E6000 & 4000 series motors
Passap E6000 Electronic and motor information
I have had a few folk asking me for advice regarding purchasing this model – this is my must have machine but it is very difficult to buy a good one if you do not know what to look out for. I decided that I would look out the bits and pieces of my four – 2 are older models with upgraded chips that allow access to a computer and 2 are the latest serial numbers that are all singing and dancing. Three of my E6000’s have the autocolour attachment and I am lucky in that I own motors for most of my electronic machines and even for my non-electronic machines. With respect the Passap E6000 I own both the 4000 and the 4600 motors with a spare motor for my 4600 that was sold to me by a specialist at that time who did not have the consul attachment or the interface that operated it.
On top of that I have a number of Duomatic 80’s and again I have a couple of the old Electra motors. I will leave the Duo’s out of this as its complex enough.
Electra Motor 4600
The 4600 motor for the Passap has a number of unusual features however it does need to be operated with the consul which has to be altered to accommodate an extra interface board than comes with the 4600 motor when purchased and for machines up to 6 999 999 – the 2 rom chips have to be upgraded. If your machine is serial number 7 000 000 then you do not have to upgraded the chips but you still require the VM Circuit board sold with the 4600 motor so buyer beware if you see this motor for sale without the above.
Motor Summary
The spare 4600 motor I was sold is fine for a spare for me as I already bought a machine that operated the 4600 motor and it had been upgraded accordingly.The most useful motor is the 4000 as it does not require any consul upgrade but it does require a 4-colour changer.
So to summarise, for the E6000, Electra 4000 and 4600 you require either a colour 600 or an Autocolour 600.
Buying a second hand Passap E6000
I suppose nowadays it is getting more and more difficult to buy an E6000 and to ensure it works the way you want it. I should say if you buy from a dealer then you ought to have a guarantee but prices for second hand machines from dealers are way high in comparison. In the real world you need someone used to the machine to go along with you to test it, but I know this is not possible in most cases. I do get pictures sent to me to evaluate, and to be honest, it is very difficult to give constructive advice. Even my machines have been mixed and matched to accommodate the best working practice for me – the machine I bought with the 4600 motor was an older but under used machine, so I swapped the 4600 interface board with one of my latest consuls. I also swapped my Pfaff front lock over to my later Passap model as the lock on this machine had been caught via the motor and damaged the wires - they have been repaired but it did not look pretty. At least I know the provenance of my machines, none have been overused - My Pfaff was bought new by me, and the other three were almost new when I bought them. The machine with the 4600 motor unfortunately had suffered cosmetically but is hardly used and works like a dream.
Check the Serial Numbers
My advice to all buying a Passap E6000 is to check the serial number, ie anything beginning with a 7 are of later stock. Check the pushers – the later machines have flat pushers whereas the older machines have round pushers. If you want to ensure all that you are buying matches the serial number on the bed, you should also check the locks (serial numbers under) and the consul. Check to see if the seller knows the provenance of the machine – ie in my case I have bought 3 second hand E6000’s – the first was owned by a lady's who had sadly passed away and it was brand new, the second was owned by an elderly lady who found the machine way too heavy and again it was almost new – she sold it with the 4000 motor – and finally the last one was sold by a lady whose hobby took her a different route ie quilting – her machine was an older model but almost unused but she had the 4600 motor installed and working – but unfortunately it was not pretty as it had been left set up in a sunny room – but again that magic word lightly used came to mind. All my machines have the updated consuls. So now mine are mixed and matched but all in good condition. The instruction manuals are a must have as you can use them to check all is present and although you can download them online, to me a hard copy is essential.
Be aware
The yarn separators are very fragile (poor quality) and all of mine are caput - I know you can buy them online but I have 4 machines and would need 8 – I use the Singer/Superba ones as they are much sturdier and can be attached via various ways to the tension mast. The electronic cables plastic attachments to the masts are also very fragile so be very careful when handling them. Funny thing is I never use the yarn cups supplied with the machine – so pristine yarn cups but no yarn separators – which I wonder is the most necessary. I have to note that the Duomatic bits and pieces of the above were built to last unlike the E6000 mast attachments.
I stored a couple of my machines in their respective packaging but it has made absolutely no difference to the progress of the yellow colouring of the machines. Some bits are worse than others ie the consuls and the autocolour attachments and the locks are the worst, however the actual beds are not so bad – I often wonder if they pristine white machines you often see for sale (and I mean older machines) have been treated and if so what does that do for them long term. Would be interesting to know if there are any effects to the plastic.
The tables that accommodate the E6000 are excellent and ensure moving the machine and motor is a dawdle. However, you would hear a few curses in the last couple of days, as I had to put them together.
Consul reliability
One bit of good news is that none of my consuls have ever played up and I always thought that would be the thing that would deteriorate if anything. I did have a problem with a lock on a newer machine but that to me was a manufacture problem ie a pinched wire –which meant the lock would not select on the return row – it actually made me think that the lady who owned this machine would have had problems from day one. I managed to fix it and to this day it has never given me any hassle so fingers crossed.
Accessories
I have bought the U100e plus the Tricofit – both handy accessories, to add to this I chanced upon a Picto intarsia package. The most useful accessory for my machines is the U70 a simple but efficient transfer carriage. To my mind the autocolour is a very handy accessory if you use a lot of 3 and 4 colour designs with a motor – if not then the basic 4-colour changer does the job. To my mind I could not do without DesignaKnit – love this software and wish I had the time to use it more, I have the old serial cables with this software and it saves me having to use the mylar sheets as a patterning facility – however you do have a great selection of built in patterns.
A bit of a long-winded post that might be of interest to folk who want to buy this wonderful machine with or without its motor.
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