Didn't think to check........
 

Well don't get me wrong...I love Bernice my Bernina 710...she's the machine I had wanted for ages but thought I would never be able to afford. Since buying her (secondhand but only 18 months old) she has been my pride and joy, has sailed through 2 years of use with only needing a service each year with no problems EXCEPT.....oh dear...you see she has this thing she does....she "whirrs"!

Now, when trying Bernice, and other machines "out" I was trying them in rooms or shops with background noise and overrall, all the machines I tried ran quietly, smoothly etc. And Bernice does...BUT when I am sewing with no radio, T.V, music or chatter I can hear her computer whirring away inside her...a quiet, low key, consistent busy little whirr/buzz. It drives me nuts! I wouldn't swap her for the world so I am destined to always sew with some music or radio on which is a bit of a pity as I do like "quiet"! I guess it's like discovering your DH snores...you love him BUT......

I had heard that the 7 series Berninas were very thirsty with their oil and wondered for a time if I wasn't oiling her enough but the tech says only a couple of drops in the port every so often and I fear that I may drown her if I experiment by giving her too much oil. Any 7 series owners out there that can enlighten me? I have tried the Bernina 7 series yahoo group but there are a million different opinions on oiling these machines...very confusing.

Has anyone else brought their new machine home and discovered something they hadn't thought about?

Yes, have noticed this with my machines. They seem much quieter in the shop, but in the home they sound like the proverbial chaff-cutter, and they have cushioning underneath. I have Brothers (one has a loud whine at times) and now the used Pfaff I bought 6 months ago is worse, so can't use them if someone is sleeping in the bedroom next to my sewing room.
Have been told the later models have some plastic parts which makes them quieter, but haven't had one at home.

I've been a Bernina owner for well over 20 years and they ALL are oil thirsty in my opinion.

I have the 780 . . .and I add a couple drops of oil under the throat plate, every time I refill a bobbin (also change needles at that time as well). Every other time, I also oil the bobbin assembly on the designated dots.

These machines have huge bobbins, comparable to my M class bobbins on my midarm. Oil and needle change with each bobbin fill really isn't all that extreme, IMHO . . .and she purrs.

I have gotten use to all the noises that my Bernina 1530 makes. I can tell when she is going to run out of bobbin thread. Put some soothing music on. I would certainly ask your technician if this is normal when you take your baby in for it's next servicing. I have my baby sitting on a piece of carpeting too.

My friend has the quietest machine ever. Many ask her if it is turned on, not one noise comes out of it when she is sewing, you don't even hear the needle go up and down. It's an older Brother sewing/embroidery machine. If one can be made that is that quiet there is no reason why all the others can't be either in my opinion. I have an older Bernina 1260. It has to have frequent oiling. Sewing machine oil is made to evaporate so it doesn't gum up in the machine. If you sew a lot then more air is circulating in the machine making the oil evaporate faster.

I have a 710 and had problems sewing with it. I asked on a FaceBook site for Bernina 700 Series Owners. If you are on Face Book you might consider joining this one. Anyway, it turned out I wasn't giving mine enough oil. It took 8 drops but still wasn't sewing properly, so 2 days later I added 12 more drops. That is a total of 20 drops and this was only a couple weeks after being serviced. These machines are thirsty. So my advice to you is to add one drop at a time and if there is room for one more, add it until it looks filled up! If you need help with where to add the oil here is a YouTube video that might help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBKN7pilzyc They show it taking only one drop of oil but trust me, it takes more.

I add oil to my 401 when I change the bobbin and needle. Purrs like a kitten. Gave it another maintenance lube and oil and cleaning. When I first got my 401, I watched a lot of You Tube videos and listened/watched what they did to make it almost silent. After I get done maintaining my machines (also 2662), they purr like sleepy kittens. Did some altering/mending on my 2662. DH came into the room wondered where I was because it was so quiet. After oiling I use and old cloth to catch any excess oil I may have missed. Would rather do that then go straight to piecing and have any on my piecing.

I'm happy with the noise level my Juki 2010Q makes, but when I use the walking foot it seems to be ten times louder! I feel like I'll wake everyone in the house, sewing at night.

Would the noise level drop, perhaps, if you placed a thick rubber mat, like the mouse pads of years ago, or a felt pad underneath your machine? Just a thought.