We are without power, again, and will be for days. We have a generator. Anyone use their machine off their generator ?

did you get that much snow and ice? what state are you in?

i gather you are in the new england area. heard 26 inches of snow in some areas, 17 in, 20 inc on the news this morning. so sorry, so soon. but heard it was suppose to be gone by halloween? hope so.

I don't think I would chance it if it were me. They have to many power surges...at least ours does.

He does:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zjZxVfOIPA LOL


I would think it would depend on the size of generator & what else it is supporting.

If you do go that route be sure to have generator outside for proper ventilation!!! Having it in a garage is not good enough - there were some deaths due fumes here in Maine last summer. :cry:

When we used to go camping, we used the generator to run electricity to the trailer and then I used in the machine in the trailer. I don't know about running it straight from the generator. I would definitely use a surge protector power strip.

Oh what a great question although i'm going to get my treadle in the shop next month but with this weather its a great question to know an answer to

that is why I have a treadle on stand by.............

A gas powered generator used for home use, the power is not regulated. Your machine can get too much power and burn it out. Never hook one to one of the newer tvs. If an extension cord is plugged into the generator to the item, it is not regulated.

If it is an inexpensive machine connected to a power bar, I would go for it before cabin fever sets in. I would only use it though if the major appliances were already taken care of. Would I chance a $$$$$$$Bernina? NO!

ditto

Thanks for the replies. We are in CT. We got 14 inches of snow. It is really wet snow and b/c most of the trees still have their leaves, we have Alot of trees down on power lines. I'm guessing it is going to be several days of no power :-)

If it isn't a computerized machine you might be OK. I would NEVER hook up a computerized or electronic machine to a generator but I'd run a vintage mechanical machine in a heartbeat. When those old girls were built power was not as consistent as it is today, especially in the rural areas. They were built to take that into account.

I would check with the electric company. We got 2 feet, but luckily did not lose power. Neighboring towns did, though, and the national guard has been called in.

I would not hesitate to use an older mechanical machine but I sould not use my Bernina. Maybe it is a good time to cut some projects. Sorry....

this would be the only way that I'd try it; inexpensive machine and one that isn't computerized. I'd try it on my old singer; it's electic (not antique or vintage) no computer so if I lost it I wouldn't cry.

My mom has. She has a whole house generator.No problems.

My opinion is - if you have a great surge protector - then plug your machine into the surge protector - also some generators (older ones) are not stable enough or cannot handle the load - check your machine - it should be on the label how much draw it takes to use your machine.

I lived many years off the grid - we had solar and generators - but we also had an inverter - the inverter really stabliized the power and draws from a bank of batteries then converts the DC power to AC.

I think it can be done - but if its computerized I would be cautious and use a surge protector.

I used my sewing machine with our generator. I made sure the TV and computer system was turned off. Only the refrigerator, freezer and furnace was running so, I had enough juice for sewing machine.
I wonder how quazyquilter is doing. She is in Vermont, I think.

Its Ok as long as you don't over use the power of your generator, and to be safe put your machine on a power strip with a breaker. 8-)

if it is a computerized machine i would not use it with a generator unless a surge protector will work also- you could fry some computer component if the electicity varies from strong to weak (brown outs)
if it is an older/vintage machine it would probably be a little safer. that's why i want a treadle- so when the lights go out...but i enjoy hand work so i just revert to hand stitching when the lights go out.

Please be careful. There was a story on the Atl area news station last week about a family that had their electricty cut off because they didn't pay bill and neighbor loaned them a gas powered generator....the put it close to a door into the house and 2 people died of carbon monoxide (sp) poisining.......the neighbor was devasted.....there were 4 folks in the house and 2 died...how sad.....

I don't know anything about using generators so I don't have a clue about your original question......

I would not use a computerized machine on a generator..

I'm off grid and run both my sewing machine and my computer from either the battery bank or the generator all the time. They are on surge-protected power strips, and the inverter for the battery bank is a modified sine-wave so very stable.

I was in an Amish quilt shop a few years ago and they had several none computerized machines. The husband was sewing away using generator power.

I used my sewing machine with power from our generator last Dec. for a short time. It worked like it did plugged into the wall. The generators make electricity just like we use here in the USA. As long as it makes enough power for whatever you have plugged into it, you can use it for anything needing electric, like refrigerators and freezers.

I agree with those that advise against using a computerized machine on the generator. Older mechanical would be fine. The computerized ones are probably okay with a surge protector as well but I just wouldn't take the chance. We just power back after being out for 24 hrs. My family in CT is anticpating being out for a week or longer. They were out for 5-6 days following Irene. Fortunately we had no outages then - just flooding.

I wouldn't try it with an electronic or computerized machine. Not enough power or 'brown outs' are more dangerous than power 'spikes' as you don't realize it's happening.

As others have said, it would depend on the type of generator. We have a 'whole house' generator. I've had no problems sewing ( Bernina 1530) on it when power was out. Having recently replaced that with a Janome Horizon 7700 and not having lost power, haven't used it yet.

First of all, so sorry to hear all about the snow you easterners received hope it melts soon so life can get back in order. :) :) :) Living in upper WI we've had light dusting but very cold 21' temps.

When we go camping & there is no ele. DH brings the generator but I always have a surge protector & plug in from the camper. He fishes, me sometimes, but I have to take my quilting, the other campers think this is great! :)

good reason to have a treadle or hand crank standing by.

:thumbdown: I have used a old Singer on the generator BUT-BUT any thing that has a computer i would NOT. because the power surge-res will mess up your computerized sewing machine. my Janome had electric issues------ and it cost me 750:00 to fix a mother board. i always keep my machine on a GFI, and unplug it during a storm. :(

I have used wood turning machines and drills with a generator - can't see that sewing machines would be too much trouble?

That is a great video!

A wonderful friend gave my her husbands mothers treadle machine that has been past down since 1873. I need to get it worked on. So I love having a back up if the power goes out.

We have a whole house generator and I have used it for sewing several times with no problem. I can see that it might cause problems if it wasn't big enough to handle everything.

Maybe the whole house kind. Here in Fla a lot of us have generators due to hurricanes, but they can be lethal because of the gas fumes and carbon monoxide. We use ours only for essentials. My suggestion if this happens often is invest in a treadle.:)

You don't have to have gotten snow and ice to loose electrical power. LOL

Me too.

Yes, I always took my featherweight camping with me and used the generator in the motor home to run it. Worked just fine.