Originally Posted by
AngelinaMaria
I want to preserve the life of the bulbs that provide lighting on my sewing machine so I try to turn it off if I am not going to use it for more than 5 to 7 minutes or so (if I'm pinning and it will only take a few minutes, I leave it on, but if I have pressing or more tasks I turn it off). I was really annoyed at myself one time when I left it on for over 4 hours while I was downstairs.
I have a Babylock Espire (computerize) and wonder if it is more harmful to the machine to be turned on and off several times in a 2 to 3 hour period?
This kind of reminds me of hearing out the Ukrainians who drive around without their headlights on in order to save their car headlights. I had never heard of the problem before I met this situation. (obviously I'm not talking about the issue of safety, but about the idea of leaving off a bulb in order to help it last longer.). I'm like the poster who likes LIGHT!
I leave mine on unless I'm leaving for a few hours. Like the others who have said they've heard that turning things on/off is harder on the machine than leaving it on. I do the same for my computer. On it goes in the morning, off at night.
Is the cost of the lightbulb an issue? The on/off switch would surely be a more expensive repair than a very small sewing machine bulb.