Friday 9 November 2018

Elna Lotus ZZ

I bought this a few months back. She said it sounded a bit like a thrashing machine but confident that I could fix it anyway I took it home.
Okay it really, really sounded like a thrashing machine. The reason was the rubber drive roller (also called friction wheel).
I looked for a replacement but they're all extremely expensive. Ridiculous for such a small and unsophisticated component. Cheapest I found was $A80.00 posted from the U.S. but I can't afford that, especially when the machine cost a lot less.
The problem with the rubber is that when people let their machines run dry (of oil) which they generally do, the motor is trying to turn the hand wheel (which won't move) so it spins without moving the machine, putting the rubber roller out of shape and wearing in one spot. I suspect it's also because the rubber simply hardens over time. This is also probably more likely where I now live, in sub-tropical Queensland.
After calculating about $AU150 for a replacement it occurred to me today that the rubber feet I bought for my 411G looked about the same shape.
original Elna rubber is the black one
Do they look the same size? They're almost identical! The biggest difference is that the rubber feet are brown and had no hole. A minute later one of the brown feet had an appropriately sized hole (careful with the drill, I had to hold it with my fingers) and after another minute and it was in the machine, which is now as quiet as a mouse. I hadn't heard one before so didn't realise how they should sound. It's really a pretty nice machine that stitches well. It's portable like the featherweight, but can make a zig-zag stitch.

I pushed the new roller on and replaced everything
Tell everyone you know who might have one of these, since it's a very common issue. With a one dollar part you can fix this problem really quickly.
The original only lasted 30 before giving trouble, so even if your replacement lasts only a year, I'll still be $50 better off, assuming I'm still around in 30 years.

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