Nov 15, 2008 03:22 PM
38234 Views
(Updated Nov 15, 2008 08:41 PM)
We recently brought the Kent RO Water Purifier. Earlier we were using Aqua guard Classic which did not have RO System.
I started evaluating the various options among the RO Purifiers and finally shortlisted the Aqua guard Total RO (MF) and Kent Grand RO. After reading the reviews here I could feel that the service for Kent might be a challenge. So we decided to go with the Aqua guard Total RO (MF with RO membrane of 0.001 micron).
The Aqua guard people offered that machine for Rs. 14, 500 after taking our old Aqua guard for Rs. 1000. We told them before hand itself that we would make the payment only after 3-4 days once we were satisfied. The team came for installation and they checked the TDS Levels and it was close to 480 in our house. They started saying that we should go with a RO membrane of 0.005 micron instead of 0.001 micron. We were pretty new to all these jargons of TDS, microns etc. So we believed that we should go with their recommendation. He took out the RO membrane in the new machine which was fitted and replaced it with some other membrane. To my surprise the one that he fitted was not an Aqua guard membrane and carried some local address which was not of Eureka Forbes / Aqua guard. When we asked them they said that that is the sister concern of Eureka Forbes from where they source these membranes.
As we did not have much idea about this we were ok with whatever was done. The installation team said that they would come the next day and check if the machine was working properly. Next day passed no one came. Even after 2 days no one came. We were feeling that water has become very bitter and no one in the family liked the taste. We called them up and the team said that they will come and check but no one came. Finally due to this poor service we decided to send this machine back to Eureka Forbes. I called them up to take their machine back and immediately I started getting response from the team. But by that time we decided to return this machine.
We then thought of checking this Kent machine and called up the Kent people and told them that we would test the machine for 2-3 days and if we are satisfied we will make the payment else they can take the machine back. They reluctantly agreed.
The team came for installation. They did a neat job of installation. Also the Kent model has a UV Treatment which the aqua guard RO model which they sold us was not having. In the first attempt we found that the water was as bitter as Aqua guard RO. But the team told that the Kent machine has some TDS adjuster which can be used to regulate the TDS levels. They increased the TDS level from 40 to about 90-100 and the taste became much better.
Overall as of now we have not experienced any difficulty in service but not sure how much I will be able to get this in future. We finally made up our mind for Kent.
Couple of things which I would like to highlight -
1) Please check the water taste before you finalize your payments with whatever RO filter you buy. The Aqua guard does not allow you to change the TDS levels which you can do in Kent. And if TDS levels go very low the water becomes bitter in taste.
2) Though the Kent machine MRP is about Rs. 15, 500 we were able to get it for under Rs. 12, 000. You can really negotiate the price with the dealer. I don't know how far it is true but some people say that the landing price for this machine is below Rs. 10, 000 and dealers sell it between Rs. 10K to Rs. 15, 500 depending upon the customers and the cities. So try out your luck here.
3) I realized later that the membrane which Aqua guard people changed was a local one and it is available in Delhi for as low as Rs. 500 whereas original one costs some Rs. 2400 or so. Whatever purifier you buy checkout the membrane is original and un-used.
4) Also before you take a decision to buy a RO filter keep in mind that RO membrane etc has to be replaced every year. Aqua guard people said it would cost us around Rs. 3600 a year including one year Maintenance Contract. Kent people said that the membrane does not need replacement for 1.5-2 years as it is manufactured by a company Dow in US. It’s too early for me to trust what Kent people have said that this membrane will last for 2 years but for sure that there is an annual cost attached to RO filters.
5) Lastly we were able to negotiate on the warranty part. By default you get 1-Year warranty on the product from the company. Parts are really expensive. If you negotiate, the dealers can give you 2 Years warranty without charging any thing extra. In our case we were able to manage this with both the dealers Aqua guard as well as Kent.
6) Go in for a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) check for the water that you get. Some companies just tend to sell you RO Filters even if you don't need them. If TDS levels in your water are not very high around 200-300 (validate the exact levels from the other source of information), you might not need a RO filter. An ordinary Water Filter like Aguaguard or similar less expensive filters might be good enough.
