I had one before the dog got the wire to it. It works fine. It is like most irons today that has the auto shut off and you can't set the time limit or disengage the shut off. That is the only bad part; when piecing I'd have to keep turning it back on but it does heat up fast. It doesn't leak like I've heard many of the Rowena's do. Right now I'm using a cheap Black n Decker from Walmarts for around $10; works great and doesn't shut it self off. I keep it plugged into a surge protector and turn that off when I'm done. There are some irons that you have the option of using the auto-off or not.