Bernina 820
09-11-2020, 07:52 AM
#1
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Bernina 820
My MIL just gave me her "old" Bernina 820. She had lots of problems with it, and recently moved on to Janome brand machines. That's what I sew on too. I have a Janome 8900 QCP which I love. I was hoping to get some feedback from those of you who have this machine. I went online and read reviews and they were overwhelming negative. Now I'm worried that I just took on a big paperweight. I haven't fired it up yet, but just want to know what to expect.
09-11-2020, 08:00 AM
#2
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Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
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Ok, so this is the "modern" 820 Sewing Computer, it has a huge throat space and it is the model that did not go over well:
https://www.bernina.com/en-US/Machin...0-QE#!overview
The vintage ones had a much shorter throat. Those are considered to be pretty sturdy little workhorse machines, but I don't have any knowledge about them.
I have a modern 820 that was given to me by a friend who is a Bernina fan. She bought it from another Bernina fan. Both were not a fan of this machine, but I like it fine. Both of the previous owners have gone on to the 770 to much joy and delight and are still Bernina fans.
I was told it was fussy with threads, and after about a year of use I had to replace a thread sensor. But I just use quilting threads and my friend likes to use fancy threads so that may be a different issue. Some of the 820/830s do seem to be lemons, I don't think mine is. I've grown to love many things about it. We have a couple other people on the boards who also own the modern one, and we have quite a few with the older one.
https://www.bernina.com/en-US/Machin...0-QE#!overview
The vintage ones had a much shorter throat. Those are considered to be pretty sturdy little workhorse machines, but I don't have any knowledge about them.
I have a modern 820 that was given to me by a friend who is a Bernina fan. She bought it from another Bernina fan. Both were not a fan of this machine, but I like it fine. Both of the previous owners have gone on to the 770 to much joy and delight and are still Bernina fans.
I was told it was fussy with threads, and after about a year of use I had to replace a thread sensor. But I just use quilting threads and my friend likes to use fancy threads so that may be a different issue. Some of the 820/830s do seem to be lemons, I don't think mine is. I've grown to love many things about it. We have a couple other people on the boards who also own the modern one, and we have quite a few with the older one.
09-11-2020, 08:12 AM
#3
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Ontario, Canada
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Try it out, what have you got to lose? At the very least, you can use it for a trade in. If she also has a lot of feet, they will have resale value. Some people love their 820 so maybe it will do well for you.
09-11-2020, 10:29 AM
#4
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Join Date: Jun 2020
Posts: 120
I had a 830 that I bought used, we did not get along for quite a long time. Finally, I figured it out, got some updates, and it worked just fine. The 800 series tend to be fussy. I ended up selling it and I bought a 770 QE which I LOVE! There's tons of YouTube videos out there that can help. This machine, in my opion, has a very high learning curve.
09-11-2020, 10:57 AM
#5
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Originally Posted by Tartan
Try it out, what have you got to lose? At the very least, you can use it for a trade in. If she also has a lot of feet, they will have resale value. Some people love their 820 so maybe it will do well for you.
09-11-2020, 11:03 AM
#6
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Originally Posted by Iceblossom
Ok, so this is the "modern" 820 Sewing Computer, it has a huge throat space and it is the model that did not go over well:
https://www.bernina.com/en-US/Machin...0-QE#!overview
The vintage ones had a much shorter throat. Those are considered to be pretty sturdy little workhorse machines, but I don't have any knowledge about them.
I have a modern 820 that was given to me by a friend who is a Bernina fan. She bought it from another Bernina fan. Both were not a fan of this machine, but I like it fine. Both of the previous owners have gone on to the 770 to much joy and delight and are still Bernina fans.
I was told it was fussy with threads, and after about a year of use I had to replace a thread sensor. But I just use quilting threads and my friend likes to use fancy threads so that may be a different issue. Some of the 820/830s do seem to be lemons, I don't think mine is. I've grown to love many things about it. We have a couple other people on the boards who also own the modern one, and we have quite a few with the older one.
https://www.bernina.com/en-US/Machin...0-QE#!overview
The vintage ones had a much shorter throat. Those are considered to be pretty sturdy little workhorse machines, but I don't have any knowledge about them.
I have a modern 820 that was given to me by a friend who is a Bernina fan. She bought it from another Bernina fan. Both were not a fan of this machine, but I like it fine. Both of the previous owners have gone on to the 770 to much joy and delight and are still Bernina fans.
I was told it was fussy with threads, and after about a year of use I had to replace a thread sensor. But I just use quilting threads and my friend likes to use fancy threads so that may be a different issue. Some of the 820/830s do seem to be lemons, I don't think mine is. I've grown to love many things about it. We have a couple other people on the boards who also own the modern one, and we have quite a few with the older one.
Thank you for the feedback.
09-11-2020, 11:05 AM
#7
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Originally Posted by Ladywingnut
I had a 830 that I bought used, we did not get along for quite a long time. Finally, I figured it out, got some updates, and it worked just fine. The 800 series tend to be fussy. I ended up selling it and I bought a 770 QE which I LOVE! There's tons of YouTube videos out there that can help. This machine, in my opion, has a very high learning curve.
09-11-2020, 11:14 AM
#8
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Join Date: Aug 2018
Location: Greater Peoria, IL -- just moved!
Posts: 6,041
I was told Aurifil and it seems to like that just fine. I'm trying using So Fine by superior as a bottom thread and it is pretty happy with that too. When the sensor went out it was noticeable, I was sewing down binding and could only go an inch at a time without hitting the reset button.
I've been sewing on a vintage machine for most of the last 30 years and was gifted with this. I had very little modern machine use other than my portable Brother(s), and do/did not have a favorite brand. I decided that I could either use it the same way as the vintage machine; i.e., pretty much straight stitch only or I could see what this century has brought
I really like the ability to stop with needle up/down with the foot pedal. I have vision issues and don't see the buttons well but I can tap my foot. I really like the cut thread, didn't expect that! (while I have those vision issues, cut thread is in a handy easily remembered position) Apparently some of the things I didn't like dealing with like partial seams was partly the thread. I also use the knee foot up/down control -- my friend never used that but I really like it.
Most of the time the thread needle function works perfectly -- if it doesn't it is usually a good idea to change/reset the needle.
I love the large throat and the bright lighting. I would like to get a table where I could set it table height for quilting, but I'm ok piecing with it on top, but I'm on the lookout for a table big and sturdy enough to hold it.
The integrated walking foot feature is nice. So is the BSR (Bernina Stitch Regulator). I feel I could quilt down a queen sized project satisfactorily but I just don't want to! I have done several crib-twin sized projects, I really like having the Serpentine stitch available for quilting down.
It has an extra large bobbin which I can appreciate (especially loaded with the So Fine it goes forever), but I'm annoyed that it is a proprietary bobbin and I can't buy pre-wounds. Especially if I had the embroidery options I'd want pre-wounds.
I usually don't do much with fancy stitches but because the hubby asked I repeat embroidered his name on the bottom of his bowling towel. I've also tried some of the fancy stitches for potential projects.
I've been sewing on a vintage machine for most of the last 30 years and was gifted with this. I had very little modern machine use other than my portable Brother(s), and do/did not have a favorite brand. I decided that I could either use it the same way as the vintage machine; i.e., pretty much straight stitch only or I could see what this century has brought
I really like the ability to stop with needle up/down with the foot pedal. I have vision issues and don't see the buttons well but I can tap my foot. I really like the cut thread, didn't expect that! (while I have those vision issues, cut thread is in a handy easily remembered position) Apparently some of the things I didn't like dealing with like partial seams was partly the thread. I also use the knee foot up/down control -- my friend never used that but I really like it.
Most of the time the thread needle function works perfectly -- if it doesn't it is usually a good idea to change/reset the needle.
I love the large throat and the bright lighting. I would like to get a table where I could set it table height for quilting, but I'm ok piecing with it on top, but I'm on the lookout for a table big and sturdy enough to hold it.
The integrated walking foot feature is nice. So is the BSR (Bernina Stitch Regulator). I feel I could quilt down a queen sized project satisfactorily but I just don't want to! I have done several crib-twin sized projects, I really like having the Serpentine stitch available for quilting down.
It has an extra large bobbin which I can appreciate (especially loaded with the So Fine it goes forever), but I'm annoyed that it is a proprietary bobbin and I can't buy pre-wounds. Especially if I had the embroidery options I'd want pre-wounds.
I usually don't do much with fancy stitches but because the hubby asked I repeat embroidered his name on the bottom of his bowling towel. I've also tried some of the fancy stitches for potential projects.
09-11-2020, 08:23 PM
#9
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Utah
Posts: 2,070
Bernina did a kind of recall on the 820 and 830. You could bring them to your dealer and get a great trade value toward a 770 or 790. They were a learning step that shouldn't have gone out to the public. But, they helped develop the Next Generation 4, 5 and 7 Series machines, which are amazing!
09-14-2020, 08:47 AM
#10
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Originally Posted by quiltedsunshine
Bernina did a kind of recall on the 820 and 830. You could bring them to your dealer and get a great trade value toward a 770 or 790. They were a learning step that shouldn't have gone out to the public. But, they helped develop the Next Generation 4, 5 and 7 Series machines, which are amazing!
