Customer Reviews

Rowenta DG8030 1800 Watt Expert Steam Station with stainless steel soleplate

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I had read all about the problems of the Rowenta 5030 series Steam Generator. it seems that the Rowenta Engineers read the complaints, too. The 8030 Unit is their answer. A superb Generator where the water level is visible, easy to fill and re-fill, much lighter in weight than my old Rowenta Professional Iron and, boy, does it pour out the steam! It sits easily on my older ironing board, has a 12 foot electrical cord and a 6 foot elect./steam line attaching the iron to the generator. It has a very short wait time to began ironing/steaming and the clothing comes out pressed as if done at a local dry cleaning place. I love the unit and highly recommend it to anyone who hates to iron. This unit will put a smile on your face.

Steam generator irons are very common in Europe (where I am from originally) and buyers are provided with extra information that to my mind makes a huge difference in the purchasing decision. In the United States, however, few models exist and compete on the market and this data may not be so helpful as there is not much choice besides the Rowenta line (of 2). I suspect consumers iron less in this country and make more use of cleaners' services. However, I thought I'd share the information I found for the benefit of European buyers, more sophisticated buyers or more thorough minded buyers.

Rowenta was kind enough to give me the information I was looking for after some inquiry with their technical department. Here it is: the steam pressure is 4 bars (pretty good) and the continuous steam flow is 90g/min (so so for steam generators). I was not given data for the steam boost output which is important for a deep crease removal. The heating time at start is 3 min. The machine does not have auto-calc cleaning.

Top of the range pressure ironing systems in Europe now have 5 bars of steam pressure for fast ironing (pressurised steam penetrates deep into fabrics making ironing fast and easy, even on difficult fabrics) and at least 120g/min of continuous steam output for fast crease removal. Steam boost blast is around or above 170g/min. Heating time is 2 minutes and the system has an auto cleaning program for calc. deposits.

To my mind, this Rowenta product performance criteria are in line with its price. I am very seriously considering purchasing it.

I hope this is useful. Happy ironing :-)

First off, I wouldn't even consider using this iron with one of the flimsy supermarket ironing boards....something like the Rowenta IB6300 is much more in order, (it also has a shelf to place the reservoir, very handy).

Now on to the actual review. We've only had this iron for a couple of weeks, if I experience any nasty longevity issues, I'll be sure to address them with updates to this review.

Wow, this iron/steam generator is making ironing less of a chore. We'd previously owned the Rowenta Perfect and Advancer irons, both of which my wife sent on one way trips to a hardwood floor, (while the floor survived with large gouges, the irons, unfortunately, did not). After being spoiled with the Rowenta brand, and needing a replacement, we opted for the DG8030.

This thing is pricey! If I didn't require a large amount of clothes ironed, I'd be more tempted to just take everything to the cleaners. We bit the bullet and haven't looked back since. Ironing creases used to take time and a determined effort. Now it's just a quick pull on the steam button, and you're in business. Need to iron out or adjust a crease? Too easy! I can't vouch for using this vertical with drapes/blinds, but for uniforms and dress clothes, I haven't seen better. Combined with a quality ironing board, (as mentioned above), I've cut down my ironing time by more than half.

I especially liked the large reservoir and the fact that you can refill it without waiting for the iron to cool down. If you iron often and can manage the price tag, this is it.

I just put up this comment at epinions, but I wanted the Amazon crowd to see it, too.

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This is a wonderful product, but I had trouble using it at first.

So that's why I'm writing this review: To give a head's-up to new owners and people who are thinking about buying it.

When I first bought the 8030... it didn't work.

I mean: No steam at all.

What a huge disappointment.

Every time I turned it on, the thing went through its warm-up cycle, and then ended-up with a light that indicates "empty water tank". This is what drove me crazy because I was sitting there, looking at a water tank filled to the max line.

Did I have a defective product? It looked that way to me, and that was confirmed by a lady at Rowenta tech support. She told me to bring it back, and next time -- try using spring water, since my house water might be too hard.

So... my wife and I brought it back to Bed Bath & Beyond. We ordered a new one, got it in a few days, filled it up with spring water, and...

No steam.

More disappointment.

We were all set to bring the second one back, but this time, I thought I would be an obstinate, mindless robot and just try it over and over again... like 50 times, if necessary. I just couldn't believe that Rowenta would turn out two duds in a row.

Every time I would go through the same routine: The iron would engage the pump, the red empty light would turn on, and I'd press the re-start button.

Well, after maybe 15 times, guess what? IT WORKED!

And the steam? Oh, man! Clouds of it, forcefully ejected from the iron. And what a difference it makes in the ironing process. It's much faster, no starch is necessary, and everything comes out looking great.

So, bottom line, my recommendation to Rowenta is this: Put a great big neon orange sticker inside the product box. Tell the new user that it may take many, many times to start the iron for the first time. The printed documentation says that a first-time use might require the user to "press the steam trigger several times in a row". Well, that ain't the half of it.

I ordered the expert version, since there were so many issues with the 5030. It works well - heats up really quickly, you can see water level and it has a warning light on water level anyway. You can also refill without having to wait for the iron to cool. The long cords are handy. This was my first experience with a steam generator iron and honestly, while it works fine, it is/was a lot of money and doesn't seem all that much of an improvement over a conventional steam iron. The vertical steaming doesn't work too well. After holding the trigger for a few seconds, the amount of steam drops off significantly - not really enough for efficient vertical steaming.

I had the previous model of this iron, which finally broke... the white & greenish one that was the larger of the two that they offered... and it was virtually identical feature-wise. It seems that this one is just a cost reduction of the older model. The plastic itself isn't as nice, nor does it fit together as well (I was very impressed with the fit & finish of the old one). This one also doesn't have a rubbery feeling handle. The iron part is much lighter weight, though that could be considered good or bad. The sole plate is shiny polished instead of a matte finish... it doesn't seem to slide as well across damp laundry as the old one.

For the most part, though, it seems to work about the same. The pump comes on a little more often, and stays on for a shorter time, which is kind of nice. The trigger to release steam doesn't always work right on this one--it gets stuck on sometimes, and I have to pull and release the trigger again to turn it off. Other times it won't come on when I pull the trigger. But that's just a minor annoyance, I guess... whatever is causing it probably is saving Rowenta some money in the design, because the old one worked flawlessly.

It is still a hundred times better than an ordinary iron. Next time, though, I'll probably go with a different brand (like the Reliable Ironmaven, though I don't have any experience with that one).

Anyway, shame on Rowenta for taking their product down a notch.

I would rate the Expert, Rowenta's "new and improved" steam iron, as very good to excellent -- until it isn't anymore. While Rowenta addressed a number of issues with the earlier version (DG 5030), specifically slow startup and an opaque water level compartment, they haven't been able to produce a quality product that lasts. I purchased one for a Christmas present for my wife in December, 2008. It is now July, 2009, and we have now returned our third Rowent Expert. The first one just quit, at about 3 months in. It was swapped for a new one, which worked about 2 months before the steam generator quit producing steam: the iron heated up, just no steam. The third one operated only 1 month before making a distinctly peculiar noise and pumping water and steam out of the bottom of the water reservoir. Back it went. We have followed the instructions regarding the type of water and rinsing the steam chamber out per the instructions. It just seems to be insufficiently well engineered to survive ordinary household use.

After our last Expert went back, we took home the previous version (DG 5030) and we'll see how it holds up. One advantage of the older model is that there is no ***-awful noisy water pump that the "Expert" has, preventing conversation or hearing the TV. On the other hand, it takes 7-8 minutes to warm up before the steam is ready, and you can't see the water level. Wish I had a LauraStar...

By the way, kudos to Bed Bath and Beyond for taking back all of the broken irons with graciousness and without a hint of complaint -- three times now!

OK -- So here's the update on the DG 5030. It's now November 2010 and the first DG 5030 we purchased is still running like a champ. We found that placing the steam unit on the floor seems to work better, maybe any cooling fluid in the steam line is running back down to the steam chamber. Not sure and don't care, since at least it keeps running. We use distilled water, against the manufacturers advice, and have had no problems at all.

OK fans, here's the March 6, 2011 update: our 5030 is still going strong. Guess what? Bed Bath & Beyond no longer carries the 8030! Wonder why? Actually I don't, the 8030 is still plagued with multiple problems. Read more carefully through the reviews....most of the positive reviewers have had it an insufficient time for all of the problems to show up. So my daughter just bought a 5030 today, with BB&B's usual 20% discout. I'll let you know if we have any problems!!

Twelve years ago I bought the Rowenta DG 050 for a 60th birthday gift for myself. It just expired in the past few months, and I now have the Rowenta DG8030. Love this new model, and the features have certainly improved in 12 years. The steam generated is plentiful, I like the swiftness of the warm up time, appreciate the see thru water reservoir, and again, the cords are plenty long for even this left hander to find it easy to use. The lights on the buttons serve me better. I sew a lot, and steaming each step is important for a professional appearance. I grew up when clothing to be ironed was wet down and put into the fridge til ironing time, and of course it included even items like bras and Dad's boxer shorts. I'm in heaven now with this almost effortless way of ironing. The surprise is I recently found the receipt for the first iron, and the price I paid for the new, much improved version, is almost to the penny the same price I paid for the DG 050 twelve years ago, which means in real money, I got a better deal this time.

I make custom made clothing, alterations (an so on) and after using several Rowenta irons I wanted more steam. When I first received this steam generator I played around with it to figure out how it worked and what heat/steam setting to use on different types of fabric (and to be honest) I did not like it. But the second time I used it I set it on the highest heat and the highest steam settings and pressed very sharp creases into everything from denim to chiffon fabric and then removed the creases with ease. (I am not saying to use it on high settings for all types of fabric I just did that to test the product.) The more I used it the more I fell in love with it. Yes, it is expensive and if you do not do a lot of ironing DO NOT buy it but if you iron a lot then this becomes "a gift from God." What takes you 30 minutes to do w/ a conventional iron can be done in 5 minutes with the generator. As for vertical steaming, I do not (nor did I ever) plan on using it for that becasue I have a professional steamer where the dresses/items are hanging vertically. This steam generator can get into places the steamer cannot and for basic pressing it is fantastic.
One note: When using this generator (excessively) in a smaller size room the steam it produces can turn that room into a sauna.

This is our second Rowenta Expert Steam Generator.

The first one was used five or six times a week for for at least an hour each time. It served us well for the last several years and was just starting to get a little finicky about turning on. I guess the power switch needed to be replaced, but the fabric on the tubes was a little frayed, nothing serious, just honest wear. We decided to retire it in favor of a new one.

If you are serious about having your clothes look well pressed,this is the appliance to use. The so called "steam irons" are tinker toys compared to the Rowenta Expert Steam Generator. Turn it on and you're ready to work in three minutes or so.

It may be a little pricey for a home use iron, but it makes the task much easier. We would never again consider using a "regular" iron after experiencing how this one performs.

We live in the country, use "hard water" from a driven well, and experienced no "hard water" related problems with our first unit.

This thing just plain works!