Love Steam Generator Irons....

....and after using one for the past 3 years I CANNOT stand to iron with any other type of iron. I tried...twice...ACK!

I've been using the Rowenta DG980 until this past week when it suddenly decided to stop pumping water from the detachable reservoir into the boiler. Off to Rowenta repair dealer to be fixed - hopefully.

Purchased a DG5030 to tide me over (and to use exclusively for quilting since it's not as refillable and I tend to iron for hours at a go then). I really like it more than I thought. I figured I'd have a hard time enjoying (if that's a word to use in conjunction with ironing) another iron after my beloved 980, but it works great. I do miss the refillable reservoir and being able to see how much is left, but the tank holds quite a bit so it does the job....and I don't have to wait for the pump to refill the boiler like on the 980.

You CAN fill the tank while it's hot (per the manual even), but you have to use all of the water/steam first...until there is no pressure left...then you SLOWLY fill the tank and be sure to stop before overflowing. Not as convenient as just detaching something and holding it under the tap, but it works when you need it to.

I haven't had any problems with spitting or dripping like others have reported for this model. I've always been in the habit of hitting the steam button a couple of times right after it heats up though (gets the steam in the cord) so maybe that's the difference???

I'd definitely recommend this model. It's cheaper than the 980 was by quite a bit and it works just fine and dandy. It's great for 'long-haul' ironers, too since it has steam on demand for nearly 1 1/2 hours non-stop.

This iron, like all Rowentas it seems, only has a 1 year warranty...some brands have up to 3 years on the boiler. Not sure how often the boiler goes out though...other things look to be more likely to break first from what I've read, and experienced. Maybe it's like the power train warranty on a car...they give you the long warranty only on the things less likely to break? For the cost I'd expect a bit longer on the warranty...2 years at least.