YOUR DOLLAR
Union, Consumers
Your Dollar By Consumers Union SEVEN brands of electric irons have made their appearance on the market, and have been tested and rated by Consumers Union in the current issue of Consumer Reports....
...Advantages of the pen: it doesn't leak or drip when shaken, writing dries at once and does not require blotting and can be used on paper which blots with ordinary ink...
...In the "Acceptable" class, the best needles were good for more than 1500 playings, and the poorest for less than 500 playings...
...metal tips, CU is not able to make any sweeping generalization at this point in the tests...
...Phonograph Needles Consumers Union comes up this month with the second installment of tests and ratings on so-called "permanent" phonograph needles...
...LPC-414C) topped the list of "Acceptable" brands...
...and none, with the exception of the Steam-O-Matic involved a shock hazard...
...The Sunbeam Ironmaster and Westinghouse (Cat...
...Temperature maintenance (the ability of the iron to stay at a fairly constant temperature during heavy ironing, after the initial warming-up-period) varied widely among the brands, however, and was one of the most important factors in determining the final ratings...
...Heading the list published in Consumer Reports, with coverage and tests as yet incomplete, is the Aeropoint "88" ($1.50), outranking the Fidelitone (50c to $1) in treble response (ability to transmit the very high tones) and in causing a minimum of record wear...
...Ratings were based on performance, without regard to the material...
...of the 8 "Acceptable" needles tested so far, however, only one—the poorest—had a jewel tip...
...With respect to the .heated controversy over jewel vs...
...all had good cord sets...
...Two-Year Pen The highly-publicized "miracle" pen—the Reynolds International—which is guaranteed to write for two years without refilling and to write in the stratosphere, under water and on cloth, cannot be depended upon for good performance under ordinary writing conditions, CU tests revealed...
...all were light-weight (three to five pounds) ; all had temperature regulators...
...All the irons tested were of the 1000-watt, AC, automatic type...
...At times—particularly in small writing—the pens were temperamental, writing with a broken line or refusing to write at all for the space of a letter or two at a time...
...Many of the major brands are still among the missing, however, and you may have to wait a while before you can get the particular one you want...
...It is still too soon to rate the two-year guarantee...
...At best, the "point" (a tiny steel ball) gives a line of rather characterless uniformity, which may not appeal to some people...
...and sometimes the line had an intermittent appearance—almost like very closely-spaced dots...
...Among the "Acceptable" needles were Aeropoint "88", Fidelitone, and Victor "One Grand...
...None of the three pens tested gave lines of consistent color or evenness, according to Consumer Reports...
...Sometimes they wrote dark, sometimes light...
...This difficulty may be due to lack of uniformity in the ink, and if so, manufacturers may later find a way to overcome it...
Vol. 9 • December 1945 • No. 49
