If you were Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
|
Posted by Joy Hardie on December 9, 2005, 9:14 am
Hello,
My Bernina steam generator iron (expensive lemon) just gave up
yesterday and the company is turning a blind eye to acknowledging it.
NOBODY fixes them locally and the final word from Bernina was to send
it back to them in Chicago for a minimum of 2 hours labor and probably
greater than $100 repair. Having just put about $80 to repairing
something different on it about this time last year......and having
paid about $300 to buy it in the first place........I think I have
reached the point of diminishing returns, need to face the facts and
am not interested in throwing more good money after bad.
I sew lot's of lycras and need lot's of steam but not too much heat
to melt my fabrics. So, I think I need to stick with a steam
generator iron. Does anyone own one that they LOVE?
I need advice or comments.
Thanks, Joy in Michigan
|
|
Posted by Hexe on December 9, 2005, 9:44 am
>Hello,
> I need advice or comments.
>Thanks, Joy in Michigan
No comment on your problem, <knock on wood> hasn't happened yet.
But a question about STEAM irons: I got suckered into buying a Kärcher
due to the spiel at a home/garden exhibition because I could never get
wrinkles out of shirts from a normal steam iron. She demonstrated how
easy, yadda, yadda.
I find it more exhausting ironing with the Kärcher than the
old-fashioned way. Plus I cannot iron sitting down because the steam
burns my lap and even standing the steam puddles on my hardwood floor.
Am I doing something wrong? After spending EUR 100 for the iron
attachment for my steam cleaner, I hate the bloody thang.
--
:Hexe
: Thought for the journey:
I came, I saw, I deleted all your files.
|
|
Posted by Sally Holmes on December 9, 2005, 11:45 am
Joy Hardie wrote:
> I sew lot's of lycras and need lot's of steam but not too much heat
> to melt my fabrics. So, I think I need to stick with a steam
> generator iron. Does anyone own one that they LOVE?
I have a Tefal Pro Express that I like very much because it delivers lots of
steam and the water tank is removable to refilling (so you don't have to
wait for the boiler to cool down).
It's my second Tefal and my fourth steam generator iron (the first two were
Poltis). I bought them from Costco. Every time one dies, I take it back.
Costco hand me the cash refund and I walk right round to the shelf, pick up
a new one, and hand the money back over at the cash desk. So I guess I'm
just renting them :-)
Sally
|
|
Posted by John Taylor on December 9, 2005, 4:13 pm
I have a Rowenta steam generator Iron and a standard steam iron that I
am very happy with. They are a bit pricey but seem to last and last.
Joy Hardie wrote:
> Hello,
> My Bernina steam generator iron (expensive lemon) just gave up
> yesterday and the company is turning a blind eye to acknowledging it.
> NOBODY fixes them locally and the final word from Bernina was to send
> it back to them in Chicago for a minimum of 2 hours labor and probably
> greater than $100 repair. Having just put about $80 to repairing
> something different on it about this time last year......and having
> paid about $300 to buy it in the first place........I think I have
> reached the point of diminishing returns, need to face the facts and
> am not interested in throwing more good money after bad.
> I sew lot's of lycras and need lot's of steam but not too much heat
> to melt my fabrics. So, I think I need to stick with a steam
> generator iron. Does anyone own one that they LOVE?
> I need advice or comments.
> Thanks, Joy in Michigan
|
|
Posted by Candide on December 9, 2005, 7:08 pm
> Hello,
> My Bernina steam generator iron (expensive lemon) just gave up
> yesterday and the company is turning a blind eye to acknowledging it.
> NOBODY fixes them locally and the final word from Bernina was to send
> it back to them in Chicago for a minimum of 2 hours labor and probably
> greater than $100 repair. Having just put about $80 to repairing
> something different on it about this time last year......and having
> paid about $300 to buy it in the first place........I think I have
> reached the point of diminishing returns, need to face the facts and
> am not interested in throwing more good money after bad.
> I sew lot's of lycras and need lot's of steam but not too much heat
> to melt my fabrics. So, I think I need to stick with a steam
> generator iron. Does anyone own one that they LOVE?
> I need advice or comments.
> Thanks, Joy in Michigan
IMHO quit messing about with those "cheap" plastic steam generator irons
and look at BOL or MOL professional steam boiler irons or a Naomoto HYS
gravity feed iron.
Check eBay for used professional boiler irons, and new ones as well.
Reliable, has several models always on eBay and their warranty seems
pretty decent. IIRC Atlanta Thread & Supply has several models in their
catalogue as well.
Naomoto HYS gravity feed irons produce lots of hot "dry" steam without
requiring a boiler, and are the preferred choice of laundries, dry
cleaners, tailors and others whom need a durable steam ironing system
that gives professional results. Have an older model, but as it weighs
several pounds is better suited to pressing work as one goes, or ironing
only a few items at a time. Long periods of ironing tend to wear me out
from lifting what feels like a cast iron frying pan. *LOL*
Am willing to bet all those cheap plastic steam generator ironing
systems sold by Euro-Pro, Bernina and others are made by the same
factories. Better ones in Europe the lower lines probably in Asia
somewhere.
What to look for in a steam generator iron?
First make sure the system heats steam "twice". Once in the boiler and
again in the iron. This produces dry steam instead of the wet version
commonly found in household irons. However if the boiler is producing 80
psi or even 100 psi of steam, there is less worry as the steam is hot
enough on it's own.
At least 40 psi pounds of pressure. This produces "dry" steam which
won't leave your work and ironing board soggy after long periods of use.
This is important as these irons produce so much steam it is easy to
"wet" the material, which is not a bad thing as the heat of the iron
will dry and reset (this is what smoothes fabric). But if the ironing
surface becomes too wet, you'll never get good results. Professional
laundries use vacuum tables to pull the heavy steam from steam boiler
irons through the fabric to dry it instantly. This over comes the
"soggy" effect.
Choose your steam boiler ironing system based on your average ironing
time. Most systems start out at about 1.5 hours of steam, and models
progress upwards to 3 , 4 or more hours of steam. Longer periods of
steaming mean less down time for refills (see below). If you are only
using your system to press sewing as you go and maybe iron a few shirts
or other items, 1 to 2 hours should be fine.
How does the iron need to be refilled? Some steam boiler ironing systems
allow for fast "blow down" to relive built up pressure quickly. This
allows one to refill the tank without having to wait for the unit to
cool. As cooling time can take one to several hours, during which time
the unit cannot be used, either pay close attention to proper sizing of
your unit , or make it a habit of keeping the tank full. Since water in
the tank is boiled at each use, there is no worry about leaving water in
the tank for long periods of time. Mould and gunk will not grow since
water is basically sanitised each time you use the unit.
What sort of materials do you iron? Some boiler iron units will only
produce steam on "Hi", that is the cotton and linen settings. Lower
temps are liable to cause the unit to spit water as the iron's heating
unit does not get hot enough to heat the steam a second time. Make sure
your unit either comes with or buy a Teflon ironing shoe. This will
allow you to iron everything on "HI" with less chance of damage.
Auto Shut Off, yes or no? Some systems will shut off after a period of
inactivity. Personally hate this feature, so don't bother with it. But
there are also systems which will shut off when water runs low. This is
a good idea if you tend to forget about filling the tank as it prevents
damage to the unit.
Professional or home use unit? Personally prefer professional units as
they are designed to be repaired, and depending upon where one lives
there is usually a repair person locally. Ask local dry cleaners or
laundries who they use to repair their steam boiler irons, or check the
Yellow Pages. Companies like Reimers, Naomoto and others will repair a
unit if one sends it back to them, but as units are heavy this can be
expensive.
Any other queries just ask....
Candide
|
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 > last >>
| Similar Threads | Posted | | Steam Generator Irons | October 14, 2006, 4:49 pm |
| Report on replaced J450A Steam Generator from Reliable | November 20, 2006, 5:30 pm |
| I got my Reliable generator iron from Allbrands...GRRRRRRRRR | October 31, 2006, 8:29 pm |
| Problems with a steam iron | April 2, 2008, 2:47 am |
| suggestions for quality steam iron, please | July 23, 2006, 6:31 pm |
| Reliable i300 steam iron | February 27, 2007, 1:34 pm |
| salt free steam only iron | November 4, 2008, 4:15 pm |
| another iron post - cousin put my iron on her hair | September 8, 2005, 4:39 pm |
| Nov 2006 Iron Update: New Iron Review | November 6, 2006, 3:38 pm |
| Steam-A-Seam? | June 19, 2006, 11:37 am |
|
|
Yahoo! 
Google 
Windows Live 
del.icio.us 
digg 
Netscape 
XML Sitemap