Sure let me call up Haier and check.
Advice - Choosing a 300ltr Fridge - Top & Bottom Door Fridge
- Thread starter ?dOuBtFiRe?
- Start date
jojorabbit
Disciple
The installation guy says there wont be issues with spares. There is no guarantee that I could get but I think its fine. Haier is here for the long run.
A small review after using the fridge for 30 days:
This model is there only on Flipkart. You cant find this model in any offline store or even their company website. Every shop seems to have a different capacity like the one i got is 326L. Shops had 276L, 340L or 376L. They even had bigger ones. Flipkart one is BEE rated 2023 so definitely a new product and manufactured in Feb 2023. The ones I saw in store are mostly 2022 BEE rated and the ones in 340L capacity come only with glass finish and pricing was around 45-50K Nothing close to the 33k I paid.
Overall I find the fridge very good for usage of 2 members. Since we both are working we do store quite a bit of veggies. They are fresh for a good amount of time. Sometimes tomatoes have been stored for 12-15 days as well. Only drawback with the veggie tray is that if you want to open it fully then you have to push the top door fully open as the bottle compartments in the door is blocking the veggie tray. There is no light in the freezer compartment and its mostly like that. I have not used the convertible feature yet. I have the cooling settings at default smart option which is Fridge at 5 degrees and freezer at -18 degrees. I believe this is sufficient for Chennai.
I don't hear any noise whatsoever. My parents home has 2 Samsung fridges (one inverter and other non-inverter). This one is quietest of the lot. This one has 2 separate fans for fridge and freezer. I think freezer can also be turned off if going on vacation or away for long periods.
One more thing I noticed was that there was very less heat on the outer side walls of the fridge. This is surprising to me. Maybe better cooling system Not really sure.
A small review after using the fridge for 30 days:
This model is there only on Flipkart. You cant find this model in any offline store or even their company website. Every shop seems to have a different capacity like the one i got is 326L. Shops had 276L, 340L or 376L. They even had bigger ones. Flipkart one is BEE rated 2023 so definitely a new product and manufactured in Feb 2023. The ones I saw in store are mostly 2022 BEE rated and the ones in 340L capacity come only with glass finish and pricing was around 45-50K Nothing close to the 33k I paid.
Overall I find the fridge very good for usage of 2 members. Since we both are working we do store quite a bit of veggies. They are fresh for a good amount of time. Sometimes tomatoes have been stored for 12-15 days as well. Only drawback with the veggie tray is that if you want to open it fully then you have to push the top door fully open as the bottle compartments in the door is blocking the veggie tray. There is no light in the freezer compartment and its mostly like that. I have not used the convertible feature yet. I have the cooling settings at default smart option which is Fridge at 5 degrees and freezer at -18 degrees. I believe this is sufficient for Chennai.
I don't hear any noise whatsoever. My parents home has 2 Samsung fridges (one inverter and other non-inverter). This one is quietest of the lot. This one has 2 separate fans for fridge and freezer. I think freezer can also be turned off if going on vacation or away for long periods.
One more thing I noticed was that there was very less heat on the outer side walls of the fridge. This is surprising to me. Maybe better cooling system Not really sure.
?dOuBtFiRe?
Adept
I didn't want to start a new thread allover again.
This is for a neighbour. They have 3 people on the weekdays and 6-7 on weekends. Plus a dog.
Need your suggestion for a top freezer model. Budget is not fixed at the moment.
Their old one is a 310ltr model. Place is in Chennai though open to online purchases too.
Requirement is from a 350ltr to 450ltr. As suggested by @blr_p , visit was already scheduled to local shops. They are open to all companies.
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An update on my older requirements. My mother left it as it is, then my cousin who had moved to Germany had left his old 2 door fridge with us. Hence not needed any more. Combined capacity is more than 500ltr.
This is for a neighbour. They have 3 people on the weekdays and 6-7 on weekends. Plus a dog.
Need your suggestion for a top freezer model. Budget is not fixed at the moment.
Their old one is a 310ltr model. Place is in Chennai though open to online purchases too.
Requirement is from a 350ltr to 450ltr. As suggested by @blr_p , visit was already scheduled to local shops. They are open to all companies.
----
An update on my older requirements. My mother left it as it is, then my cousin who had moved to Germany had left his old 2 door fridge with us. Hence not needed any more. Combined capacity is more than 500ltr.
?dOuBtFiRe?
Adept
@blr_p
Till now they visited 2 shops and zeroed on two models.
A- Bosch
CTC39S03NI
There was another product off website
CTC39K03NI
Basically color ( Sparkly Silver vs steel) I am confused between the two as the 1st one is 3 kg heavier than the 2nd one. Their manuals are basic info with no info on Climate class. They are okay with 390ltr Gross and 368ltr net capacity.
B- Liebherr
To my eyes both look the same but for a small increase in capacity and eye catching containers. Also this one heavier than the 2 companies.
But I and they are vary about the company and service reliability in Chennai.
Strangely the second shop guy was preferring Samsung, but they didn't like the features and model design.
The first shop had LG but the models didn't offer many height adjusting shelves and lack of additional veggie boxes.
At present they like Bosch models and given that the confusion between the 2 models as above they would prefer Bosch. They are going to a bigger shop and see more models from others.
I would also like to what capacity stabilizer do I need to get for it.
Till now they visited 2 shops and zeroed on two models.
A- Bosch
CTC39S03NI
There was another product off website
CTC39K03NI
Basically color ( Sparkly Silver vs steel) I am confused between the two as the 1st one is 3 kg heavier than the 2nd one. Their manuals are basic info with no info on Climate class. They are okay with 390ltr Gross and 368ltr net capacity.
B- Liebherr
TEBcsB 4255
This one is 428ltr gross. No one seems to have it in stock. Have to order and get it later.To my eyes both look the same but for a small increase in capacity and eye catching containers. Also this one heavier than the 2 companies.
But I and they are vary about the company and service reliability in Chennai.
Strangely the second shop guy was preferring Samsung, but they didn't like the features and model design.
The first shop had LG but the models didn't offer many height adjusting shelves and lack of additional veggie boxes.
At present they like Bosch models and given that the confusion between the 2 models as above they would prefer Bosch. They are going to a bigger shop and see more models from others.
I would also like to what capacity stabilizer do I need to get for it.
blr_p
Skilled
Both are the same capacity. Don't know why one is heavier. For climate class you will have to look for the ratings label which is either somewhere inside the fridge or on the back. Did you get to look at the back of these fridges and see whether they have any radiators exposed or covered.
Not even a demo model?
This Liebherr model is a good 10kg heavier than the Bosch models. Try closing the door of both and listen to the sound. Open close a few times.
This is going to be a gamble but from reviews, service is good in Bombay. So can we assume it's the same in another tier 1 like Chennai?
Fridge is a ten year plus investment. If the company succeeds in the Indian market then ten years hence you will get spares.
I can tell they're trying to adapt to an Indian context. eg
I'd love to have a feature like that but all companies will tell you to never put a hot container with hot liquids in the fridge because it will make the fridge work overtime to neutralise this heat source.
Looking for reviews took a while. But here's someone who bet Rs. 59k and in Bombay had no trouble with service calls.
Spice containers is again an eagerness to work in the Indian market. Not a biggie since you can always get products like this on Amazon but nice to have stock.
The only negative I see is the fridge vents are front firing which means they can easily be blocked. My LG has side firing vents in the fridge which works around that problem.
Lighting appears top lit instead of back lit which is good but no light in the freezer. Koreans will always try to offer more features.
An interesting comment I saw was
Implying Liebherr worked out the kinks since they launched in 2018. Since you already have a Bosch. Would be interesting if your relatives had a Liebherr.
They offer a 20 Yr warranty on the compressor. Whether that's a sign of quality or a marketing incentive isn't clear. Sammy too offers the same but LG sticks to ten.
Yeah I find the two boxes good to have since veg typically needs high humidity and fruits low humidity. The Koreans only give you one box. Maybe some models now have more.
Very flexible shelf adjustment on the Liebherr.
Bosch is a safe bet if you consider they will be around ten years from now.
Good idea. Seeing fridges helps decide ergonomcs.
Depends on the quality of power you get. I saw the liebherr says it works from 100 - 285V which is a wide range.
Can't tell if the Bosch fridge has a built in stabiliser or not? But the Liebherr does.
I'm not sure then what happens if you daisy chain stabilisers? Generally the advice is not to do that. It increases power consumption unnecessarily for one since inefficiency of both stabilisers has to be considered. Assuming efficiency of both is 90% you lost 10% for nothing adding a second stabiliser in series
Any idea @lockhrt999 ?
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?dOuBtFiRe?
Adept
Croma here was a big showroom but sadly they had 2 below 300ltr models only but had a book where they had this one specified. I had to look this one on their website to visualize the model. Thanks for the youtube link. Its so nice to have a working video of a fridge. Spice containers are introduced in last year models as per the salesperson and it was eyecandy, but aunty quickly ruled it out for the spice boxes were plastic and she packs powdered items in alu foils/ original packing with some clip. Also it was tight to remove from the door bins. She quickly said it was better to keep it in small boxes but not fix it on the door.
True my only concern was this. Both Bosch and Liebherr missed out this feature.
According to them, Bosch has one in the freezer
I have a old whirlpool 285ltr and a 230ltr of my cousin. Neighbours have Bosch Washing Machine like my parents (same week purchase couple years back). Sure would like to see Liebherr, but if it backfired, then you are dead meat. The neighbours are nice people living next to my parents for 35 years, so I would consider them as family too. Too many good memories.
LG & Bosch offer 10 yr warranty on compressor. Samsung's warranty is a waste. I have a friend who bought a double door fridge with the said warranty just after COVID only to conk off in 1.5 yrs. The Service people acknowledged the problem but charged 7k for handling, service charges and GST. This sorta fleecing worries me. Still no reason why it failed.
Oh I like 2 Boxes since I know they will usually fill it to the brim. But I found that boxes are wider and a bit small compared to others. Samsung offers a clear acrylic models as oppossed to plastic boxes in others.
Flexible adjustment is also there on Bosch too, but Liebherr is easier to adjust on the go. Glass shelves on Bosch are cool and have locking mechanism which releases if you pull in a angled manner, but their replacement costs are to be considered. Having hot vessels over them is somewhat a gamble. But the model had a silicon cushion from liebherr for such purposes.
Same view from me and them. Since they have experience with Bosch, they too prefer.
True I didn't find them. I asked them to visit Bosch showroom too and noted it to ask the salesperson there. Power has been stable in that area, fingers crossed but still worry.
If the Bosch model has an inbuilt stabiliser with a good working range like you mentioned, can we skip the need for stabilizer. This is important since the fridge by itself is tall and if we are to keep the stabiliser over the top then it would be difficult to see.
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blr_p
Skilled
The stabiliser working range I quoted is for the liebherr not Bosch. There is no indication on he website whether bosch has a built in stabiliser or not. You will have to confirm that. And if it does then no need for an external stabiliser for the reason mentioned in my previous post.
How does it conk off in just 1.5 years? What was the problem? What part broke. They would list the parts bought in that bill for 7k
Surprising for this to happen with a Sammy
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?dOuBtFiRe?
Adept
Yes I got it. I have asked them to enquire about Bosch.
They mentioned something about Service charges, Board & Gas filling. Not sure just an estimate should be with him in a couple of days. He has also escalated the issue with Samsung Head. Chennai had faced a heatwave situation wherein AC and Fridge was not performing optimally. We had Centralised Aircon running not that great in office and Home AC - LG Inverter not that great, but it was working, 26C was like 30C.
My Aunt who is a subscriber to a popular YT channel showed me this clip where the host shows that her (around 2:25 mark) Samsung Side-by Side Fridge's Compresser had gone kaput in 2 years and they had been charged 10k for gas filling and they will update in the next video. YT Link
blr_p
Skilled
What exactly happened to the fridge. Did it stop cooling completely or it just wasn't cooling adequately? If so then changing the temperature settings didn't help?
How hot did it get in the room where the fridge was. A tropical climate class is supposed to handle upto 43° C which is amazing because it's incredibly hot for indoors. I could not bear even 30 in my kitchen. So the fridge should handle a heatwave. Both your fridges handled it didn't it?
Also how does a refrigerant gas refill fix this? The compressor died so to install a new one they have to do a refill.
Can you get the model number of the fridge?
Where you locate the fridge. How much of a gap it has around the sides, top & back matters. Also proximity to heating sources will play a bigger role in the compressor longevity than anything else. Can you confirm these details? Get some photos if you can showing how the fridge is placed
Compare how the side by side is fixed with these two examples
@anmolbhard004 has placed his side by side freestanding. Lots of air flow to the top, side and back. Ideal placement.
@Dinesh6252 has put his side by side in an alcove or the photo looks it. Top is exposed and one side. The left side where the freezer is. Can't tell if its complete or only partially.
But the back and right side gets minimal ventilation. This is a halfway borderline compromise. Not ideal but not too detrimental either.
For instance pay attention to how her fridge is installed. It fits completely into some sort of alcove. No side is exposed. Top, sides or back. What's the ventilation like in that case. Yeah, not good at all.
In addition it looks, like she has a microwave and OTG located just next to it. That's a big heat source which the fridge needs to work harder to compensate.
Manuals of any fridge will clearly state to leave sufficient gaps at the sides, top and back and locate away from heat sources in a preferably well ventilated room. Last one I could not manage so well but first two I got right with my fridge.
Otherwise the compressor will work overtime. More than it should.
Does she mention how old the fridge is?
Was it 10k? It's around the 3:05 mark. Thing is she speaks at the same time as him so I couldn't tell how many thousand.
See, in situations like this the company could claim the fridge was being abused or made to work out of spec by not following the guidelines in the manual.
So this is not about company practices but user abuse which they are politely not mentioning.
Now that I think about it this must be the reason for those numerous LG compressor failures in the US. It was user error. Say that too loudly and people say but my last one worked just fine or whatever. Well you can't do that with these fridges as this efficiency business which everyone is so enamoured about is sensitive to changes. The older lower star fridge compressors would run more often which meant the compressors were better built and able to handle the strain. Hence more efficient inverter compressors and more by Samsung & LG are crap...unless you follow the instructions.
Don't buy linear converter LG compressor bla bla. You will see at least 20 plus warning comments like this on every LG fridge review. They are all for similar side by side models like this lady has. I'm sure all fitting into very aesthetically pleasing kitchens with poor ventilation at the back.
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?dOuBtFiRe?
Adept
I remember my friend's fridge has the right side of the fridge open and ventilated and the other was half blocked by kitchen shelf and not any other appliances but the back was facing the outer wall on the south west side in full blast of evening sun. No idea on the model no. though.
My neighbour's one was inadequate for their needs. They are now feeding dogs, cats in the nearby area which is why they need more space in a little area. They are not sure about the old fridge.
Both of our fridges are more than 15 yrs old atleast. I have no idea of tropical class but I heard the temps actually recorded by indoor temp clock was around 45-46C. This is because our house is on the highway and around us we have open areas and it gets really hot with the fumes from vehicles.
He mentions around 2 yrs old
Yes you are correct they overlap
True a very good reason.
Yes a valid point and this is true here. Still the working of Inverter compressors are not alike to all models and vary a lot. I am confused by so many names and models of compressors in the fridge world and some one has to compile a detailed list.Now that I think about it this must be the reason for those numerous LG compressor failures in the US. It was user error. Say that too loudly and people say but my last one worked just fine or whatever. Well you can't do that with these fridges as this efficiency business which everyone is so enamoured about is sensitive to changes. The older lower star fridge compressors would run more often which meant the compressors were better built and able to handle the strain. Hence more efficient inverter compressors and more by Samsung & LG are crap...unless you follow the instructions.
Don't buy linear converter LG compressor bla bla. You will see at least 20 plus warning comments like this on every LG fridge review. They are all for similar side by side models like this lady has. I'm sure all fitting into very aesthetically pleasing kitchens with poor ventilation at the back.
For now the wait continues. They have to go on the weekends only. This week they are to go to Bosch showroom to ask around. They left out Liebherr and still has to go see LG and Whirlpool again.
blr_p
Skilled
Cleaning the condenser needs to be done yearly. Is it confirmed that her Samsung model does not have a stabiliser? Maybe
I don't know if these side by side models are made in India yet. Could be imports in which case a built in stabiliser won't be there.
How is she going to manage 1.5 ft around in that alcove of hers?
If there is sufficient gap at the back and the top then the air will move. Bosch mentions to provide this in their manuals
You must have a couple of fans in your kitchen if not an AC nearby
This woman's fridge in the video is only two years old?
Inverter means they work at varying speeds depending on the need. The older types were off/on at full speed.
If ventilation isn't adequate the inverter compressor will be working constantly. So over a few years of that treatment it will die.
The old compressors come on and go off. Maybe more frequently but it will take breaks so lasts a little longer. Also efficiency isn't an issue so it will consume more power since it runs at full speed each time it comes on. My old kelvinator used to make quite a noise when it was running but that was considered normal.
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