How Long Do You Leave Your Sewing Machine "Idle" Before Turning Off?
05-26-2012, 08:13 AM
#42
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I have a Pfaff 7570 that I have had several years (10 or more) and I leave my machine on for hours at a time. The only time I turn it off is when I am done for the day. I have replaced my bulb 1 time. Yes, it was expensive (over 7 bucks at the time), but I have also replaced other machine blubs with the same type of bulb used in the auto industry.... They are the same type and work just the same....
05-26-2012, 08:28 AM
#43
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I can't find in my manual if the screen can be put on "screen saver mode" but if I push several different buttons within the menu I can turn off the lights to the needle area and the work area (separate buttons and yes they are the very expensive halogen type--really tiny too). It sounds like it is better to just leave them on anyway so I won't worry about that anymore.
05-26-2012, 09:00 AM
#44
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Check "Myth Busters" about this. I know they did a show about it some time ago. froggyintexas
Originally Posted by Prism99
I don't know about sewing machines, but my dh told me turning the regular light bulbs on and off is harder on them than leaving them on. I would definitely not be turning my machine off and on several times over a 2 to 3 hour period.
Why so concerned about the sewing machine light? I would just purchase a spare or two as "security" and use the sewing machine normally. I have a Bernina 1230 that must be close to 15 years old and have left it on overnight once in awhile. I suppose one would call my usage of it light to moderate, since there were several years when I didn't do much sewing, but the light bulb is still going strong! Haven't had to change it yet. As for energy consumption, I should think that is at most a few pennies per hour. Years ago I figured out the energy requirements of a tv left on for 24 hours, and I think it was something on the order of 25 cents per day! (Edit: I think my memory on that was wrong. I think I amortized the cost of the tv over its life, and *that* came to 25 cents per day. Not that I'm an authority on that subject......)
Why so concerned about the sewing machine light? I would just purchase a spare or two as "security" and use the sewing machine normally. I have a Bernina 1230 that must be close to 15 years old and have left it on overnight once in awhile. I suppose one would call my usage of it light to moderate, since there were several years when I didn't do much sewing, but the light bulb is still going strong! Haven't had to change it yet. As for energy consumption, I should think that is at most a few pennies per hour. Years ago I figured out the energy requirements of a tv left on for 24 hours, and I think it was something on the order of 25 cents per day! (Edit: I think my memory on that was wrong. I think I amortized the cost of the tv over its life, and *that* came to 25 cents per day. Not that I'm an authority on that subject......)
05-26-2012, 11:32 AM
#45
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I agree, and I think in a computerized machine it would be harder on the motherboard to keep sending that first blast of information through the circuitry. I know when I was a PC tech back in the 90's we believed it was better to leave the PC on than to turn it off and on frequently. Think of herding a bunch of cattle through a narrow gate, there will be a lot of stress on the walls, a circuit board is similar. The computer in my living room (also a media center) stays on all the time. I turn off the sewing machine and the PC in the sewing room when I am done for the day.
I have a 10 year old computerized Janome, and have never noticed the machine itself getting hot by leaving it on all day. I'm thinking the newest sewing machines would not have a "burn in" image issue on the screen, just like new monitors do not.
I have a 10 year old computerized Janome, and have never noticed the machine itself getting hot by leaving it on all day. I'm thinking the newest sewing machines would not have a "burn in" image issue on the screen, just like new monitors do not.
Originally Posted by Scissor Queen
Electric things heat up when they're on. Things expand and contract when they heat up and cool off. Frequent expansion and contraction will cause tiny wires in circuit boards to break eventually. If I turn my sewing machine on I leave it on for the day.
05-26-2012, 11:46 AM
#46
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If I have changed the settings for any reason, I leave the machine on just so I don't have to remember what I have done. I think about the bulb once in a while but in the 40+ years I have been sewing, I think I have only had 1 light burn out. So unless I am leaving to go onto another project, the machine will probably stay on.
05-26-2012, 01:02 PM
#48
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I leave mine on for duration of my time in the sewing room. One thing about computers - they say turning them on and off is not good because it causes the circuit boards to heat up - then cool down - then heat up again, and light bulbs similarly, you can do more damage with the on-off every few mins than leaving it on. And every time you turn it on, it goes through a programming phase - and I would think (and do) if you are gong to use it soon, leave it on until you call it quits for the day. :-)
Marysewfun
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05-26-2012, 02:08 PM
#49
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I have a 19 year old pfaff, ofcourse not computerized.
I have to adorable shepparddogs to, who love lying around my feet and use the pedal as a pillow.
So I turn off and on the electricity a lot ( and with that the light) while working , I only had to chance the lightbulb once.
But it's a very cheap one for my pfaff so who cares????
I have to adorable shepparddogs to, who love lying around my feet and use the pedal as a pillow.
So I turn off and on the electricity a lot ( and with that the light) while working , I only had to chance the lightbulb once.
But it's a very cheap one for my pfaff so who cares????
05-26-2012, 02:20 PM
#50
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Location: Southwest Kansas
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Just because a machine doesn't have a computer doesn't mean it's not electronic. If you turn the machine on and off with a switch it has electronics of some kind. Mechanical machines just have a motor and a light switch.
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