Philips PerfectCare Performer Steam Generator - 2600W, 420g Steam Boost, 6.5 Bar Pressure, OptimalTEMP Technology, 1.8L Tank, Blue/Grey (GC8735/80)

I purchased this steam generator to replace a steam generator that had decided to spew hot water every where, after a couple of years of faithful service.So my initial impressions of the Philips steam generator perfect care is as follows. (after 6 days usage)1) Packaging adequate without being over the top. A concern I know to those with environmental concerns.2) Very easy to set up. matter of a couple of minutes at most. even though the "quick start guide" was not present and had to read the maininstruction manual. which was very easy and strait forward to read/follow.3) Very easy to use, though I find it a bit fiddly when trying to put the full water reservoir in position. I am sure this will improve with use.4) It takes approx 2 mins for the generator to heat up, a blue light flashes on the handle and then stops when ready, it also gives an audible bleepwhen ready.5) The steam generator performs well under pressure, to activate steam you have to squeeze a trigger on the inside of the handle and maintainyour grip for continuous steam. there is a lag between pressing the trigger and steam delivery, though after a few garments you get used to it .It copes well with mixed loads of laundry from heavy denim to light delicate material. with the luxury of not having to wait for change oftemperatures on the sole plate. Their is ample steam for denim and difficult over dry creases, though extra steam is available by squeezing thesteam trigger twice quickly which delivers an intense steam jet for approx 15 seconds.6) At this stage I have not had to de- calc the system but i am assured by the instruction manual that it will remind me to do this, only time will tell.CONCLUSIONI love this steam generator, it is easy to use, relatively light to handle and compared to my previous steam generator very quite.. I would highly recommend this generator to family and friends. so why only 4 stars?A) The priceB) extra steam pressure a little difficult to activate.UPDATEFebruary 2020After 2 and a half years of faithful service, this iron is still performing as well today as it did out of the box. I am delighted with all aspects of this irons performance . It is well worth the money.

So...I purchased this iron after much deliberation. It is a bit pricier than some of the other steam gen irons on the market but I had used a Morphy Richards steam gen iron in the past and was fed up with it being too much like a normal steam iron, you would expect these types of irons to produce LOADS of steam not just some but the Morphy Richards just didn't do this... Hence the decision to switch to Phillips.The Phillips so far has certainly beat my original expectations. The amount of steam that this iron produces is phenomenal. It heats up very quickly and is certainly easy to use - 1 press of the trigger provides steam, 2 presses provides a turbo steam feature which gives a short blast of masses of steam which is good for those stubborn creases. The fact that this model has a detachable water tank means its easy to continue to get the steam that I needed most, I can't believe manufacturers are still making steam gen irons with fixed water tanks!There are a few areas which I think take some getting used to. The first being the iron hasn't got a flat bottom to it so you can't rest the iron vertically. Something that I have done for years. The Phillips uses a technology which ensures it won't burn so its not a problem to leave the iron horizontally down - it just takes some getting used to. The second being it makes a clicking noise when you press the steam trigger, again this just takes some getting used to!Based on past experiences of this type of iron, I couldn't recommend the Phillips enough!

The design of this steam iron and the engineering behind it is nothing short of remarkable. It is aesthetically pleasing in the eye but more importantly it functions well as a steam iron - excellent for ironing all sorts of materials including curtains and bedsheets. As the water is held in a separate container the iron is very light to use and it can be kept flat in the ironing board without risk of burning g due on the sensitive electronic controlsThe downside - it does use a lot of steam, and occasionally you may feel you are in a sauna, but it does the job well.

Ok so the major design flaw is the automatic temperature control - great I said! Nothing can burn! I can leave the iron resting on the iron board. Yes, all that is true. However it still needs to actually function as an iron and I found myself going over shirts again and again to get all the creases out. Forget bed linen. It just didn't not get hot enough. And I had no way of putting it on a hotter setting. This was stuff that my old Tefal steam generator would have gone through the front and back in one swoosh.Next, the steam. It's delayed by like 2 seconds so you press the button when ironing the bit you want steamed and nothign really happens. What does happen though (a lot), is that when you take your finger off of the steam button/trigger and put the iron down on the rest, a huge amount of noisy loud steam comes out. Almost uncontrallably.I don't actually think this iron is fit for purpose. The heat and the steam functions just don't add together to make an iron that can iron things effectively. So back it is going and I'm buying a Tefal again instead.