Can anyone help with the models
here? They have me confused.
They have quite a selection in there. What complicates things further is there are older models available that will be suitable but they are not listed on IFB's website. And they update their models fairly regularly.
Let's start with the ones you don't want to get.
1) Avoid models with minimal Detergent drawers
The Diva Aqua has a smaller drawer. They did that by eliminating the prewash & the conditioner tray. I was shocked to discover what it
looks like. While the lady insisted she could not fit anything wider in her Bombay apartment I thought she could have done better looking at smaller LG models that were maybe a cm wider but did not do away with the detergent compartments.
2) Avoid models with touch panel or membrane panel controls
a) The
Neo Diva VX (without the 'S' is the white model) instead of the Neo Diva VXS(The S means silver). Pretty barebones but has what you need. One potential problem is it has a membrane control panel which you can see in this
video
And what do we already know about membrane control panels?
That thing had a membrane panel and we can't fix it. It's like thick sheet of plastic and buttons are sealed inside that sheet.
Opening the membrane panel destroys it. First time, I soldered tactile buttons for regular functions like start/stop, time+ etc. But after a year the motherboard also went bad. Finally I shorted the relay which turns on microwave mode which made my oven to always start in microwave mode if you power it on. Used it for 5-6 years. The magnetron failed. Then I shorted the relay responsible for grill mode and sold it on OLX as grill only oven.
Depending on how humid the place you live this control panel is going to fail at some point. Sooner rather than later.
This is counter-intuitive as you'd think a sealed membrane panel would keep out humidity better than any other. Anyway, the point is if a membrane panel dies for whatever reason you cannot repair it and if the service centre does not have one then your machine is SCRAP.
What we want instead is discrete buttons for the control panel with no steam. That would be a model from some years back and unavailable which incidentally is also the case with the Neo Diva VX. The VXS is available but skip it. These can be repaired as you can see
here and
here.
b) The
Serena ZSS because it too has a membrane control panel. Many videos on YT for this one because it was must have been discounted and people fell for it. When browsing the
catalogue I notice it misses a number of useful features like extra rinse, rinse hold, time saver (which is a way to speed up the program) & Time delay. This is a double strike.
My kitchen is where the washing machine will reside.
That's going to be a humid place more often than not. How good is the ventilation in your kitchen?
3) No water jets due to your hard water. If you get the Kent softener then ok otherwise no.
I don't know what the hole sizes are in the jets used for 3D wash. As your water is hard I see blockages happening in the future by scale. It's called 3D Wash and it's there in a lot of models.
Digging through the only couple of manuals they have I discovered how this 3D system works.
So it's not what I was thinking. These jets are not attached to any pump but they are just scoops on the drum that drops water on the clothes. I guess this will be fine then even in hard water as a descale will unblock any holes on the drum
4) what is left then
Look for another model without the S that does not have a membrane control panel
Looking good so far
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Original IFB web
listing from Archive
That is one potential candidate. It's an old model, the FK reviews are from 2018. I'll post more later. Don't pull the trigger just yet.
The water pressure is the same as mine at 0.3 bar which confirms those 3d jets are not fed by tubes and don't require 1 bar pressure like present day LG's
It displays the max weight for each program which is a handy reminder.
Spin speed selection is similar to mine, 400 in low humidity weather, 600, which I don't have, 800 in high humidity weather and 1000 which I never use as it just puts wear & tear on the bearings.
Tub clean works at 95 degrees, Awesome
There is no favourite program option so you have will have to set things for each wash but I don't have that on mine and manage just fine. It makes me think about each wash and how options can change based on soil level or the humidity that day.
I like that it has the RInse hold feature that is all but gone on current LG models. It has an extra rinse option so you CAN have a third rinse if you want.
It has the option for a hot rinse which could come in handy in some situations. This is similar to the Medic Rinse on the LG which is really a third warm rinse. Why use it? faster drying in high humidity. Cotton extracts the most water from the fabric when the rinse water temperature is around the 40 degree mark.
Since you have access to the shops, take a measuring tape with you and measure the diameter and depth of the drum for 6kg, 7kg and 8kg models. Make a note of the model names.
I'd like to know if there is any difference in drum size. Can't tell anything from the specs. They are all belt-driven models so the drum will be bigger than LG's DD models.
