Cleaning and oiling the Bernina 8 Series machines
Thursday, October 1, 2009 at 10:59AM If you’re used to the Artista line of Bernina’s, getting used to the Bernina 820/830 takes a bit of time before you find yourself comfortable with it. Old habits die hard, and it seems the older we get the more we struggle with change!
These are thirsty machines, and with the big “M” size bobbin, they really need oiling at every bobbin change. You’ll hear the difference right away, and if you’ve gone several bobbin changes without cleaning and oiling, you will see the difference in stitch quality as well.
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Sometimes fuzzy bits of thread lint get caught up in the bobbin area, and it’s really hard to see unless you rotate the bobbin and look closely.
Can you see that wad of lint? All I could see of it at first was a wispy bit, barely detectable. As I rotated the bobbin (turning the hand wheel clockwise) and pulled on the lint, more of it came into view. I actually had to get a pair of tweezers to get it all out, this was just a bit of it. So look carefully if you’re having any problems!
Another area you should check each time you clean and oil, is the cutter.
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To access it, remove the presser foot and the stitch plate. Press the soft touch setup icon on your machine. Select the Tools icon (middle icon, bottom row). Over on the left side, press the #1. See how the cutter moves out to the right?
In my picture (sorry it’s a bit blurry) I have green arrows pointing to two pieces of blue thread stuck in the area. I wasn’t able to get them out at this point, but if you will click the #3 icon now, the cutter will move to its fully extended position, making a terrible noise as it does so (thought I would warn you!). If you cycle the cutter a few times by alternately pressing #1 then #3, any thread bits that are stuck should work themselves loose. You won’t usually have anything stuck, but check it as part of your routine maintenance.
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When you go to oil the machine (only after you’ve cleaned it!) it’s far easier to get a drop of oil where it needs to go by first rotating the bobbin as you would to change the bobbin tension, by turning the handwheel clockwise, then turn the handwheel a bit counterclockwise, so that the bobbin swings out a bit.
Place a drop of oil where indicated by the pink arrow.
Close the bobbin door before replacing the bobbin, so that it resets itself into the proper position for threading.
After awhile, it becomes 2nd nature. I now find the 830 easier to thread for embroidery than the Artista machines (mainly the oscillating hook machines, that finger is a killer to thread for me)!
Reader Comments (8)
Great photos and explanations, CJ. I wish everyone was as adament about cleaning their machines as you and I "seam" to be.
Hi
I really like this article. The day I picked up my machine I made my dealer go over oiling with me but boy when I got it home and saw all the lint and threads that accumulate there I could not believe how hard it was to clean. Since I repair laptops I went to that tool kit and found the best thing I have ever used so far.. It is a tiny brush for cleaning your gums and I buy them in the drug store. It sounds crazy maybe but this has a very small brush and is very flexible so I knew it would not harm my machine. It is called Butler Gum Cleaner for travel. When I open the bobbin case I just put it in and trun and it some how picks up all that lint. Great little gadget.
hattie
Well Cindy, we know a clean and well oiled machine will run for years!
Hattie, that's a great tip! I mostly vacuum my machines with those micro tools that attach to your vacuum hose, but I'll have to look for the Butler Gum Cleaner.
Okay, this means I need a new gadget, Butler Gum Cleaner. LOL
Thanks for this great advice. I had no idea these machines needed oiling so frequently and was wondering why my tension was off.. one drop of oil and everything is better!
Patrice, yes it will perform beautifully if kept oiled,and absolutely horribly if not! :)
Thank you for this information. I don't know what is happening elsewhere in the world but, in Australia, they are recalling (they don't use this word) and checking all the 830s as there are so many problems.
I have had problems from day one and whilst Bernina gave great service and it was fixed immediately, it would start playing up again and again. I did oil a lot more frequently than every 500,000 stitches stated by Bernina but I can see now that it was not enough.
My machine finally gave up the ghost a few weeks ago (the top sensor failed) and it is now in the queue to be fixed. I do regret the day I bought it and got rid of my 440.
Is Bernina 'recalling' 830s in other countries?
I also am regretting buying the machine, It is sewing ok but I have wrecked quite a few items with the embroidery side.