Help! I have gone through three Rowenta Advancer irons in a year! The first lasted three months and JC Penney’s replaced it, the second lasted seven months and the service center replaced it. That replacement lasted all of three weeks. I will never buy another Rowenta product.
Now, do I want a gravity feed iron and what is a resonable price to pay. Or do I want a Digital Velocity from Reliable Corporation? I sew every day, sometimes just a few alterations but other times I do custom dressmaking. Any advice is wellcome.
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As mentioned in another discussion, Rowenta irons made in Germany (labelled on the handle) are far superior to those made in Mexico. Mine has been a workhorse for at least ten years, perhaps because I never put water in it (I use a separate spray bottle instead).
My philosophy on irons is the simpler, the better. A simple Black and Decker (bought at a drug store and used with a spray bottle) served me for 17 years until the sole plate became too nicked and scratched for fine fabrics; it is still working fine for waxing for our skis and snowboards.
However, other members of this forum have lots of raves for the new types of irons, so I'll be checking back to see what they recommend.
I second your comments; after much expense, much aggravation I have come to the same conclusion.
Katina
I have had mine for more than 5 years and have not had any issues with it. But after reading the post about place of origin, I had to go check mine. It was made in Germany, not Mexico. And my iron has been abused. I have ceramic tile floors and the iron has been dropped on it upon several occasions. One fall even messed up the tip, but I pulled out our fine honing stone, like you use for sharpening knives and reworked the tip so that it is smooth again. I use spring water, because our local water is very hard.
Sorry that your iron was such a failure.
The iron I had before this one was a Sears brand iron, not to be confused with Kenmore. I had it for a very long time and it served me very well before it finally died. Most of the irons made today are way too light. You need the weight of the iron to help you press.
Edited 6/28/2009 1:39 pm by SherryG
Thanks for your response, ladies. I've decided on the Velocity 100 from Reliable Corporation, Priced at $179.00. It boast superior steam output, vents at the tip, and it holds more water than the Rowentas. I do alterations and custom dress making, generally working with silks and wools. I really didn.t want to spend that much money---however, most of the web site visited concerning gravity feed irons stated that they had only a 90 day warrenty (although thermostats were easy to replace, but who in my little berg could do theat) the Velocity has a 1 year guarrenty. Will let you know how it performs.
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