Irons
#21
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Sonoma County, CA
Posts: 4,299
I have the Panasonic cordless and I love it. I don't ever want to go back to a corded machine!
Aside from not dealing with a cord, there are a few nice side-benefits to this design that I really am fond of.
1 - it only can heat up while on the cradle. This means, when I'm done ironing, if I leave the iron off of the cradle there is NO way for it to potentially short out or be left on accidentally. I have a silicone pad that I am now in the habit of using to store my iron on. Much easier than unplugging all the time, and less wear on the outlet.
2 - every time you pick the iron up off the cradle, it resets its internal shut-off timer. So as long as you're consistently using the iron, it will never shut off on you. But if you forget and walk away, it will still turn itself off.
3 - the water tank detaches, so I can leave the iron heating up on the cradle and fill the reservoir over the sink without having to deal with weird angles or spilling water on my work. The water tank is also completely translucent so I always know how much water is in there.
4 - it comes with a heat-proof lid that snaps down over the cradle, and the cord retracts. So when I take it to a friend's house, I can very easily pack it up while still hot and it's safe to transport as-is.
It's not perfect - it does sputter a bit if you're using steam, and if you're ironing a lot of large pieces of yardage it can cool down on you a bit (since it does only heat in the cradle, it's slowly cooling as you're using it). But for the way I use it, those are very minor drawbacks that don't really impact me.
If it broke today I'd buy another one exactly like it. (Mine is about 2, maybe 3 years old now and still going strong.)
Aside from not dealing with a cord, there are a few nice side-benefits to this design that I really am fond of.
1 - it only can heat up while on the cradle. This means, when I'm done ironing, if I leave the iron off of the cradle there is NO way for it to potentially short out or be left on accidentally. I have a silicone pad that I am now in the habit of using to store my iron on. Much easier than unplugging all the time, and less wear on the outlet.
2 - every time you pick the iron up off the cradle, it resets its internal shut-off timer. So as long as you're consistently using the iron, it will never shut off on you. But if you forget and walk away, it will still turn itself off.
3 - the water tank detaches, so I can leave the iron heating up on the cradle and fill the reservoir over the sink without having to deal with weird angles or spilling water on my work. The water tank is also completely translucent so I always know how much water is in there.
4 - it comes with a heat-proof lid that snaps down over the cradle, and the cord retracts. So when I take it to a friend's house, I can very easily pack it up while still hot and it's safe to transport as-is.
It's not perfect - it does sputter a bit if you're using steam, and if you're ironing a lot of large pieces of yardage it can cool down on you a bit (since it does only heat in the cradle, it's slowly cooling as you're using it). But for the way I use it, those are very minor drawbacks that don't really impact me.
If it broke today I'd buy another one exactly like it. (Mine is about 2, maybe 3 years old now and still going strong.)
#23
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Glenmoore, PA
Posts: 7,941
Someone asked about my Shark catching fire. I was ironing away when I started smelling HOT. Soon smoke was rolling out of the iron all over the place. My plug is in my ceiling so I had to quickly unplug it and with a potholder take it outside. It melted into oblivion and smelled up the whole house. I am glad I was there when it happened. And I loved that iron too, but no more Sharks.
#24
Super Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Ballwin, MO
Posts: 4,258
Irons are a problem for me, as my arthritic hands/wrists are really weak and I have shoulder trouble as well. So I have to go for the lightweight ones. I have a lightweight Shark that I like, but when I'm doing lots of seam pressing and things start getting sore, I switch to an even lighterweight Black & Decker; it's the lightest one I've ever found. I think Best Press really improves the results with these lighter irons.
#25
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 381
#26
I have a T-Fal iron. I thought they made only pots and pans, but I found this iron at Sears. It works really well, and has very good steam. Also, I can turn off the steam, and it then irons dry very quickly.
#28
I like my Reliable Digital Velocity V100. It produces great steam, although I usually use it dry. I had a Rowenta that failed within the warranty period, and dealing with their western region service center was probably the worst service experience I've ever had. When the same iron failed again just after it was out of warranty I decided never to buy Rowenta again, even though I loved that iron (when it was working).
peace
#29
I also have the Panasonic cordless, I keep that one by the machine for paper piecing. I really love it, however I found that I was often ironing too much at one time and it would cool down too much and I'd have to stop and put it back in the holder and wait for it to heat up again. It's fine for paper piecing when I'm working on one or a few blocks at a time, but not when I"m chaining 30-40 of them.
Last edited by Macybaby; 09-10-2015 at 06:03 PM.
#30
Super Member
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Durango CO
Posts: 1,245
I guess I have been lucky. Have a GE from 1978 that is still working just fine. I only use it dry. Did purchase an Oliso about 8 yrs ago that quit working so I went back to the GE. Even after being dropped 2-3 times thru the years it's still going strong.
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