[anku94]

@BaCkSeAtDrIVer

1. Well, we too recently purchased a microwave, a convection M/W. To tell you the truth, after a day or two's enthusiasm, cooking is done on kadahis and cookers. :P

2. Capacity should be 20L for 3 people, full cooking. 20L for 4-5 people for reheating etc. Add 4-5L/person for full cooking and 2-3L/person for reheating purposes.

3. A solo microwave is marketed as a low-end item, so it does not have very good looks, or features, and comes in limited choices. I suggest you to go for grill, not only grill microwaves have multiple options, the tikkis I cook in grill aren't bad. :P

There's no list of features as such, so do a thorough search on models on the net. Avoid IFB. Their customer service stinks. That's what I gathered through this topic and other reviews on the net. So this leaves you with basically Samsung or LG as major brands, both of which are good.

[rex_varghese]

We're struggling to decide between Kaff and Faber for furnishing our kitchen. We're looking for chimneys, hobs, built-in-owens, etc.

Our kitchen designer is recommending Kaff. Few of my friends are suggesting Faber. The ones we use in my home back in Kerala are Glen.

I'm really confused.

Can few of you who use these brands or have awareness about them please comment on them with respect to:

1. Quality and durability
2. After sales support (this is a main concern. lot of people say KAFF after sale support is not good)
3. Ease of maintenance

Regards
Rex

[carboy]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

I have been going through the posts here on usefulness and otherwise of a microwave, and I gather that it is good for cooking / heating / steaming things. To make curry, you need different things.

We are a pure veg household here. Here, most things are cooked in a pressure cooker and then put into a pan and heated again with masala / oil or watever. So, I guess that the M/@ will take over the role of the pressure cooker here. Am I right in my understanding?

2. How do I decide the capacity? How big should it be?

3. We do not do any baking anyway (not that we are averse to baking and eggs, etc., just that we find it more convenient to have non-veg and baked food from outside). :-D So, a plain m/w without any grill or whatever frills will do?

Any features to look for?

Recall reading something about a "turret" or turntable or something. Any comments?

Thanks in advance.

For 90% of all households, a basic microwave costing 3000-4000 Rs is more than enough. Most people who buy the expensive microwaves end up doing only the basic stuff 2 months down the line.
Reheating food is what you will use your microwave for mostly. That can be done very well in a 3000 Rs microwave.

[jassi]

^^ agreed i have a 14k rs. microwave and don't use it for anything more than heating!!

[trrk]

Hi,

Other than heating / reheating / thawing, it is used to roast ground nuts and to make instant noodles / pasta!

[amohit]

^ in addition to all this, we use to to boil potatoes, make regular noodles and roast pretty much everything else (like rava, til).

Regards,

[JMaruru]

I am looking out for tower fans in bangalore. Please suggest on the features to look out for, the brands and also the shops.

Thanks.

[kiku007]

Guys

I need to buy a front loading washing machine (Don't ask me why? Tht's what everyone suggests) and Split AC (Not possible to fix window ac in the rented house)

Washing Machine
Everyone suggests IFB Front Loading.
Viveks Sales rep says IFB is not how it used to be before. He even asked us to check reviews in the net. Seems service is bad. Is it so?
He was pushing Whirlpool front loading washing machine.

So how good or bad is IFB?

AC
How good is Samsung Split AC?
Hitachi is very expensive and not in my budget.
Sales rep mentioned that, Hitachi Split AC piping can be removed and used 3 times i.e during shifting. How about other brands?
Also he said that, for home use the the savings in using a 4 star ac over a 2 star ac will be very very minimal since the AC will effectively run only for 3 hours in the night. Is it so?

[tsk1979]

We almost bought an IFB, but service pushed us to LG.
At the time of purchase, I asked the dealer, when will it be installed.
The dealer gave us number of service center, and those guys were like.
"Maybe today, possibly tomorrow, but if not tomorrow, definitely next week.
With LG he told us, if you buy it before 11:30am, we will install it by 2pm.
So Next day we buy the machine in the morning, and even before the dealer has supplied the machine(1 hour after purchase) the LG guy called up, gave his cell number, and asked us to ring him when the machine arrived.
Around couple of hours after purchase the machine arrived from warehouse, and 30 minutes later it was installed and working.

After few days, we had few doubts about some rubber sealing and all, and were worried if its a problem. Lodged a complaint, and 1 hour later the engineer comes, explains everything.

As for Samsung AC. I would now say "STAY Away".
Ever since the warranty got over, it requires gas recharge every year. You know what Samsung technicians say "Its noida pollution".
So my guess it that if you want to use an AC in himachal pradesh, buy samsung, but if you want to use in a city with pollution(practically any big city) buy something else.
Surprisingly, the hitachi AC back home(6 years old) has never required Gas recharge since purchase!
The LG back home is 2 years old, so we don't know whether it will require gas recharge or not, but till now is fine and no cooling issues.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Washing Machine
Everyone suggests IFB Front Loading.
Viveks Sales rep says IFB is not how it used to be before. He even asked us to check reviews in the net. Seems service is bad. Is it so?
He was pushing Whirlpool front loading washing machine.

So how good or bad is IFB?

Kiku, I am not sure about the IFB service in Chennai, but its not as bad as its been portrayed here in Bangalore. On the 2-3 times i have requested for service from them, they have been prompt, and also quite attentive to complaints raised online on their site. In fact, after raising one such request on their site, i got a call from them in about 30 mins, which stumped me!

What you should prepare yourself for is the dancing which is exhibited by IFB front loading machines during the spin dry operation when loaded. It can put any professional dancer to shame. You can read more about this phenomenon on this very thread in posts from me, as well as concurrent opinions from many other users as well.

[ntomer]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

As for Samsung AC. I would now say "STAY Away".
Ever since the warranty got over, it requires gas recharge every year. You know what Samsung technicians say "Its noida pollution".
So my guess it that if you want to use an AC in himachal pradesh, buy samsung, but if you want to use in a city with pollution(practically any big city) buy something else.
Surprisingly, the hitachi AC back home(6 years old) has never required Gas recharge since purchase!
The LG back home is 2 years old, so we don't know whether it will require gas recharge or not, but till now is fine and no cooling issues.

There is some issue related to ACs at the place where you live. A very close friend lives in Gail Vihar, Sec. 23. And his ACs require gas change every year; same is the case with everybody in his colony. The reason service guys give is that there is sewage treatment plan just across the road, which emits some gasses which screw up working of AC.

He owns a Hitachi Mju and LG; and both have this problem.

Nitin

[tsk1979]

But isnt the gas piping and compressor sealed? Our safari is almost 2 years old, and sees heavy usage. But no gas leak issue yet?
In that case if there is indeed some gas leak thingy problem, its better to buy an AC which gives three free services(so for atleast 3 years you enjoy free gas recharges)

[Thad E Ginathom]

We have had a similar experience with our Samsung ACs. For our 2-ton hall AC, which is only used in the summer, it looks like repair and refill might be an annual event! Only a slight exaggeration as it has just been done for second time.

I think it is a case of polution... there is a very corrosive atmosphere here, and many metal objects rust quickly (including my windscreen wiper arms!). Buckingham canal and a lot of small industry is close by. I dread to think what it is doing to our lungs.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Washing Machine
Everyone suggests IFB Front Loading.
Viveks Sales rep says IFB is not how it used to be before. He even asked us to check reviews in the net. Seems service is bad. Is it so?
He was pushing Whirlpool front loading washing machine.

So how good or bad is IFB?

A Front loading washing machine consumes less water to wash than the traditional washing machine (learned the hard way out of experience); regarding the service, if you're inside the city, then I don't think you need to be worrying on it; personally I haven't experienced anything from IFB, but damn sure that my next WM (in 6 months of time) will be IFB; But after reading tsk1979's LG's experience is giving me a thought too; I experienced the same with LG LCD TV; we called those guys for wall mounting, they said, if you're free then today, if not tomorrow; the guy came down from Kilpauk to my home in Avadi in 1 hour & in less than 3-4 hours the work was completed at free of cost!!!

Originally Posted by kiku007

AC
How good is Samsung Split AC?
Hitachi is very expensive and not in my budget.
Sales rep mentioned that, Hitachi Split AC piping can be removed and used 3 times i.e during shifting. How about other brands?
Also he said that, for home use the the savings in using a 4 star ac over a 2 star ac will be very very minimal since the AC will effectively run only for 3 hours in the night. Is it so?

^^^I guess the service depends on the area, but product wise I too feel its junk; however it suits our needs; we've a 0.9 ton split for my Mother who feels 27 like 20; the Samsung guys were at my home even before the A/C could be bought home (we bought from Girias AN); even when fitting, the technician said that the level of gas is less & was cursing the manufacturer. So IMO, you can stay away; however if you don't mind the noise & electricity consumption, ONIDA is awesome (personal experience).

I would look at the power consumption rather than the star rating as I still prefer my own calculations over BEE; I bought Samsung that had 3 star rating after comparing several players in market with 1 ton & less power consumption & obviously Samsung was only one with highest star because of 900W power consumption Vs others who had more than 990W;

Now to answer your question straight forward, no one can say how long will your A/C keep running in night or anything w.r.t ratings; as a thumb rule focus on EER (Energy to Effeciency Ratio) should be higher which obviously means power consumption is also less; more the cooling, more the power consumption, keep the temp setting to 25/26 & put into swing, avoid as much as thermal conductive materials (iron cupboards etc), close your open shelves with wood/plastics, avoid window leakages & all these will attribute to some single digit % in effective cooling.

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Guys

I need to buy a front loading washing machine (Don't ask me why? Tht's what everyone suggests) and Split AC (Not possible to fix window ac in the rented house)

Washing Machine
Everyone suggests IFB Front Loading.
Viveks Sales rep says IFB is not how it used to be before. He even asked us to check reviews in the net. Seems service is bad. Is it so?
He was pushing Whirlpool front loading washing machine.

So how good or bad is IFB?

As others suggested better go for LG, my friend bought LG F1056LDP front loading washing machine last month and happy about it.