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So,  I've dropped my iron one too many times -  or should I say,  tripped over the cord vaulting it off my shelf one too many times.   :lol:  I'm klutzy.  It isn't broken yet, but I know it's coming.  It sputters more than it used to and I just get the feeling I should be prepared.  It's a phillips, it's about 18 years old and I love it.   I use my iron for obvious pressing, etc  but also for steaming any wild borders and edges, blocks that need taming on the longarm frame.  

 

Do you have an iron that you love?  

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After killing several irons using the same method as you, my latest model is the Rowenta Pro-Master.  Good strong heat and good steam.  Some of my quilting friends dislike its weight but I see that as an asset--it's all personal preference after all.  I was told the Pro Master and several other high end Rowenta irons are made in Germany and are more reliable than their more affordable Asian-manufactured models.  (Shop around-- I found mine on Amazon at a much better price (about $90)than the fabric stores advertise (about $120).)  Time will tell.  One of my previous victims was a low-end Rowenta that gave up the ghost long before I sent if to an early death by floor.

 

DISCLAIMER: I haven't tried the irons with the separate steam units.  They frighten me.  Irrationally?

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Okay, this is a little extreme, but just before I decided to splurge on a Millie, I splurged on this:  

Oliso TG1100 1800 Watts Smart Iron

What an amazing iron.  It's convenient.  It's powerful, and elegant for piecing in that it pops up as soon as you take your hand off of the handle and it's...well...smart.  I love it all over the place, but it's expensive and it's NOT going to live through many drops.  

For me it's perfect because I have a safe and dedicated pressing area.

Hope that review helps.  ;)

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I have this one http://www.amazon.com/DeLonghi-Stiromeglio-Compact-Ironing-Pressurized/dp/B000B76MEA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1425419243&sr=8-3&keywords=steam+generator+irons I have had it for probably five or six years.  It does take a few minutes to heat up when I first turn it on but gets nice and hot and produces lots of steam when I need it.  It does not have an automatic shut off.  I know that there is an updated version but I don't know how well the newer one works.  

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I stopped buying expensive irons as those - Rowento, Oliso, EuroSteam, and others - never lasted more than a year, if that, before I started having problems with them. I have now purchased inexpensive irons from WalMart - I think I paid about $12 for them. They do NOT shut off automatically which I love and they stay hot. I do not use steam so I never have a problem with spitting. The make I have is a Rival model ES20 and I have had it for over a year and a half. This is a steam iron but, as I said, I don't use steam. I can turn it on and have a hot iron all day. I have never had a problem with it and if I do, I don't really care because it is so inexpensive and I bought 2 at the same time so I would have a spare!

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I'm with Sue.  I have a less expensive model and it works great!   And when it starts to spit I clean it by filling with water, heating then press the burst of steam over and over above a sink.  works for me!  I always use steam.

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I have a cheapo iron as I'm so tired of spending money on something nice and it lasting only six months!

 

On a slightly different note, I just got back from the lab where I had my iron drawn and I saw your post "irons" and all I could think of was ferrous sulfate, TIBC, % sat, ferritin, an serum iron. :lol: :lol: :lol: Ladies, check your iron levels!

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I too upgraded to a cheap Walmart iron.  I might suggest getting one with a retractable cord.  It probably gets the cord a little warmer with it partially retracted, but it would be out of your way.  This way you can retract the cord, and no longer vault over it when its not immediately being used.   Or you could get a heavy duty extension cord, which would allow you to reroute the cord so it is out of your walk way altogether.  

 

I did change my ways with this new cheap iron.  I no longer just unplug the iron with the temperature setting at the level I wanted.  I now turn the iron off using the temperature setting, and then unplug it.  I read this would extend the life of the iron on another forum.  I have not idea if this is true, but I figured it is something like not using a circuit breaker as a switch for an electrical device.  

 

I final word of wisdom.  Never iron your skirt, while wearing it.  Never ever hit the burst steam button when ironing your skirt while you're wearing it!!!!   It just may leave a permanent impression of the iron's  steam vents on your thigh.  

 

Cagey

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I'm with Vickie.  We've had our Pacific Steam gravity feed iron for about 3 years now.  Works great.  Much better than the Rowenta steam generator it replaced.  This has been an expensive iron that has lasted.  And if it should fail, it is rebuildable.  really happy we decided on it.  Jim

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  I have a Rowenta DW8080 Promaster.  I like a heavy weight iron.  I think when you are ironing heavy material like jeans or even thick muslin it presses better without all the sizing and sprays to get the wrinkles out.  I have also dropped mine on the floor many times and it takes a licking and keeps on ticking.  I do own a few of the small irons that are supposed to be useful in quilting, but they do not get hot enough for me to get the good press I like without having to press hard and rub back and forth on my seams.  I think this helps in distorting your fabric and that is where some people start getting their quilting wonky.

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I dont use steam most of the time...our water has too many minerals and i just never remember to keep distilled water. i have a squirt bottle of water if i need it. I have a velocity that doesnt shut off til i tell it to. Thats my favorite feature!

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I'm with Vickie.  We've had our Pacific Steam gravity feed iron for about 3 years now.  Works great.  Much better than the Rowenta steam generator it replaced.  This has been an expensive iron that has lasted.  And if it should fail, it is rebuildable.  really happy we decided on it.  Jim

 

I bought the Pacific Steam on Jim's recommendation and I love it!!!  It has a separate water supply bottle; I mounted mine on an IV pole with rolling casters and I added a tray to serve as an "iron rest".  It is heavy and the amount of steam is easily controlled, pressing backing and seams while piecing is effortless.  It doesn't distort the seams.  I can take it over to my longarm and steam wayward blocks with ease.  I like that I can leave it on all day while piecing.  Love, love, love it!  All my quilting buddies have bought them after using mine.

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I have a Velocity Vapor Generator Steam Iron.  I love it because I can take it over to the quilt on the frame and turn on the continuous steam to starch and steam "certain" quilts that have wavy borders, puckered blocks and other problems.  You can use the continuous steam vertically or horizontally.  You can over ride the auto shutoff, so it's great for piecing.  As soon as I put my hand on it, the steam starts....I can't get along without steam.  

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My cheap iron doesn't get as hot as I would like and I'm a prewasher. I don't iron the yardage after I wash it unless I'm going to use it right away due to bugs being attracted to starch (we don't have this but I've heard of it). When I do iron yardage, like to use water and a little bit of fabric softener in a spray bottle. The fabric smells wonderful (I like Gain in the green bottle for this) and the wrinkles come out easily, plus no flakes. Do you think bugs would be attracted to fabric softener?

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Thanks for the recommendations -  maybe I'll get two -  one cheap and one splurge.    I have a dedicated pressing space where my iron never gets tossed by my trips.  

I am really good to my appliances :-)  really! 

Where my machine is -  I will sometimes set my iron on the window sill behind me ( at 5.5' tall) I'm 6ft tall, so this is perfect for me.  But,  the space between the frame and the window sill  is where sometimes I bump into the cord, etc.   It's a long fall..  ;)

 

Thanks for the suggestions and recommendations.   It looks like the iron debate still goes on.  I remember reading several years back another forum asking for irons and it seems like a lot of the newer ones just don't last or are made as well as before.  

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Get a piece of heavy duty wire, that when you place iron on the window sill that it will go through the handle of the iron.  Sort of like the thread holder above the cone.  This way if you knock the cord, the iron will be held by the wire, and will not fall off the window sill.  

 

Cheap or splurge, a 5 foot drop is going to break the iron unless you get one of those 1800 models that was solid metal and you heated up on top of the cast iron stove. 

 

Cagey

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I have several irons. I have a Hamilton Beach Chrome upstairs where I generally sew. I like the weight of it but I bought it because it's chrome. I love chrome lol. I have a really cheap Rival downstairs in the quilt room. It only cost $10. It's light weight and lots of steam. I use it a lot for yardage. I've had both over 2 years now. I had to replace my upstairs iron then because the kids kept bumping my ironing board and well the final blow was a crack in the tank(I still use it but without steam). I bought these 2 then so I wouldn't have to take 1 up/down stairs. My chrome has been dropped off my ironing board more times then I can count. In fact I have not been able to quilt for 3 weeks, everything is put up in a corner, and they have still managed to knock it on the floor lol.

On a side not I've been wanting the oliso iron. This iron looks amazing to me. However I'm afraid to spend that much and break it. I would get too upset if it broke.

I can't get upset over a cheap iron if it breaks.

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