Help me choose a refrigerator and washing machine

napstersquest

napstersquest

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We, a family of 4 currently, are planning to change cities and are going to give away our refrigerator and washing machine.

The fridge, Kelvinator make and around 20 years old at this point, has capacity of 185 litres, and is still very efficient. However, the freezer unit does not seal and hence either we freeze everything in top half of the fridge or can't even keep the ice cream from melting.
The Videocon washing machine is in multiple states of disrepair and just has to go.

The budget is around 30K each, and a bit flexible.

I haven't been involved in a washing machine/refrigerator purchase ever so don't have much idea where to start.
From my general knowledge in electronics, Samsung and LG generally have good build quality and provide good service.
I am moving to Pune so hope to find good service there.

Where should I start?
Will 8kg top load fully automatic machine from LG be good? What features to look out for?
Are Bosch better than LG? For Pune buyers?

Same goes for refrigerator. 335L LG fridge with 3-star rating good enough?
 
For Washing Machine : You need to decide based on your need,
1. How much your wash load is.
2. Top Load or Front Load.
Recently purchased a Bosch top load and have no complaints. ~22K

For refrigerator : You seem to be looking at 335L, Stick with reputed brands, LG/Samsung the service will be better. Compare prices online and in Store and then negotiate at store.
 
napstersquest said:
Family of four for now, occasional curtains and blankets.
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We are 7 people @Native and daily loads have not been an issue nor the occasional blankets.
napstersquest said:
Front load seems superior as per the little knowledge gathering I have done so far.
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I have a front load in Bangalore for over 10 years, The front loads are more of a rolling washing action, Use a little less water.
Top loads are convenient to load and unload + add cloths in between cycles.
Washing quality of Front load will be better if your cloths are heavily soiled, But no complaints on the Top loads for Home wear/Office Wear
napstersquest said:
Which stores should I go for? Local electronics retailers or Croma, Reliance Digital and such?
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Try in your locality Croma, Reliance digital, Vijay sales etc, The salesman's job is to sell, Your job is to find good deal, Don' feel bad to walk out after asking pricing. The aim of visiting retail shops is to get the feel of size and build quality.
 
napstersquest said:
Where should I start?
Will 8kg top load fully automatic machine from LG be good? What features to look out for?
Are Bosch better than LG? For Pune buyers?

Same goes for refrigerator. 335L LG fridge with 3-star rating good enough?
Click to expand...
Washing machine:
Front loads consume less water and are efficient at getting the job done due to the nature of operation. They are energy efficient too. The wash type will be tumble type, and will be more natural. Top loads let water go through the clothes at force. IMO top loads are little hard on clothes. Most front-loads and a few top-loads these days are coming with inbuilt heater, and it will be handy at you want to use hot water for washing. Each wash cycle type you select on the machine dial will give you default settings, I prefer to override those settings like temperature, spin speed to meet my requirements.

Again IMO, Bosch is overrated. We have one from Bosch at native, and I don't have any positive feedback/points for it. I found LG to be good at this game from almost a decade. I have a LG front load from 2017, and the same/similar model was purchased by many of contacts, they are quite happy with it.

For refrigerator, consider the below points.
  • Inverter type; it brings in energy savings, and comparitives less noise(sounds)
  • Freezer on the top; no to the ones located in bottom. This comparitively consumes less power.
  • 5-star if you are concerned about power bill. And these star ratings are subjective anyway. A 5-star machine today may become 3-star in future if there is another machine challenging in terms of power consumption.
  • Capacity depends on your usage.
 

Refrigerator:​

Go for inverter model/ 5 star model. (Power savings)
LG or Samsung. Good after sales support.
Note: Buy a voltage stabilizer along with the fridge even if the fridge has an inbuilt under/over voltage protection.

Washing machine:
Front load offers better wash than top load ones.
LG or Samsung. Good after sales support.
Bosch, siemens, whirlpool, IFB ones are costlier to repair. refer this thread https://techenclave.com/threads/bosch-washing-machine-drum-replacement.192753/
Use liquid detergents from day1 to avoid scale deposits in machine. powder detergents form scales in the drum and ruin the machine in the long run.

Visit retail shops near you before buying in online.
 
gokul.ece22 said:
Use liquid detergents from day1 to avoid scale deposits in machine. powder detergents form scales in the drum and ruin the machine in the long run.
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I kind of disagree with this. I used both types, predominantly powder type. I didn't notice any difference wrt scales. As per my understanding, front loads are less prone to scales as water doesn't stay put around the drum unlike top loads. Also for what its worth, I don't recommend to use the bigger scoop they give. 2/3rd to 3/4th of scoop will do the job against the recommended 1 scoop. This reduction in detergent will result in forming comparitively less suds while doing the needed job.

Occassionally it is better to run the drum clean feature with descaling powder to keep the drum/machine internals clean.

Recently a service engineer visited my machine to deliver a stand I ordered. He is surprised to see my almost pristine 4 year old machine.
 
diy-maniac said:
I kind of disagree with this. I used both types, predominantly powder type. I didn't notice any difference wrt scales. As per my understanding, front loads are less prone to scales as water doesn't stay put around the drum unlike top loads. Also for what its worth, I don't recommend to use the bigger scoop they give. 2/3rd to 3/4th of scoop will do the job against the recommended 1 scoop. This reduction in detergent will result in forming comparitively less suds while doing the needed job.

Occassionally it is better to run the drum clean feature with descaling powder to keep the drum/machine internals clean.

Recently a service engineer visited my machine to deliver a stand I ordered. He is surprised to see my almost pristine 4 year old machine.
Click to expand...
ok.

Not all areas have pure water. some areas have salt content (high PH due to dissolved salts/minerals) in ground water.

That salty water combined with detergent powder will definitely lead to scaling. so i recommend liquid detergent.
While using liquid detergent, the possibility of scaling is very very less, even if the water is salty.

Today i learned that:
Average PH value of sea water is 8
Average PH value of mild detergent is 10
 
gokul.ece22 said:
Not all areas have pure water. some areas have salt content (high PH due to dissolved salts/minerals) in ground water.

That salty water combined with detergent powder will definitely lead to scaling. so i recommend liquid detergent.
While using liquid detergent, the possibility of scaling is very very less, even if the water is salty.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure of the pH levels in the water we have here, but the TDS is consistent around 750-800, which indicates the water is hard. This has been the case since beginning of my present machine usage.

The only difference betweeen liquids vs powder I see is their effictiveness in mixing with water. I certainly agree with liquid detergements ability to mix with water easily when compared with powder form. Likewise matic detergement powders too are equally efficient in mixing up so long as the detergent dosage is not jacked up.

Like I earlier mentioned if the water remains on the drum, the chances of scale formation is high. When water remains on the drum(say after a wash), the water gets evaporated leaving the minerals/sals behind resuling in scale formation. But I barely see any water on/in the drum after the spin part in a wash cycle is completed.

My understanding may be flawed.
 
For the fridge go for the lowest star rating . A 5 star rating fridge this year would be rated 4 star next year . What matters is that the compressor used . The higher energy saving compressors definitely have a lower life . I have this experience from AC . The higher energy consuming ones work better , cool faster than the lower energy consuming ones . A particular manufacturer uses Chinese compressors for their 5 star models compared to the no star or single star models . A starting point for fridges would be Whirlpool . They are cost effective , work as advertised . Do not go in for the inverter models unless you are getting a minimum 5 year replacement warranty on the board .
With regard to washing machines I bought this one for a very good price when I needed an online delivery . https://www.flipkart.com/midea-7-kg...ppn=browse&ssid=gnr8txh2lzzmwqgw1633570735152
My gamble was that IFB used to charge me 4500 a year for AMC . Same case with most other companies and the broken ones get hardly any resale value . I am happy with this one .
 
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