TeresaA

I guess I've been burned too many times by the "don't make em like they used to" flame, so I now buy everything at Costco where I can return it if it breaks in a year!

I, of course, relinquished my old reliable Black and Decker iron to a remodeling project and now it's ruined (SOB!) I figured it would be fun to get a new iron, but I'm rethinking that idea based on reviews I've read, so I'm back to buying at Costco.

So my two (Costco) choices of irons are:
Rowenta SteamPower (which appears to be a Costco-specific Pro Master) ~$70
Sunbeam Turbo Steam Master Pro ~$30.

I actually bought the Rowenta, but it's huge, heavy, and puts out more steam than I like (cough-cough). I also don't think it gets very hot. I think it would be nice for clothing, but for quilting, not so much.

I'd go get the Sunbeam, but I want to make sure I'm not going to be returning it right away because it's extraordinarily sub-par or something.

So question: For quilting!!!!

Do you own either of these irons?
Does the weight and steam of the Rowenta pay off once a person gets used to it?
Is the Sunbeam a good iron?

Any other considerations welcome.

Thank you in advance!

mike'sgirl

I used a Sunbeam for awhile and only replaced it because it got dropped too many times.

Jeanne S

I have a Rowenta and love it because it produces lots of steam. But it is heavy. Some complain of leaking but I have had mine over a year now and don't have any problems, but I do the self cleaning purge every week to remove minerals, etc.

Prov31

I have the Sunbeam Steam Master Professional iron from Costco. It's really a nice iron with lots of steam and easy to use. It has a very long cord, which is helpful when ironing large pieces of fabric. I had a Rowenta iron years ago and it it leaked quite a bit, so I didn't replace it with another Rowenta. But others may prefer that brand. My other favorite iron is the Reliable steam iron. I do think the Sunbeam has more steam vents and the price is much better.

SuzyM

I will never buy a Rowenta again, I have had two and both have leaked. I would go with the Sunbeam.

BerninaGirl

I have had two Rowenta's first one lasted 20 years, I am on the second one now. I love it. Yes it is heavy, and makes lots of steam. I never clean it and it just keeps going.

ManiacQuilter2

I got my Costo Rowenta over a year ago and it is still running smoothly. The only thing I have to be careful with is the setting of the steam because it is a very powerful iron. I LOVE IT !!

maminstl

I't has been a year or so since my experience, but will tell you that I bought the Sunbeam iron from Costco - I smelled something burning and saw that the plastic housing had a hole burned right through it. I returned it, tried another one hoping that it was just a faulty unit - but almost the same thing happened with the new one. After that, I decided to move on to something else.

TeresaA

Thank you everyone for your input. I've decided the two irons are probably equivalent on reliability with a slight edge toward Rowenta, since it doesn't melt (sheesh!), so I'll just keep the Rowenta for awhile since I already have it and see if I "bond" with it. A big leak will surely be a reason to return it, and then maybe I'll look around and see what my old fave Black and Decker is making these days.

Sigh. If only I'd bought a new iron for that remodeling project and saved my old reliable for quilting. Who knew?

Thank you! again!.

HouseDragon

The reviews mentioning fires scared me away from the Rowenta, so I bought the Sunbeam at Costco.

It lasted a few months before it stopped heating higher than barely warm. Costco took it back without a problem and it was replaced by a second Sunbeam.

The second one lasted a couple of months before it started shutting off after about a minute. Returned it to Costco and got a refund.

Then I bought a cheap Rival at WallyWorld for under $10. It's small, lightweight, and doesn't have auto shutoff. The perfect quilting iron.

As per the thread of shutting off your iron, it's on a surge protector along with my Ott Light: I pull the serge protector plug at the end of my quilting session along with the plug of a second surge protector that my sewing machine is plugged into.