Customer Reviews

Reliable Professional Ironing Systems

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

 

 

I've had an i300 for a couple of weeks, and it is a delight to use. This is a no-frills commercial grade dry steam generator. The iron has a temperature control and a steam switch. The boiler unit has two on-off switches: one for the boiler itself and one for the iron. Oh, and a low-water idiot light. That's it.

What's great is the quality and quantity of steam this thing puts out. If you turn down the iron's temperature below the usual "steam" range, and hit the steam switch, you will shoot a visible blast of steam at least four to five feet. When the iron is hotter, the steam jet is audible, but not visible until it hits something and cools down.

Unlike ordinary irons, this steam blast can be held for many seconds without losing power. Also unlike ordinary irons and some boiler/iron
combos, this steam is "dry" steam under pressure. "Dry" in this context means that there are no droplets of liquid water (which is why you can't see the blast). Dry does not mean "no water". If you blast your ironing board, the pad will quickly become saturated. (That's why vacuum boards are useful, but that's another story.)

Recently I have been doing mostly garment construction, so I have been prefolding things like plackets, ironing a lot of seams and a lot of pre-shrunk yardage between the dryer and the cutting board. This unit works significantly faster than the conventional steam iron I was using. Maybe 50% faster on simple folds or flat ironing, and several times faster when trying to set crisp folds on six to eight layers of fabric (like the triangle fold on the end of a placket). I expect it to be very good (but have not yet tried it out) at construction pressing for tailored garments (e.g., sleeve cap ease on jackets and coats).

The steam is generated in the boiler unit, at the far end of the 7 foot hose, not in the iron itself. The hose is amply long to reach across the full length of an ironing board, while still letting you maneuver the iron. It doesn't get in the way due to the built-in spring-loaded support arm for the hose.

As a commercial unit, this is both less expensive and more durable than similar consumer steam generator boiler/iron combos. And it has a larger boiler tank than any consumer unit I am aware of.

The i300 is the smaller of Reliable's similar units. The tank is easily good for an entire day of sewing-with-frequent-ironing, or maybe two hours of solid ironing. If you were running a laundry, you'd buy a larger unit. If you are operating at home, this unit is a great size.

While the outside of the boiler unit gets uncomfortably warm after hours, it does not seem to be a burn hazard. I don't hesitate to put it on a board. The boiler unit comes with some silicone bumps on top so you can set the hot iron directly on it. You can't set the iron on its heel because the steam plumbing comes out there. However, you can use any rest that's suitable for the base of any conventional iron, and a separate silicone iron rest was included with my unit.

The only drawback to a unit like this is the relatively slow heatup and cooldown time. Allow 15 minutes (20 at the most) to bring the boiler up to steam heat from room temperature. And allow an hour to cool off and open up a filled boiler after making steam. Since one filling satisfies my needs, this drawback has not be a problem in practice for me.

I bought this iron back around August of 2007. So, it's been almost three years now the kids and I have used it for household ironing. I paid the big bucks for this iron because in the last few years prior to purchasing this iron I got sick of throwing away (five straight years in a row) irons I bought for around $80 or so (Krups, Panasonic, etc.).

I thought by spending almost $400 bucks I would get a piece of commercial equipment that would last for a decade.

Well, he I am now, about three years into owning it and the "steam" ability has stopped working :-(. I'm now facing a approx. $100 repair cost for this :-(

Can't people make anything that lasts any more if your willing to pay for it??? Geeze :-(

P.S. We have never filled the water tank with anything BUT water from our Reverse Osmosis system. So, I think hard water, etc. could be ruled out as a problem.

Unlike the 2 Rowenta's I've had, this iron does not seem to lose steam volume during heavy use. I use the steam to pre-shrink fabrics, which requires a lot, and this unit does do the job.

What I see as drawbacks of the unit are:

The steam tubes from the base to the iron seem to be always in the way. Perhaps the tubes are not as flexible as I'm used to...?

The soleplate only has steam holes at the top of the iron. The entire plate is not covered with steam holes as most irons have.

The iron rests on silicone bumps on the base, and it is not secure. I'd be more comfortable leaving a hot iron to rest in a spot that is shaped like the soleplate of the iron, therefore more secure.

If this iron could follow Rowenta's cue for comfort, or if Rowenta could follow this one's cue for steam output, we'd have a perfect iron!

I've had this iron for over a year now and am very pleased with it. After going through a few basic home irons, I wanted to invest in something nicer, and researched both gravity feed irons and steam generator irons. I decided on the steam generator type for a variety of reasons, including the quality of steam and ability to produce good steam even at the coolest iron temperatures.

While there are a few steam generator irons specifically marketed to the home user (like Reliable's own IronMaven), this is basically an entry-level professional iron. Reliable did a good thing making a more affordable "prosumer" steam generator. It has a great build and quality, is easy to clean and fill, and a small profile for the home user. The iron itself is the same iron used on their other professional models, and the generator holds approx 6 cups of water. (This isn't a huge amount--if you're a professional alterations/tailor/cleaner who uses these things more than 4 hours a day, you'll want a larger generator--you'll put too much stress on this one.) I use it approximately 6 hours a week.

As for the pressing itself, I'm in love. I have so much more control over my pressing than I did with other irons. Yes, the steam is amazing, and strong. I love being able to choose whether or not I want a dry iron or a cool iron with a shot of steam. There is no spitting or dribbling water.

Although I bought this through Amazon for better shipping rates (through Prime), I contacted Reliable's support when I couldn't figure something out and their service rep responded very quickly and personally. It seems like they've put a lot of work into their products and customer communication (I've since bought other things from them) and so while I don't normally recommend "brands" I feel they get five stars for their approachable storefront and communications.

I purchased this iron/boiler 3 years ago and have had nothing but repair after repair. Had to send the unit back to the manufacturer, located in Canada, ever try returning anything across the border?? It was leaking all over the seal was bad. I have had to return the iron 3 times for repairs and finally bought a new one. Had it for 6 months and had to send that to repair. I gave up, it has finally quit working all together. You would think that after spending $600 on a boiler unit you would at least get a few years out of it. Very disappointed. Not worth the money.

Received i500 a couple days ago and I love it.Easy to use the steam is amazing.I went from rowenta iron to i500 cut my ironing time in half.
I had fun with it I started ironing my sheets just to continue ironing.I also bought C81 vacumn ironing board it is also wonderful.You really need it
with this iron.It is very well made.You won't be sorry.

This is easy to use and works great on all fabrics. The creases are amazing! Long time between fills on the water.