saufroq1

I've had a Q24 for about a year and a half now. It's a lovely machine in most ways but I've run into a recurring problem and I thought I'd see if this is a common one among Q24 owners. Right before I took my machine in for it's one year tune-up, the check spring broke. I wasn't too concerned because I had used it heavily and it seemed to make sense that a flimsy wire would break after a year of heavy use. After I got my machine back I quilted a small number of quilts (maybe four) and....huh?....the spring broke again. Hmmm....maybe I was running the machine with the upper tension too tight. Must have been user error. I took my machine in again. Once I got it back I was very careful not tighten the upper tension above the default setting. Well....you can probably see what's coming. I quilted about four quilts and toward the end of the fourth a broken-off piece of the check spring fell onto my quilt. Is this a common manufacturer error or is it something I am doing? Or maybe something I'm not doing? If it's me, what (What??) could I be doing wrong?

jmoore

Welcome to the Quilting Board (QB)...I have only had my Q24 a couple of months and have only done a handful of quilts so, unfortunately, I cannot answer your question or offer any feedback. While I hope it something I won’t have to experience, I will be following this post to see if anyone else has had any issues or suggestions.

dunster

I don't have experience with the Q24, however I have had an Innova for 8 or 9 years and I remember changing the check spring only once, maybe twice. It wasn't broken when I changed it, but the tension had become inconsistent. Changing it (on my machine) is easily done and doesn't require a technician. Since you've had so many failures in a short time, it would seem to me that something else might be going on. You may be right that someone got a bad batch of check springs. Ask the technician who has been working on your machine if others have complained about the same problem. Good luck!

feline fanatic

My experience has been the same as Dunster's. I also have an Innova and can change it myself. One of the problems I first noticed with the Bernina longarms is that you can't self service them, a major inconvenience IMHO. Many longarmers change the check spring regularly. I don't unless there is a problem. What you describe sounds like there is another problem as Dunster mentioned or perhaps a faulty batch of check springs are in the supply chain.

feline fanatic

Lyric girl, it sounds like you are talking about the anti backlash spring that goes into the bobbin case, not the check spring which is located at the top tension assembly. On any Bernina, including their longarms, the check spring is not accessible to the end user without taking off part of the housing of the machine itself. The anti backlash spring in the bobbin serves a completely different purpose and can be accessed by the end user.

Edited to add, with other brands of longarms where the upper tension assembly is on the exterior of the machine's housing, replacing a check spring does involve taking off the upper tension assembly. Most other LA on the market are pretty straightforward and mechanical so not too difficult to take it all apart to replace with the help of youtube and or manuals. Not the case with Bernina.
With bernina it is hidden away inside the housing of the machine. And tension settings are all electronic on the Bernina LA that I have seen and played with at shows and dealers. So they probably don't want end users messing about in there and will most likely void the warrantee if you try.

quiltingshorttimer

I have a Gammill and my tech said change your check spring at least once a year, more if getting heavy usage. I can change either just the check spring or the whole check spring assembly. My friend that has a Q24 for about a year now hasn't said anything about difficulty with check springs--sounds like maybe there is either a bad batch of them or the tech is not getting them in correctly??

saufroq1

Thank you, everyone, for your replies. I hadn't thought about the possibility of a bad batch of check springs. Today I took my machine in to be repaired and was told Bernina will be releasing a new "assembly" (that's what I'm calling it but I'm not sure that is the correct word for it) which includes the check spring and which the owner can replace by removing just two screws. Sounds great to me if I correctly understood what I was told--but I don't guess this will be coming out for some time yet.

jmoore

That is good to hear and will be a wonderful thing when Bernina makes the update/change of the assembly. In the meantime, I hope you get your back to working order...good luck.

undecided

did this get worked out? did you end up getting a replacement assembly for bernina that you can replace yourself? what was the cost? are you happy with your Q24? Hope you are well!

donna13350

Once a year sounds excessive to me! I've had my Tin Lizzie for 30+ years and changed my check spring once! It stitches are beautiful...even though you have a Gammil, the tension assemblies are the same(not to say they're interchangeable)..but the same design concept...once a year is overkill.