Need help in purchasing a refrigerator.

[Kaleen Bhaiya]

Did you measure with a power meter this 4 units a day ?

I use Wipro smart plug 16A to measure power pattern on a daily basis. Wished I could share the monthly pattern, but Android or Wipro app won't allow lateral screenshot. It was mostly around 3.8-4 units, sometimes even higher than 4 units. For Oct 2021, my average units consumed was 119.71 so almost 4 units/day. For Nov 2021 it was 116.07. @dexterz you will need a 16A plug as both AC and fridge have higher ampere reading. Check the link for wipro one. I have been using it since last June. I have two such meters, for AC and fridge respectively.

Is your kitchen ten degrees warmer than mine ?

Hardly think so... 10C difference is too much. Average temps in kitchen should be 29-30C.

I've never understood the need to change the regulator settings when seasons change. If a desired temperature is set then the fridge should work to maintain that temperature regardless of the season. It might have to work a little more frequently in the warmer season but I don't think any tweaks are necessary.

It has more to do with how much cooling you want. Let's say the knob reads "1" which corresponds to 7C, "2" corresponds to 6C and so on. So when we keep the knob at "1", the compressor would reach 7C before shutting off. But you would feel this is not enough given the heat outside, hence you decide to crack the knob to "3 or 4 or 5" culminating to 3C. The manual compressor or fridge won't have that smartness to determine whether you need more cooling or not based on outside temps. Lack of sensors maybe...?

130-140 units over how long a period ?

This I haven't checked. But I observed a pattern(too early, I know) where in the afternoon today and yesterday around same time it went full power. The compressor is audible but not like the earlier one. I checked on Wipro app and found it was pulling in around 130W+. My meter cannot measure the duration.

 

[dexterz]

The fridge runs off a 5A socket not 16A. I'll check the Wipro link

 

[blr_p]

@blr_p @Kaleen Bhaiya can i use wipro 5A smart plug to measure the consumption?

Check if it can measure RMS. Otherwise no. The readings will not be accurate.

I use Wipro smart plug 16A to measure power pattern on a daily basis. Wished I could share the monthly pattern, but Android or Wipro app won't allow lateral screenshot. It was mostly around 3.8-4 units, sometimes even higher than 4 units. For Oct 2021, my average units consumed was 119.71 so almost 4 units/day. For Nov 2021 it was 116.07. @dexterz you will need a 16A plug as both AC and fridge have higher ampere reading. Check the link for wipro one. I have been using it since last June. I have two such meters, for AC and fridge respectively.

Bingo! that is why. Wipro is not accurate. So your numbers are bogus!

There is no mention of RMS at all when I search for wipro smart plug. Pinging @diy-maniac

Remember this pinoy guy

Below two are more reliable

for washing machine & AC

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07T97X8VL/

for fridge and lower rated appliances or devices

Amazon.in

These come with calibration certs in the box signed by the vendor in Bombay. Get both or only the higher powered one but this is more inconvenient because it uses a different plug.

Earlier I used below which i put in a power strip, you can see my earlier photos

https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B078WQ261L/

Difference i found between them was ~3%

I used this for both fridges and WM's but you need a 16A socket to plug into. I'd rather have two meters that can fit into the right sockets

 

[fastapifastdisks]

OK I understand what you are saying. Back of my fridge is sealed too other than the compressor at the bottom which is covered by a sheet with screws. This is fine because the servicing is done from the front. As the earlier videos show, the heating element is located under the condenser and the way to fix these is to pull out panels from inside the fridge and then you get access to it.

this one had the heating element through the body, the side panel one's failed. to fix it they said replace the whole body.

OK, so warranty can handle that. But why they made you buy a new fridge ?

out of warranty, 3 year warranty on body 10 years on compressor, even though it was out of warranty they paid back half the purchase price in cash/cheque.

Same question again. Why not getting the washer fixed ? its a one hour job tops.

we did get it fixed with after market parts. Going strong since.i could call that going 10 years strong but At this point the washing machine is more generic than made by lg.Too many parts replaced and no no hard water, running on BMC mumbai watersupply. One of the softest,cleanest(purified) water in india.

LG dishwashers have other issues. She is using other people's reviews there and in the comments section others who own the dishwasher are pointing out the user errors.

Heating element going within a couple of years. Could be due to hard water. Hard water will kill a washing machine in half the time too.

My fridge made a sound when I got it but it was an easy fix. Three years in its been fine. My washer is six years old now and still going strong.

My G4 boot looped after a year. My V20 is nearly five years old.

no hard water where she lives. She had pcb electronics issue's not the heating element issue.

 

[blr_p]

this one had the heating element through the body, the side panel one's failed. to fix it they said replace the whole body.

And did you see this with your own eyes ?

Think about that for a second. Where is the ice forming. Around the condenser. Why would you have heating element 'through the body' ?

out of warranty, 3 year warranty on body 10 years on compressor, even though it was out of warranty they paid back half the purchase price in cash/cheque.

Why will they pay half the purchase price ? because they can fix it and turn a profit. I got scrap value when i exchanged my fridge.

we did get it fixed with after market parts. Going strong since.i could call that going 10 years strong but At this point the washing machine is more generic than made by lg.Too many parts replaced and no no hard water, running on BMC mumbai watersupply. One of the softest,cleanest(purified) water in india.

Very good. Because in another thread you said you went with a top loader after and FL's were not good.

no hard water where she lives. She had pcb electronics issue's not the heating element issue.

Could it be environmental. Too much humidity, salt or open sewer gas. The PCB did not have a conformal coating to protect against such corrosion. So there is a continuity break.

Result ? they will charge to replace the entire PCB. ~5k

 

[fastapifastdisks]

And did you see this with your own eyes ?

Think about that for a second. Where is the ice forming. Around the condenser. Why would you have heating element 'through the body' ?

yes, the sides had stopped heating up,the coolant pipes run through the sides. The technician said you can touch and feel it.

Why will they pay half the purchase price ? because they can fix it and turn a profit. I got scrap value when i exchanged my fridge.

Lg had a lot of customers face the same issue thus they were only giving this money back thing for a limited production year.Similar to hp giving free battery replacement's for laptops produced between 18-19 due to battery swell issue's.Even laptop's that had crossed the standard battery 6 month warranty mark.

Very good. Because in another thread you said you went with a top loader after and FL's were not good.

why should i pay more for FL when a top loader i cheaper to buy,cheaper to fix.This is not a top loader vs a fl issue this is a LG QC issue.our old videocon top loader lasted 15 years.

Could it be environmental. Too much humidity, salt or open sewer gas. The PCB did not have a conformal coating to protect against such corrosion. So there is a continuity break.

Result ? they will charge to replace the entire PCB. ~5k

Thus dont purchase LG crap.

 

[blr_p]

yes, the sides had stopped heating up,the coolant pipes run through the sides. The technician said you can touch and feel it.

Coolant pipe is fine but in your previous reply you said heating element runs through the body. The ice occurs around the condenser not the coolant pipe.

Also feeling the heat during defrost is not a given with all fridges. There is a sticker on my fridge that says it may get warm during defrost but i measured temps with a IR gun when the defrosting was occurring (power meter goes up to 200W during defrost for a few minutes and took time to catch it) and there was not much temperature rise at all on the sides.

This heating it seems happens only with certain models but they put the same sticker on all the fridges.

Lg had a lot of customers face the same issue thus they were only giving this money back thing for a limited production year.Similar to hp giving free battery replacement's for laptops produced between 18-19 due to battery swell issue's.Even laptop's that had crossed the standard battery 6 month warranty mark.

This has occurred in other countries. Recently a class action suit in the US was settled with compensation. Issue was failure of the Linear inverter compressor with french door & side by side models having failure rates up to 9%. For some reason models for these style of fridges developed issues above the average which is 3%. There is a list of model numbers that used this particular compressor that people can use for compensation which btw was limited to $450 for fridges that were near the $1.5k mark

People then use this suit to say LIC is not reliable so better to go with Samsung ? LIC has not been out long enough in India to conclude that. Any problems i expect with the earlier design will have been fixed.

Same happened with the G4. Has LG made products that had issues in the past. .Certainly but it occurs with Samsung too. Some models have design flaws which reduce reliability. These are consumer products. They are not zero defect.

why should i pay more for FL when a top loader i cheaper to buy,cheaper to fix.This is not a top loader vs a fl issue this is a LG QC issue.our old videocon top loader lasted 15 years.

Because a FL cleans better. That is the core requirement and I always advise people not to compromise requirements for the sake of budget.

TL cheaper to buy and fix is true and if you have a TL then hook up a solar water heater so you wash with warm 40 degree water. Your wash quality will improve and you have the best of both worlds.

 

[rdst_1]

I too don't believe that a heating element would be included all through the body. Makes no sense whatsoever because the job of the heater is to melt the ice formed on the condenser coils which would be in the freezer section of the fridge.
The heating element of my 20 yr old LG also doesn't work due to some wiring issue. So I open and defrost the coils manually every few weeks. Also even during the defrost cycle which barely runs for a few seconds to a few minutes, your fridge shouldn't be getting hot to feel on the outside.