Originally Posted by twinkie
My husband has fixed a few Rowenta irons for members of my quilt guild. Don't know what he did, but he says they are built like a throw away and are difficult to repair. Just our experience.
Okay all.... I cracked my Rowenta tonight. First of all, I have the DX 6650 Power Duo, made in Germany - no auto off. Taking it apart is fairly easy, but you have to do it in steps. And you need a 15 torx, possibly a 20 torx as well. My cord tie in, electrical connections are all fine. Sole plate is fine. Tank is fine-no cracks. No cracks in any of the water tubing. The inside is pretty much as I expected, it's not rot-gut cheap, but I would have liked a bit better 'fit and finish'. Oh well... that's not really the issue.
I DID find that the gasket sealant used was more like the black stuff used on windshields - permanently gooey. I'm not sure but that the stuff was simply losing cohesion and melting away from the seal area over time. The plastic used for the water tank and surround is also slightly thin looking to me. I suppose another potential issue could be the plastic may warp out of true over time. The Power Duo is a 1700 watt iron, so it can get pretty dang hot by the sole plate and there is no secondary insulation around the tank area.
Spent two hours cleaning off the sealant goo from the iron using mineral spirits. It's drying out now. Tomorrow, I'll get some of the high temp silicone gasket sealer from the auto store and will finish the job. The silicone sealer will set up and not remain gooey, is water tight, so we'll get to see how that type of sealant works in this application. I'll wait another 24 then test it out.
I'm taking pictures along the way. If what I do fixes the issue... I will create a new post - a step by step, DIY of how to fix your iron, with pictures and all. It ruined my french manicure... but heck, sometimes a girl's gotta do... what a girl's gotta do!