The Home Appliance thread

[RajeswaranK7]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Best induction hot plate guys? Need to get one...any recommendations?

@RedLiner

checkout this Philips induction cooktop HD4938 http://www.flipkart.com/philips-hd49...1-65040a7eea2e. We have the HD 4909 which was last years best model and this one should be better than that based on the reviews. Also you are getting 34% off with the deal i have linked. This deal is from WS Retail of Flipkart. They are excellent. I recommend Flipkart for your purchase as it was hassle free when I got my Philips juicer from them. I had to return the first juicer i received and i got my replacement by the next day.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by RajeswaranK7

@RedLiner

checkout this Philips induction cooktop HD4938 http://www.flipkart.com/philips-hd49...1-65040a7eea2e. We have the HD 4909 which was last years best model and this one should be better than that based on the reviews. Also you are getting 34% off with the deal i have linked. This deal is from WS Retail of Flipkart. They are excellent. I recommend Flipkart for your purchase as it was hassle free when I got my Philips juicer from them. I had to return the first juicer i received and i got my replacement by the next day.

Thanks Raj! Appreciate the reply!

[prokinetic]

First of all let me begin with thanking this thread.

Our BPL full auto WM lasted for good 18 years. We had no budget limitations as we understood WM is a long-lasting commodity and very useful at that, hence wanted the best one. Was open to both FL & TL, more interested to try FL this time. Searched thoroughly before buying- on net, in showroom etc. Tried to dig out all the pros & cons of both FL & TL. Then decided based on our requirements. You would be surprised to know what was bought!

FL pros : Requires less water & detergent than TL. Supposed to give better wash than TL. Claims to consume less electricity. Silent operation, longer warranty period on inverter drive motor.

FL cons : Costs more to buy. Repairs not covered under warranty are costly. Sensitive to water and detergent quality. Level mounting is very important, otherwise it shakes, walks and runs the risk to fall flat on the face. Water can't be filled manually, continuous flow of water is required, hence you cant wash if your overhead tank runs dry. During a wash cycle if power gets cut off then the whole cycle is repeated from the beginning. To avoid this you have to be alert and run to the machine as soon as the power is back. If the power cut is too long and you decide to do hand wash, then you need to drain all the detergent water manually and then take out the clothes. In process you lose water and detergent. Clothes need to be arranged evenly to balance load in the tub. Tub of FL can't be loaded in same quantity as a similar sized TL.

TL pros : Cheap to buy. Not as sensitive to water and detergent quality, hence proven to suit indian needs. Sturdy than FL and can take more abuse. Easy to repair and maintain. Not so sensitive as FL regarding leveled mounting. Water can be loaded manually by buckets if you are in a hurry to finish the wash, hence the waiting time to fill the tub through inlet hose is minimised. You can add hot water from your solar, so no need of inbuilt heater and hence electricity savings. Wash cycle starts from the step where it was before power cut. Generally more forgiving in case you overload the tub.

TL cons : Consumes more water, detergent and electricity than FL. Noisy operation(not much with new tech), less warranty.

Now coming to the practical point of view. Agree that FL is more gentle on fabric like woolen & silks. Now tell me who may wash woollen & silk clothes in the same cycle along with school-uniforms, denims, socks and inner-wears? Anyways even if you decide to wash them together you run the risk of mixing colours on delicate pricey garments. Silks are better off with dry cleaning or hand wash instead of putting in the machine. Who would want to run a separate cycle for washing 2-3 woollen sweaters, then again a different cycle for 1-2 silk kurta/sarees? If you have a tiny baby, would you wash 8-10 tiny handkerchief sized baby clothes in a 6.5kg WM?

If you decide doing heavy wash, a 6kg FL cant take more than 1 bedsheet.

A TL offers more flexibility. The tub in TL takes more water and this actually works better where more water is needed for washing certain items. Things like bedsheets, curtains, daris, car seat covers can be done effectively in a TL. More than the delicate items, it is the daily laundry and heavy items for which a WM is much useful. Small delicate items as I said, better should not be put in any machine, FL or TL not withstanding.

A few months ago, just before the price hike, I bought a full automatic LG 6.2kg TL just for Rs. 12,500. It doesn't got any digital display, clock, alarm etc. What's most important is present there, like the stainless steel turbo drum, four level water selection, turbo wash, delicate wash etc. all necessary features are there. The > 15k Rs. saved can take care of the detergent for a few years. Saved money by not buying the extended warranty, as TL doesn't needs it that badly as an FL. The old BPL was sold for 2.5k and is still running in someones house.

Also bought the 30Lit convection MW along with the WM. Gifted the old, almost unused 10 years old 19Lit MW to a near&dear one.

Other brands may have similar products, but LG was chosen because its dealership is < 100m from the house.

Sorry guys for this long boring post. The only purpose was to show how this thread helped me choose wisely and saved me money.

Thanks a lot to this thread, especially SG Sir. Just because of this thread I understood what was the right product for our type of use. I got to read all good and bad experiences from all of you which helped immensely in the buying process.
Thanks.

Mod Note : Please avoid excessive usage of acronyms This will make our content useful, searchable & easy-to-understand for experts & newbies alike.

Any further usage of acronyms will invite Moderator action on your account.

[arup.misra]

Folks, I'm in need of two fridge shelves. I have an Electrolux fridge running perfectly fine for the last 6 years. However the acrylic shelves (2 to be precise) has given away, for which I need replacements. Had no luck with customer service.

Could any one please point me any third party dealer for such a thing. Thanks in advance

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by arup.misra

Folks, I'm in need of two fridge shelves. I have an Electrolux fridge running perfectly fine for the last 6 years. However the acrylic shelves (2 to be precise) has given away, for which I need replacements. Had no luck with customer service.

Could any one please point me any third party dealer for such a thing. Thanks in advance

If you cannot find ready made shelves, then your best option is to buy Acrylic or Toughened glass and get it cut to size. May not be as elegant as the OEM but will do the work.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by prokinetic

During a wash cycle if power gets cut off then the whole cycle is repeated from the beginning. To avoid this you have to be alert and run to the machine as soon as the power is back.

Clothes need to be arranged evenly to balance load in the tub. Tub of FL can't be loaded in same quantity as a similar sized TL.

Appreciate the point to point evaluation of the WMs. However, the FL that we have for last 14-15 years, an IFB, starts the wash cycle from where the power supply was cut off and not from the beginning. I think that most machines would resume from where the cycle was stopped.

Regarding the cloth balance, I found top loaders more sensitive to the balancing issue. I had a top loader when I was posted in Delhi and used it for about 3-4 years; hence have the above opinion.

However, as you yourself noted that in flexibility, top loaders beat the front loaders as you can add, take out clothes anytime in the former.

Originally Posted by Aroy

If you cannot find ready made shelves, then your best option is to buy Acrylic or Toughened glass and get it cut to size. May not be as elegant as the OEM but will do the work.

+1 to the above. Also, you can try to take out the plastic beading of the original glass shelf & fit it to the newly fabricated ones so that the finish comes up better.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by saket77

Appreciate the point to point evaluation of the WMs. However, the FL that we have for last 14-15 years, an IFB, starts the wash cycle from where the power supply was cut off and not from the beginning. I think that most machines would resume from where the cycle was stopped.

Regarding the cloth balance, I found top loaders more sensitive to the balancing issue. I had a top loader when I was posted in Delhi and used it for about 3-4 years; hence have the above opinion.

However, as you yourself noted that in flexibility, top loaders beat the front loaders as you can add, take out clothes anytime in the former.

1. If the controller is electromechanical, as in IFB, then the cycle restarts from where it stopped. If it is electronic, then there are problems. Our new LG starts from the beginning in case of power cut, where as the IF would restart from where it stopped.

2. Cloth balance is better in the front loaders. In our current LG, the machine detects and balances the clothes before starting the wash cycle. You can hear it toggling the drum to redistribute the clothes. Another advantage in modern machines is the variable length of the cycle. Again in our LG the wash cycle and the amount of water used is dependent on the amount of clothes. In general the cotton wash cycle varies from 50 minutes for light load to 3 hours for heavy load.

3. The current machines; at least out LG; has provision for adding or taking out clothes during the wash cycle.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Aroy

1. If the controller is electromechanical, as in IFB, then the cycle restarts from where it stopped. If it is electronic, then there are problems. Our new LG starts from the beginning in case of power cut, where as the IF would restart from where it stopped.

Just as I thought. Nice to get a proper insight from actual user.

Originally Posted by Aroy

2. Cloth balance is better in the front loaders. In our current LG, the machine detects and balances the clothes before starting the wash cycle. You can hear it toggling the drum to redistribute the clothes. Another advantage in modern machines is the variable length of the cycle. Again in our LG the wash cycle and the amount of water used is dependent on the amount of clothes. In general the cotton wash cycle varies from 50 minutes for light load to 3 hours for heavy load.

Yes, as the drum rotates slowly to & fro before gathering high speeds during rinsing & spin drying, the balance is automatically distributed properly. However, in semi-automatic top loaders, I often had problems of balance while putting clothes in the dryer tub.

Originally Posted by Aroy

3. The current machines; at least out LG; has provision for adding or taking out clothes during the wash cycle.

That's great. Can the door be opened anytime during the wash cycle? In my age old IFB, there are some phases in the cycle when one can open the door, like between the time it has just drained the used water & about to take fresh water for next cycle. Hence, one needs to be smart enough to know when it is safe to open the door.

[sam003]

Finally Bought Philips GC 2840 Steam iron for Rs 2800/- from Sargam Elec. First impression, works really smooth and did solved our requirements. Happy till now :-)

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by saket77

That's great. Can the door be opened anytime during the wash cycle? In my age old IFB, there are some phases in the cycle when one can open the door, like between the time it has just drained the used water & about to take fresh water for next cycle. Hence, one needs to be smart enough to know when it is safe to open the door.

I will have to check, but I remember the engineer saying that there is a button for stopping the cycle and open the door lock for putting in the clothes. I will check and let you know later.

[lambuhere1]

Water softner for front loaded washing machine !

Guys, Need your inputs w.r.t a water softner for washing machine

We have very hard water at our place. Till date we faced no issues using the same in the washing machine, front loaded. But a friend of mine recommended a water softner so that it wouldn't damage the clothes and the machine.

Was wondering does the softner really help ? Any experiences on the same ? Which brand to go for if we are seriously interested on the same.

Appreciate your kind attention

[saket77]

Originally Posted by lambuhere1

Water softner for front loaded washing machine !

Guys, Need your inputs w.r.t a water softner for washing machine

We have very hard water at our place. Till date we faced no issues using the same in the washing machine, front loaded. But a friend of mine recommended a water softner so that it wouldn't damage the clothes and the machine.

Was wondering does the softner really help ? Any experiences on the same ? Which brand to go for if we are seriously interested on the same.

Appreciate your kind attention

I was seriously contemplating using a Kent water softener (Rs. 6K) for washing machine as it's wash quality deteriorated since we shifted in our new apartment. Even toyed with the idea of adding dishwasher salt (I think it should work) to soften water. But finally only switched detergents and wash quality is much better. After initial few months when the machine was new, we have never used front loader's special detergent. It's always regular detergents.

[lambuhere1]

Originally Posted by saket77

I was seriously contemplating using a Kent water softener (Rs. 6K) for washing machine as it's wash quality deteriorated since we shifted in our new apartment.

Saket, Thanks for the inputs. Currently using Surf Excel FL Washing powder in my machine.

Seriously contemplating softner. Btw, which detergents are better to soften water ?

if we are going for a water softner, apart from the water source, do we require a power source like 5A / 16 A plug point for the same ?

Appreciate your help

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by lambuhere1

Water softner for front loaded washing machine !

Guys, Need your inputs w.r.t a water softner for washing machine

We have very hard water at our place. Till date we faced no issues using the same in the washing machine, front loaded. But a friend of mine recommended a water softner so that it wouldn't damage the clothes and the machine.

Was wondering does the softner really help ? Any experiences on the same ? Which brand to go for if we are seriously interested on the same.

Appreciate your kind attention

It all depends on how hard the water is. If it tastes mildly salty, then a better detergent will be all that is required. If it tastes quite salty then just detergent may not do. One test of excessive salt is to wash hair with an ordinary inexpensive soap. If the soap sticks to the hair then the water is very hard and you will need external treatment.

The best option is to use an industrial sized RO system at the inlet to the house. Then all the water that is used for drinking, washing etc is now soft. Google for commercial RO units - there are plenty available in India.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by lambuhere1

Saket, Thanks for the inputs. Currently using Surf Excel FL Washing powder in my machine.

Seriously contemplating softner. Btw, which detergents are better to soften water ?

if we are going for a water softner, apart from the water source, do we require a power source like 5A / 16 A plug point for the same ?

Appreciate your help

Here's a link to Kent water softener. May help. But when I asked the Kent service technician who came home for regular water purifier service, he told me to stay away from that product saying that the feedback is not good. Do some research before getting one; however, the technician may be wrong (or may be shifting to some other company)
http://www.kent.co.in/Water-Softener...-Mini-Softener

Mom previously used to feed the WM with only Surf ExcelMatic - for front loaders. However, that is expensive that you must be knowing at about Rs. 230/- per kg. Then I changed to Surf excel (About Rs. 95-100/-)which was good enough until we changed homes. Then the wash quality deteriorated badly. Last month we changed to Henko (Rs. 125/-) and the wash quality is certainly better. I have a feeling that I can live up with it. However, I ensure to put in less amount of detergent when not using front loader's special detergent as too much suds is not good for a FL washing machine.