearquiltingboard

I think these cords are quite easy to come by in USA but sadly not in the UK. I think maybe my little Elna will become a pretty ornament, I don't want to part with her even if I don't get her working.

Caroline, your wire coat hanger tip is brilliant!

Clare

Littlebearquiltingboard

Thank you.

Candace

Be sure to buy the GERMAN made supermatic, metal bobbins. Any other bobbin will not work in these. There are a few sellers on ebay that sell the German made ones, and Ray White sells them. Otherwise, you will have tension problems. I would clean off the motor well and there should be a capacitor near it that also should be dried off. If you have to replace the pulley(which you may have to do) the motor would need to come out anyway and you could get a better look. Does the pulley have any flat spots or does it look o.k.?

You can get cords from Sewingparts Online or many other internet sellers. Sew Classic will either have one or order you one. It's a generic cord and will only run you about $12.

SteveH

Be VERY cautious about the Motor/Oil situation...

It might start easy but as heat builds so does the fire danger. I will consult with one of my Electrical Engineers to confirm my advice before I post it here.

Give me about an hour.

Littlebearquiltingboard

Hi Candace,


Thanks for the advice and thanks for the suppliers for the cable. Do you know if a cable from USA would be ok to use on this machine which is 230/250v? (Sorry if this is a silly question but I really don't know).


The pulley does appear to have flat spots so will also need replacing, I hadn't though of that.


SteveH,


I appreciate you help, this is what I am worried about. There is so much oil, it's as though a whole can has been put on and during transit it's swashed around everywhere.

Clare