Personally, I would not buy the Oliso, Rita. I have heard numerous quilters comment that the self risng and lowering legs give out way to quickly.

You are probably best served by getting cheap irons, not using water/steam in them, and just using Best Press or a garden spray bottle with water instead. They won't last long, but at US $10 - $15, they are not expensive to replace 2-3 times a year.

I too am waiting for an iron made to quilting specifications: NO leaks, very hot, good weight, auto shut off override. The closest I have seen to this is the Digital Velocity I mentioned in a previous post... but they don't seem to make it for 220 usage. Can an iron be plugged into some kind of converter??

Like you Nancy I have my iron on most of the time so they tend to wear out pretty quickly. I have had two irons die in the last week! And the replacement I got is such crap that I can see that it's not going to last much longer either. I have a great little travel iron that I got years ago (so it doesn't have steam at all) which I use when I am piecing with a spritzer bottle to hand. I recently bought a new travel iron with a "shot of steam" but as soon as I tried to use the steam it began to leak. However, I am now using it without the steam and it's great. I think the elements just wear out because we quilters have them on so much of the time. I just can't believe that I would get long enough out of any iron to warrant paying $199.

Hi Rita -

My current iron is an Oliso, but not the professional. It's a lower end (somewhere around $170). I've had it less than a year and it has several problems:

- it leaks out of the front hole fairly regularly.
- the automatic shutoff sometimes works, sometimes doesn't.
- just last week the little feet that come down from the sole plate decided to not go up for some reason. power-cycling fixed this but I've turned off that feature now since the iron can't be used if the feet won't retract.

My irons get a lot of use and they all end up failing pretty quickly. It seems like I have them on all of the time since I do a lot of piecing, so I'd estimate that my yearly usage is more like 5 or 6 years of usage by a "normal" person. But you probably have your iron on as much as mine. I also love steam and use the steam except where inappropriate like paper-piecing or starching applique. I'm waiting for this one to completely die, then I will move to my iron-in-waiting (a digital something, forget the name). I probably won't buy an Oliso again unless I see a really good deal on one.

I know others who swear by Oliso, so this is just my experience.

Nancy

I was looking at a tutorial from the Missouri Quilt Company and the iron that they are using is an Oliso iTouch Professional. Has anybody used one of these? They are only $199.00 Thinking of getting two, one for each hand. I wonder how long they will last?

I'm with everyone here about the very poor quality of irons these days. I've been using a T-Fall iron over the past few years. They are available at Sears and at Amazon. I've never had a leaking problem with this particular brand. I just don't think the iron gets as hot as it should. How about someone in America making a great iron -- there's sure a market for it. Who know's perhaps some jobs could be created.

I have a very cheap iron that NEVER gets water in it. that way I can leave it on for most of the day and not worry about it. They usually last for about a year or so, but at under £5 (around $8, I think), who cares???? If I want steam, a quick squirt with a children's garden spray does the job.
I do use the family iron for yardage but otherwise, I pay my teenager to do my clothes and her little sister's....

I had an iron with a removable water tank that lasted for years. It never leaked and I could remove the tank when I didn't want steam (it gave me steam even when I had the steam turned off) but it eventually quit getting hot. So now I'm using my backup irons which are all inexpensive. The first one lasted about 2 years, only leaked when it turned itself off and I wasn't paying attention. I learned to check to see if the light was on. When that one gave out I tried another one but it did leak and when it turned itself off I had to unplug it and plug it back in. That was getting tiresome so for now it is not being used. I had 1 more backup iron, a Proctor-Silex Model 17135. That's the one I am using now until I come up with something better. So far I haven't had a leakage problem, but occasionally some clean water comes out of the top. Most of the time the steam works correctly but after it's been on for awhile it sometimes quits. I've found that if I switch it back and forth between dry and steam or turn it off and back on it gives me steam again. And it doesn't turn itself off which is not always a good thing. I'm always careful to unplug it when I'm through. Of course I do that for the ones that turn themselves off too. I like an iron with an edge that's not too rounded and has a fairly sharp tip. Most of the expensive irons I've looked at have a thick edge and a round tip. That's why I'm still waiting for the perfect iron.

Lotti, check out the Digital Velocity. It has the timer override. And you don't need to put water into it if you don't want to, just use it dry.

I don't know if they have a European distributor but it's worth looking into.

Hi ,I have a Bosch iron and the steam works really well and doesn't leak through the soleplate, the only problem is that it leaks at the handle and I iron with a handkerchief tied around it, other than that it's a great iron
Anne

Like many of you I have Rowanta (I am on my third and yes, they can leak). And, like many of you I wanted a dry iron that stays on. I thought I would stop at the Vermont Country Store this summer while on my quilty vacation and purchase one. However, while antiquing in PA yesterday I came across this beauty. She vintage, small (about 8") and heavy (about 3 pounds) has no steam and no auto shut off and she sure is shiny and pretty. I had to take her home with me...

Barbara

Hey Dawn! Thanks!!

i've been searching the internet and the local second hand shops for an old iron like the old jura my mom hand when i was a kid... everyone tells me that they got rid of theirs just a little while ago...
i'd love the vermont country store one - but... i need 220 V and it's awfully heavy and expensive to ship to europe
my main problem with the "new" irons is that they ALLLLLLLLLL have a safety that switches them off when they're not moved for a couple of minutes - drives me nuts when i'm paperpiecing or doing other stuff where i'm switching from the sewing machine to the iron and back all the time...
so i'll keep searching through those second hand shops and asking friends, neighbors, friends of friends if they or their mom still have one hanging about...
those irons were much hotter than the steam ones and NO SHUT-OFF

I have a Rowenta that also leaks. I keep an old towel folded at the end of my ironing board to catch the drips. I have found that once the iron is hot it quits leaking until it cools down again. So I just empty the water out when I am finished. Usually it has been used enough that it is empty anyway. I also have an old Black and Decker light and easy that does not leak. I just prefer the weight of the Rowenta. I also keep a spray bottle of water handy if I just have a little ironing to do. Maybe a too wrinkled blouse or skirt. Does anyone really iron undies, socks, etc.? I don't even iron pillowcases anymore. Not enough time and I am retired, so who cares? Maybe I should buy myself a red hat. I am refering to the actual poem, not the groups of distinguished ladies.

I have used the dry iron from the Vermont Country Store for the last few years, as a result of a recommendation here in the TQS Forum (Margo, I think, but not sure!) and really like it for paper piecing especially, or anything that has been starched before piecing. I do still use my steam iron occasionally, but the occasional "splurt" of incontinence makes me think twice! Nancy

Interesting. My "reserve" iron is the digital velocity, so I'll be excited to try it when I get to it! I don't remember it being any more expensive than my Oliso or Rowentas.