Best Iron
 

My 20 year old Rowenta is not getting as hot as it should. What brand of iron do you recommend? Looking for a good one for not so much$$$.

one of the less expensive ones. Then when it quilts you won't be out a lot of money. Lots of comments here on the Board about this subject. General opinion is the same.

In the last 10 years I spent big $$ on top of the line Rowenta's , both died ... so I learned a pricey lesson. I think your Rowenta was in a good vintage year and it lasted . Now I purchase cheap irons with a stainless sole plate ( the teflon coating can be very problematic). I also figured out the Rowenta was aggrivating my Carpel tunnel. The weight and the repeat motion was just killer... but I did not figure it out till my light weight iron !
I do love a lot of steam , so now I just use a spritz bottle , and my cheap iron is out lasting my last Rowenta.

I have a Rowenta and I feel the same way. I thought maybe the weight of the iron would help with the pressing. No it just makes me tired faster. It gets clogged after a while with my tap water so I have to buy distilled water. Now I just use a spray bottle most of the time. Back to the cheapies for me next time.

I havent been quilting to long but im happy with my jcp outlet iron,a whole 9.99

Bought one at Costco for $25, can't remember how many, many years ago. Still going strong. Sunbeam.

I recently bought a Sunbeam Turbo Steam Master at WalMart. I think it was priced at a little over $28. I REALLY like this iron--I even kept the box so I buy the exact same one whenever I buy one for a Gift (Bridal Showers or for Graduations). This is the best iron I have ever had and the price was ery reasonable.

toss the Rowenta. i had mine for years and had no trouble what so ever and didn' t pay attention to so many complaints about them. i figured my old one was just fine. one day i plugged it into a power strip outside my sewing room and it blew the strip out. luckily my t.v. wasn't harmed. I tossed it out that day.
i bought a silver and blue trimmed Shark from Target and it's been fine so far. good luck.

I have a shark and it gets the job done. With my wrists I had to get an iron that didn't weigh a ton. My old iron didn't have an automatic shutoff and I had to remember to pull the plug. This one has the automatic shut off and it is a bit annoying - but it is something that I better get used to. DH likes it because it does a good job pressing his shirts.

I am on my 2nd Oliso. 1st died after 4 years and they replaced it for free. I also have the Velocity by Reliable. I don't like where the heat settings are. They are on the handle so I keep shutting it off or lowering the heat. But the steam from that is unbelievable.

Black and Decker - purchased maybe 20-30 years ago for ironing clothes and whatever. If I don't use the steam it works fine. Agree about stainless steel plate - still going strong!

All the stupid thing has to do is heat up. For this I need to pay $150? For 15 varieties of heating, wetting, sizzling? uh-uh.
And I hate the new irons which seem so big and pointy. Going after a 3" square is like sending the QE II to meet a rowboat.

DH bought me a Rowenta Professional from Nancy's Notions in Oct. 3010 for my B'day, it was big a surprise. I would never paid so much for an iron.
Well about 4 months ago it started leaking. It is very upsetting, as we all know they are not cheap irons. My little iron I bought for $10 at WM for quilt workshops is a great little iron. Buy cheap.

I bought a inexpensive $10 Black and Decker and it is as good as the expensive irons. The Rowenta iron I had would spit and leak dark spots. Quit using it and bought the B&D.

I agree, get a basic light weight iron. I had a cheap iron for about 15 years. It finally retired, then I purchased a $50 iron, thought it was last forever. I was wrong, 1 yr later, dead...... Purchased a $10 cheap sunbeam and it's been three years, so now if she quits it won't be nearly as painful.

I have an Oliso. I got a great price at the county fair. I love it and wish I would have purchased it years ago. I will never go back.

I went to our local Restore store and bought an old 1950 GE iron. Heats up HOT and steams perfectly. Cost...$2.00!!!!!

I have a Hamilton Beach I got at Walmart. I think I paid over $20 but under $30 .... heats great and make lots of steam.

I love my Rowenta (sorry everyone). Had for over 8 years. Bought my daughter one at Sams Club paid $59, wouldn't buy their top of the line.

[QUOTE=aborning;4919436]I recently bought a Sunbeam Turbo Steam Master at WalMart. I think it was priced at a little over $28. I REALLY like this iron--I even kept the box so I buy the exact same one whenever I buy one for a Gift (Bridal Showers or for Graduations). This is the best iron I have ever had and the price was ery reasonable.[/QUOTE

Thanks for the info, I'm going to WalMart to find this iron, hope they have it.

I have an Oliso and it is the best one I have ever had. Never spits. It is expensive but would highly recommend it.

Yes, I learned years ago that it's not the weight of the iron that gets the job done well, it's the heat. (I think the myth that it's the weight of the iron that's important to good pressing is the reason so many quilters have or are suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome.) Irons have to get HOT to press well. I have a Rowenta that I got as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago and it is a great iron, but it's heavy. Give me a Black & Decker iron any day of the week. They get super hot, are light weight and are very reasonably priced.

I am on my 3rd Rowenta. I think I finally found a good one. It has 1600 Watts with an auto turn off. The other 2 lasted a couple of years and were awful. Costs too much to send them in for service.

I have a Rowenta powerglide sew n press. I love it. I bought my first one in 1997 ($40 at Jo-Anns) and had it for 10 years, but it broke when it fell off the ironing board or table or something. (bummer). That was in 2007. Then in shopping for a new iron I saw that they all had the auto shut off, which I hate, especially when sewing, pressing, sewing pressing, etc. I like the iron to stay on and be hot when I go back to it.

So, I found my same Rowenta sew n press on ebay, it was brand new , never used. I think I paid either $30 or $40, Yay! I was very happy to find it. It irons great and it does not have the auto shut off! I am very careful with where I place it so I don't break this one. It is an old model and probably would not be able to replace it again.

This iron is only used for my quilting, and no one else in the house uses it. I have another iron for clothes ironing.

The main feature I would look for is to not have auto shut off. My first iron when i got married was $10 and it lasted 13 years. Back then they did not have auto shut off.

I have purchased two Rowentas from Nancy's Notions and neither proved satisfactory. THe spray mechanism on both failed early. One gets hot; one doesn't. SO I use my spray bottle. It always works as I expect it to.

Rowenta is now made in China not in Germany as the older ones were. The company was sold several years ago. the best iron made for home use is the Reliable brand if you want steam. I found the no steam iron and it is fantastic. No worry about leaks ever! LOL It is available at several places online and under $30.

http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/s...Dry_Iron/42277

I ordered mine here: http://www.always-free-shipping.com/...-dry-iron.html

If you are lucky you may find one at Home Depot left over from when they use to have this iron in stock.

My Rowenta was getting fussy and finally quit. It really didn't last as long as the predecessor (Black & Decker) so I figured I might as well purchase a more moderatly priced replacement. Went with a Sunbeam - steam, stainless sole plate - $28.

I have posted my preferences before. Not Rowenta, for all the usual reasons about their new Irons quality. I have gone over to a Gravity Feed Iron by "Naomoto" Model Number HYS-58. It has a water bottle that hangs above the height of the ironing surface and maintains a constant supply of water to the iron. They are used in the Dry cleaning business and tailoring trades. It is the last iron I have bought and after 3 years of almost constant use for 4-8 hrs a day, it is still going strong. The only drawback is that it is anchored to the place above the ironing board, and is not portable. I have a couple of cheap portable irons, and a steam generator Iron that can be moved, if that sort of need arises. The gravity feed irons are not cheap, but are the industry standard for longevity, and are owner serviceable, with very few moving parts. I don't know how I did without one for all these years.
John

I use a T-Fal lots of steam and they last for a long time udually found at Penny's around 40.00 dollars

I prefer cheap irons. I have a Rowenta and I don't lke it.

Sometimes I get so annoyed that the cotton setting on the new irons is not hot enough to get the pressing done quickly. OK, I remember that the old irons could scorch easily but I would rather be piecing than standing there pressing forever.

I bought a Panasonic cordless iron. It was expensive. I didn't have to use steam with my old iron but this one doesn't get as hot so I do use steam. I still have the old iron but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE not having to fight with a cord.

I love my Rowenta as well. I makes every quilting trip my machine and I make. My fellow quilters love using it because it presses beautifully and gets really hot. I paid $56 at Lowes about 8 years ago.

I gave up on my Rowenta and am using a Black and Decker Digital Advantage which I like a lot. If you use the search function, you can see all the other discussions we've had on irons and maybe there is additional useful information for you.

I buy my irons at Savers. They have lots of Rowentas because they leak. Mine was $5.00 and it leaks but dont use the steam function. I also have a Rowenta travel iron that I like but needs water frequently.

My first Rowenta was a fantastic iron. It stopped steaming after about 11 years, so I purchased an even better Rowenta for big $$. It was a professional model instead of a home model, so it only had a 6 month warranty. So, during month 7 it began to leak, spit water, etc. I replaced it with a $27.00 Shark I found at Kroger's and love it! Light weight, stainless steel soleplate, tons of steam! I doubt I would ever pay big $$ again for an iron. I could have had 3 Sharks for the price I paid for my lemon of a Rowenta! Although I love my Rowenta travel iron!

Martina, you are funny... I'm guessing that the iron doesn't press his shirt, a person does that!!

You were lucky with your iron. I heard irons are meant to last only 5 years with regular ironing and shorter for quilters. I have two irons that are priced between 40-50 and like both. One has a silver plate and the other is coated. I use the coated for applique. Good luck with what you get.

the best iron I've ever owned was a Black and Decker. It is a light weight war horse of an iron. I presently own that plus a Rowenta which I thought would be the last iron I'd ever own. I love the steam and the instant heat of the Rowenta. The price will scare me off if there is a next time to purchase anything.

I usually dont talk much on here but this I cant pass up. I bought a small craft iron from Joan's for a small $$. Even though it looks like a toy it definatly isnt, it heats very well. It works great for seams, just the right size. I also own a cheap iron from Dollar store. I use both and dont have a lot of $$ tied up in either. I am not affilated with either store or product and have no interest in either, just trying to help.

The only Rowenta that I've had that actually irons well is their small travel iron.
I like a no steam, no teflon. I use one that belonged to a friend's mother - must be 40-50 years old.
The other one I use is from the Vermont Country Store - it was c. $35, A friend gave it to me because she thought I'd have a nervous breakdown when the old one went.