[GladRagu]

I can vouch for Panasonic products. Last year June, I bought 27 ltrs NN-CD674M oven and it's great and user friendly as well.

7 year old Panasonic vacuum cleaner still going strong sans any issues or replacements, even the cloth bag is intact and no sign of giving up.

[mayankk]

Which would be a better, more durable refrigerator brand. I am looking at side side by ones with water dispenser, and have seen Hitachi and LG only so far. About 550-650 litres. Hitachi guy says that LG stuff is made in China, and Hitachi is Thai made, hence better. I don't understand why that would be a sore point, especially when the counter nation is Thailand.

Some ultra cheap brand also came to notice, like marq on flipkart,koryo on Amazon. Those prices seem to good to be capable of offering any kind of quality. Or are they??
My budget is maximum 100k, so if anyone has other suggestions, please share.

[rdst_1]

Please stay away from Marq and Amazon basics. Even I was enticed by their prices but then found out that Amazon Basic SBS is just a rebrand of BPL which had very bad reviews, especially for A.S.S.

You have a nice budget so please stick with the mainstream brands. A friend is using a Haier SBS in a semi-commercial setup and been pretty happy with it for the last 2 years.

Personally, my next fridge, or for that matter, any appliance, will be commercial grade rather than consumer grade because I need better service and repairability because of my rural location. So I am going for a seperate deep freezer and a SBS from the same company which supplies fridges to Coke in North India. They don't have the latest technologies or the looks but they are designed to run long hours and every single component is easily accessible and repairable.

[ast.ggn]

Originally Posted by mayankk

have seen Hitachi and LG only so far. About 550-650 litres

You can't go wrong with either of them honestly. Just compare the features and choose. We have both Hitachi and LG (double door though), both are in their 7th year of running (no complain till now). LG will have marginally better service overall but after using Hitachi products (AC, TV, refrigerator) for a long time now they have never given me a chance to complain.

If I were to spend 1 Lac on a refrigerator, I would stay away from all Amazons and Cromas.

[sharktale]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Which would be a better, more durable refrigerator brand. I am looking at side side by ones with water dispenser, and have seen Hitachi and LG only so far. About 550-650 litres.

We have an LG, bought 5 yrs back. Gross volume - 600+litres. Initially, we too were looking for side-by-side, but the Showroom personnel advised us to go for normal fridge of that capacity. This fridge can take in entire Kadhais, something impossible on SBS fridges. It was made in Korea and is working really well for us! We recommend this to everyone instead of opting for SBS.

Eg : LG Fridge

[JithinR]

Thank you for the response.

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

1. Get a 4 star or better rating model. This indicates power consumption. Rating also varies with year of launch, so a 2019 3 star ranks BELOW a 2020 3 star model.

I am not really sure sir about how much money we would save by getting a 4 star fridge vs a 3 star fridge. Since these days most of them are digital inverter fridges the compressor is not meant to run all the time at full power.

The increased cost of a 4 star (most of the model's i saw were retailing at over Rs. 30,000 vs the Rs. 23,000 for the 3 star one) made me think I would never actually recover the savings. I am not a 100% sure about this anymore.

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

2. No need for stabiliser or stand. End of argument and sales pitch.

Thank you. I got a refrigerator that was advertised as stabilizer free. The only thing the service guy tried to push was a stand.

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

3. Look at your food habits. If you are vegetarian, you need models with larger storage for veggies. Else, the proportion of freezer in total storage capacity counts.

As a family we are non-vegetarians. But we have been reducing our non-veg intake for quite some time. This is one area where I believe my pick might fall short since the veggie box at the bottom is not really an upgrade over our old single door fridge.

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

4. I'm feeling evil and want to confuse you. FYI, if you dont use the freezer much, bottom freezer and 3 door models are available in sub 300L capacity range.

Most of the three door models I saw were from whirlpool which my Mom is dead set against since the one we had at home fell apart without much usage (or maybe due to the lack of consistent use).

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

5. We were a Samsung family till a close relative's fridge broke down in the middle east. A similar cooling issue was reported here a few months back. She spent almost 70% of new cost on repairs and ended up buying an LG. (HINT)

Yep, got an LG one finally.

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

6. Do look at the size of containers you will put in it and ensure you get a model with sufficient vertical space between shelves.

This would have been one point to notice if I was able to physically see the fridge before purchase. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 even home appliances are now being purchased online.

So, i missed this point. Only consolation is that i hate to keep leftover food in cooking vessels..rather have it inside a storage container. So, it should not be a deal breaker.

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

An audible alarm is door does not close properly will be a good feature to have.

Thankfully, this feature is present.

Finally got the fridge delivered on 14-08-2020. A week after placing the order.

Immediately called up the LG service helpline and requested for a demo and they sent a service guy over by 6:30pm (4 hours after i called them up). Thanks to some kind soul who put this point in his Amazon review.

This in hindsight was a good move since the Amazon guy are really slow in informing LG of the need for a demo and installation guy. He called me up the next day (almost 24+ hours after the fridge was delivered).

Now for the fridge itself:

1. Seems decently built. At the price point I can hardly expect it to exude premium quality.
2. Has decent amount of shelf storage space. But the vertical space between the shelf's is not a lot. Typical Indian cooking vessels will just about fit.
3. The veggie box at the bottom is mediocre. Infact, my old single door fridge had about the same space. But this is a compromise to make since a larger veggie box seems to eliminate any space for the opposing shelf on the door.
4. Incredibly silent operation compared to our old single door fridge.
5. Shiny finish on the door that could pick up scratches quickly.

Finally, i actually got a Rs. 750 cashback too so the final price came up to Rs. 18,030.

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Which would be a better, more durable refrigerator brand. I am looking at side side by ones with water dispenser, and have seen Hitachi and LG only so far. About 550-650 litres. Hitachi guy says that LG stuff is made in China, and Hitachi is Thai made, hence better. I don't understand why that would be a sore point, especially when the counter nation is Thailand.

Some ultra cheap brand also came to notice, like marq on flipkart,koryo on Amazon. Those prices seem to good to be capable of offering any kind of quality. Or are they??
My budget is maximum 100k, so if anyone has other suggestions, please share.

Both LG and Hitachi products are good.
LG is coming from 3 locations China, Indonesia and South Korea. Depends on the model numbers. Hitachi is 100% Thai source.

Marq, Koryo etc are just sourced from China market off the shelf. Basic product with limited service back up. With 100k budget I would suggest to stay away from them.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by JithinR

I am not really sure sir about how much money we would save by getting a 4 star fridge vs a 3 star fridge. Since these days most of them are digital inverter fridges the compressor is not meant to run all the time at full power.

The increased cost of a 4 star (most of the model's i saw were retailing at over Rs. 30,000 vs the Rs. 23,000 for the 3 star one) made me think I would never actually recover the savings. I am not a 100% sure about this anymore.

It's not just the inverter compressor that decides the final power consumption but various other factors like insulation, design of the cooling system etc. If the cooling system is well designed in a 4 start fridge, it would bring the temperature to set point quicker than a 3 star fridge. If the insulation is better, this will maintain internal temperature lower for longer period which will again result in power savings.

Check out the number of units consumed per year marked on the star rating label. That will give a good indication of how better a 4 star fridge is compared to a 3 star fridge.

Though in practice, the consumption will be much higher than this marking, still the difference between 3 start and 4 star refrigerator will reflect in actual consumption.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by kpzen

Both LG ---snip ---m them.

Thanks, guys.
Picked up the LG from a b&m for about 10k under the prices quoted online, with some cash back also.

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by graaja

Check out the number of units consumed per year marked on the star rating label. That will give a good indication of how better a 4 star fridge is compared to a 3 star fridge.

Thanks. Honestly, I didn't think too much about the star rating.

The only reference I glanced at is Amazon's own page that shows the annual saving vs star rating.

https://www.amazon.in/b/ref=s9_acss_bw_cg_tyretren_1d1_w?ie=UTF8&node=1629 5841031&pf_rd_m=A1K21FY43GMZF8&pf_rd_s=merchandise d-search-20&pf_rd_r=GN1F8PTPMFB47W69MM4K&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_ p=35ca124e-80d1-4dbe-89ec-1d15239aa2b8&pf_rd_i=16297606031

It didn't really show too much of a difference in between the 3 star and 4 star fridges annual consumption (at least not enough to be recoverable in the life of a refrigerator).

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by JithinR

Most of the three door models I saw were from whirlpool which my Mom is dead set against since the one we had at home fell apart without much usage (or maybe due to the lack of consistent use).

I can't remember when we bought this, but this is the fake-brushed-steel door of our Whirlpool fridge. It is not more than a couple of years old. The surface is a plastic sheet, so there is nothing we can do to touch it up.

A fridge is an item that I expect to last decades. Would not buy Whirlpool again.

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I can't remember when we bought this, but this is the fake-brushed-steel door of our Whirlpool fridge. It is not more than a couple of years old. The surface is a plastic sheet, so there is nothing we can do to touch it up.

Nothing fake here. Its a laminated metal sheet which is used by everyone.
The corrosion resistance doesn't seem to be good enough in this case.
Call up the customer care and they might replace it under goodwill if its not under warranty.

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I can't remember when we bought this...

But for this, I would have asked you to take up the issue with Whirlpool/Dealer.

Eight years ago when a friend bought a three door Whirlpool, the plastic cover enveloping the height adjustable screws on one side wasn't fitting properly. We asked the dealer to get that small part replaced.

He went overboard and gave us a whole new piece and took away the one week old one.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by kpzen

Nothing fake here. Its a laminated metal sheet which is used by everyone.

I suppose it is a bit like that laminated wood flooring, where the "wood" layer is not even wood: it is printed paper.

Originally Posted by dailydriver

... He went overboard and gave us a whole new piece and took away the one week old one.

Nice. But we've had ours quite a lot longer than a week. We'll dig for the bill.

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I suppose it is a bit like that laminated wood flooring, where the "wood" layer is not even wood: it is printed paper.
Nice. But we've had ours quite a lot longer than a week. We'll dig for the bill.

Yes, its like a Vinyl sheet layer on Cold Rolled sheet. Commonly known as VCM.