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Thread Number: 73159
/ Tag: Small Appliances
Steam Iron Has Checked Out |
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| Post# 966259 11/5/2017 at 18:41 (2,362 days old) by seedub (South Texas Hill Country) | ||
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Post# 966264 , Reply# 1 11/5/2017 at 19:15 (2,362 days old) by Launderess  (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Check fleaPay and other places for 
NOS vintage steam irons. Streets ahead of the stuff offered today and were built to last.
Today's offerings even from such so called TOL brands like Rowenta leave much to be desired. You're lucky to get a few years of even light use before they die. Something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Old-Stock-O... | ||
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Post# 966265 , Reply# 2 11/5/2017 at 19:24 (2,362 days old) by ea56 (Cotati, Calif.) |
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I completely agree with Launderess’ recommendation to go vintage. We have a Proctor Silex steam iron that we bought at Goodwill Thrift about 10 years ago for $3.99, it was like new when we bought it. The warranty expiration date is July 74’, so it must be a 73’ model. There are no new irons on the market that will ever get as hot as a vintage iron an they aren’t as heavy, so it takes a lot longer to iron with one of the new irons.
Eddie | ||
| Post# 966300 , Reply# 4 11/5/2017 at 21:24 (2,362 days old) by seedub (South Texas Hill Country) | ||
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| Post# 966320 , Reply# 6 11/6/2017 at 00:08 (2,362 days old) by johnrk (BP TX) | ||
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Rowenta I also have a Rowenta over a decade old. I agree about their beautiful construction. But that's not new... | ||
| Post# 966352 , Reply# 8 11/6/2017 at 07:43 (2,362 days old) by norgeway (mocksville n c ) | ||
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I use many different old ones Like all my appliances, I rotate them, I have probably 50 irons, I like my 1950s Westinghouse with the open handle , hard to fill but the easiest iron to use, for heavy fabrics NOTHING equals a vintage Presto! | ||
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Post# 966395 , Reply# 9 11/6/2017 at 12:00 (2,362 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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U.S.A Irons
Historically ran anywhere from 500w to a bit over 1kW.
Today however most are around 900 watts or below. Thing to remember is watts are watts; but have nothing to do with how hot an iron will get. That is determined by the thermostat. Have vintage irons without any thermostat that pull only 600w or so, but if left long enough will get hot enough to burn yourself, surfaces and start fires. This and will instantly scorch any fabric. USA power outlets are limited to wattage x volts. So a 20 amp circuit at 120v in theory can pull a max of 2500 watts. However modern code says no appliance should draw more than about 80% of total wattage available. With most appliances going for less. That and or state they should be on a dedicated circuit A 15 amp circuit at 120v is around 1800 watts. At 80% that gives you 1400watts to play around with. Most small appliances like irons will stay around 1000 to maybe 1200 watts max as they can then be used in either the more common 15amp instead of requiring 20amps. There are more powerful circuits such as 30amps and above, and or at 220v, but those are normally for appliances that draw huge amounts of power; electric ranges, ovens, dryers, some air conditioners, etc.... You now understand why front loaders with heaters in USA often have such puny heaters. If they go with a 15amp plug you're only going to get around 1kw or so of power. | ||
| Post# 966469 , Reply# 10 11/6/2017 at 19:45 (2,361 days old) by fan-of-fans (Florida) | ||
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Black and Decker still makes an iron very similar to the old GE irons, very heavy. But they are made in China and I hear that quality is hit or miss. CLICK HERE TO GO TO fan-of-fans's LINK | ||
| Post# 966475 , Reply# 11 11/6/2017 at 20:49 (2,361 days old) by johnrk (BP TX) | ||
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Chinese GE I had one of those retro GE irons from China. Lasted just long enough for the warranty to run out. | ||
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Post# 966509 , Reply# 13 11/6/2017 at 23:25 (2,361 days old) by thomasortega (El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles de Porciúncula) |
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I would die for that Philips "Wardrobe Care" ironing station. It's an ironing board with suction/blower/heater and it also comes with a built in iron and a steamer. For now I have a tiny Philips travel iron that I brought from Brazil (Super cute by the way and excellent for such tiny iron.) When I buy whatever iron, it has to be with a separate boiler or, If I'm lucky, i'll find the Karcher iron to use with my professional steam cleaner. | ||
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Post# 966525 , Reply# 14 11/7/2017 at 04:48 (2,361 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Probably should move some things on
Maybe mark them up and sell them on....
Bought a NIB Presto fancy jet vapor steam iron; used it once and that was that. Went back into box and has been sat sitting ever since. Ditto for a Rowenta huge iron from 1980's... Both still had the labels on their soleplates, never touched, etc.... Also have several NIB but used older irons like a Presto dry iron, Eureka cordless, Westinghouse open handle, and could go on. All never see really much use. Tend these days to go for my Sussman Aquamatic pressure steam iron, or the large steam boiler iron. As such the rest are sitting round gathering dust. Do use the dry irons sometimes when doing linens, but even then prefer the Sussman. Naomoto gravity feed iron that hasn't been used in ages as well. I like older commercial/industrial irons (have a Cissell and Hoffman too) because of their heft and mass, usually via a cast iron soleplate. Once one gets used to the weight it works a treat. Also the mass holds heat so the iron remains rather constant in temperature. This is important when dry ironing damp linens since the cold surface of fabrics cools the iron. You notice this with irons that have temperature indicators how the light goes on and off. Largest regret is getting suckered into the older vintage Presto "Vapor Steam" irons. The ones that look like this: | ||
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Post# 966526 , Reply# 15 11/7/2017 at 04:51 (2,361 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage) |
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Probably should move some things on
Maybe mark them up and sell them on....
Bought a NIB Presto fancy jet vapor steam iron; used it once and that was that. Went back into box and has been sat sitting ever since. Ditto for a Rowenta huge iron from 1980's... Both still had the labels on their soleplates, never touched, etc.... Also have several NIB but used older irons like a Presto dry iron, Eureka cordless, Westinghouse open handle, and could go on. All never see really much use. Tend these days to go for my Sussman Aquamatic pressure steam iron, or the large steam boiler iron. As such the rest are sitting round gathering dust. Do use the dry irons sometimes when doing linens, but even then prefer the Sussman. Naomoto gravity feed iron that hasn't been used in ages as well. I like older commercial/industrial irons (have a Cissell and Hoffman too) because of their heft and mass, usually via a cast iron soleplate. Once one gets used to the weight it works a treat. Also the mass holds heat so the iron remains rather constant in temperature. This is important when dry ironing damp linens since the cold surface of fabrics cools the iron. You notice this with irons that have temperature indicators how the light goes on and off. Largest regret is getting suckered into the older vintage Presto "Vapor Steam" irons shown below. Have three (one was NIB) and really aren't that thrilled. Consumer Reports hated these irons and constantly rated them "unacceptable". First and foremost the steam never stops. All that superheated moisture continues to stream out of the iron long as there is water in iron. On warm or humid days it makes ironing that much more unpleasant.
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| Post# 966557 , Reply# 17 11/7/2017 at 09:43 (2,361 days old) by liamy1 (-) | ||
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Yes same here.. In the U.K. I have a few irons, I think the lowest is 2400 watt, highest is 3100 watt. Of course the 3100 watt produces more steam, but the temperature range is the same, but it also drinks water. | ||
| Post# 966560 , Reply# 18 11/7/2017 at 09:48 (2,361 days old) by Iheartmaytag (Wichita, Kansas) | ||
About five years ago, I was on a quest for a new iron
At that time the GE Iron we had quit. After a few use them once $9.99 irons from Wal-Mart, ended up getting a Shark, right price point $59, good features, good weight. I really wanted a Rowenta, but it said "Made in China" on the bottom, and my check book wouldn't let me have it anyway.
Then I found a almost new looking Sunbeam at Goodwill, so with two working irons, I decided to take a look a the GE. Turned out to be a broken wire at the strain relief. I cut the cord off, threaded it back through the holder, and re-attached to the terminals inside. Works like new. Moral to the story: Some of the older irons can still be worked on, there are good rarely used irons that show up in the used stores regularly, and there are still new items available that work very well. | ||
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Post# 967297 , Reply# 19 11/11/2017 at 09:48 (2,357 days old) by polkanut (Wausau, WI ) |
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Post# 967308 , Reply# 20 11/11/2017 at 11:12 (2,357 days old) by ovrphil (N.Atlanta / Georgia ) |
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50 IRONS ? 
I have just 8...I must be "falling down on the job" compared to Hans. :-)
Ms. Launderess said it : heavier the better and NIB or NOS. I like thrift stores and the older 50's/ early 60's GE black steam irons are nice. I torn apart and restored the black GE H1F91 shown below. My modest collection, all Thrift Store finds: 1) GE "Light N Easy" Model B009500S (it's cute, that's why I bought it, lol! )Cheap and Light.. 700WATTS 2)Sunbeam-Oster non-stick w/auto shut-off Model 3971 -1200 WATTS 3)Rowenta(Premium) DW 9080 series B - 1800 WATTS - Love big surface and works well -when the temperature knob isn't fall off(haven't figured the fix for it yet). 4) GE Self-Clean II - model H3F240WH(cat no.) or 839- heavy/works well 5) GE spray model H1F91 -RECOMMENDED because it's the old heavy, plows throw it all iron Hope you find something you like to use - Heavy vintage NIB/NOS (especially after my experience of tearing down and restoring the GE H1F91 GE black steam iron shown - :-/ | ||
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