[amitoj]

Sigh. And now my IFB machine's board has given up. It doesnt get up to full speed in the spin cycle and timing is out of whack too. They are really pushing the AMC down my throat.

[ghodlur]

Yesterday my Whirlpool Washing machine conked off. Its not taking the water during the soak operation, Checked the water connection, all Ok. Suspect the solenoid valve to have gone bad. This had happened two years back. I think I will have to spend a close to 1K for the repairs and service. Is it worth going for it? I was planning to replace the Washing machine during Ganpati expecting a good Xchange discounts. I guess I will have to go for it right now. Any good brands suggested -

Criteria not neccessarily in order
1) Top loading or front loading
2) Fully Automatic
3) 6 to 7 kgs range
4) Multiple wash options
5) water saving mode
6) Good after sales, less maintenance, spares not pocket hurting.

[sgiitk]

@ghodlur: I have been a front loader man since at least 1982. Full Auto is fine, but make sure it restarts when power conks out.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@ghodlur: I have been a front loader man since at least 1982. Full Auto is fine, but make sure it restarts when power conks out.

Thanks for the advise @sgiitk, any particular brands you can recommend.

BHPians also need some advice regarding the Phillips Super silent Mixer HL1643 which comes with 3 jars & costing about 4K+. Does anyone own one? Hows the performance? I hear it comes with a 600W powerful motor. Planning to buy one coz my existing Kenstar mixer makes noise sufficient to wake up the neighbours, also the jars latching mechanism onto the mixer has broken on more than one occasion.

[sgiitk]

@ghodlur: My current machine is an 8+ year old LG. Totan maintenance to date front door switch and change fo bearings. We are in a very hard water area. I will not bother about the direct drive units since the belt unit has worked for me for 8+ years.

I think the life of a white good is about 10 years, so I am approaching that point.

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Thanks for the advise @sgiitk, any particular brands you can recommend.

BHPians also need some advice regarding the Phillips Super silent Mixer HL1643 which comes with 3 jars & costing about 4K+. Does anyone own one? Hows the performance? I hear it comes with a 600W powerful motor. Planning to buy one coz my existing Kenstar mixer makes noise sufficient to wake up the neighbours, also the jars latching mechanism onto the mixer has broken on more than one occasion.

We have been using that mixer since 2 years (v approx). It hasn't broken down or anything but build quality is very average. Nothing that would suggest that it is an international brand (Phillips). Some rubber parts had to be replaced too. Overall it does not exude any sign of a great quality product. You could consider it if there is nothing better available.

Looking at all the washing machine woes here, I feel lucky that we have one that has been going great guns for mebbe a decade and a half (v approx). No parts replaced, nothing! Only the lint filter was changed a couple of times. So appliances can and do last long. But unfortunately most current ones don't seem to...

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

We have been using that mixer since 2 years (v approx). It hasn't broken down or anything but build quality is very average. Nothing that would suggest that it is an international brand (Phillips). Some rubber parts had to be replaced too. Overall it does not exude any sign of a great quality product. You could consider it if there is nothing better available.

@Raccoon,

Has the mixer lived up to the expectation of being super silent as claimed by Phillips. The other options are Bajaj, Morphy richards, Inalsa, somehow I am uncomortable with these brands. I rarely see Sumeet brand mixers on the shelves. How about Prestige brand of mixers, have got an exchange offer for Rs 1000/- off on the old mixer. Is it worth buying?

[bblost]

Originally Posted by ramki067

Hi all,
I'm planning to purchase a 3 burner Auto gas stove. Please suggest me good options. I hear Prestige products and services are pathetic?

Thanks,
Ramki

Prestige has some lovely looking stoves.
Gas Stoves : Prestige TTK

We bought a 4 burner steel stove without exchange for less than 3k.
If I remember correctly it was 2.6k or so.

Prestige has these annual offers. That is very good time to purchase from them.

An ordinary gas stove as rightly mentioned does not need much in terms of service.
A wipe using a damp cloth every night.
A regular mop up using Mr Muscle goes a long way in keeping the shine.
Once every month, clean the burners after removing them from the stove and holding it under water. You can also use ordinary kitchen cleaners like prill to do the job.
Once every few months just turn it upside down and tap it to get the carbon out.

Don not let food particles accumulate on or around the the stove. Not only does it attract roaches but if you are very unlucky a rat could end up chewing the gas pipe connecting the cylinder to the stove.

[benbsb29]

Originally Posted by bblost

An ordinary gas stove as rightly mentioned does not need much in terms of service.
A wipe using a damp cloth every night.
A regular mop up using Mr Muscle goes a long way in keeping the shine.
Once every month, clean the burners after removing them from the stove and holding it under water. You can also use ordinary kitchen cleaners like prill to do the job.
Once every few months just turn it upside down and tap it to get the carbon out.

How can one do the upside down tap in the case of a hob?
Totally agree with you on the points mentioned regarding general maintenance. However, what i have noticed is that over time, the efficiency of the burner goes down, resulting in more soot deposition on vessels and greater gas consumption.

[Raccoon]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

@Raccoon,

Has the mixer lived up to the expectation of being super silent as claimed by Phillips. The other options are Bajaj, Morphy richards, Inalsa, somehow I am uncomortable with these brands. I rarely see Sumeet brand mixers on the shelves. How about Prestige brand of mixers, have got an exchange offer for Rs 1000/- off on the old mixer. Is it worth buying?

No. Nothing "super" silent about it. Yes, it probably makes less noise than our last mixie; but still the noise irritates like hell when the thing is turned on in the kitchen. Not sure, but it seems the motor might be a bit more silent but the rest of it still creates quite a racket. Will check this out more carefully, now that you mention it.

About the Bajaj brand I have no confidence. Most of their products we have used have been below average. Don't know if they have improved as of now. No experience with the other brands you have mentioned. Sumeet might be the one worth considering, IMHO.

That was the problem when we made our purchase. The others on offer seemed worse than Phillips, and we needed one immediately as the old one became unusable abruptly.

Btw, I'v heard that Morphy Richards is marketed/made/supported (whichever applicable) by Bajaj. So beware.

[ramki067]

Originally Posted by bblost

Prestige has some lovely looking stoves.
Gas Stoves : Prestige TTK

We bought a 4 burner steel stove without exchange for less than 3k.
If I remember correctly it was 2.6k or so.

Prestige has these annual offers. That is very good time to purchase from them.

Hi bblost,

When does this annual offer comes up, i mean which month?

Thanks.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

How can one do the upside down tap in the case of a hob? ...

One can remove the burner part by part in a hob, down to just the primary brass nozzle and igniter remaining on the hob!

[SafeDrive]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

No experience with the other brands you have mentioned. Sumeet might be the one worth considering, IMHO.

The best I've used is a Panasonic. I found that to be more reliable than Bajaj or Philips. I think we had it for around 5 years before we faced our first problem with it. The only problem is finding one

Originally Posted by DerAlte

One can remove the burner part by part in a hob, down to just the primary brass nozzle and igniter remaining on the hob!

For hobs the best way would be to get it serviced by the company yearly. This will get the burners back to near original condition and they clean the hob for you too.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by Raccoon

Sumeet might be the one worth considering, IMHO.

Is the brand Sumeet still around? It was the preferred choice for my mom but we settled for Philips when we couldn't find Sumeet anywhere. This was some 3 years ago. Our 10+ year old Sumeet is still serving us in our hometown.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by ramki067

When does this annual offer comes up, i mean which month?

Prestige usually begins from April to June anytime; like in 2009 it was in mid April, when we missed our gas stove; hoping the same this year, we waited for our pressure cooker exchange, but they'd offer sometimes during May or June this year.

Originally Posted by Jaguar

Is the brand Sumeet still around?

Yes very much; but, pls don't go for it now. There're better brands & service than Sumeet. We guaged Butterfly & Preeti & finally settled for Butterfly. Philips is equally good in features compared to Preeti, but we were skeptical about their service.