Bought a used industrial sewing machine off Craigslist for $150 and it nearly burned my house down

I saw this Singer 111W155 listed by some guy in Portland, Oregon who said it just needed a good cleaning. Spent two hours getting it running, then the motor started smoking like crazy after 10 minutes of stitching denim. Turns out the wiring was completely fried and it would have cost $300 to fix, so now it's sitting in my garage as an expensive paperweight. Anyone else get burned by a machine that was supposedly 'plug and play'?

2 comments

2 Comments

palmer.ryan2h agoTop Commenter

Did you pull the case off before plugging it in or just take the seller's word for it? I'm asking because I wasted a lot of time believing people on Craigslist actually knew what they were selling. Half the time they just want to unload junk they found in a basement and have no idea if it even works. I learned the hard way that a quick look at the wiring and the plug cord tells you everything. If the cord looks brittle or has any tape on it, I walk away. Surge protectors help but they don't stop a motor that's already shorting out inside.

blair_davis508h ago

Man, that sucks but I totally get it. Bought a vintage Singer 15-91 off Facebook Marketplace for $100, the seller swore it was "ready to go." Got it home, oiled it up, and the motor started throwing sparks within five minutes of straight stitching. The wiring was all rotted out and the pedal cord had electrical tape holding it together in three spots. Ended up spending $250 on a new motor and wiring kit just to make it safe. Now I triple check every used machine I buy and I always test it with a surge protector first.