Looking for Water Heater Storage type

A

anaghdesai

Disciple
Hi,

I was looking for a storage type water heater (not the instant one) and I boiled down to 2 makes.
A.O. Smith and Racold.
I am not exactly sure how big a water heater I would need for about 3 people. I was suggested that a 15ltr one should be plenty. Which one should I go for? Racold or A.O. Smith?
 
So you choose electronics on brand name only? What about features like power saving, efficiency, safety, insulation etc?

For an answer to your question, just toss a coin. Pick whichever side wins. :)
 
Racold Eterno 2 / Eterno 3 (only difference is that the Eterno 3 uses a 3KW heating element i.e. faster heating). The SPHP tank Racold uses is a notch better than the glass lining tank that AO Smith uses. I don't think 15L will be enough for 3 people, a 25L might do.
 
15L is just one medium sized bucket.

I have a 15L haier in one of my bathrooms... bought it only because of its timer function. At that time, it was the only company with such a timer. It readies the hot water at a specific time set, unlike other models which start at a set time. It is small for regular use but it has a selectable power option and therefore, it can provide next batch of hot water in 5~7 mins.

I have 2 more haier 35L models and they take around 11~14 mins for each cycle. I must mention another feature which I found unique to this series: it has two timer options - absolute and relative. And after reaching the set temperature, it can be set to maintain that temperature for a particular time or hours. So, after the first person takes bath, it'll keep the hot water ready until the timer goes off. e.g., I set it to give me 65C water at 6:15 am and keep it at that temperature until 9 am. So, it automatically calculates the time it needs to switch itself on, based the water temperature and provides 65C water at 6:15am. It shuts off at 9am, when I leave for office. Memory is retained during power loss and it'll simply move to higher power band (upto 3KW) if it has less time available after power resumes. I found that in other models I could only set the start time and the rest would be a guess work.

Which model have you shortlisted from AO Smith? I've mentioned about my haier geyser because it falls in the same hi-end category as AO Smith.
 
@gauravH, How old is your Haier? Sellers have recently started stocking A.O. Smith. They always had Racold. Price difference is marginal, which made me assume Racold and Smith are at the same category.

Almost every plumber I contacted suggested I should go with Racold cause it is tried and tested and stood the test of time, and A.O. Smith is still relatively new out here. I know racold is good. I need to know how Smith is.

@6pack, as I said, I boiled down to 2 makes. I didn't find them on Google. I was under the impression that I would get an opinion from people on their experience. If I wanted to toss a coin, I wouldn't ask here.

15lts will be one bucket of hot water but there will definitely be a mix of cold water going into that.
 
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It's by A.O. Smith isnt it? This just made it tougher!:dead: How much did you pay for it?
@6pack, I want to know which one works out better in the long run.
 
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anaghdesai said:
@gauravH, How old is your Haier? Sellers have recently started stocking A.O. Smith. They always had Racold. Price difference is marginal, which made me assume Racold and Smith are at the same category.
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I bought it in 2011. AO Smith (Jaquar) has also good presence in the market for couple of years now. Availability of these models depends on your location. I am in Gurgaon. People have high disposable income here and hence hi-end brands can easily be spotted here. I was going for AO Smith as I have rest of the fittings from Jaquar. But Haier had lot more features which I thought would be good for people hard pressed for time. Another reason was that it could handle high water pressure; I have installed a pressure booster pump as well.

There are lots of good quality and established brands available in India (Bajaj, Racold) which heats up water equally well. People are happy with them.

deepakvrao said:
Racold is great quality. We have 3 in our house which are now 20 years old, and some in my work place also the same age.
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Back in old time, one could really vouch for the workmanship of the products made in India. Your old Racold would be 10 times better than the current generation of heaters. Please don't compare your model with what's available these days... that's unfair comparison :)
 
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anaghdesai said:
It's by A.O. Smith isnt it? This just made it tougher!:dead: How much did you pay for it?
@6pack, I want to know which one works out better in the long run.
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i paid some 11xxx for it, don't remember exact amount, when i get the bill, i will tell you the exact amount.
 
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gauravH said:
Another reason was that it could handle high water pressure; I have installed a pressure booster pump as well.
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Haier specs say 8 bar pressure, which even Racold and AO Smith claim. The only thing I can't figure out from the Haier product page is what sort of tank they're using. Assuming your heating element doesn't fail first, the next to go will be the tank. So far only Racold and AO Smith seem to have the best technology in their tanks, with the Racold's polymer coating having a slight edge.

There are lots of good quality and established brands available in India (Bajaj, Racold) which heats up water equally well.
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Bajaj is junk. I wouldn't lump it in the same segment as Racold.
 
^^ I guess when I bought geysers for my house, other models didn't have the capacity to withstand high pressure. Haier manual says this about its tank; don't know if it's good or not:
2mm thick steel UMC tank with stainless steel core
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I knew that other brands were advertising heavily on their specialized tanks with long warranties but then I bought mine purely on the basis of its timer function. Everyday operation became so smooth alongwith its remote that we almost forgot we had an extra gadget at home.

I suggested Haier to OP as he was considering AO Smith and I think both of these brands fall in the same "lifestyle products" category. Otherwise, local brands are serving people well.
 
i have used ao smiths for the last 2 years in my apartment.

i have a 25l vertical, a 15l vertical and a 25l horizontal ( false ceiling in bathroom, hidden geyser crap). these are good geysers, store hot water well, and manage to withstand high levels of water pressure ( 4th floor of a 16 storied building ).
Jaquar is nothing but a spruced up AO Smith.
Bajaj and Racold have gone down in quality, more so Bajaj. AO Smith has decent availability, good customer support, do the install themselves and check fittings. I would buy an AO Smith personally, if i need a new geyser!
 
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