What is your criteria? I'm a busy mom who loves to quilt, but is continually interrupted by lovely, but needy, children. How long is too long to leave a computerized machine on, but not in use? I'm wondering if turning it off and on is bad for the machine...conversely, is it more detrimental to leave it on for the hour or so that I'm away?

Great question. I leave mine on alot and get sidetracked then realize hours later I forgot to turn it off. Thanks for the post I'll be watching too. :thumbup:

I don't know either. I do turn it off if I know I will be pressing alot of pieces for a while. I get side tracked alot so pressing takes me longer then probably the normal person.

I don't know for sure in minutes, but I wouldn't leave it on for an hour unattended. After the posting about a machine starting a fire just being plugged in, I am more aware.

The fire started because of a defect in the machines.
In my opinion it's better to turn them off, if not used for awhile.

I understand that, but it does make me more aware of the machine being left plugged in when I am not in the same area. It makes me think more of it being turned on for long time spans also.

You are right, I agree with you.

I don't leave mine on for an hour but I do leave it on to give the kidlet his snack or throw in a load of laundry and bring one up or something. I don't think I've ever left it on for an hour,though.

I think it is hard on the machines to continuously turn on and off. And if you've done a bunch of adjustments that you don't want to save then it is just easier to leave it on, I think.

I turn mine off when I leave the room. I have a small dog that loves to snoop around everywhere. She "helped" me sew the other day while I was sitting there. I couldn't figure out why it started sewing on its own. Thankfully it scared her and she stepped right off the foot pedal, so I didn't get a huge thread snarl to clear up!

I do try and turn it off when I leave the room but if you think about it what's the difference if you leave it on for and hour or sew on it for five hours. I turn mine off so I don't burn out the light never thought about the machine it's self. LOL

When I had my machine serviced, the engineer told me how many stitches it had done, and how many hours it had been on, and how many of those hours I wasn't actually stitching!

I was horrified to find out that the hours not stitching were greater than those not stitching! I am more conscience of it now, and turn it off more often.

I find mine gets hot (from the light) if I leave it on too long - about an hour is my limit for walking away with it on. I do that if I'm in the middle of FMQ - I hate to turn off while that's in progress, mid stream, because the intialization means the needle comes up, and things tend to get unaligned. I just leave the needle down and the machine on, if I just need a quick break.

If I might not get back to it, I turn it off and unplug. I'm afraid I'll forget and it'll end up plugged in during a storm or surge. I do use surge protectors. If it's just for a bathroom break, etc, I don't shut it off, but I put the 820 in "Eco" mode with that button to the right of the line at the bottom of the screen. Supposed to conserve the light, I guess.

I turn it off when I am done sewing for the time frame.

a guilty party here...I've left mine on overnight. sometimes, simply due to CRAFT disease, others because I've made lots of stitching adjustments and it's easier to leave on. I will be bringing it in for a maintenance visit in January and will ask the mechanic about this.

My 10 year old Bernina has showed no signs of my inattention. It is plugged into a serge protector but I just turn off the machine switch when I am finished for the day or project. The only time I unplug is when we are away. Sometimes it has been left on for a couple of hours? I don't really know because if I leave it on (when another task comes up) I usually get back to it later or go by the room and seeing the light is on, I will shut it off. I don't worry about it being on for the machine, it's more of a waste of energy concern.
My main concern is....opps I think I left the iron on? I never have but I forget. Mine doesn't have the automatic shut-off but after reading about a fire with that kind, I will be more careful!

Always turn off the 539 and the Bicor. Only can unplug the featherweights and if I go to do that, usually end up sewing on them some more and walk away leaving it plugged in again. Never have unplugged the treadle sewing machine or turned it off.

if you are going to be gone from your machine longer than a few minutes (over 1/2 an hour you should probably go ahead and shut it off- if less than that leave it on-
if you just leave it on for long periods of time if nothing else that light bulb is going to burn out alot sooner than it would otherwise- and other electrical components-

My EE husband says it does not hurt the machine to leave it on, if you don't mind wasting power... and it does not hurt it to turn on and off...

I turn mine off when I leave my sewing room or if I am pressing or cutting for any length of time.

I just have a basic singer sewing machine. Nothing fancy. I do however turn it off when leaving the room.

If I am ironing or gabbing a quick snack I leave it on-If I am stopping for more than 15 min I usually turn it off.I also leave the computerized machines unplugged when not in use-same with my iron.

Same here. It would also turn my machine off for safety sake if I had young kids in the house.

Some machines track the time used. Makes a difference when you are buying a used machine.

I turn my machine off if I am leaving it idol for longer than 10 minutes. I have two lights on my Viking and I don't like having to replace the bulbs so I am quick to turn it off when not in use.

I turn mine off, and/or unplug if I'm going to be away more than 15 min. or so.

Pat

You are so funny!

I have a Bernina 830 and I put it in sleep mode when I walk away from it. On the other hand I have left my Brother on all day with no problem.

I have my machine and my lamp plugged into a surge protector and I turn my power on and off there. If I am out of the room and I see the light is on in my room, then I know my machine is still on, too. It's my way of being sure everything is shut off at night. On the other side of the room I have my iron and a light plugged into a different surge protector for the same reason...if the light is on, the iron is on.

I'm picky about wasting electricity. I have my iron, lamp and machine on one surge protector. Anytime I'm walking away for more than to fill my water glass I switch it off.

I'm picky about wasting electricity. I have my iron, lamp and machine on one surge protector. Anytime I'm walking away for more than to fill my water glass I switch it off.

wouldn't it be just like a regular computer screen? Mine goes into sleep mode but it still might damage the screen with shadows from the pic on the screen.

I leave mine on as long as I'll be coming back to it. I never leave it plugged in if I'm not using it. The computerized machines can be harmed by power surges just like a computer.

I turn mine off when I am done with that days sewing or start working on something else, loading dishwasher, doing laundry ect...
I Always unplug, I am using my mom's Designer I and am terrified enough that I will just break it. Let alone having something fail because I left on when not in use or did not unplug and we had an electrical issue.

If I'm in the room sewing but take a short break it stays on. If I'm gone for longer it gets turned off. When I am done for the day or leave the house for any reason it gets turned off and unplugged.
My longarm and computer is on only when I'm using it. Once done it gets turned off and unplugged.
And both get unplugged if a storm is in the area.

Phyllis
QuiltingGrannie

not sure, I turn off and unplug everything when i leave the room, always afraid the puppy will get in there and stomp across the foot pedal!

I am guilty of just walking away for hours....only notice later when the room is dark and she is lit! Bad girl! I am trying though.

My father was an electrical engineer. He instilled in me to turn stuff of when not in use. However, there have been lots of improvements, electronically, since he passed on. I still use a surge shield and switch them off when I stop sewing.

Mine is connected to the wall switch circuit. I leave the room, I turn it off. (Same with my iron.. if I forget to turn it off, the wall switch does the trick.)
MK

That's my concern too. I have three cats and one is a little mix, into everything including my sewing. I do keep a door closed but sometimes she sneaks in there. I'm afraid she'll get on the pedals too. Also, it saves your light.