[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by khoj

You are being very demanding, give it some time to get it's act together

The Bosch is about half the price of the one that I bought in UK 12 or 15 years ago. There is one very expensive model available here, probably imported, but am I right in thinking that the ones that we are paying around 30K for are cost-cutting India models?

Not that I'm complaining. It washes; it doesn't dance.

[ecenandu]

We are in the process of renovating the kitchen. Here is the plan, please suggest good brands for the following items.

Fridge - Not double door, we have short listed Siemens.
Oven - Morphy Richards.
Microwave oven - Only microwave option, LG, Samsung or the likes.
Kitchen Hood - haven't short listed any.
Kitchen Hob - haven't short listed any.
Kitchen sink - haven't short listed any.

If you guys can help me with the best brands for the above, we will select a model which suit our budget from them.

Thanks in advance.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by ecenandu

Kitchen Hood - haven't short listed any.

Kitchen Hob - haven't short listed any.

We have an Elica 4 burner hob with 5 jets on two of the burners. These have copper burners in black color. They look cool and work great. I wanted the 5 burner but couldn't get it in Chennai. Have a look at their range here
http://www.elicaindia.com/product-sh...lt-in-hobs/mfc
Our hood is an older Faber but if I was given the chance I would have selected Elica for the hood too.

[ecenandu]

Originally Posted by diyguy

We have an Elica 4 burner hob with 5 jets on two of the burners. These have copper burners in black color. They look cool and work great. I wanted the 5 burner but couldn't get it in Chennai. Have a look at their range here
http://www.elicaindia.com/product-sh...lt-in-hobs/mfc
Our hood is an older Faber but if I was given the chance I would have selected Elica for the hood too.

Thanks a lot buddy, will ask my mom to check it out. There is a delar in Cochin.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

The Bosch is about half the price of the one that I bought in UK 12 or 15 years ago. There is one very expensive model available here, probably imported, but am I right in thinking that the ones that we are paying around 30K for are cost-cutting India models?

In India Bosch and Siemens are manufactured at the same plant. Just take a look at the ranges and you will see.

[lurker]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

LG service has been exceptional, but after a change in the local structure I will keep my fingers crossed.

Morphy Richards service is handled by Bajaj. Again had reason to call them once, and response was very fast and good.

LG privatized (outsourced) it's service, but the same old chap, a familiar face, came in to service my old LG fridge as usual. So all in all a ok.

my old LG double door 245 ltr was having a problem. Freezer was working but fridge was not cooling at all. At first LG sent in a new boy who said he would have to change the timer, some 1500. No issues.

but yesterday in comes the old familiar face, surprised that he is still around, and he tells me that he will just clean the lines with some hot water. Opens a drain in the freezer, and pours in hot scalding water and from beneath flows out some dark gunk, algae etc. Wait for a bit and switch on the fridge. Everything works as per usual.

But I think time has come for me to take a look at other fridges and come upon the Samsung line up. Now as much as I hate Samsung for their service, there is one thing that attracts me a lot there. A convertible freezer. Now that is a wonderful idea. You can switch off the freezer entirely, and divert cooling only to lower fridge. You can also turn the freezer into a fridge as that below and increase the total capacity of fridge by some 88 ltrs, now this is for a 345 or 393 model.

Many Indian families who are totally vegetarian can really find this feature very useful. There are many people who do not need a freezer at all except for storing ice and some cheese, paneer packs. As for me I am a non vegetarian and I have Voltas deep freezer exclusively to store meats, fish, cold cuts, chicken, pork etc. And I really do not need a freezer in a fridge and it just takes up a lot of space. Since I also keep my milk packets in the freezer, since they last longer that way. that is another item in my refrigerator freezer. But that is about it.

btw a 320 litre fridge and a 345 litre fridge all look more or less similar from outside and the space inside is also neglible difference. The real difference starts from 390 onwards when the refrigerator gets much wider. If there are no space issues, this is what most people should be considering.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

In India Bosch and Siemens are manufactured at the same plant. Just take a look at the ranges and you will see.

And sold alongside each other: same models, same price, very slight cosmetic differences. The salesperson asked me which I wanted.

Even with my old bought-in-UK machine, open it up and many parts say "Siemens" on them. It's like Skoda and VW: the parts are often just "VAG."

But this is not relevant to Bosch being, or having been, a much more expensive machine in Europe.

[sgiitk]

@lurker; Samsung service in Kanpur went to dogs after privatization. I will not touch them with a barge-pole now. When it was corporate it was excellent.

Outsourcing is fine, but there is very little corporate control.

[ThePunter]

Word about induction cooktop here.
We have a 'Usha cookjoy' induction top. Using since 3 and half years. Has been going very good till may be a month back. Ever since, it at most gets ON once per day when switching on for the first time for the day. And it doesn't work anymore. And more recently it is as good as dead. Buttons also act up. Tried giving it a dry/warm bath by keeping it under sun for some time as recommended by a few and even the outside service guy too. (to take away any dampness problem perhaps) No use. But service person when turned up said that buttons are fine. It is the board that has gone. Seems may be caused by spills. Other wise we haven't induced any damage on to it.
Funny part is this: It is 2000 for board replacement. Where as new ones come at relatively similar or slightly higher prices these days. And online ones still lower. The point I am trying to make is as long as it is not giving issues it is fine. But repair mostly seems cost a bomb. I had inquired outside also when the issue came before turning to the authorized. The one at Tnagar (got by google) - they too said about 650 to touch if it is a repair.

Any other way out guys? per your experience.
Thinking it will be better to get a new one than repair this even for which the guarantee given is not more than a month.
But indeed the cooktop has been very useful -used only for boiling water, milk, and nothing else mostly. And is eagerly looking for a functional one at home again asap.

[devil_klm]

Originally Posted by diyguy

We have an Elica 4 burner hob with 5 jets on two of the burners. These have copper burners in black color. They look cool and work great. I wanted the 5 burner but couldn't get it in Chennai. Have a look at their range here
http://www.elicaindia.com/product-sh...lt-in-hobs/mfc
Our hood is an older Faber but if I was given the chance I would have selected Elica for the hood too.

+1 looking for Chimney and Hob. I would prefer to go for 3 burners as 4 seems to be cramped and normal usage will get limited to 2 and max of 3. I selected elica MFC 3 B 70 SWIRL. Had a look at a showroom nearby and liked it. Which is the best burner type we can get . Which one last long Brass or Copper?
For hob i am considering CONCAVE 60/80.
This is having Cassette Filter. From reviews this need frequent cleaning and not much good for Indian cooking. Baffle filter is the good option as it will have tray for oil sedimentation. But i am not seeing much option for hobs with good design and baffle filter.

[WindRide]

Going by the various feedback here on using LED bulbs for home use, looks like its not a replacement for tubes/CFLs for spread or brightness.
Iam wondering if it will be a good investment to buy and use 9W LED for 100/- bucks that Karnataka Govt is providing right now.
I can only think of using a 9W LED in bathrooms and balconies. Do correct me if iam wrong.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by WindRide

........
I can only think of using a 9W LED in bathrooms and balconies. Do correct me if iam wrong.

Try if the illumination is to your liking before you invest. I personally dislike a dimly lit washroom but that may just be a quirk of mine

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by WindRide

Going by the various feedback here on using LED bulbs for home use, looks like its not a replacement for tubes/CFLs for spread or brightness.
Iam wondering if it will be a good investment to buy and use 9W LED for 100/- bucks that Karnataka Govt is providing right now.

The Govt supplied LEDs are cool daylight. LEDs are available in three flavours - warm daylight, daylight, cool daylight. I have 6W warm daylight in two of my bathroom. More than adequate. Bathrooms are a good place to start, since the lights are switched on and off a dozen times a day, leading to rapid fusing.

I also have a 7W light in the dressing room, and a set of LED based lights (5W with metal holders) in the drawing room.

[TheTeacher]

I've bought a few LED bulbs (Philips & Wipro only) and have been shocked that a 1160 lumens LED seems way, way brighter than a 1550 lumens CFL of the same color temperature. Probably two reasons for this: 1) I think lumens are measured differently for each type and 2) the CFL scatters light everywhere, but the LED is a more pointed light.

The pointy nature of LEDs is bothersome, because it causes glare and shadows. After unsuccessfully trying to replace the most-used CFL in the large family room (wife shot them down again and again), I am thinking perhaps I need to get lower power LEDs and use 2 or 3 simultaneously instead of a 12 or 13 watt LED (that was attempted to replace a 23 watt CFL). This will provide multiple sources of a gentler light, reducing the harshness of a single source.

Don't want to invest in light fittings right now.

I prefer 2700 or 3000 K color temperature. The white ones hurt my eyes.

Do we have a home lighting thread? If not, we need to!

[ottocycle]

I am looking for an inverter AC for my 175 sqft bedroom (topfloor, south side has a balcony so outdoor unit would be in shade). Should I opt for 1 ton or 1.5 ton capacity.

Should I go for Diakin? or LG will work fine. I guess prices are almost in same range with couple of thousand difference.