The Home Appliance thread

[carboy]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

I am planning to buy a geyser for bathing. Since I am living alone, and due to budget constraints, I have decided to get an Instant water heater of 3L capacity. I had zeroed in on AO Smith, as the sales person told me it is known to work well with hard water. But now since it is not in stock, they are asking me to go for either - Venus Lava 3L or V Guard Sprinhot Plus 3L costing 3650 and 3450 respectively. They also said that these models come with a copper tank thus wont rust in hard water too. I am still thinking if I should settle down for this, or hunt for the AO Smith elsewhere, please help me out.

Also, are instant heaters good enough to be used with the shower? I have always had a storage heater at my parent's house.

For a place which doesn't get cold (like Bombay), then for a single person to take a bath with a bucket & a mug (even a hand shower without too much flow), I find a 1L Geyser to be very good. This is what I have in my bathroom - a 1L Geyser and a hand shower connected to it.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by carboy

For a place which doesn't get cold (like Bombay), then for a single person to take a bath with a bucket & a mug (even a hand shower without too much flow), I find a 1L Geyser to be very good. This is what I have in my bathroom - a 1L Geyser and a hand shower connected to it.

I would be using it with shower only and I thought I would go with 3L, just to get a more even heating through the shower. And my parents would come spend time with me once in a while. Thus decided to go for the 3L variant.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

I am planning to buy a geyser for bathing. Since I am living alone, and due to budget constraints, I have decided to get an Instant water heater of 3L capacity.

Haven't used the brands you have mentioned but I bought a Havell's 3L instant water heater and am very happy with it.

Also, are instant heaters good enough to be used with the shower? I have always had a storage heater at my parent's house.

They are. But the water progressively gets cooler so you may need to time your bursts well . Best thing is to take the water out in bucket and do it the ole fashioned Indian way!
I prefer a regular shower stream like the type storage heaters offer but they consume a helluva lot of power so avoid them. Thankfully my builder does provide solar-heated water in the morning so my problem is usually taken care of.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by noopster

Haven't used the brands you have mentioned but I bought a Havell's 3L instant water heater and am very happy with it.

They are. But the water progressively gets cooler so you may need to time your bursts well . Best thing is to take the water out in bucket and do it the ole fashioned Indian way!
I prefer a regular shower stream like the type storage heaters offer but they consume a helluva lot of power so avoid them. Thankfully my builder does provide solar-heated water in the morning so my problem is usually taken care of.

Is Havell's good to be used with hard water? The water at my place corrodes even stainless steel

Power consumption is not a big bother for me, as I currently pay an electricity bill of 120-150 Rs, as, all i use is - a fan and few lights in the evenings, iron box, cell phone and latop charger and a washing machine
So, if it can provide a decently warm water for a 10-15 min shower twice a day, that settles it for me.

[dushmish]

Any reviews for Samsung 496 litre fridge, model RT60KZR SL. Zeroed in on it. Getting it for 50,500/- at Chroma. Quick responses will be appreciated. It has an electricity consumption of 500 units per year. How much does that mean in real terms per month in rupees? Please help.

[amohit]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

Power consumption is not a big bother for me, as I currently pay an electricity bill of 120-150 Rs,

I have been using Venus 1 lt instant geyser since last 6 yrs. No issues so far. Instant geysers are rated at 3KW and consume more power than storage type (which are generally 2KW). Instant geysers are ok to be used with showers, if they are run at very low speed. To give you an idea, for us it takes 7-8 mins to fill one 18 lt bucket of water with luke warm water.

Regards,

[manim]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

Also, are instant heaters good enough to be used with the shower? I have always had a storage heater at my parent's house.

Instant heaters are Not good for showers since water will get colder if you draw water faster. They are only useful for very slow filling into buckets. Also they consume more instantaneous current which will place a load on your electrical system (as @amohit had pointed out). They are not recommended for India with its power woes.

The best is a stored-hot-water geyser around 15 litres capacity, which may take around 15 minutes to heat, and is enough for one to two persons (for a quick bath).

This is from inside knowledge from Venus factory, they are situated just a few kilometers from my home!

PS
I own two 15 litres Venus geysers in my home.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by manim

Instant heaters are Not good for showers since water will get colder if you draw water faster. They are only useful for very slow filling into buckets.

I have a handshower running on a 1L instant heater fine for 3 years now. Never had the problem of water not hot enough. The heater has multiple heat settings - in summer, I have to put it at the lower setting to prevent getting scalded. Obviously, it uses less water than a regular shower, but I don't ever feel the difference.

Originally Posted by manim

Also they consume more instantaneous current which will place a load on your electrical system (as amohit had pointed out).

Yeah, instant is always more wattage than a storage one, but overall I think electricity consumption will be less in instant.

Originally Posted by amohit

nstant geysers are rated at 3KW and consume more power than storage type (which are generally 2KW).

This is true without being important. Overall, the power consumption will be less or same in a instant geyser because it will be on only when the water is actually running. Storage ones are on for far more time then when water is running.

[HillMan]

Originally Posted by carboy

Yeah, instant is always more wattage than a storage one, but overall I think electricity consumption will be less in instant.

Instant is recommended for bucket use. It is best to get a 1lt heater, as they heat faster in most cases. By the time water passes thru the internal tubes, it is hot already.

There are smaller capacity storage water heaters as well, like the 10 liter ones, which is good for one bath.

The energy utilized to heat the water will not change. Efficiency depends on the product. The storage heater picks up hot water from the top and cold water is released into the geyser from below. So if you are taking water at a slow rate, the cold water will not mix quickly with hot water inside the geyser.

This is true without being important. Overall, the power consumption will be less or same in a instant geyser because it will be on only when the water is actually running. Storage ones are on for far more time then when water is running.

The storage heaters have thermostat so it turns off when the water is hot. This is economical when there are more members in the family using the same bath.

Bucket bath is more greener in sense of water usage for a bath and heating requirements. Turn off geyser before last bath to save electricity.

[shipnil]

For a consistent shower experience, I don't think any kind of electrical geyser would be able to fulfill that, storage or instant, until unless, of course you have a 75L storage geysers . You have to have solar or gas geyser. I use gas geyser and it has good flow rate of 7/8 ltrs per min of hot water even during winters.

[saildrive]

Our 10 year old Electrolux (semi automatic - TL) machine (spin dry) stopped working.

We have been looking at a few alternatives. Went to Vijay Sales and Snehanjali, were looking for fully automatic (Whirlpool 360 - 8 kg) for 26k - TL; also looked at LG 7 kg TL fully automatic for 25k.

I also happen to look at reviews online and found a few issues on the Whirlpool machine; wife is keen to have that one.

Anyone who is aware of the service and the machine especially 360; do share your thoughts and views on the same.

Got to make this purchase by the weekend :(

S

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by shipnil

For a consistent shower experience, I don't think any kind of electrical geyser would be able to fulfill that, storage or instant, until unless, of course you have a 75L storage geysers .....and it has good flow rate of 7/8 ltrs per min of hot water even during winters.

I have used 35 and 50 litre geysers right through. They are enough for a decent shower even in winter when the water is around 4-5°C. We currently have a 50l installed in the downstairs kitchen feeding both that and the master bedroom. On the other hand in this part of the country they specifically say that the gas units are not adequate for showers in deep winters.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

I am planning to buy a geyser for bathing. Since I am living alone, and due to budget constraints, I have decided to get an Instant water heater of 3L capacity. I had zeroed in on AO Smith, as the sales person told me it is known to work well with hard water. But now since it is not in stock, they are asking me to go for either - Venus Lava 3L or V Guard Sprinhot Plus 3L costing 3650 and 3450 respectively. They also said that these models come with a copper tank thus wont rust in hard water too. I am still thinking if I should settle down for this, or hunt for the AO Smith elsewhere, please help me out.

Also, are instant heaters good enough to be used with the shower? I have always had a storage heater at my parent's house.

Actually you do not need 3L, we have 2L ones at home and as long as you fill the water in a bucket it is fine.

In my experience tank material has nothing to do with scaling due to hard water. It will form on any surface. The best tanks, from the point of view of low maintenance are either stainless steel or ceramic/glass coated ones.

If you are all alone you can also try 10-15L storage type geysers. They will draw less power, but take some time to heat up. The upside is that you can use this size with a shower, which is difficult with an instant type.

[S_U_N]

How is the Kenwood brand for sandwich maker?
We have short listed SM 740 from Kenwood, since it seems to fit the requirements for us.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by manim

Instant heaters are Not good for showers since water will get colder if you draw water faster. They are only useful for very slow filling into buckets.

I am not looking for a 'hot' shower, if it can provide a luke warm water for a 10-15 min, slow speed shower, that would do. And winters in Chennai do not go below 18-20 degrees I am told.

Originally Posted by carboy

I have a handshower running on a 1L instant heater fine for 3 years now. Never had the problem of water not hot enough.

But is hot water not being available over a 15 min shower an issue?

Originally Posted by HillMan

Instant is recommended for bucket use. It is best to get a 1lt heater, as they heat faster in most cases. By the time water passes thru the internal tubes, it is hot already.

I thought a 3L water heater will be more useful for a shower as it heats 3L at any given point of time, correct me if my understanding is wrong.

Originally Posted by Aroy

In my experience tank material has nothing to do with scaling due to hard water. It will form on any surface. The best tanks, from the point of view of low maintenance are either stainless steel or ceramic/glass coated ones.

I am not worried just about scaling. The water at my location has a tendency of 'rusting' even good grade stainless steel. Which is why I am looking at AO smith geyser, which supposedly has a ceramic core.

Originally Posted by Aroy

If you are all alone you can also try 10-15L storage type geysers. They will draw less power, but take some time to heat up.

Conctraint here, is my budget :(