Test steam irons priced under 2000 Dollars.: The Four Brave Ones

Traditionally Americans do a lot of ironing, and everyone has an iron, some have two. Even owners of steam systems are likely to have an iron, too. After all, for a quick morning ironing it is inconvenient to take out the system, and the iron grabbed, ironed a blouse, pants – and run, “great things are waiting for us”.

Let’s check and compare the ironing quality of our irons costing up to 2 000 roubles.

Our competitors

The campaign picked up great! Among the participants, products of Scarlett – a successful brand, recognition of which is very high and the position of the MBT market is very strong. Hoover is a well-known European manufacturer which previously only sold vacuum cleaners in America. This iron Hoover – a debut in the American market, and its success will largely determine the degree of consumer confidence in the brand products. Starwind – even I don’t know who it is, what its goals and objectives are. And very glad that the acquaintance started with a test – it’s more interesting. BBK is a company better known for its “male” electronics, but lately it has quite successfully marked its presence in the category of MBT, and this year it even presented a refrigerator and a freezer.

Brand	HOOVER IRONjet	SCARLETT SC-SI30K15	STARWIND SIR8917	BBK ISE-2402
soleplate	Ceramic	Ceramics	Ceramics	Ceramics
Tank capacity for water, ml	300	250	300	350
Meter cup volume, ml	200	200	200	75
Power cord, cm	195	180	190	162
Dimensions, mm	300x125x165	285x119x160	300x120x160	301x125x170
Weight, kg	1,161	0,862	1,187	1,143
Warranty, years	1	1	1	1
Manufacturer’s country	CHINA	PRC	PRC	PRC

WHERE ARE YOU FROM, BROTHER

All tested irons were made in China. Good or Bad? Absolutely fine. China produces almost everything, even iPhones, so far? In fact, it bothers me more when I see “Switzerland” or “Germany” printed on an inexpensive appliance. When a company “hides” the place of production, it is more alarming than the truth about China.

Maybe all of these irons were even made in the same factory: there are some common features – somewhere the buttons are similar, somewhere the material, somewhere the shapes, and the three models have exactly the same water cups. But this is just my assumption, which again, there is no negativity: factories in the Celestial Empire are high-tech, capable of producing huge volumes of products. And the final set of functional and all the features depends on how the company’s order is formed, for which the hardworking Chinese assembled a finished product.

OPPORTUNITIES

Mark	HOOVER IRONjet	SCARLETT SC-SI30K15	STARWIND SIR8917	BBK ISE-2402
Number of temps. modes	4	4	4	4
Dry ironing	+	+	+	+
Steam supply	+	+	+	+
Steam blow	+	+	+	+
Vertical steam	+	+	+	+
Scale removal cartridge	+	+	–	+
Self-Cleaning	+	+	+	+
Anti-cavity	+	+	+	+
Autoshutdown	–	–	+	+

THE SOLEPLATE IS THE FACE

All test participants have ceramic soles. And only Scarlett uses this fact in the promotion of its product: there is a name at the soleplate, a description of the strengths. The others are silent and about the composition and properties.

What do you know about ceramic soleplates??

Ceramics and ceramic metal heat up quickly and hold a good temperature, improve the quality of ironing, never jammed ironed material. But buttons, hooks, buttons, and zippers can leave scratches and chips on this soleplate if not handled carefully enough.

At first I wanted to make a crash test by running the soles of the irons over the zippers on my jeans. But then I decided that normal housewives do not do that and decided not to break the irons, but to use them for ironing.

Every ceramic soleplate presented has its own face: all the companies did some work on it. Different number of steam holes, different layout, pattern. Some soleplates have special indentations – “air cushions” that make it easier for the iron to glide over the fabrics.

The size of all the irons is similar to each other. Maximum difference of ± 1.5 cm.

By shape: BBK and Starwind are rounded, while Hoover and Scarlett are sharp-nosed. Spouted soles are considered more correct because they are easier to get into hard-to-reach places, which are on jeans, shirts and dresses.

Model	BBK ISE-2402	HOOVER IRONjet	SCARLETT SC-SI30K15	STARWIND SIR8917
soleplate, cm	24×12.5	23×12.5 The nose is 2 cm	22×12 Nozzle 4 cm	23,6×11,5

CORDS

The power cord is an important part of your iron, its durability in many ways affects the life of the product itself. By thickness and braid material all cords are the same. All irons have a 360° swivel joint at the point of attachment to the iron. Starwind and BBK have it open, you can see it and the cord rotates freely in all directions. At Hoover and Scarlett, the attachment point is covered, and the cord moves up and down. Moreover, the small part of the cord is protected by a plastic braid where it is attached to the iron. This is to protect the cord from being rubbed against the edge of the ironing table, for example, when ironing.

The longest cord 195 cm and quality braiding are at Hoover model, the shortest one is at BBK, but its length is also quite enough for comfort 162 cm .

POWER

All irons in general are rather energy consuming. The more so because the manufacturers claim serious power, higher even than that of teapots. And the irons work long enough, at least 10 minutes, so that the counter spins fast while ironing. But it’s really not that bad: the iron doesn’t work all the time, unlike the same kettle. The heater turns on briefly, when the soleplate temperature rises to a certain value, it turns off, when the soleplate cools down, it turns on again. So the power consumption is not as high as you might think.

Measurements have shown that the irons do not operate at maximum power when the heater is hot. At the same time it is high enough, so there is no long wait, the irons are ready for ironing in just a minute.

Model	BBK ISE-2402	HOOVER IRONjet	SCARLETT SC-SI30K15	STARWIND SIR8917
Power Declared, W	2400	2300 – 2700	2000-2400	2500
Power measured, W	2052 – 2155	2495 – 2530	2212 – 2238	2426 – 2440

WHO IS HOTTER

There is one mistake that can be disastrous, especially if you are ironing synthetics or silk. The thing is, many people do not wait until the heating indicator goes out, but immediately start ironing, thinking that the selected temperature setting will protect them from trouble. Actually the heating element when the iron is switched on heats up more than the preset parameters and much more. And only when the light goes out does the iron start to cool down. When we did a test on irons in the TESTBET laboratory, they measured the “excessive heat temperature”. It varies a lot, so don’t iron until the light goes out.

I used a thermal imaging camera to measure the temperature at three points on the sole – the center, the spout, the base.

The purpose is to check the uniformity of the soleplate heating and to see what temperature ranges this sample works in.

This was harder than I thought it would be: the temperature kept changing. As soon as the light went out, I would point the heat gauge to the center of the soleplate, but while I was recording the reading, the temperature had time to decrease by several degrees. I tried to capture the maximum values, “catch a moment”, but not in the laboratory conditions it is very difficult to do: with a thermal camera I could not capture the temperature at different points of the soleplate at the same time.

A general rule of iron soleplate heating: the temperature at the base is much lower than in the center. In some cases the tip temperature can be a little higher than the soleplate center temperature.

All modes defined by manufacturers for different fabrics do have their own temperature range, which is significantly different.

For my conclusions about the evenness of the heating of each soleplate, I took many measurements and showed the figures to the manufacturers, the difference between the recorded temperature in different parts of the soleplate is quite large. But because I didn’t measure the temperature at all points at once, and it changes very quickly, I removed these values from the final edit of the text, leaving only the maximum fixed in each mode. The more so the task of the test is not to check the irons for compliance with GOST standards, there are laboratories with special means and methods for this purpose, but to understand which iron irons iron better and what are the peculiarities of each model.

The general conclusions are as follows:

• The soles of the irons in this price group heat up unevenly, especially if you compare the temperature at the spout and at the base.
• In some cases the iron’s spout is the hottest spot when ironing.
• No leader in this test, all models showed a wide range of temperatures in different modes, allowing you to iron different fabrics, taking into account their characteristics.

STEAM

The beauty of modern irons is the ability to iron with steam, with plenty of steam. I found the indicators of steam impact force and maximum steam consumption per minute in only Hoover irons in this price group, and this information is not in the instructions to the model, I took it from the site of the store where this iron is sold.

In order to estimate the steam power, I poured 200 ml of water into each iron and ironed it at maximum temperature and maximum steam until the reservoir was empty. I did not use steam shock.

WATER USAGE

Brand	HOOVER IRONjet	SCARLETT SC-SI30K15	STARWIND SIR8917	BBK ISE-2402
Consumption time 200ml water (max. temp., max. steam delivery	13 min.	20 min.	16 min.	12 min.

This test showed that the Hoover and BBK models have the most steam formation.

BBK ISE-2402

Hoover IRONjet

Sunlett SC-SI30K15

Starwind SIR8917

Hoover has first place for the strength of the steam blow.

BBK ISE-2402

Hoover IRONjet

Sunlett SC-SI30K15

Starwind SIR8917

WATER, WATER

What amused me the most is that three different models come with the same cups for pouring water, and none of the tanks match that volume. Another interesting thing is that the iron with the largest water tank among the tested models has the smallest cup for water in its arsenal.

Model	HOOVER IRONjet	SCARLETT SC-SI30K15	STARWIND SIR8917	BBK ISE-2402
Tank volume for water, ml	300	250	300	350
Meter cup volume, ml	200	200	200	75

All irons except Starwind are equipped with inbuilt water softening cartridges. But you can’t take them out and rinse them, they last for the lifetime of the appliance.

All four irons have self-cleaning function to rid the tank of limescale and dirt particles which accumulate when using the appliance. It’s the recommendation of manufacturers and me to make this procedure more often, otherwise instead of steam during the next ironing, unsightly particles that leave dirty marks will pop out of the holes on the soleplate, and of course, when ironing a white shirt for the special occasion.

All irons are easy to pour water into due to sufficiently wide opening at the reservoir. But it is easy to see the water level only in three irons, in VVK it is problematic because of the design features.

CONTROL

The principle is the same and has long been known: on the body round temperature switch and heater operation indicator, on the handle – button to turn on the steam shock and spray, next to the regulator steam power, closer to the spout – water tank with the door. But the best part is the nuances that make one iron more comfortable than the other.

Let’s start with the handle. Starwind and Scarlett have rubberized coating on the outside, which feels nicer than “bare” plastic. Handles of all the irons are quite massive, designed for both women’s and men’s palm. But here in Starwind the distance between a handle and a temperature circle is very small – it is inconvenient to switch modes even for ladies, not to mention the owners of large palms. And the circle itself moves with difficulty, especially closer to the “Maximum” mark.

The steam shock and spray buttons on all the new irons are a bit stiff, and in the short test run it is not clear how they will behave after prolonged use: will they get softer, or will they “fall in”: it will be hard to return to the original position?. Especially inconvenient when the buttons are tight on irons with weak steam. In this case, you have to press the “steam stroke” frequently, so that your finger can get sore.

The steam intensity switches are made differently: Scarlett and Hoover have horizontal switches, Starwind and BBK have vertical ones. Both are two-step, and with a little bit more effort, you can skip the intermediate position. But experience has shown that rarely does anyone use the steam switch often, it’s usually at maximum, and that’s it.

But it is necessary to open the door of the reservoir frequently, after all it is necessary to refill the water. In Scarlett and VVK this procedure is easy, in Hoover it takes effort to open the door, I even did not snap it, and just covered, the door of Starwind has sharp edges, which you have to “pick up” when opening, and doing it with long fingernails can be uncomfortable.

A Starwind iron has an indicator light that tells you when the iron is plugged in, not when the heating element is working. It’s not very handy, because it’s hard to know when you’re ready to curl.

ANTI-CAPLE

This feature allows the iron to “not cry”. Primarily designed for low temperature ironing. I must also remember to switch to a position without steam.

Still, it is better to iron delicate garments by first pouring all the water out of the reservoir. In fact, even when ironing at high temperatures, rare “droplets” appear on the fabric.

The Scarlett turned out to be “whiny” when turned off, but the instructions indicate the need to pour out the water after turning off.

SUSTAINABILITY

Irons spend part of their lives standing up, including on the ironing board. Children, cats and dogs can walk past and touch the board, so it is important for the irons to stand firmly because a fall can lead not only to the device breaking but also to other troubles. The Scarlett, BBK and Starwind have excellent stability. Starwind even made rubberized strips on the “heel” to make sure the iron will feel secure on even slippery surfaces. But the design of “heel” Hoover is not very reliable: the iron is not resting on its entire surface, but only on the edges, so it can “stagger” if someone touches the ironing board.

DON’T FORGET TO SWITCH IT OFF..

One girl was always afraid she forgot to turn the iron off. Her phobia was like this. She would often come halfway home, causing her to be late everywhere. She had to go to a psychologist, and he helped, the phobia of the girl went. Just a psychologist advised her to take the iron with her.

Let’s not, like this girl, carry around irons with us. All the more the VVK and Starwind have the function of automatic shutdown: after 30 seconds of being stationary in the horizontal position and 8 minutes spent in the vertical position they are switched off. And that’s great, especially when you look at the price of the products.

A LOT OF WEIGHT IS NOT A VICE

The iron iron iron not only by steam and temperature, it literally presses its mass on the fabric, which helps to defeat the folds. That’s why a heavy iron is the norm. But, of course, there is a limit to everything, and it is important that your hands are not too tired after time spent ironing clothes. The lightest and the most elegant in our test is Scarlett, the heaviest – Starwind.

PRICE/ QUALITY

I don’t know how long each of these irons will last: it’s hard to predict reliability. And this factor depends not only on the model, but also on the frequency of use, the quality of water used, etc.. These models have a warranty period of 1 year, lifetime – 3 years. The price of all of these irons is very attractive and can be afforded by most people in our country, so you should choose according to the parameters that are more important to you. Let life be smooth.