Team-BHP - The Home Appliance thread

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Originally Posted by saket77 (Post 3184032)

What kind of maintenance it requires? And what is the schedule and cost of maintenance?

The Kent engineer said that AMC is generally not required as there is nothing to maintain on a regular basis, and all replacement parts are chargeable any way. In case you have lots of solids in the water then the particle filter will ge choked fast and you have to change it. Just call them once a year to check the filters and change them if they are clogged. A clogged filter will reduce the water flow so you will know when to change it.

The only problem with RO is that, a lot of water is poured down the drain (50%-200%) depending on salinity.

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Originally Posted by Aroy (Post 3184079)

The only problem with RO is that, a lot of water is poured down the drain (50%-200%) depending on salinity.

Yes, that is true. How do you utilise this water? Do you or it goes down the drain? The taste must be like bottled water? How much the filters cost...any idea?
Actually I am planning for an RO+UV, shifting from Philips UV filter. The iron & calcium contents feel high as we get those DARK BROWN/ RED stains on washroom floors. Also, we see WHITE deposits on wash basins and even on our water storage filter (where we store the water from the philips filter). Do you think we require RO on the basis of above? And which model you are using?

Thanks,
Saket

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Originally Posted by saket77 (Post 3184085)

1. The water has high salt content. All the salt removed from the water is here. Hence this water will not be useful for anything (excepting cleaning the sewer lines:D)

2. Most of the potable water supplied by the municipalities contains medium to high content of iron and calcium. RO gets rid of most of it.

3. If you are using raw water (from river or well), or the supply has a lot of suspended particles, it is better to pre filter the water using appropriate filters so that the load on your system is reduced.

4. For treating the water for the whole house hold you need an industrial water treatment system which will have
. Ceramic filter (for low volume) or Sand filter (for high volume) for suspended particle
. Storage tank
. Clorine dosing system (optional)
. RO unit

Googling will give you a pointer to the Indian suppliers of such systems. The range of uses and sizes vary from small dispensaries/house holds to small village clusters in remote areas (5-10 house holds) to large hospitals. The volume of water varies from 100L/day to 500KL/day.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aroy (Post 3184079)

The Kent engineer said that AMC is generally not required as there is nothing to maintain on a regular basis, and all replacement parts are chargeable any way.

I'm a bit suspicious of this. A water purifying plant is only as good as its maintenance. The filters should be checked and cleaned at least three times a year. I haven't given any thought to comparison of AMC with ad hoc payment for this, but, one way or another, it should be done.

We have an AMC for our Zero-B unit. Originally it was with the company itself, but is now with the same engineer who has set up independently. Our AMC includes labour and parts. With failure of both the membrane and pump, along with corrosion damage to pressure swithces, we have had reason to be glad of this. Our water is not treated metro water; perhaps others may suffer less.

This maintenance is important for health. A couple of years ago I was able to advise an expat family, who, on coming to Chennai, suffered repeated stomach problems. They said they had an RO unit in their rented house, and they had not thought to be suspicious of it. Of course, there are many reasons for a foreign family to have tummy trouble on coming to an Indian city, but they did find that the problem declined after taking the advice to have their RO unit serviced.

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Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 3184152)

as of 2011, kent grand+ or pearl were the two systems to consider.

Thanks PM, I see them on the website as of today as well.

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Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 3184158)

I'm a bit suspicious of this. A water purifying plant is only as good as its maintenance. The filters should be checked and cleaned at least three times a year.

That is right. Will take a decision regarding the brand while keeping in mind this major factor too: Maintenance charges and availability of spares...oh, I mean replacement filters.

Thanks,
Saket

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aroy (Post 3184079)

The Kent engineer said that AMC is generally not required as there is nothing to maintain on a regular basis, and all replacement parts are chargeable any way.

Sorry - that's incorrect. I don't know about others but Kent had some 'choke' and a couple of others parts go bad in the 15th month which were actually covered in the ~1.5k per year AMC. Honestly, I think this whole AMC business stinks - Kent's after sales is quite costly. We've hit 5k in three years of the 12k purchase.

Quote:

Originally Posted by saket77 (Post 3184176)

That is right. Will take a decision regarding the brand while keeping in mind this major factor too: Maintenance charges and availability of spares...oh, I mean replacement filters.

filter cartridges are the routine stuff. They need to be cleaned far more often than they need to be replaced. This is like the annual service on your car. Other parts are not so much consumables, but they do fail, and they do have a finite lifetime. Why is an RO machine expensive? Because its main components, the RO membrane and high-pressure pump are expensive.

In the end it is all insurance. If there is no single part that would hurt your wallet very much, then there is no big risk in not having that insurance.

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Originally Posted by phamilyman (Post 3184209)

Sorry - that's incorrect. Kent's after sales is quite costly. We've hit 5k in three years of the 12k purchase.

Now that is scary. Anyone using other ROs like luminous, nasaka, etc?

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Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 3184233)

So at the end, its still not a no nonsense machine. I have been using a Philips UV filter which is quite good in the service aspect. Only a filter cartridge which needs replacement after 3000 litres. The cost of the filter is about Rs. 800/- AFAIR. For a small family like that of ours, it means at least 9-10 months. Also, it has a self-flush mode, to clean the insides.

But finally need an RO as the new flat that we have shifted in has higher calcium contents in water, as suggested by the white deposits left on utensils once the water dries up.

At one corner in our kitchen we have got arrangements for a washing machine - the plumbing and drainage is already in place.

There is a granite platform created on which we keep the microwave.
This platform is 35 inches off the floor. There are walls on three sides and the granite stone on top. Only the front section remains open.
There is space to keep a washing machine inside this 'box' that is created.

Questions about washing machines.
1. Is it true that we cannot add clothes later (say you forgot a few clothes) in front loading (FL) washing machines? Missus is ruling out FL's just based on this.

2. Are there any good top loaders (TL) which have got way to heat water (so as to give a better wash?)
3. Are there any trollies available with wheels for washing machines?

I have a space constraint - 35 (H) x 33 x 33 if I were to put a front loader below the platform. Note that this is not our cooking platform.
I am not sure if washing machines require ventilation on the top, btw.

If we buy a top loader, then we cannot put it below this granite platform, so it has to stay ahead of the granite platform, which is fine too.

Please suggest. Drying of clothes is quite important for us, but I am not willing to spend on a product such as LG washer dryer which has a starting price of 48K.

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