I've got the cheap B&D iron from Walmart for 4 years now. It's the best iron ever for quilting.

I bought an iron in 2000 at a Tuesday Morning store...it carries a Faultless Starch name and I've never known who made it, but it's great...still going strong.

I have a B&D that I got at a yard sale and i love the amount of steam i get, it's a little bigger then i'd like but will deal.

I have 2 Rowenta's and love them.

I had an expensive iron but went to WM and bought a Black and Decker, the cheapest one I could find. The expensive iron was much too heavy for me, but the B&D is very light weight. I made the mistake of buying the B&D with a teflon sole plate, and now I'm thinking of looking for for one with a metal soleplate. I don't ever use my irons as steam irons, perferring to spray the fabric with water from a spray bottle and then to iron. Nothing ever spits out and ruins my fabric that way :lol: I even think a travel iron with no ability to steam would be a good idea for anyone to use. Nice and light - that's the secret!

I think I've tried them all. I'd say go for the one that has the features you want. Personally, I hate the dial when it's under the handle. My current iron is a Sunbeam I got at JoAnn's. You don't have to pay a ton of money for a good iron. And if you decide you don't really care for the one you got, you didn't invest a fortune. I also prefer one that isn't too heavy.

I have a Rowenta and love it.

I bought a $29.00 Black and Decker at WalMart. It has the auto shut off which I like because I forget to unplug it. It is also self cleaning and it is pretty heavy. I like it a lot. I won't buy an expensive one because I have knocked so many of them in the floor.

I have 2 Rowentas and still prefer my cheap one.

It depends on the water you put into the Rowentas. You do not want to use distilled water because the iron is designed for "tap" water. Our water is so hard I won't even drink it so for several years I have used bottled "Drinking Water" which has the rocks and such filtered out.
It also depends on when and where the iron was made.
In our litiginous society irons which get "too hot" can cause burns which people will/have sue over. sigh.
(Check the instructions..... most irons have instructions to the effect of "Do not iron clothing while you are wearing it." )

I used to average 9-10 months before burning up an iron. Literally they would start to smoke at the cord and so forth, none actually caught fire, but..........
Bought a Rowenta that cost 3-4 times what the less expensive irons cost, but lasted for over 12 years. I was sold. Had a couple of the basic type Rowentas, then had the money, needed a new iron, and they were on sale so I bought a Rowenta Steam Generator iron. I love it. No water in the iron. The tank is a pressure "boiler" that holds a quart of water. You can have no steam up to a whole lot of steam and then some or anything in between. If/when it dies not sure what I will get, since Rowentas are no longer being made in Germany (as far as I can tell) but it will be a steam generator for sure. wonderful for all kinds of pressing/ironing.
The iron gets as hot as the vintage GE dry iron I have that was my ex's Grandmother's. <G>

Yes I have several irons currently..... and none of them are auto- shut off. When I go to the iron I want it HOT and Now. <G>

Pati, in Phx