Onebyone

I bought a new brand of iron to me, an Erueka 1800 watt by Electrolux from online Walmart because it was 50% off and free shipping. It's a darn good iron. Gets very hot fast. The higher the wattage the hotter the iron. To me the 1200 watt irons are not hot enough to set seams and make the block flat compared to the higher watt irons.

crashnquilt

I have the Panasonic 360 and LOVE IT! I do not use steam either. I love the two points when pressing seams. Don't know who thought of the design but it's GENIOUS. If anything happened to the one I have, I would absolutely buy another one. I do not use steam in my irons anymore. In my experience, at some point they all leak. Also the lime deposits on fabric. it is next to impossible to clean them and get all the gunk out of the steam holes. I was in the fabric industry for nearly 40 years. When fabric is steamed and ironed, the fabric should be left alone until 100% dry. When you steam and move the fabric before it is dry you risk stretching and distortion. If you use any type of wet spray in addition to steaming you cannot iron the piece totally dry. I have owned steam irons from low end cheapies to very high end cadillac models. I had 2 high end models that the tanks developed a leak INTO the iron and they caught fire! That is when a very wonderful person taught me the value of old time ironing, dry iron with reflective iron pad or cover.

NoraB

Dang! I use the Mary Ellen's Best Press AND I use steam! Am I really missing the boat? Am I "over-doing"? So....you use the Mary Ellen's and then just dry iron? Hmmm......I'm thinking my irons would probably last forever if I didn't use steam.....Does anyone else use Mary Ellen's Best Press and steam? And, why aren't the irons just straight sided? Is there a reason that they all have that slight curve? Wondering what is the best design, shape, weight, etc. for an iron that is just used for quilting?

Just Jan

Hi everybody, thanks for your help. Yes, Nora, you're missing the boat. Use a dry iron with Best Press. No worries about a leaking iron and the fabric does not get so wet. You will also avoid those dirty little brown leaks from your iron. I finally settled on the Panasonic NI-WL600 iron. Purchased it through Amazon and saved money and bought the 2 year warrantee. Paid $78 plus change. Was selling elsewhere for $99 and $129. Should arrive next week. I press seams open and this one is supposed to be the bomb for that. I considered the Olisio but read bad reviews and even had one dealer refuse to sell it. Said there is too many problems with the lift springs going bad and poor customer service. Seems life expectancy is about a year. The ratings for best irons said this Panasonic is the highest rated iron with 98.8 rating. I guess I'll see! lol I'll let you know when I try it. Thanks to all who posted here. This board is the best! Janet

Peckish

I understand you said it was an alternative to sizing, and I'm not disputing that. I am simply pointing out that Best Press is starch. Just because the label says "alternative" doesn't mean it's not starch, it means it's an alternative to other starches. Smart and tricky marketing. The MSDS information for Best Press says it's a starch product.

I don't know, I was wondering the same thing, which is why I was asking.

Rose Marie

I bought a TFAL iron and it is terrible. Set on the hottest setting just to iron cotton and it dosnt get all the wrinkles out.
Havent used it with water yet. Sprayed the fabric with water and that helped. Ive had alot of irons in my 77 yrs but this one is the worst.

Sewnoma

Eep!! I have that iron too, and I love it. Maybe I ought to buy a backup too, I just sort of assumed that it was so wonderful that it'd be around forever, but I suppose I should know better!

Onebyone

One reviewer gave the best answer. She said the Panosonic rechargeable stayed hot for 60 -90 seconds before having to be put back on the charger and took about that to reheat. This would drive me nuts as I can barely tolerate the auto off after 15 minutes.

Battle Axe

I love my Oliso. And when it breaks I'll get another. The pop up feet saves me from shoulder problems.

rryder

I have a cheap Black and Decker. It's at least 15 years old, paid maybe $10 for it at Walmart on sale, get good and hot, no auto-off to hinder long pressing sessions, has steam if I want (not often since I make batches of stayflo at 50/50) and when it gets too much starch residue on the bottom I clean it with faultless iron cleaner and n old bath towel. Used in conjunction with my homemade ironing board-- which has the reflective covering it works great.

I like it a lot better than the more expensive irons I've used at my LQS that don't get hot enough to press well, or shut off too quickly.

Rob