Sponsors
Sponsors
Moderated by EleanorSews
Posted on: 9/22/14 5:54 PM ET
Hello All,
I have recently set up my mom's old gravity feed iron. I was just wondering about water flow, from the bottle down through the tube. During normal use, is the tube supposed to completely fill with water? What I've been getting is more like a "steady trickle" with each press of the microswitch. I've been getting good steam so far, but I always figured the the tube would eventually "fill up". Just wondering what "normal" looks like...
Thanks for any responses- I've never used it before and have no basis for comparison.
I have recently set up my mom's old gravity feed iron. I was just wondering about water flow, from the bottle down through the tube. During normal use, is the tube supposed to completely fill with water? What I've been getting is more like a "steady trickle" with each press of the microswitch. I've been getting good steam so far, but I always figured the the tube would eventually "fill up". Just wondering what "normal" looks like...
Thanks for any responses- I've never used it before and have no basis for comparison.
Posted on: 9/22/14 7:27 PM ET
In reply to Bob Loblaw
Over my years of experience using gravity feed irons, I developed a very sophisticated method of coaxing the tube to fill up with water. I would mushy-pinch it continuously with my thumb and index finger 'till it filled up from little gulps out of the tank. 
------

------
-Catina
PaTTernHack.com
PaTTernHack.com
Posted on: 9/22/14 9:44 PM ET
I've never had to do another other than hang mine a couple of feet higher than my ironing level.
------
------
People never care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Posted on: 9/23/14 9:17 AM ET
I just got my first gravity feed iron a couple of weeks ago. I didn't realize the tube wasn't filled up? It works just fine, am I missing something here. It does not produce the huge bursts of steam that the steam engine did, but it certainly takes the wrinkles out and gives me the results I am looking for, so do I care if the tube is full all the time? 
------

------
Nancy
Posted on: 9/23/14 3:50 PM ET
In reply to Bob Loblaw
I don't think it matters whether the hose is really full of water in order to get good bursts of steam when you need them - as long as you can see at least some water moving down into the iron when you press the steam button. I've had my Naomoto gravity feed iron for about 7+ years, and the hose doesn't usually look full. There are usually several air bubbles (or spaces where there is no water).
I will add, though, that tech support at Cleaners Supply (where I originally bought it) once told me that you could remove the air bubbles by holding the iron over a bowl and repeatedly pressing the steam button until the hose fills and the bubbles are pushed through. I did that on initial setup, but for some reason decided not to bother doing that after changing the resin and washing out the bottle and hose. I probably should do that again, but it seems to work just as well with and without those air bubbles. Water gets through nicely even if the hose doesn't look full.
This iron works beautifully every time I use it, and is probably the best sewing purchase I've ever made. If I had to, I'd replace it in a heartbeat. Hope you enjoy yours.
-- Edited on Today at 6:55 PM --
I will add, though, that tech support at Cleaners Supply (where I originally bought it) once told me that you could remove the air bubbles by holding the iron over a bowl and repeatedly pressing the steam button until the hose fills and the bubbles are pushed through. I did that on initial setup, but for some reason decided not to bother doing that after changing the resin and washing out the bottle and hose. I probably should do that again, but it seems to work just as well with and without those air bubbles. Water gets through nicely even if the hose doesn't look full.
This iron works beautifully every time I use it, and is probably the best sewing purchase I've ever made. If I had to, I'd replace it in a heartbeat. Hope you enjoy yours.
-- Edited on Today at 6:55 PM --
Posted on: 9/23/14 4:07 PM ET
In reply to Bob Loblaw
I just hung the bottle up and it works fine. I never really thought about whether the tube was full of water or not.
------
------
Bernina 700 Embroidery only; B780; 475QE; Bernina L890;Bernina Designworks; Floriani Total Control
Posted on: 9/25/14 11:11 PM ET
Thanks for all your replies. I have since run some coffee machine descaler (1L of Caffiza solution) through the bottle and iron. Turned out that there was some scaling & buildup in the steam chamber- I could see the tiny chunks flowing out throught the steams ports. Additionally, the bottle valve was gunked up pretty badly too, and I think that was the main culprit. It appears that the descaling solution did its job because I'm now getting more flow through the tube and noticeably better steam output.
* this is on a 30+ year old Naomoto HYS-6, in case anyone was wondering.
* this is on a 30+ year old Naomoto HYS-6, in case anyone was wondering.
Posted on: 9/26/14 5:30 PM ET
In reply to Bob Loblaw
That's a very good quality iron. So, you might want to get a clean new bottle (mesh filter is included) and hose for it, along with the demineralizer resin that's made specifically for gravity feed irons. If yours had as much buildup as you describe, then the water that was used with it was probably fairly high in minerals. Even though my tap water is very low in minerals, I use distilled water in the bottle along with the demineralizer resin. There might be some remaining buildup that you can't see. These items are not costly and they could help keep your iron's inside chamber clean and help it last for many more good years.
* Advertising and soliciting is strictly prohibited on PatternReview.com. If you find a post which is not in agreement with our Terms and Conditions, please click on the Report Post button to report it.
Selected Reviews, Classes & Patterns
Fancy Frocks Fabrics
Fine Designer Fabrics
Fine Designer Fabrics






![Merchant and Mills The Celeste Top Digital Pattern [18-28]](https://images.patternreview.com/sewing/patterns/merchantmills/celeste/celeste_t2.jpg)
