diy Top @Kew Drive

[Ks Toh 74]

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Thanks kstoh.

saw the link that you posted but can't seems to find the model online and in Courts as well... hmmmm

Maybe you can call Karcher Singapore?

Edited May 24, 2014 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

Wow your toys! Looks like you are loyal to your brands - Bosch & Karcher!

You seem to be having certain brands for your toys : Bosch & Karcher.

good stuff

Hi It's purely coincidental that they turned out to be Bosch and Karcher.

For the vacuum cleaner, I thought that Karcher might be more "pro" and powerful. For water jet, there was also Black & Decker but it did not seem as good.

For consumables like screws, cutters, silicon etc (the stuff that contractors use), you can buy from neighbourhood hardware stores. But for more expensive items like these toys, it is best to buy from establishments like Home-Fix or Selfix. I made a mistake with the grass cutter. Bought it from a hardware store. It was the only piece, dusty, old. Box shows sign of being opened before. I thought I got a good deal until I saw Home-Fix selling it at a significantly cheaper price. The price difference was simply too great and I had to question the hardware store owner. Initially he said this is impossible. Later he said that Bosch will give Home-FIX special prices which he cannot match.

[Asking4Help 1]

Thanks kstoh, think I likely to get just purely vacuum cleaner...

Happy Chinese New Year

[xaleysan 2]

Thanks kstoh, think I likely to get just purely vacuum cleaner...

Happy Chinese New Year

I have a Karcher steam cleaner, model SC1122, bought more than 5 years ago. Its probably replaced by newer models now, but it came with cloths for cleaning floors.

My floor is tiled though, so I can't say about laminated floors.

Karcher has various models of steam cleaners that have different functions, so it's best to take a walk down to any electronic stores or department stores like Harvey Norman or Tangs for a demo and better understanding of the functions.

I love mine. I use it to steam my sofa and curtains. These days I realise it also removes grout from my tiled floors. It is a tedious to do it but it does give me a satisfaction (a little OCD here).

[Ks Toh 74]

Hi xaleysan

Nice to know that you find your steam cleaner useful. Some years ago, I bought an Osim iEcology steam vacuum cleaner (the new model seems to be called uEco Genius) for around $1,500. The concept was brilliant. You could mop (and sanitise too) and vacuum at one go. But after some time, the initial excitement fizzled out rather quickly. (Note: my experience is with the previous model and not the present model).

1. Fully loaded with water, the machine is very, very heavy. If you need to carry the machine up stairs, it is a serious problem, unless you incorporate the house cleaning as part of your weights training routine.

2. Just two months into the purchase, the steam gun handle (where all the controls are) broke down, rendering the machine completely unusable. Both at the service centre as well as online, I encountered others with the same problem. To me, the quality was simply unacceptable.

3. At the service centre, I was told that the warranty covered only "manufacturing defects" and furthermore it did not cover accessories like the steam gun handle. What a load of rubbish, I told Osim. If the machine was already defective from the manufacturer, the consumer would be entitled to a free repair or refund, without the need to purchase a warranty. And the word "accessory" surely refers to a desirable but non-essential item? Can the iEcology work without the steam gun handle? And what is the point of paying 10% of the purchase price every year for the extended warranty? The amount I pay just for the extended warranty could buy me a new decent vacuum cleaner every year!

4. Finally, I discovered that the iEcology was simply an OEM product. I think the original (or maybe the first company to sell this) was Polti (first picture below). Almost identical models are being sold by Karcher and at one time, Akira.

In the end, when the carrying handle broke and made carrying the machine difficult, I threw away the machine. Now I just use a simple mop and vacuum cleaner.

Edited February 3, 2014 by kstoh

[xaleysan 2]

Hi kstoh,

I did not know the iEcology was an OEM product. I was pretty attracted by it too. It seemed like a time-saver and a great idea. But I felt the item was very overpriced.

I considered a Dyson, but eventually changed my mind instead got a $95 Electrolux vacuum cleaner which is very basic. I have been using it now for almost 6 years. Even though it's quite noisy, together with a spin mob and iRobot, they are serving me well. I now think the less complicated machines are, the better they may be.

Talking about service experience, I'm getting a little long-winded here because I am a person who certainly has brand preferences for most things.

1) This is a nice one.

I was at the Karcher service centre the other day to buy an attachment, and met a lady who brought in her vacuum cleaner and hers was a really old model, or at least it looked very old and very well used. I did not get to hear about her problem since she was there before me, but when the technicians brought it back with the problem fixed, she was very surprised that it was free of charge even though warranty was long over.

2) Another nice one.

My father bought his Osim massage chair many years ago (the first iMedic model). When we had the service guys to come over and service the chair every 1-2 years subsequently, they would tell us that chair was made in Japan and the parts were very good, compared to the newer models that Osim had come out with by then. We paid for repairs when it broke down but several years down the road, we traded it in an Ogawa one. Ogawa offers free servicing for 10 years and changed a minor part for us free, while Osim had to charge for just servicing every time (or perhaps just the first year free, I cannot remember exactly but definitely not free for 10 years). Before the 10 years was up, my father again traded in for another Ogawa chair and he is still mighty pleased, with both the product and service.

3) A not so nice one.

I had a bad experience with Philips items many years back. I had to go back twice in the same day to get the item replaced. That was enough to make me avoid them for many years. Not sure what came over me one day but I decided to give them another try last year and bought a stainless steel electric kettle. 2 months later, the rim started to rust. I went to the live chat and was served promptly and it felt like a pretty good experience. The staff followed up with an email where I sent over the pictures of the receipt and the kettle. 10 days later, no response came despite my reminder emails in between. I went to the website and submitted a form, explaining that I did not hear from them and requested for the staff to update on the status. The same staff later emailed me that she did not receive my pictures and told me to resend. When I did, this time I received an error message that the email address I used was "not supervised". I was using a Gmail email address. What kind of "supervised" email addresses are they expecting? Resent twice, thrice, same thing. Gave up. What was more infuriating was on the online form, they let you select to allow or disallow them to call you and the preferred timing for calls. I indicated they can call me in the day but no one called. I decided I was not going to waste any more of my time. I'll just wait till it rusts more and throw it away.

[WCCommander 0]

Hi KSToh,

I really enjoy looking thru your blog , and it gives me inspiration as i'm in the process of doing up my house.

Can I ask if U have any idea where I can get pumps/water jet sprays for the water feature ? thank you.

[Ks Toh 74]

Hi xaleysan

Electrolux is good. I previously had an Electrolux vacuum ceaner and that lasted a long time. I am currently using Electrolux washer and dryer (photos in my blog). a basic Karcher vacuum cleaner and Leifeit mop set. I wonder if iRobot is suitable where there are many stairs and one pond with no barriers?

Karcher service centre is indeed friendly. My only complaint is that it is quite far away at Toh Guan Road. My experience with Philips service centre was average. Other than the ridiculous warranty coverage (at that time, now not sure), Osim service centre was very pleasant.

Osim is very famous for its marketing of its massage chairs and iGallop. But what is little known is that Panasonic Japan already produced massage chairs 40 years ago, and their Core Muscle Trainer was launched years ago, but little known outside of Japan. That is why I bought a Panasonic Made in Japan massage chair. Very good quality.

http://youtu.be/eziflF3ahF4

Edited February 5, 2014 by kstoh

[Ks Toh 74]

Hi WCCommander

You can get water pumps from Mainland Tropical Fish Farm at Pasir Ris Farmway 1 or Qian Hu Fish Farm at Jalan Lekar (Lim Chu Kang area). You can also get them from water feature shops but I think it will be more expensive.

These pumps will pump water from the pond and push the water out through an outlet. From the outlet, you just connect PVC pipes or rubber hose all the way to where you want the water to splurge out e.g. a simple pvc pipe end, statute of fish shooting out water or boy peeing. In my case, the water travels through a PVC pipe through the base of my vase and out the top. (Sidenote: If you are interested in my vase, I have two more spares to sell to recover my cost of importing them from Burma. See my advert somewhere on page 2 or 3 of my blog).

[WCCommander 0]

Hi WCCommander

You can get water pumps from Mainland Tropical Fish Farm at Pasir Ris Farmway 1 or Qian Hu Fish Farm at Jalan Lekar (Lim Chu Kang area). You can also get them from water feature shops but I think it will be more expensive.

These pumps will pump water from the pond and push the water out through an outlet. From the outlet, you just connect PVC pipes or rubber hose all the way to where you want the water to splurge out e.g. a simple pvc pipe end, statute of fish shooting out water or boy peeing. In my case, the water travels through a PVC pipe through the base of my vase and out the top. (Sidenote: If you are interested in my vase, I have two more spares to sell to recover my cost of importing them from Burma. See my advert somewhere on page 2 or 3 of my blog).

KSToh,

thanks for your prompt reply. Can i find out is it possible to hide the electrical wiring for the pump ? cause i've seen some water features , the wires just look unsightly. BTW , thanks for the offer on your vase , but my water feature is only 0.6m wide , i think its too small to fit

[Ks Toh 74]

Hi WCCommander

I am not sure how your water feature looks like and where your pump and power source is located. If the power source and pump is located behind your water feature, I guess the wiring can be hidden. If not, it is inevitable that you will see the wiring, at least from the power source to the pump, as in my case. Wiring that runs along the base of the pond can be laid over and hidden by gravel.

[OceanEleven 203]

kstoh, thanks for sharing the pics! Great toys indeed. Was thinking of waterjet as well but alas no point buying one just to clear bird ****.

Moreover if the paint peels due to jetting, then I will be in for more bashing. Guess have to wait for raining day and arm with with scrubs and brushes.

[Songz 132]

kstoh, thanks for sharing the pics! Great toys indeed. Was thinking of waterjet as well but alas no point buying one just to clear bird ****.

Moreover if the paint peels due to jetting, then I will be in for more bashing. Guess have to wait for raining day and arm with with scrubs and brushes.

Thought you are gg to contact the authorities regarding this ??

[OceanEleven 203]

Thought you are gg to contact the authorities regarding this ??

Have not done so but as you read from what I had post before. I have access to water jet but min is 1500PSI type.

kstoh is staying in landed, waterjet comes in handy to clear mould and water stains for him. HDB not so applicable.

Nonetheless, his thread is very informative and witty.

I am just kinda worry that Town Council will need to set up a committee, bring in some bird expert, study some bird ****ting pattern.

Then after 6 months and spending 200k and realized the fault lies with the painter who painted the wall outside.

Edited February 7, 2014 by OceanEleven

[xaleysan 2]

Hi xaleysan

Electrolux is good. I previously had an Electrolux vacuum ceaner and that lasted a long time. I am currently using Electrolux washer and dryer (photos in my blog). a basic Karcher vacuum cleaner and Leifeit mop set. I wonder if iRobot is suitable where there are many stairs and one pond with no barriers?

Hi kstoh,

you can set "virtual walls" with certain models of the iRobot, so that they will not go down the stairs or into areas you don't want it to go to.

However, with the size of your floor area and steps, you may have to buy additional "walls" and probably just clean one storey on a single battery charge.

Mine does not require virtual walls, and although I have heard from users the walls work, I'm not sure if there is a 0.01% chance the robot will join your fishes for a swim.