Fridge/Refrigerator Recommendation

[Saket]

Hello FMs,

Planning to get a new fridge as I successfully disposed off my old Kelvinator-165 L.

My Budget is max. 30K. Home usage for 2-4 members. Should be frost free. Also I want something with uniqueness factor. So looking into Haier / Hitachi/ Panasonic. Please let me know if these companies make good refrigerators and if I can go for them. If not, then only I would go for Samsung. Although my preferance is haier/Hitachi/ Panasonic.
Please recommend. If anyone owns any of the above, please share your views. That would be great help. I hope I have not posted it at a wrong place.

Thanks,
Saket

 

[vaibhavsethia]

Hi. Try the Sharp range of refrigerators. 400L available for Rs. 38200/- SHARP 45MSL. Excellent product.

 

[viper08]

If budget no constraint, go for Hitachi. Will cost you 10k more. But piece of mind. Best part is smooth noiseless operation & compact size due to thinner walls.
Demo engineer told if used with matching stabilizer,(required for warranty) these pieces should last for 30 years. Who knows? +15years is bonus.

 

[asliarun]

Hello FMs,

Planning to get a new fridge as I successfully disposed off my old Kelvinator-165 L.

My Budget is max. 30K. Home usage for 2-4 members. Should be frost free. Also I want something with uniqueness factor. So looking into Haier / Hitachi/ Panasonic. Please let me know if these companies make good refrigerators and if I can go for them. If not, then only I would go for Samsung. Although my preferance is haier/Hitachi/ Panasonic.
Please recommend. If anyone owns any of the above, please share your views. That would be great help. I hope I have not posted it at a wrong place.

Thanks,
Saket

Saket, I have a slightly different point of view on this. When it comes to a fridge or a microwave or a washing machine, size matters. The bigger the better. Fullstop.

So I would strongly urge you to prioritize size over features. To put it another way, if you are getting a 480l from a standard brand/model for the same price as a 350l from a more highend brand/model, go for the 480l.

I say this from personal experience - I've gone from 165l to 250l to 350l to 600l - and my family size has remained the same (2). I can confidently tell you that while brand made some difference, yes, but the increase in size made a huge difference. In every case, I thought the size will be too much, but a year later, I found myself completely using up the extra space.

Anyway, just my two paise. Most people may not even agree with me but I've found this to be consistently true for my family.

Oh, and the other thing to consider is the size of the actual fridge (excluding the freezer). You often find that in larger sized fridges, the size of the freezer increases much more. This is probably more useful for Europeans or Americans but may not be that relevant to us.

 

[Saket]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for coming in....though a little late! My fault...I should have posted back that I went for a Panasonic NR-BU303. I agree, bigger the better and requirements will only increase from here, whether you are are family of 2 or 4, doesn't matter.

In every case, I thought the size will be too much, but a year later, I found myself completely using up the extra space.

^ This is so true!

However, its a 300 ltrs. volume appliance and presently I have no issues regarding space. Serving me well, looks very elegant with stainless color. With a bottom freezer, cooling is efficient and after about 40-45 days of usage, there is no foul odour. I believe it is a decent purchase. Very much in my budget @ about 25K.

However, thanks for pouring in your valuable ideas.
PS: just got an IFB Dishwasher as well. Posted in detail on another thread: http://www.hifivision.com/general-lounge/30728-buying-dishwasher-information-needed.html

Regards,
Saket

 

[anuragn]

Congrats for your new purchase Saket.
I'm also in the market to upgrade from 220lt to 350-400 lt fridge.
I had almost decided on Panasonic 345 lt model, but found one shortcoming which seemed to be very important keeping in view my family's usage. This model had space to store only two full sized (i.e. 1 ltr) water bottles. Since we consume cooled water most of the year, it was a big no-no for us. So now leaning towards a Samsung 345 ltr model.
Any views from anybody?

 

[Saket]

Hey Anurag,

Thanks for your good wishes.
Good to know you are thinking on Japanese lines. I will strongly suggest you to go for Japanese brands and avoid Korean brands like LG/Samsung.
Brands like Panasonic/ Sharp/ Hitachi, you just cannot go wrong with them. Double check if there are any foldable racks on the doors that can accommodate extra water bottles on the Panasonic model that you are looking.
Sharp has also has a very good reputation in this area. But brands like Sharp & Hitachi will be a priced a wee bit higher.
However, after my mini-research, I can say that Panasonic is a pretty fine balance between cost & quality. I am pretty happy over my purchase. Its super silent, efficient and looks elegant. The bottom freezer is a bold design and very practical for Indian usages as we tend to use freezers a lot less as compared to refrigerator. The vegetable compartment and other frequently accessed areas/compartments are placed at very convenient height and you don't have to bend your back to fetch the ingredients of today's menu!

Regards,
Saket

 

[pkr]

I am using Sharp (SJ-PT57R) for the past one year. ~500L. I got it for around 43K.

As someone mentioned earlier, we went to 220L when we upgraded in 2007 and found that it was inadequate in a year. Hence my suggestion will be to go for a larger size (select a 5 *).