Add temperature regulation to a vintage ironer

[adam-aussie-vac]

Hey guys, I’m wanting to add temperature regulation to my vintage Oprim Rotary ironer, As at the moment it uses a simerstat and I’m not exactly happy with it using that, but thankfully I’ve got enough familiarity with it to actually use it Without scorching my cotton pillowcases, but I do want to have something that instead uses the Much more modern and easily recognised 3 • System (3 dot System),

Does it seem like a crazy question to ask if it’s possible to add Modern functionality to a vintage ironer? As I have been looking at ironers on Facebook marketplace And the only one that wouldn’t cost me an arm and a leg is all the way over at least two states away

 

[brisnat81]

Hi Adam

I assume that control is a replacement, because originally it should’ve either been labeled with dots. My Miele ironer from the late 60s lists fabric types and dots on the dial.

Could you try with an instant read thermometer measuring the temp of the plate and then just have a guide to remember the settings that correspond. The issue isn’t the control, more the knob that is attached.

Cheers

Nathan

 

[launderess]

Actually IMHO infinite temperature controls such as "Simmerstat" are superior to Miele and other modern irons or ironers with just three "dot" settings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infin..., simmerstat, energy,to a few switched levels.

Until recently ironers, presses, mangles, hand irons offered range of heat settings to better suit whole range of fabrics from synthetics to wool, cotton and linens.

One favors vintage ironers (such as our Simplex) and irons because they have a high enough setting for linen and heavy cottons. Our more modern Pfaff ironers only have three settings; basically "low", "medium" and "hot". First for man made fibers, second silk/wool and last both linens and cottons.

Linen can take far more heat than cotton. Indeed it usually requires a good hot iron to do up linen properly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironing#Recommended_ironing_temperatures

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

Launduress

With me, I know that I’ll never really encounter heavy linen
But I might decide to actually get some “Linen“ From some local craft shop, mainly because I want to actually see if my iron gets hot enough that it could potentially either iron it well or scorch it, although now I’m thinking since you said infinite control is superior in comparison to the standard thermostat with the three dot settings
That does make me wonder, what about putting a temperature settable thermostat on where I could actually set the exact temperature that I need? Say for example 204° for cotton, 230° for linen and even 240° for toile which is probably a material that I’ll never encounter but still you never know

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

Brisnat81

That actually is the original knob, as having a look at the one that’s in the Victorian museum, they have one in much better condition than mine, and it shows the exact knob as well, and what do you mean by instant read thermometer? As I tried using one of them laser thermometers but that doesn’t work for measuring the soleplate temperature

 

[brisnat81]

Simmerstat is just another word for variable temperature control. It likely cycles the element on and off with different ratios based on what number it is set to. Until of course you get to full and then the element stays on until it’s hotter than the sun.

Why wasn’t an infrared thermometer working. Could you take the roller off and then aim it at the plate?

 

[launderess]

Well you could do that, but it seems rather quite a lot of bother for what you've got already.

Your "Simmerstat" is graduated to provide temperatures for wide array of textiles. Owners manual should spell out what number goes to what. Should this not be available above guide from WP should suffice.

Issue with setting up a secondary thermostat system is you don't know what temp or range the "Simmerstat" is set to give for "X" number.

Ironer is likely from days when fabrics (at least natural such as linen and cotton) were heavier and extraction after wash was either a wringer or maybe top loading washer. Many women tended to have wash too damp for ironing thus counting on ironer to "dry" more moisture out of things than it should. To compensate for this and again heavier fabrics higher settings may be too hot for modern fabrics.

There is "linen" and there is linen. Heavy and thick linen or even cotton muslin bed sheets would be different than lighter weight linen or cotton percale

 

[adam-aussie-vac]

Unfortunately, unfortunately

I’ve never had any luck finding the owners manual as I had brought this Used from an antique store as I found adverts for it and photos of it but never the manual for it