Customer Reviews

Reliable J420 IronMaven Home Ironing Station with Aluminum Sole Plate

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Update to my previous review from Nov. 2009: I had my Iron Maven J420 for a total of 22 months. Oct. 5, 2011 I discovered a meltdown of the plastic cover on the bottom of the water tank. I discovered this when turning it over to drain the tank to prepare it for the descaling solution I was going to put in. I think plastic had melted due to a wire overheating inside the unit. It made a hole about the size of a quarter in the cover. You could see through the hole to wiring inside the tank and a black area indicating high temperature had occurred. I bought the IronMaven in November 09 after burning out my third $100 steam iron in 3 years. I wanted a durable unit that would last, had killer steam ability and did not mind paying $300.00 or so for one. I liked the IronMaven, it worked well. However, it appears to be no better constructed than any other cheap iron on the market and may be a fire hazard. It takes 10 minutes to warm up and now I see that leaving it unattended could have resulted in a fire.There are vent holes on the bottom of the water tank. I had it sitting on the end of my ironing board on a metal baking rack to keep the holes clear and unobstructed. I have no idea why it overheated. It may have been a wiring short. Sending it back for repair would be $24.95 each way to Reliable Co. in Canada plus about $70.00 for repairs. Do the math, that is about $120.00 if the technician was accurate about repair cost when I contacted the company. My expectation was to buy a unit that would work at least 5 years problem free when purchasing this thing. Use of about 2 hours a week for 22 months is not a heavy workload for a unit like this. I was checking out the Reliable i300 unit and was tempted for a moment to buy it at $449.00 then came to my senses. I will not buy another expensive ironing unit after this experience. $449.00 will buy a lot of mediocre steam irons and I will be money ahead at the end of 5 years even if I have to replace the iron every year. I am off to Costco to buy a Shark steam iron for $23.99

I had previous purchased a Euro Pro steam generator iron, which was quite impressive. It finally "died" and I thought I would buy another. However, as I did (considerable) research, I discovered the IronMaven appeared to be a superior product (hard to believe.) Additionally, the price was considerably higher for the IronMaven. However, I had read enough that I decided to buy it. Oh my goodness, this is the smoothest, easiest and quickest iron I have ever had. Without trying to disparage the Euro Pro product I had, the IronMaven made the Euro Pro seem like a 'travel iron', by comparison. I AM SO VERY GLAD that I purchased this product. My ironing time is divided in half, because 'one swipe' is all it takes. The feature of being able to lock the steam button down saves ALOT of time when ironing table cloths, etc. Truely, this was an excellent choice!

Like a previous reviewer, I've owned Euro-pro steam generator irons for over 10 years and loved them! When my last iron finally died, I decided to try the Rowneta 5030. It was good at first (though not as good as the Euro-Pro), but within a few short months it began to have problems. Finally, after 13 months, it just died - DEAD!

I spent a lot of time searching out another EuroPro to no avail. So I began reading reviews of other brands of steam generator irons and was highly impressed with what I read about the Iron Maven. WOW!!! The steam is amazing! The ease of ironing far surpasses EuroPro. One reviewer stated that the Iron Maven makes the EuroPro seem like a travel iron... I AGREE! This is, without a doubt, the best iron I've ever owned. It's worth every penny and thensome!

I've only used this steam generator for couple of weeks and totally love it! My husband wears dress shirts to work and his shirts never looked properly ironed, even though I had a Rowenta steam iron set on the highest setting and I would spray his shirts with water and starch before ironing. When that finally broke, we decided to go with a steam generator. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!! Advantages of the steam generator that I see vs. steam iron: The water stays in the bowl, making the iron much lighter. The handle really stays cool at the highest temperature vs. my Rowenta that would get overall really hot and uncomfortable. Less trips to the faucet; I can iron 4 shirts in one go, but I use a lot of steam (~ 4cups of water). The continuous steam works great, it has a lock button that would allow continuous steam. I like steam on demand though, and the button is very easy to press, almost effortlessly; with my Rowenta, my finger would hurt badly after 20 min of pressing for steam when ironing. Cutting time in half, since it gets the job done in 1-2 goes, vs. 4-5 with my previous steam iron. Results are excellent and hold the pressing, including cotton and linen, where as with my Rowenta, results were medium, with wrinkles appearing back after a day or so. I don't know yet how reliable is it going to be, but I hope it would last for years to come. Happy customer so far!

I am lovin my new IronMaven Home Ironing Station. Easy to follow directions, set up, etc. Very smooth...makes ironing a breeze. Cord could be a little longer. Fast, fast shipping a couple days after ordering. I have been using a lot the past 3 weeks and will recommend to all.

I am loving my new iron! My euro-pro just broke after 8.5 years of happy ironing. So far, the reliable j420 is far superior with regard to function. But really, could they have designed the cord any worse? It is too short and tangles easily...very annoying! However, I'll get used to it so I am keeping it. I will be VERY upset if after $250 bucks I does not outlast the euro-pro!

I love this iron, since I received it I have often wondered how in the world did I live without such an amazing iron. It works very well, and surprisingly it's very light. I love that it comes with a cord hanger so I don't get tangled when I am ironing. My sister in law learned how much I had paid for this and asked me "How much ironing do you do?", the truth is I don't do a ton of ironing, but I feel that when I do need to spend the time to iron it might as well be quality time and with great results, which is what I get by using reliable J420. It's worth every penny. I have to add though, that we also bought the Reliable ironing board which I think adds to great ironing.

I've never owned a "professional" iron before but got this to help my boyfriend press his uniforms. It's so powerful and the steam works great! I'm still learning how to press collared shirts and pants with the "military press" style but this iron helps it look like it came from the cleaners! Saves my bf $40/wk for his uniforms. The only cons are the cord...wish it was a little longer...and for some reason when I ran out of water in the chamber the water light didn't light up...also you have to be careful if opening the water chamber while the iron is on if u want to refill the tank bc pressurized steam comes out of it and you may burn yourself!! But overall I'm happy w this iron and I think it's worth the price if you want your clothes to look as professional as the cleaners (since the cleaners have all the powerful tools that regular irons do not have the capability to do). It's a good investment (just like a good flat iron for my hair :) and I hope will last for years to come!!

Features:
High volume of steam.
Effective temperature(s).
Decent weight to the iron (on the heavy side, in fact)- useful for pressing garments.
Removable iron rest, allowing it to be placed on the ironing board even when the boiler unit rests underneath.
Excellent customer service. (Calling Reliable with a question resulted in sincere help from Luigi, who works in the technical department.)

Room for improvement:
Water level is invisible.'
It ought to come with a bottle to allow one to fill it to the correct (invisible) level.

Bought this to replace a Rowenta that stopped working after less than a year. I wish I would have found this product before buying the Rowenta. The unit produces a great amount of steam, it never spits any water and has a very high quality look and feel to it. The controls are easy to use and intuitive. My only complaint is I wish the hose was just a bit longer.