You do have to heat it up several times before it will reach max temp. But after it does it will each time after that. I didn't like mine at first but now I use it a lot. DH said the cord lay was wrong and reversed it for me so now the iron stays straight and doesn't want to flip over. It rests perfectly on a flat surface. The lay of the cord is like getting a water hose twisted, it wants to go one way. This is one sign of a good manufacturer, getting any appliance cords attached according to the right lay. Sadly Clover's specs doesn't include this for their cords as it takes extra time to do it right and someone over the process to know what lay is. LOL