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Old 15th December 2013, 21:06   #4111
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Re: The Home Appliance thread

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Originally Posted by audioholic View Post
Currently I have a prestige glass hob which I brought along the prestige modular kitchen three years back. The issue is ever since day one my mom complains that cooking is taking a long time compared to the stove we had in our previous residence. ..... If what I have is an Italian burner, then I will need something else. I am looking for a tempered glass version. Number of burners doesnt matter. All I need is a black glass top that blends with the galaxy black granite for the countertop. Rest doesnt matter as long as it doesnt give my mom another hassle of slow cooking. Any ideas?
I can relate to your problem. We have a similar problem at my cousin's place. The burner is the culprit. Never go for any italian brands as they do not produce the kind of heat which is needed for indian cooking. I was told that the burner should always be a brass burner. suggest you to talk to some shops which deal with LPG accessories & provide repair services (and not the ones who sell hobs & chimneys - who just try to push the most expensive / profitable one to you) and they should be able to guide to to proper burners which you may want to consider once before going to another problematic hob.

PS: Do not change the burners as they may not fit properly.
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Old 16th December 2013, 10:30   #4112
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Re: The Home Appliance thread

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Ok, it looks like I'll have to fix my existing gas stove then. Can someone guide me through it? The flame's intensity seems to have reduced and thus, putting it in Simmer switches it off completely. High heat is also not "high" like it was earlier. Same with both burners. I can't figure where to start looking, although I feel something is restricting gas flow.I checked the stove's under-hood pipes and they look clear enough to me!
Most probably the jet is blocked. If you can access the jet, you can clean it with a pin. The jet is usually at the end of the knob, and is accessible by lifting the pipe running from the knob to the burner. Just be careful while cleaning the jet. In case you increase the orifice diameter you will get exces gas.
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Old 16th December 2013, 10:39   #4113
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Re: The Home Appliance thread

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Never go for any italian brands as they do not produce the kind of heat which is needed for indian cooking.
Not necessarily. I have an Italian Faber (2001) cooking range which was a direct import and have no issues. Prior to that. Prior to that we have had K-Chef & Inalsa systems so the heat is no issue. Also, I have a Faber hob (2001) as did my son (2008) and again no problems. So bad design is not universal to a particular country!
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Old 16th December 2013, 11:22   #4114
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Re: The Home Appliance thread

Hi Guys,
Need some advice on buying of a Charcoal based grill. Usage : In house (decent sized balcony) and on travels. Needs to be compact, portable and and big enough to grill for about 3-4 people.

I have looked at the Weber ones at Hypercity - Models which retail around 6k & 10k respectively. Any reviews would be highly appreciated.
I would appreciate if someone could put up pictures of the actual use (at home & on a trip).
Any other suggestion is also welcome. Thanks.

Last edited by pratyush6 : 16th December 2013 at 11:29.
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Old 16th December 2013, 11:28   #4115
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Re: The Home Appliance thread

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Originally Posted by pratyush6 View Post
Hi Guys,
Need some advice on buying of a Charcoal based grill. Usage : In house (decent sized balcony) and on travels. Need to be compact, portable and and big enough to grill for about 3-4 people.

I have looked at the Weber ones at Hypercity - Models which retail around 6k & 10k respectively. Any reviews would be highly appreciated.
I would appreciate if someone could put up pictures of the actual use (at home & on a trip).
Any other suggestion is also welcome. Thanks.
Don't you get the cheap, Hibachi kind of grills in India - I have used them a lot abroad and they are very good and durable

http://www.amazon.com/Masterbuilt-20...dp/B003J374IG/
http://www.amazon.com/Weber-10020-Sm...dp/B00004RALL/
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Old 16th December 2013, 11:36   #4116
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Re: The Home Appliance thread

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Originally Posted by sgiitk View Post
Not necessarily. I have an Italian Faber (2001) cooking range which was a direct import and have no issues. Prior to that. Prior to that we have had K-Chef & Inalsa systems so the heat is no issue. Also, I have a Faber hob (2001) as did my son (2008) and again no problems. So bad design is not universal to a particular country!
Yeah bad design might be the problem I am facing. Now that we are considering a Faber, I would like to get feedback from users regarding the overall experience with the products.
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Old 16th December 2013, 11:44   #4117
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Re: The Home Appliance thread

I have never experienced a badly designed gas burner. Normally the gas/air mixture is to be blamed. This is normally due to
. Bad or too big a jet. If the flame is blue at all settings then you will get maximum heat with minimum fuel. In case the flame is yellow and/or deposits a lot of soot then the jet is too big for the burner and the heat will be less while consumption more.
. Clogged air passage. This is normally due to packing material lodging itself in the pipe delivering the mixture to the burner.

So it is best to check the above points (jet and the air passage) before junking the stove.

Last edited by Aroy : 16th December 2013 at 11:45.
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Old 16th December 2013, 15:03   #4118
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Re: The Home Appliance thread

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Originally Posted by null View Post
I can relate to your problem. We have a similar problem at my cousin's place. The burner is the culprit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aroy View Post
I have never experienced a badly designed gas burner. Normally the gas/air mixture is to be blamed. This is normally due to
. Bad or too big a jet. If the flame is blue at all settings then you will get maximum heat with minimum fuel. In case the flame is yellow and/or deposits a lot of soot then the jet is too big for the burner and the heat will be less while consumption more.
I agree with both these. My dad keeps saying that the 2 burner stove we have is better than what is available now-a-days. The body of the stove is now showing signs of age, but the USP, according to him, is the burners that are installed. He said something about the efficiency and relevance to the colour of the flame.

The new one that they have in the other house is not that efficient it seems.

Anyway, one cylinder lasts 3 months for us, two adults and a child, with guests every month for a couple of days.
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Old 17th December 2013, 16:38   #4119
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Kai Pure Komachi 2 Knives - a brief review

Mods: Not sure if this is the right section to post this. Please move this to the right thread if needed.

Kai Pure Komachi 2 Knives - a brief review


I first saw them while I was browsing Amazon for a Japanese Santoku knife (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santoku) but was skeptical because of the looks and the price but the reviews were really encouraging in Amazon and I found lot of good reviews in net about them. While searching and reading about them, I came to know that they are made by the guys who make Shun knives.

The Komachi line costs a fraction of what Shun knives cost and while I am reasonably sure that these are not handmade exotic knives like Shun, I was reasonably confident to try them, and fortunately a friend agreed to bring me a Santoku knife from the Komachi line. One thing led to other and at last, she ended up buying the whole set for both of us.

The knife set:
The Home Appliance thread-img20131204wa0001.jpg

The Home Appliance thread-img_20131217_081016.jpg

The set contains:
8 inch Bread Knife
8 inch Chef's Knife
6 ½inch Santoku Knife
6 inch Utility Knife
3 ½ inch Paring Knife
4 inch Citrus Knife

The blades are made of 420J2 steel (http://www.knifecenter.com/info/knife-blade-materials) and the handles are made of inomer resin. The knives are color coated using food-safe, FDA-approved resin coating.

The coating makes sure that the food does not stick to the knives and it makes cleaning much easier. It also makes sure that you can easily identify each knife (in case you use particular knives for particular purpose - one knife for vegetable, one for meat etc.). And oh, these coatings also provide the eye-candy.

I have been using the knives for some time and they are a hoot to use - light weight and very sharp. The blade has a full flat grind and really slices with ease .They cut through vegetables and meat like cutting through cheese, and slice incredibly thin.

These knives are incredibly light and very sharp and much superior to Tramontina knives and generic brand made in Japan molybdium-vanedium knives (IMC and TW) I have. The only down side I can think of about them is that the handle do not have a soft touch feel - the handle will be slippery if your hands are oily (though they do not slip if hands are moderately wet).

I have also read in some reviews that the light colored knives will get stained if you leave the knife without cleaning after cutting some particular vegetables, but I feel you should always clean your knife as soon as you finish using it.

An added bonus is that, you can sharpen them using whetstone - but I do not think they will need sharpening any time soon.

They are not meant to cut through frozen meat or through bones (I use a cleaver and a large knife made by a skilled blacksmith using tiller blades for cutting through bone - they are prone to rust and needs sharpening often, but they are sharp and cut through bones easily. But they are not very suitable for everyday use because they will not hold their edge for long time and are very prone to corrosion)

From the Kai\Shun website: Japanese steel knives are generally lighter in weight and are made of thinner, harder steel. Due to their harder steel, the blade stock can be thinner and the edge more acute—that is, sharper—than a comparable German knife.

--Anoop
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Old 17th December 2013, 23:31   #4120
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Originally Posted by theexperthand View Post
Mods: Not sure if this is the right section to post this. Please move this to the right thread if needed.

Kai Pure Komachi 2 Knives - a brief review
So where did you buy it from and what is the damage

Last edited by bblost : 17th December 2013 at 23:33. Reason: Please avoid quoting large posts in full. Thanks.
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Old 18th December 2013, 09:43   #4121
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Originally Posted by theexperthand View Post
Mods: Not sure if this is the right section to post this. Please move this to the right thread if needed. Kai Pure Komachi 2 Knives - a brief review I first saw them while I was browsing Amazon for a Japanese Santoku knife (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santoku). --Anoop
Agree..!
Years back I had got this pair of Santoku knives, that was from Sam's Club during 2008 or so and was Baker's and Chef's range of it -plain white. Have to say still going strong even with ~almost routine use, surely careful not to abuse it much. I had this habit of getting every attractive knife now and then, huh! stopped it long though! This one was in $20 to $25 range for a pair I vaguely remember.
BTW the colors in this reminds me of the new (iPhones) i5C
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Old 18th December 2013, 18:03   #4122
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Re: The Home Appliance thread

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So where did you buy it from and what is the damage
Got it from Amazon - the whole set cost around 45$.

--Anoop
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Old 24th December 2013, 18:17   #4123
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Re: The Home Appliance thread

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Koryo from BigBazaar. Low cost and heats fast. Happy with it for around 2yrs now. No complaints yet.
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@murillo; I have also got a Venus. Their quality has nose dived of late. I have had to replace the safety cut out three times, and the element once. The new ones do not even have an element not in contact with the water. Copper tanks are also gone. So look for a good 5* one from one of the new sources. I hear a lot of good things about Smith but all are too new here.
Thanks for your suggestions.

After studying a bit, we choose AO Smith, 25 litres.

The service so far is good. As soon as we purchased, I received an SMS from AO Smith thanking for the purchase and promising to call to fix an appointment soon for installation. Then I got a call for installation appointment. The technician came to our home at the appointed time and installed the geyser. He explained the various features of the equipment, how to use the unit, best practices to follow, to dos, not to dos, etc. He gave their toll free number to contact for any issues. Later when I contacted their number to register my product for extended warranty, I was informed that it is already done right after intallation.

AO Smith service approach is good, structured and professional. The geyser is working well so far without any issues.

One thing I noticed is that when the geyser is heating, I hear a swish sound emanating from the unit. I would like to know if this is normal. There is no such sound in my earlier geyser.

Overall, a satisfied customer.

OT: the technician who installed the geyser tested the water in our home. He told me they are collecting the water data as AO Smith is planning to launch water purifier product in our market.
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Old 25th December 2013, 23:15   #4124
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Re: The Home Appliance thread

NOt sure if this is the right thread! But would need help on buying a Cordless Speaker phone
1. I have a phone line wired till the living room. But my study room is one level above with no phone wiring done.
2. I plan to take calls from my study room where I will be connected from Laptop (on Wifi) and need a speaker phone to take calls.
3. I understand that the current cordless phones handset have speaker phone facility. But the battery dies sooner if I use them (My calls can go for 2 to 3 hours at a time and with atleast 2 such calls in a day) on speaker. Also I need to make trips downstairs to charge them at the base as soon as I am done with such marathon calls.

Is there any speaker phone which can work with cordless phone base but work using a electrical socket (which may or may not have an inbuilt battery support). If so I can use this to keep in the study room permanently and save frequent trips to charge them and reduce costs on battery. Also, the speakerphone (and the base) should be powerful to have reliable signals between my living and study room

Last edited by DWind : 25th December 2013 at 23:19.
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Old 26th December 2013, 08:48   #4125
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Originally Posted by DWind View Post
NOt sure if this is the right thread! But would need help on buying a Cordless Speaker phone 1. I have a phone line wired till the living room. But my study room is one level above with no
I did test with the setup that I have at home, your best option would be to get a headset which has a socket for a mic and earphone. The problem is that , the base is used to charge primarily and once the headset is kept on the base, the call would be disconnected. Before our company moved to MS lync based conf calls which uses the computer for voice, we used to use a combination of Bluetooth headset and cell phone. With this the cell phone could be on the charge mode while you could be on the call via Bluetooth.

Other option is to have an expandable cordless system which can support upto six headset and swap the headsets as the battery gets drained.
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