The Home Appliance thread

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by guptavis

I have a samsung frost free, do i need to connect it to a stabilizer ?

I have never used a stabiliser but then power inside the IIT campus, and my house is good. As long as the voltage in between, 190 (165 in some) and 270 volts stabilisers are not required.

Originally Posted by 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.

I doubt whether the PCB on an Inverter model will be that cheap. Still it is a jolly good idea.

[mercedised]

Some 2 years back I bought Eureka Forbes Trendy Steel Vacuum Cleaner, It has very low suction from the time I bought it. Earlier I thought that it was normal but a 2 days ago I tried my friends same vacuum cleaner and it had alot more suction. Now, I took it to the Eureka SC and they said that the rubber gasket that seals the suction box is missing. It has been 3 months and they have still got the same reply that the part is missing. Alot of emails to eureka customer care too had no response. I wonder what standards has a international company like eureka has set for providing the after sales service. Pathetic. I am not buying a Eureka product again.

[guptavis]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I have never used a stabiliser but then power inside the IIT campus, and my house is good. As long as the voltage in between, 190 (165 in some) and 270 volts stabilisers are not required.

I live in chandigarh, and i think power is good in my area too (touchwood), so i guess the electrician was right and i dont need a stabiliser.

Originally Posted by mercedised

Alot of emails to eureka customer care too had no response. I wonder what standards has a international company like eureka has set for providing the after sales service. Pathetic. I am not buying a Eureka product again.

i understand your frustration, but just to clear a point the eureka forbes company is registered in india and now majorly owned by shaaporji palonji.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes_%26_Company_Ltd.

Originally Posted by 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.

i hope chandigarh's power supply is good enough. i wouldnt think of buying a 100k fridge, i have a 30k one. i would keep worrying about damages to such a fridge (i know a family that bought a 120k TV and jumps into combat mode at the slightest sign of fluctuation " arey... tv band karo" !!).

[Shankyz]

In my opinion it is always better to have a mains stabilizer in areas with frequent power fluctuation to safeguard against electronic component failure, too much fluctuation will always kill the compressor or loosen the nuts leading to noise and gas leakage as well.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by Shankyz

In my opinion it is always better to have a mains stabilizer in areas with frequent power fluctuation to safeguard against electronic component failure, too much fluctuation will always kill the compressor or loosen the nuts leading to noise and gas leakage as well.

What is a mains stabilizer? You mean a regular one or something at the whole house level?

[null]

Hi,

Sparr(or aushaan like it is called now) is selling some "branded" induction cooktop/stove for 1025rs - today's newspaper. I am interested in buying it, but have no clue of what to look for in it before buying it.

The prestige shop near by too has these stoves and the price ranges from 3k to 4k (with some offer now). Upon asking, the prestige guy said they are all the same, but just some different models (with same power rating, same functionality, similar buttons/combinations/modes provided, same size etc).

What is the difference between this 1k priced model to the other 2k worth models from kenstar etc to the 4k-5k priced models from prestige and others?

So, can people who know more about these induction cooktops or have researched about them comment here on what are the features (and their benefits/value) we should look for in them?

PS: with LPG rationing, I guess we need to have alternate arrangements/backup system for which this induction stove seems ideal according to me.

[Aroy]

Electricity is expensive, hence the popularity of Gas. In my estimate at today's rates - Rs.7/unit and Rs.1100 per cylinder, gas is at least three times cheaper. So in my opinion it is better to pay more for gas rather than switch to electricity for cooking.

[Shankyz]

Originally Posted by diyguy

What is a mains stabilizer? You mean a regular one or something at the whole house level?

Yes, I meant something at the whole house level, of course you can choose to have stablized voltage power points and raw ones and choose which one you need to use depending on the sensitivity of the attached equipment. For areas, with frequent voltage fluctuations or low voltage supply, this is better than individual stabilizers for fridge, TV etc. The A/Cs still need individual stabilizer/EVCs due to the high load requirements.

Another popular choice is Servo (At the whole house level), these are more efficient than stabilizers but cost (Initial investment) on the higher side as well.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by Shankyz

Yes, I meant something at the whole house level, of course you can choose to have stablized voltage power points and raw ones and choose which one you need to use depending on the sensitivity of the attached equipment. For areas, with frequent voltage fluctuations or low voltage supply, this is better than individual stabilizers for fridge, TV etc. The A/Cs still need individual stabilizer/EVCs due to the high load requirements.

Another popular choice is Servo (At the whole house level), these are more efficient than stabilizers but cost (Initial investment) on the higher side as well.

Does an inverter do voltage stabilization when on mains supply? That seems to be logical to me as my whole house is covered by my inverter.
I have a digital plug voltmeter and the house line was showing me 270v last night on one phase and 200 in another.

[nirmaljusdoit]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Electricity is expensive, hence the popularity of Gas. In my estimate at today's rates - Rs.7/unit and Rs.1100 per cylinder, gas is at least three times cheaper. So in my opinion it is better to pay more for gas rather than switch to electricity for cooking.

Going by my experience, ordering a cylinder from the Indane distributor is a nightmare and the service is horrible. have to make multiple calls to get a cylinder. They seem to be least bothered and behave as if we are criminals !

Dont know how reliable the quantity of contents are as many times the cylinders are leaking gas too. Most rude behaviour from the delivery guys also.

In such a situation, would rather use more of electricity than gas as its a painful experience & complete waste of time.

[gopalnayak]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Electricity is expensive, hence the popularity of Gas. In my estimate at today's rates - Rs.7/unit and Rs.1100 per cylinder, gas is at least three times cheaper. So in my opinion it is better to pay more for gas rather than switch to electricity for cooking.

Not sure about this. A 14.2 kg cylinder is equivalent to about 182 units of electricity. At Rs. 7/unit, this works out to about Rs. 1275. With Induction cooker being a more efficient method of cooking, I think it may be cheaper to use Induction cooker compared to using cylinders at Rs. 1100.

[ghodlur]

Our Whirlpool Top loading Washing maching is showing the signs of ageing, hence decided to replace it with a new one. Me and wifey are at loggerheads whether it should be front or top loadding with me opting for the latter. Visited a few retail stores in Thane and was impressed with the LG front loading model F8068LDP. The Kohinoor guys offered us 21.5K with exchange of old machine whereas Reliance offer was 22.7K. No other Diwali gifts just the machines. Vijay Sales for no reasons offered does not stock LG products as it is against the co policy.

The LG suits the purpose, wifey pretty much impressed with the glib talk of the salesman, but am still to confirm the buy. Anybody using the model can share the experience.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Our Whirlpool Top loading Washing maching is showing the signs of ageing, hence decided to replace it with a new one. Me and wifey are at loggerheads whether it should be front or top loadding with me opting for the latter. Visited a few retail stores in Thane and was impressed with the LG front loading model F8068LDP. The Kohinoor guys offered us 21.5K with exchange of old machine whereas Reliance offer was 22.7K. No other Diwali gifts just the machines. Vijay Sales for no reasons offered does not stock LG products as it is against the co policy.

The LG suits the purpose, wifey pretty much impressed with the glib talk of the salesman, but am still to confirm the buy. Anybody using the model can share the experience.

Front load is good. My friend has the LG and he loves it. My top load never dissolves the soap powder completely. Never have this problem in my front load Samsung. Take the extended warranty if available. Croma offers this on most of the products they sell.

[saildrive]

I am keen to buy a 3 burner HOB (stove) for the kitchen. Have looked at Sleek, Elica and Hindware and will be checking Glen & Faber in a couple of days.

Need help in picking a 3 burner HOB which is not very expensive at the same time hassle / maintenance free.

A friend of mine has told me that these Hobs' when installed in the kitchen (after cutting the granite / marble in the kitchen) gives a lot of problems. Grime, water contact ruins the rubber beading that is underneath the toughend glass and spoils or corrodes the aluminium or iron casing.

Plus one runs the risk of cutting the granite which has then to be replaced with a same size HOB incase you intend changing the HOB in the near future. His suggestion therefore was to buy a HOB which has legs (thereby not having to cut granite and affix the HOB)

Do share your experiences about HOBs since most of the members would be using one or have used one.

If you can also include your feedback on the chimney's would be the icing on the cake

[ecenandu]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

LG front loading model F8068LDP. The Kohinoor guys offered us 21.5K with exchange of old machine whereas Reliance offer was 22.7K. No other Diwali gifts just the machines.

Hey, I have been using the same model since last year. Happy with the performance so far. I got it for 19,500 without exchange, has the price gone up since then. The LG website is quoting 28,490 for it.