Team-BHP - The Home Appliance thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelwriter (Post 1248084)

I guess more votes Godrej, then.

As always wife wins!!

Will just share my experiences with four brands
1.Kelvinator 210 - purchased 2000 in Trichy - going strong-no corrosion,zero maintenance
2.Godrej COLD GOLD 165- purchased 1992 in Surat - sold in 2005 just to upgrade-ZERO issues except minor corrosion on door bottom(common COLD GOLD problem)
3.SAMSUNG RT31 315lts - purchased 2005 in Surat - door switch packed up in 2006 - have bypassed the light and kept freezer fan on - compressor not starting in 2008 which again was fixed myself - ROTTEN BRAND
4.TOSHIBA 345 lt - bought by a friend in Jan 2009 - FRIDGE NOT COOLING EVEN AFTER 12 HOURS - -replaced by the dealer but trust in brand lost

Considering all this,its got to be GODREJ - BE INDIAN BUY INDIAN

Quote:

Originally Posted by vigsom (Post 1248107)

Will just share...BE INDIAN BUY INDIAN

I too have a Samsung currently. Same problem of door light with it as well. And the cooling is not all that good.

I have decided to go for Godrej Eon 345L. In fact, I also had the Toshiba in my consideration set. But your comment has just eased it out. Also, a wee bit out of budget.

Any idea on Hitachi?

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelwriter (Post 1248137)

Had bought Toshiba 550 Ltr Refrigerator last year. Have been using it for over 10 months now. Have never faced any problem so far. Touch wood.

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelwriter (Post 1248011)

Its the classic case of a deadlock between husband and wife.

We have to buy a refrigerator. We finally shortlisted 2
Godrej Eon - 345 litres
Panasonic - 290 litres

I want the latter while my wife prefers Godrej due to the extra capacity.

What would you suggest? My opinion is
1. Panasonic looks magnificent
2. Godrej has more space and thoughtful knick-knacks
3. Panasonic seems to be of better quality (having owned Godrej in the past, I am not a big fan of that brand)
4. Panasonic is designed much better. Freezer is at the bottom and the door shelves are better.

Please help in deciding

EDIT: Panasonic is 1000 cheaper than Godrej while the same capacity in Panasonic is 3000 more.

Are you talking of the model NR-B301M for Panasonic fridge (299 litres)? This is the one Sam and I bought a couple of weeks back after intense research and comparison of quality and prices. We were absolutely happy about the fact that the freezer is at the bottom and the fridge itself on top, which in daily life is so much better - how often do you open the fridge and how often do you open the freezer?

We are absolutely content with this model: very convenient concerning space and handling, good quality, reasonable price and nice design (equally important to me lol). I can highly recommend it.

However, if you are 4 people or more in the house you might want to think about a slightly bigger fridge if you have the space at home (but that is just my opinion). We are just two people in the household so this fridge is more than enough for us.

Here's a hint for fridge buyers, which you will find that very few retailers know --- they want to install, turn it on, and proudly demonstrate!

Let your fridge stand in its chosen location for a few hours before turning on.

I can't explain technically, but I was told by an engineer that the refrigerant gets gas bubbles in transit, and should be allowed to settle before the compressor is run, or damage may occur.

As an AC is essentially the same device, I guess the same applies.

I am looking to buy a few appliances and have (kind of) zeroed down on the following:
1. Refrigerator - Whirlpool 26dlx - 250 ltrs for ~INR 15k
The other choice was the latest LG 260 ltrs for almost the same price. But the advantage of Whirlpool is 3 shelves (vs 2 in LG) and better layout of the shelves. Looks dont matter to me much anyways.

I was looking at bottom freezer design in ~250 ltr size but could not find anything in my budget.

BTW, both brands offer 5 year compressor warranty.

2. AC - LG 36EW 1 ton for ~INR 13k. Any other choices? Is Whirlpool better than LG for a an AC?

All brands offer 1 year comprehensive warranty (3 visits/year) and 5 years on compressor.

3. Washing machine - not decided yet. Was looking for IFB as I prefer front loaders. But for a family of 2 with washing happening 1/2 times a week, I found it to be an overkill. We were earlier using Videocon (top loader) FA55 fully automatic and quite happy with its performance. Thinking of buying that again as its quite reasonable (~INR 8.5k)

Comments/suggestions/things to look out for?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 1248427)

Let your fridge stand in its chosen location for a few hours before turning on.

I can't explain technically, but I was told by an engineer that the refrigerant gets gas bubbles in transit, and should be allowed to settle before the compressor is run, or damage may occur.

Going through the manual of my fridge (Samsung), i remember reading the same. However, what i dont remember is if my fridge was allowed to rest before being turned on, or was it turned on immediately. My memory beats me.