Iron frustration
 

I can't seem to find a good, reliable iron that isn't too expensive. My most recent purchase was a Black & Decker. In the past, have had good luck with those. New one is awful. Water tank is so dark you can't tell when it is full. Temperature control is placed on the handle so if you move your hand a little, temperature will change.

Anyone have an iron they like? I don't want Rowenta.

I've found there is actually a whole lot of personal preference in irons. For me, I'm hard on them and they drop fairly regularly onto hard floors. An expensive iron would be a waste on me and I've never felt that my quilting was held back but for the right iron!, but I want hot, I want steam, I prefer the extra long cord, and I want lower end. If it has an auto shut off, I don't want it to go off every 30 seconds, and I want it to heat back up fast. I got this Conair Super Steam 1550 from Amazon in 2023. Yes, it has fallen, the water in cover barely stays on, but for the rest of it, it has been great and in my price point.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q3SV8YM

I really like my Reliable Maven. It's over five years old and not one drip or sputter because there is no water in the iron only steam goes to it. It doesn't take up much room on my ironing table, the same as an iron only more vertical space.It does have auto shut off though. I have the Clover Wedge iron for next to my sewing machine, it's doesn't have auto turn off. It does have a light that stays on until the iron is shut off.

The one I have is a Hamilton Beach Duration from Walmart. I do not use the steam function with it as I prefer to spritz my fabric with water or starch/. But It's a darm good iron, not expensive, does have the auto shut off, but gives a couple little beeps to alert you that it's going to shut off.

I use the Durathon also. They're a heavier iron and I love them. And they last for a long time!

Black and Decker has been great for me. Sad to hear your latest purchase isn't up to their past standards.

I like my Panasonic cordless iron. I would like a lighter weight iron for when piecing small pieces because I lift and press so many times. Any suggestions for saving my arm and shoulder muscles?

When my last iron caught fire, I decided I needed one that would turn itself off when I forgot to. I also have it plugged into a serge protector also and I turn it on at the serge protector switch as I see the light lite up there. I picked up a CHI iron at Walmart, in fact I picked up 2 so I'd have one near my quilt frame for steaming out fullness and one at the pressing station. I never add water to it though I could but I found most irons in time would start to leak so I keep a spray bottle filled with vinegar and water next to my pressing station. This iron has been going great for me for the past 4-5 years now.

Got new iron from Target. I don’t remember brand but it had a copper color sole plate. When I lifted it after pressing, the fabric came up with it, then dropped off, all in a little pile that had to be flattened out again. Grrrrr. I gave it a couple of weeks to get it “out of its system” but it didn’t change, so I returned it.
One of my 2 irons now came from an estate sale. Sears. Someone had cut the end plug off (really ?). The people in charge hadn’t noticed it so they sold it to me for 50 cents & DH put a new plug on. It’s a very good iron.

my copper colored bottom one from target grabs the fabric too. blue sides, copper handle too. Black and Decker.
good weight and hottness though. I'm going to live with it as box and reciept are gone. I may take a light sandpaper to it...

I'm wondering if you have any conditions that affect your arm and shoulder muscles? Because using them is generally a good thing.

I have a Rowenta Pro Master -- true it was a bit expensive 97.19 when I purchased it. It has steam, but I never use the steam on it as I prefer to just mist from a spray bottle when I need too. My preference was I needed an iron that had some weight to it, and had a stainless steel sole plate, and an auto off and got really hot. I have tried different less expensive irons and they always seem to need replacing in a short time - at times buying a couple a year. I have had this iron for 3 years now and have had no issues with it at all. So even though it was a bit expensive, I have saved money in the long run by not having to replace an iron every time I turn around.

I too, plug it into a surge protector that also has one of my main quilting room lights plugged into. I use two safety features (had a house fire before -- not caused by an iron though, but makes me extra cautious) One is if the light is on (I turn on and off the light with the surge protector), the surge protector is on, so it disconnects the iron from electricity if I have to leave the room for a while. And the second safety feature I use is that when I unplug my iron, which I always do at the end of my quilting session, I put the plug/cord on top of my ironing table in plain sight, so when I go to close the door for the day, my last glance around the room puts it in plain sight.

I can't believe this: I just posted about what iron I have and then checked my email before I get up to fix dinner. I just got an email from the company that makes my iron. I have only ever gotten one or two emails from them in the last 3 years. Eyes are everywhere!

I just purchased this one on your recommendation, and so far I'm happy with the length of time it gives you before it shuts itself off. I had a Shark and a swear it shut off the moment you set it back up after pressing a seam!

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. After a lot of research, I settled on the sunbeam steammaster 1400 watts. It has a 30 minute shut off. Water tank is blue so I can actually see when I’m adding water. After two weeks of use, so far so good.