Anyone know why my iron won't heat up?

Forums: Iron, Broken Iron
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It's a really good GE that I got in 1980 and it's always been wonderful. Yesterday I tried to use it, but it didn't heat up at all. It remained stone cold dead. I tried it in different sockets, but to no avail. I used it just last week and it was fine. So does anyone know what might be wrong with it? The plug looks fine, so I'm at a loss.

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@Mame,

It's on sit down strike because it is a iron from 1980 for Pete's sake! Perhaps it wants to retire? Razz

Or it could have a broken switch or electrical connection inside the actual iron (and beyond the chord) to the heating elements that boil the water and heat the metal are broken. It is an iron that's about 30 years old.

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@Mame,

It could be a number of things as already pointed out if could be switch or the line or the heating element or the over heat fuse or................

If you have a friend who know how to used an ohm meter he or she could find the problem in short order however without that just buy a new one.

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@Mame,

The wiring may have broken inside the cord where it connects to the iron. There's a lot of stress on it at that point -- that's what happened to my old one. Newer irons take that into account and have a toggle-like connection so it can move around and not be stressed. Of course new irons are also digital and look like space ships and I hate most of them because they seem unnecessarily complicated but that's another thread...

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What's an iron?

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The problem is that you are trying to use it two weeks in a row. For heavenssakes! No one should iron that much and the iron knows it.

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@Mame,

Doesn't matter. Somewhere around 1950, you could take appliances apart and fix something. Now, they are either molded or crimped together, and if you ever get the blessed thing apart you find the critical part is a bunch of circuits fused into a little hunk of plastic that wasn't available as a replacement part on the day it left the factory.

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I recall my mother saying that, when she was a new bride, she ironed the sheets.

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@roger,

roger wrote:

Doesn't matter. Somewhere around 1950, you could take appliances apart and fix something. Now, they are either molded or crimped together, and if you ever get the blessed thing apart you find the critical part is a bunch of circuits fused into a little hunk of plastic that wasn't available as a replacement part on the day it left the factory.

they used to make irons out of cast iron with wooden handles that you would slip into rings on the iron, you would, of course, have several irons and one handle. The irons themselves sat on the wood stove getting/staying hot while you ironed, as the one you were using cooled down, you would put it back on the stove top and slip the handle onto another hot iron. there were not moving or electric parts. they almost never broke. you could also use them when frying bacon on the stove top keeping the bacon from curling.

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Maybe it's not an iron, but a telephone. We all make mistakes from time to time.

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@dyslexia,

Always wondered about that. Didn't those nice white, boiled, linen shirts come out looking a bit sooty? Same question applies to the new style electric irons, of course. They do tend to leave stains after a week of mostly cooking hamburgers.

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@roger,

And, Dys...Do you have a problem with curled bacon?

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@realjohnboy,

I'm sure he irons his bacon like everyone else.

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@roger,

Iron deficiency, which is the most common nutritional deficiency, can cause anemia, which prevents your body's cells from getting enough oxygen. Symptoms of iron-deficiency anemia include weakness, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, fatigue and irritability. Teen girls and women who are menstruating and children and adolescents undergoing rapid growth periods are especially at risk for iron deficiency and iron-deficiency anemia. Infants and children are also at increased risk of iron deficiency.

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@dyslexia,

And it all started when they started making the sole plates on irons out of aluminum.

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Dys and RealJohnBoy - very helpful, thank you. Huh!

Actually, I noticed the plug has loosened slightly from the cord (I had that replaced 20 yrs ago) so I will take it to a small appliance repair shop. They don't make 'em the way they used to. This one is a beaut - nice and heavy - if you twirled it and hit someone with it, it'd knock 'im out. Not that I'm looking to do that, mind you, but... it's solid.

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@Mame,

Of course you wouldn't. That's why they still make cast iron skillets.

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Maybe they can only iron so many shirts - and then nuthin'! Kaput! That's it!

Or perhaps Squinney has the right idea - ironing 2 weeks in a row! Sheesh!

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@Mame,

Mame? You don't happen to be a part time mobster hitman/loan shark debt collector? No. Nevermind. Don't answer that. I don't want to know. Shocked

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Is it plugged in?

You're welcome, glad I could be of help.

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Anyone know why my iron won't heat up?

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