The Home Appliance thread

[quadra]

Was checking out few WM's on the web and found that the starting model of a front loader starts from 20k onwards & thats IFB. Any model which is lesser than this?

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by eq24

Guys need some help, our old well 10 years to be exact Whirlpool washing mach conked off last week. Now this machine was a fighter although not used extensively perhaps 2 times a week, maid does on daily basis, but during home renovation this machine took the worst beating ever and came back a winner and still gave us two solid years after that.

Now mom wants to go for IFB front loader it is the Elite variant or the Whirlpool 360 Bloom variant but while looking at washing machines also came across Bosch and Siemens and Panasonic, how are their products and service. Whirlpool has decent service this we have experienced but dont really know about IFB.

My question then should we stick to the Whirlpool or perhaps try the IFB or also look at the offerings from BOSCH/Siemens/Panasonic. Max Budget is 40,000. Should last at least 5-6 years. Thanks

I have the entry level Samsung got it for 15k last year. Has all the options and works great past 15 months. Had the IFB for about 8 years before this. They took my old broken ifb for 2k

[agspins]

Guys any ideas about how Bosch front loaders are, i am planning to buy one. is it better than an IFB or a Samsung?

[guptavis]

Originally Posted by agspins

Guys any ideas about how Bosch front loaders are, i am planning to buy one. is it better than an IFB or a Samsung?

though i havent used a Bosch but it should be good.

I have used (suffered) an IFB, im sure that any brand you can find is better than IFB. infact i would buy a local washing machine instead of an IFB.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I had a Bosch from UK. I'd say it was excellent --- until a rat destroyed the main processor board, which costs almost as much as the machine.

I don't know how much they localise their machines for our marker. Our new LG has a plastic rat guard that closes off the bottom of the machine. If it is in a kitchen, this (hopefully!) won't be a concern, but if it is anywhere that rats can reach, it should be considered.

Otherwise, I would buy Bosch/Siemens with no hesitation, only assuming I could afford the price tag.

[esteem_lover]

Guys, need quick feedback on Panasonic refrigerators. Planning to get the 340 litre one, 31k. Is it good ? Has all that I need.

[sgiitk]

Panasonic refrigerators are excellent. My son had a problem with their service from Udupi. One he read them the riot act it got fixed pronto. Probably it was the first Inverter unit they had there. With a refrigerator you normally do not need service for its life, so I will discount it.

[lurker]

Have had no issues with my Panasonic Refrigerator as well, it had 5 star energy rating and was priced very competitively for it's class. A 340 ltr refrigerator will have a PCB for auto-defrost etc, so just ensure that you have a voltage stabilizer as well. The only thing that can go wrong with auto-defrost models is the circuit board, so if possible get a spare one and store it in someplace really dry and weather-proof. That should make it 'future-proof'.

[sgiitk]

@lurker; An excellent idea, what will be the price be like?

[esteem_lover]

Thanks for the confidence guys. I am replacing my 16 year old BPL 250L. I am sure that also has this Auto Defrost. Never gave any problems at all.

[mashmash]

I have a Panasonic Cube air-conditioner, which I need to get installed. Does anyone know of a good AC installer in bangalore's Marathahalli area?

[lurker]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@lurker; An excellent idea, what will be the price be like?

I paid like 2-3K for a PCB for my post-warranty LG. Panasonic should be in a similar range. For manual defrost models that do not have any PCB, there is no such risk. Actually these manual defrost models can easily last 3 decades. Main problem that one encounters in frost-free models is that by the time the PCB gives up the model is out-of-production and no PCB is available forcing the customers to dunk that refrigerator.

[rishab.k]

Originally Posted by lurker

I paid like 2-3K for a PCB for my post-warranty LG. Panasonic should be in a similar range.

Our whirlpool refrigerator's PCB had conked off a few years back, not once but twice. Fortunately, it was covered under the extended warranty and was told that it would have cost us about 3.5k otherwise.

[guptavis]

Originally Posted by lurker

I paid like 2-3K for a PCB for my post-warranty LG. Panasonic should be in a similar range. For manual defrost models that do not have any PCB, there is no such risk. Actually these manual defrost models can easily last 3 decades. Main problem that one encounters in frost-free models is that by the time the PCB gives up the model is out-of-production and no PCB is available forcing the customers to dunk that refrigerator.

I have a samsung frost free, do i need to connect it to a stabilizer ?
i specially asked my electrician and he said no stabliser required. He said it used to be required for older fridges but now the technology has made them redundant (for refrigerators). is this true?

though the idea of buying a spare PCB seems good.

[lurker]

Whatever has a PCB and chips on board needs to be protected from 'extreme' voltage fluctuation and excessive humidity. Especially for those who buy double door 100K refrigerators, 6 yrs down the line, it seems pointless to be stranded for want of a PCB and the model would have gone offline by then.

Some industrial townships have perfect power supply, they may not need any stabilizers because quality of power is always assured by the staff for their residential quarters. Or if you live around Lootyens Delhi, where our MPs and VVIPs enjoy uninterrupted power among other privileges.