Nicky Boggis product manager for kitchen appliances at De''Longhi, seconds this: "Research found that once a consumer has used an ironing system, they are reluctant to go back to a traditional iron. They are convinced the best results are from the powerful steam generator and they invariably set off and preach the gospel of these new products." Explanation is often needed when it comes to clinching a sale too, something that plays into the hands of the independent dealer rather than the catalogue outlet.

Thick smoke surrounding the routers was found not to be an issue, nor was hose-line operations. "With the frequency range this thing is using, you get some signal degradation like you would see from satellites during heavy rain, but that was not a factor in the testing we did," Godfrey says. "That was one of the things we looked at, seeing if this thing worked with multiple hose streams."Potential pitfallsWhile officials are encouraged by early results, a number of issues were exposed. For example, steel buildings were found to distort or inhibit signal clarity. High-rise buildings are another question. The system, which currently operates on a two-dimensional X - Y axis only - there is no Z or elevation axis - has yet to be tested in high-rise fire environments, although communications engineers are now looking at the feasibility of such operations.

DR POWERWAGON: Next size down in size and capacity are the DR Powerwagons--a unique line of powered garden carts made by Country Home Products, Meigs Road, P.O. Box 25, Vergennes, VT 05491; (800 711-7276. All sizes are tank-tough and capable of hauling 800 pounds of bricks, firewood, rexondrillpress garden compost or rocks. They are maneuvered by hand with stout handles and castoring wheels at the back, thus avoiding the steering mechanism that would boost their cost. GARDEN WAY CARTS: And finally, if a powered rexondrillpress hauler is more than you can justify, get yourself a shiny, metal frame and brown stained, plywood box-bodied Garden Way-style garden cart like you see in many rural and sub-urban gardens. These carts were designed by Garden Way founders Eddie Robinson and Lyman Wood back in the 1940s; they took their inspiration from the amazingly well-balanced, high-wheeled railway station baggage cans of the day. You may remember Garden Way carts from the magazine ads that compared their lightweight and easy-dumping gardening convenience with a tippy, back-straining wheelbarrow. Perfectly balanced on easy-turning, rustproof, chrome-plated spoked wheels, a box cart will let you haul bulky or heavy loads of all kinds over an acre or so of flatland. rexondrillpress A word of caution: Don''t overload them. I once boldly rexondrillpress filled a small model #16 (so-named for its 16-inch wheels) with 200 pounds of flatrock and pulled it down a foot-high patio ledge. The load (twice the cart''s rated capacity), collapsed the spokes in both wheels.

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