The World’s Most Powerful Iron – 3,000 Watts

2007-Aug-03 |   Siemens has channeled the power of a high-performance steam ironing station into a normal iron. The “slider SQ3 steam generator” operates at 3,000 watts, making it the world’s most powerful iron. The unit contains a steam generator that provides 70 g/min permanent steam, enabling even the most wrinkled jeans or linens to be smoothed out easily. The appliance thus has all the advantages of a much heavier and more expensive steam ironing station with a separate water tank. It also consumes no more energy than a less powerful conventional iron because it heats up much more quickly. The secret of the new iron lies in a motor located inside the water tank. This motor drives a pump that pushes the steam through the holes in the iron’s soleplate. The unit also has a “jet-of-steam” feature that delivers a hefty 150 g/min of steam. In addition, the motor ensures that steam power remains constant even if the unit gets low on water – something that most conventional irons can’t do. The push of a button on the handle is all it takes to get steady steam pressure to smooth out creases, whereby the amount of steam can be regulated with a dial.

The iron comes with a 350-milliliter water tank, which is much less than that of a steam ironing station. The tank in the “ slider SQ3 steam generator” is much easier to fill, however, since all pressure in a steam station has to be removed before water can be added, and after that it takes up to eight minutes until the operating pressure of two bar or more is once again attained. Although water also has to be refilled more often than in steam ironing stations, the steam is ready as soon as the iron heats up. The “ slider SQ3 steam generator” can be filled with normal tap water . The iron is equipped with a four-fold cleaning function that can remove even large calcium deposits in several stages, and it also comes with three descaler vials. The iron’s automatic cut-off feature turns the unit off if the soleplate is kept on the ironing board for 30 seconds. The system will also disengage the iron if it is left for eight minutes on its base or on the tray. The iron sells for €160.