Date: 10/26/08 0:47 AM

My B&D Digital Advantage Iron D2020 Type 1 died today. DH said," What's burning?? It smells like an electrical fire."

So now that I am finishing up my costume for the costume contest and work, I need to find a replacement iron. I can't say how long I have owned this particular iron, I just do not remember when I bought it.

Please help me Mrs. Wizard, my brain hurts!!

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Reply to Jennifer shaw
Date: 10/26/08 8:14 AM

Though I can't offer a good brand, I can certainly discourage you from any Shark brands. I bought a new Shark iron in March. A few months later, it started hissing. I later realized that while using the steam setting, water was seeping out from around the plate. I called Shark to ask about the warranty and the representative told me to send the iron, plus another $15 to have it repaired. Are you kidding me? I told him that I was not going to send $15 since the iron was clearly faulty. He agreed to waive the fee and proceeded to tell me that it would take between 4 and 6 weeks for them to get it back to me.

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Reply to Jennifer shaw
Date: 10/26/08 8:35 AM

I have a Panasonic (I'm a former Black and Decker lover too, but I can't find them here). It has a titanium finish on it that I can fuse webbing and it won't stick, auto shutoff, retractable cord and I've had it for a few years. Here's the link:
http://www0.epinions.com/Panasonic_NI_C78SR_Iron
The reason why I bought this particular iron is that it's under 1500 watts and I need to keep track of the wattage in my sewing room, which is upstairs and is on the same circuit as the whole upstairs. My house is very old and if I got a larger wattage iron, it would blow a breaker or worse. It works fine for me, though.
-- Edited on 10/26/08 8:37 AM --

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"Having to squeeze the last drop of utility out of the land has the same desperate finality as having to chop up the furniture to keep warm" -- Aldo Leopold
http://tree-sister.blogspot.com
"Don't cry; don't be sad; make happy"--Peggy Jones. Rest your weary body, dear friend.

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Date: 10/26/08 8:55 AM

I LOVED my 'old' Black and decker, I must've had it for 10 years and it was such a good iron, I was a bit crushed when it quit working. I have a Shark and its not too bad, I've had it about 6 months, but you can go read some reviews at epinions, that might help narrow down which ones work the best.

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Reply to KaraKai
Date: 10/26/08 9:39 AM

Is 100 dollars too expensive? Most likely it is but it is hands-down the best one I have ever had and I can't live without it. It is a gravity feed iron from Allbrands.com - consew. I use these in my sewing classroom, now many of my students have their own after using them daily and seeing how wonderful they are.

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"I am still learning" ~ Michelangelo
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I finally have a blog!
You can visit it at
www.zigzagthesewingrag.blogspot.com

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Date: 10/26/08 11:55 AM

My dh bought an autoshut off iron and I strongly dislike it. When I am sewing I want the iron to stay hot. But he used my old iron for a project and ruined the soleplate.

One day I will replace it with a steam generator type, but not right now.

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Proud parent of a Dwight International School Honour Roll Student

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Reply to ryansmumAria
Date: 10/27/08 7:44 PM

Thanks for the suggestion, ryansmum!

Which Consew iron is it? If it does not have to be permanently set up, I would be interested in it. Since I live in a two bedroom apartment, I would prefer to have a portable iron that I can put away, when I am not using it.

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Date: 10/27/08 7:53 PM

I believe the Black and Decker "Classic" is still being made-real basic, metal, nothing fancy and really cheap too!!

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wino

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Date: 11/4/08 10:00 AM

I am happy enough with my Rowenta iron, except that (1) I can't get it to be dry if the tank isn't empty, so I pretty much run it dry all the time; and (2) the soleplate has lots of dimples in it, which may be fine for ironing, but certainly doesn't work for fusing. I'm not talking about the holes for steam, but all-over dimples, more than a quarter inch across and only about half an inch between them.

Do all irons have those dimples, or did I just make a poor choice? What would be the purpose of them, anyway?

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Reply to Jennifer shaw
Date: 11/4/08 10:20 AM

I'm on my second replacement with a B&D 2020 and will never have another. It still isn't working properly. My first one died the ''electrical fire smell'' death. The second and current one doesn't hold it's temperature - keeps heating up all the time and the ready light is always flashing. PLUS, the ''clean'' light always comes on, even after I've cleaned it. I gave it a good review sometime ago here on PR, but now, not so good. My next will probably be a Rowenta. My last one lasted for 10+ years before it died. I've not seen or read about Consew so I'll check it out before I purchase another. Good luck with whatever your choice.

ETA - I also have the Classic B&D which has been a good back up so I'm hanging on to that one.
-- Edited on 11/4/08 10:21 AM --

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