If you want an excellent quality iron that doesn't automatically turn off get a Rowenta Professional. It's hard to find one that doesn't turn off automatically. I guess the auto-turn-off must be designed for people who just iron clothes and leave and forget to turn them off. Not for sewers who may be at the machine for 10 minutes before they want to use the iron again. You'll pay bigger bucks for this one but I had my first one for over 10 yrs. and it traveled with me to Papua New Guinea and back (had to use it on a transformer there because of different elec., which isn't real good for a piece of equipment) and fell of the ironing board several times. Finally the thermostat gave out and it started getting too hot unless I had it on the coolest setting. So I'm on my second one now and still love it.